There have been more than a few times in 2020 when we have all thought of “What will life be after” something we’re dealing with. Life After sports, Life After dining out, and for many there has been Life After going to the office every day and adapting to working remotely. Hopefully, there will be Life After wearing masks and the threat of Covid. There will always be Life After events.

One ”Life After” business owners should consider is Life After selling their business. After a sale, almost all Owners/Sellers remain part of the Business during transition to assist the Buyer with getting to know the Business. That timeframe could be for a few months to a year, and the immediate Life After is an adjustment as the Seller is no longer the Owner. It’s the first step to Life After leaving the business.
Considering what Life After owning a business should be is part of deciding if it’s the right time to sell your business. Yes, the financial considerations are always there, but there are other aspects that might be more important. What will you do? How will you occupy your time? Where will you do it? Will you relocate? How will you adjust? Will you be bored? Will you have regrets?

We’ve known many – most actually – business Owners that loved Life After owning their business. They had in some cases specific plans, in some cases tentative plans, and some had no plans. But most said that they were pleased or relieved to not have the pressure of running the business any longer. We’ve also known some that found it hard to adjust, and fortunately those are rare. We’ve had a few cases, fortunately only a few, where the Owner got right to the Closing and decided not to sell. It just wasn’t time to make that move and they realized it before it was too late.

One of our roles as Advisors to business owners prior to committing to sell is to attempt to find out if the selling is really what the Owner wants. The one certainty is that there will always be change. If the time is right to sell, great. If it isn’t, it’s better to figure that out before proceeding with the sale process. One very common question business buyers ask is “Why is the Owner selling?” In regards to Life After the sale of our Business, let’s have a discussion.

Morgan Vaive, Vice President
Morgan.vaive@zoellnergarten.com
859-957-9657

John W. Zoellner, President
jzoellner@zoellnergarten.com
513-382-3797