February 12, 2024 • 34 mins
When I decided to sell part of my business back in 2023, I had no clue what was ahead.
From the strategic decisions to the emotional ones, twelve months on I want to share my journey with you, from my exit strategy to burnout and how I've transformed my business narrative.
As I reflect on the evolution of my business philosophy, I maintain that quality, authenticity, and choosing the right clients—my "A-listers"—are the foundational pillars of a robust business.
I hope this episode will inspire my fellow entrepreneurs to remain steadfast to their principles and goals, and for anyone gearing up to sell, I hope my journey before, during and after helps you too.
It's all about your unique definition of success.
This episode is brought to you by Become A Business Money Magnet - Simple habits to manage your money and supercharge your profits!
Want 30 Ways to Save Money in your Business? Download the guide here.
Need a business finance coach or want to get your pricing sorted? Book a Strategy Call NOW.
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Host: Justine McLean – Flossi Creative
Producer: Leah Stanistreet – Snappystre...
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to the Secrets of Successful
Business podcast, your go-tosource for business tips, tricks
and proven strategies that willhelp you create a streamlined
and profitable business.
We chat to the best minds inbusiness about their journey.
It's my business and I'll do itmy way, how they started,
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(00:25):
what you have.
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How long are you going to givethis?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
What compromises are you going to make?
Just because you can do itdoesn't mean that you should do
it.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
It's really important to remember that it's a long
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(00:57):
with the demands of today's busylifestyle.
If you're a business owner,side hustler or just starting
your business journey, thispodcast is for you.
Now here's your host, businesscoach and content creator,
justine McLean from FawcysCreative.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Hello and thanks for joining me on the podcast today.
In case we haven't met, I'mJustine, a small business owner
on a mission to uncover andshare the secrets of creating
and running a profitable,sustainable and successful
business.
I've been in business for over20 years now and I get to use
all that I've learned along theway to help other women in
business reduce the overwhelm,gain visibility around their
(01:37):
numbers, charge what they'reworth and make more money.
It's about designing a life youlove that fits into your
definition of success.
So if I can help you create theprofitable business you deserve
, please reach out Now withoutfurther ado.
Let's dive into today's episode.
Hi, everyone, and welcome tothe podcast.
(02:00):
In February 2023, so a year agoI sold off the bookkeeping and
compliance arm of my company andsince then, I've often been
asked why I decided to sell andhow I knew it was time to go on.
But, more importantly, what didI do after the fact?
What have I been doing in thelast 12 months?
(02:23):
And I guess there's not asimple or single answer about
why it was I decided to sell andhow I knew it was time to move
on, but rather, I guess ameeting of preparation and
opportunity that happened tocoincide at the perfect time.
Someone probably say it wasluck, and while I absolutely
(02:44):
feel lucky that I sold off thatpart of my business, I also know
that the way I set my businessup from the get go meant that
when that opportunity arrivedI'd be in a really fortunate
position to take advantage of it.
Now if you're thinking thatselling your business is
(03:04):
something you want to do, oryou've got a business, you've
got multiple arms in thatbusiness or multiple income
streams and you're thinking thatyou might want to sell just one
of them, head to episode 88 ofthe podcast where I talk about
how to set your business up forsale and, I guess, go into more
detail about why it was I soldthe business or that part of the
(03:28):
business.
When I think back over the lastyear and this is a question
that I've been asked a lotlately is just about what's
happened.
What have I learned afterselling my business?
Because quite often I guess ifyou are in business and you
choose to sell, you sell yourbusiness lock, stock and barrel.
It's a whole business.
(03:48):
You sell it and then there'snothing.
You kind of move on.
But in my case, obviously I hada multi faceted business.
I had a number of differentincome streams, and so when I
sold off one of those incomestreams, it meant that the rest
of the business still remained,essentially for me, even though
it wasn't as busy.
(04:10):
The day after I sold, it wasbusiness as usual.
I hope that makes sense.
I think, though, that when Ithought about selling, I knew
that the area of my businessthat I was selling was certainly
the area that had the mostsignificant workload.
It was the area that I workedon every single day, and so I
(04:34):
was really aware, hyper aware,that when I sold that off, I
needed to then focus myattention on building up the
other areas of my business andthose areas that I really wanted
to sort of lean into and push,and so one of the most important
things that I did when I kickedoff this company many years ago
(04:57):
was to really think about myoverall exit plan not
necessarily the timing of it,although I had a rough idea in
my mind but it was more aboutwhat was it that I wanted to
achieve when I decided to moveon.
So, for me, it wasn't so muchexiting small business as a
whole, because I've been a smallbusiness owner for 30 years and
(05:20):
I can't imagine working foranyone else and I still do it
because I love it, not because Ihave to.
So for me, selling off thatpart of the business, that exit
plan, that initial exit plan,really centered on leaning into
my desire to help other businessowners with their finances.
Because one of the things thatI had seen in the early days of
(05:41):
my own business, but exceedinglywhen I was working with other
successful business owners, wasthat no matter how successful
they were one minute, it wasreally simple for them to end up
in Struggle Street or to gobust completely, and it all came
down to the numbers.
And because I watched this overand over again and I helped
(06:04):
people claw their way back fromthose situations over and over
again, I always had in the backof my mind that it would be so
nice if people chose to be theauthor of their own stories and
that could only start by readingthe numbers.
Because, in my opinion,learning to read the numbers and
the story that they tell youhelps you to understand what to
(06:27):
do next.
So if you want to be the authorof your own story, in need to
understand the numbers andbecause that was always part of
my exit plan.
I really had to then focus onwhat was my end goal.
As I said, didn't focus toomuch on the ideal timeframe for
selling, but I had in my mindthat I would always sell the
(06:48):
bookkeeping and compliance armof the business, because that
was a part of business that Ihad built up in a deliberate
strategy to sell it for profitand I knew how much I wanted to
earn.
When I sold that, I knew what Iwanted to sell that for and
with that in mind and then alsoreally understanding what it was
(07:08):
I wanted to do next, I feltlike I was more prepared for
when the opportunity came.
I think for a lot of businessowners, their personal identity
can be tied up in theirprofessional identity or their
business, and I think that canbe really dangerous.
In my case, that certainlywasn't the case.
I obviously cared about myclients, so it was important for
(07:32):
me to help them land in a goodplace when I eventually sold.
But it's not like I was definedby my business, and so if
selling is something you'rethinking of, I guess that's one
piece of advice I would give you, not only to have you know to
start with that exit plan inmind, but to also really think
(07:52):
about, ask yourself thatquestion and answer honestly is
your identity in some way tiedto your business and if it is,
how can you extricate yourselffrom that?
Because I think it's importantthat you find that separation.
So roll forward a year later, ayear after selling, and one of
the fantastic things about who Ichose to sell to was that he
(08:17):
had very similar, almostidentical business values to me,
and so I know that my clientsare still being taken care of
and I know that the businessthat I sold is still thriving
with a new owner, and that makesme really happy.
But the really neat thing isthat the customer loyalty that I
had gathered over many yearsworking with the clients who
(08:40):
went along with the businesssale is still there and I'm
still able to work with so manyof my former clients, albeit in
a different capacity, and, as aresult, while I've kind of taken
that step backwards in mybusiness in some respects, I
haven't had to build up my otherincome streams from scratch
because I've still managed tomaintain that loyalty.
(09:02):
And again, that's all aboutstarting, as you mean, to
continue having that exit planin mind and really understanding
the benefits of, you know,choosing the right customers.
I guess, working with the rightpeople.
In my case, that's also beenthe benefit of diversifying your
business and having thatvariety of income streams,
(09:22):
because when you do that, as Isaid, most people will sell a
business and they'll sell thewhole thing.
But I was able to sell off justone of those income streams and
then take advantage of thecustomer loyalty I had, the list
that I have already built upover many years and sell them
into some of the other areasthat I work on in business.
But what have I learned andwhat would I do differently if I
(09:45):
had to do it all over again?
And it's been reallyinteresting sitting down and
thinking about that on this oneyear anniversary, and I think
the first thing that I'velearned is really the importance
of selling a business as agoing concern.
And what do I mean by that?
Essentially, it means that youhand over a complete operational
(10:05):
business.
So you walk out the door at 5pmon one day, the new owner walks
in at 9am the following day andthe business just keeps
operating.
There's no close down ordowntime.
It's simply that transitionfrom one owner to the next, and
it's so seamless that if youdidn't mention it to your
clients, I guess they've beennone the wiser.
The new business ownerobviously gets the business name
(10:28):
, your clients, your staff, ifthey're happy to move across all
your IP, your systems andprocesses, and then any plant
and equipment or handover notesthat you've got, if those are
applicable.
And selling as a going concernnot only makes life much easier
for the new business owner, butit also makes life easy for you
(10:48):
too, as the person who's selling, because one of the things that
you'll often do when you sell abusiness is to agree that
there'll be a bit of a crossoverperiod, a bit of a consultation
period where you'll beavailable to speak to the new
business owner as needed toanswer questions or things that
come up that they don't reallyunderstand.
And because I'd set things up sowell, I had great systems and
(11:12):
processes in place, I obviouslyhad chosen great staff, I had
lots of great clients throughthat period, I think I got two
quick phone calls and that wasit.
So that's the first thing Iwould recommend Sell and set up
to sell your business as a goingconcern, and you can head back
to episode 88 and you'll getmore details on how to do that,
(11:35):
and so a year later, as I'vealready mentioned, when I sold
my business, I had a very clearidea of what was next, what it
was that I wanted to do.
But, in all honesty, I stillwoke up the day after the
business had sold and I was abit of a loss wondering okay,
well, it's nine o'clock, what doI do now?
And this, I think, was thefirst mistake that I really made
(11:59):
.
Instead of taking some time offwhich I would highly recommend
and, honestly, I really neededafter working for the last 29
years nonstop as a businessowner, I decided to immediately
dive in to writing and launchingmy business money magnet
program, and while that's turnedout to be a really positive
(12:20):
thing for my business and,obviously, for the people in the
program, it really didn't helpme.
It didn't help my health, itdidn't help my physical health,
it didn't help my mental health,and what I needed was to just
stop to take a big breath andgive myself some time off,
because I didn't understand theimpact that working for that
(12:42):
long at the level that I'dobviously been working at I mean
, we all know business ownershipis a 24, 7, 3, 6, 5 proposition
I really didn't understand, Iguess, how tired I was until it
really hit me a few months later.
So you know, I've immediatelydived in the day after the sale
(13:02):
into writing business moneymagnet.
Then I've gone ahead and I'velaunched that program.
And launching is a massive job.
If you've ever launched anonline program or course or
anything else, you're doing Hugejob.
Lots of stuff that goes into it.
So I did that, committed tothat.
You know eight weeks where Ispent the time inside the course
(13:23):
and worked with the cohort.
And then there was a few weekswhere there was a bit of a lull.
I had no bookings, no workshops, no speaking gigs.
I had nothing to do really, andI think that was when the first
signs of burnout really hit me.
And if you're listening to thisand you're thinking that
(13:43):
burnout is a bit of a furpie, Ican honestly tell you that it is
totally real and that it willhave a massive impact if you
don't recognise the symptoms andsigns early and do something
about it.
I think you know, during thatlull in my business, during
those few weeks that you knowwhere I had no commitments,
(14:03):
nothing to do, that was whereall the physical symptoms that
I've probably been pushing intothe background, started to
really show themselves, thingslike exhaustion, sure physical
symptoms, but also this feelingof self-doubt and hopelessness,
in a way, that started to creepin.
I found myself looking at whatother business owners were doing
(14:24):
, thinking, gosh, you know, whoam I to be on this kind of you
know bandwagon, talking aboutfinances?
What am I doing?
And I think I knew almostinstantly what was going on, I
think in the moment that I'dfinally forced myself or that I
was finally forced, I guess tostop, because there was
(14:44):
literally nothing that I neededto do In those moments, you know
, I knew then that I needed toslow down.
I knew that I had made a reallybig mistake by not having that
time off immediately post sale,and something needed to change,
because, as every day went on,instead of, you know, getting
(15:07):
well and feeling more energized,I actually felt more and more
tired.
Not only that, but when I justwanted to sit on the couch and
do nothing, I found myselffeeling really guilty about that
, and so, mentally, I was, youknow, beating myself up not a
good formula.
So, after talking with a fewpeople and thinking about what
(15:28):
it was that I really needed todo next, I immediately put a
pause on launching the nextbusiness money magnet program.
I decided to really go back tothe drawing board and rethink
all of my business plans for therest of the year.
So there were some things youknow that I was booked to speak
at and I was adamant that I wasgoing to commit to those and see
(15:51):
those through, but other thingsthat weren't as essential I
decided to just put pause on andI think you know you'll
obviously, if you've listened tothis podcast before, you'll
hear me talking about successand really deciding on what that
means to you.
As you go through, you know anygiven season of life and
business and you know postselling, I had a very clear idea
(16:16):
of what success, what thatsuccess was going to look like
for me.
But after that first, you know,launch of business money magnet
I realized, you know that Ineeded to stop and I also
realized that in my currentstate, I needed to have an even
more fluid definition of successand what that was going to look
(16:37):
like throughout the rest of2023.
And I think it's something thatyou know we can apply to
business all of the time.
By the way, you don't have towait till you're in a burnout
phase to do that, or until theend of the quarter to do that.
I think if things aren'tworking out as you want them to
or you find that you need timeoff whether that's because of
(16:57):
circumstances that are within orout of your control then go
ahead and rejig that successgoal that you've got.
Be open to that change if youneed to change it, because I
think when you become wedded tothat goal and you don't achieve
it particularly if you're a bitof an all or nothing person or
you're the sort of person wholikes to really strive in your
(17:19):
business, you can do you a lotof damage to yourself mentally
when you don't get there.
And, honestly, you don't haveto wait for burnout or something
bad to happen.
If we're your head, it justdoesn't resonate with you for
any reason, you are allowed tochange course.
It's your business, it's yourchoice, and while I've always
(17:40):
known this to be true, I thinkpost one year, post selling my
business, it's really beenrammed home to me.
So keep that in mind.
What else have I learned afterselling my business?
Well, I think this one goesback to really deciding on what
your success definition is.
And you know, the other thingis you don't always have to
(18:02):
listen to the business gurus tomake that decision, because now
I know for sure, 100%, that itis vital, really, really
important, that I choose to runmy business in a way that suits
me.
So I am in what I would call alegacy phase of my business.
It's where I no longer need tohustle for a regular wage.
(18:28):
It's about building wealth nowfor the next stage, and so that
makes a big difference to how Iapproach my business.
For a start, I only want to workto maybe three days a week, and
during those two or three days,I want to work in a business,
or I want to run a business thathas a really clear purpose, and
(18:51):
my purpose for 2024 is helpingbusiness owners increase their
financial literacy and make moremoney, and I want to make it as
easy as possible for them toachieve that.
So on those two to three daysthat I am working, I want to
lean into that purpose and Iwant to work with people who are
(19:11):
determined to achieve that forthemselves and their business.
So it's about working with alot of my existing client base,
but also nurturing the audiencethat I have to see if I can
bring them along for the ride aswell.
So I am definitely being a lotsmarter about how I work and
(19:31):
finding that balance between theeffort and the ease and I think
people talk about that balanceis nonsense.
I don't think I necessarilyagree with them.
I think balance is aboutfinding that point between the
effort and the ease when you canhappily exist.
So one of the things that meansfor me and for my business and
(19:52):
this goes against all of thebusiness gurus out there who
teach about online having onlineproduct or virtual product is
that for me there is no more big, flashy launches.
Amy Porterfield, who is one ofmy mentors, would be disgusted
in me.
I haven't broken that news toher yet, but I need to do that.
(20:13):
My program, business moneymagnet, is now going to be open
in Evergreen.
I have extended the length ofthe program, extended access to
me in that program, so peopleget to work on the program over
a longer period of time.
They get to work with me inthat group setting on a more
regular basis.
They also have access to me ata heavily discounted rate if
(20:36):
they need that one-to-one help,but that idea that they can,
that a business owner can joinwhen they need to, when they're
having money troubles, ratherthan having to wait until the
next time I launch, and thatthey get that access to me
throughout the course and to theprogram and to the expertise
(20:58):
that I've built up over all ofthe years that I've been in
business.
That makes me really happy.
It's going to fulfill mypurpose and that's what business
is all about for me right now.
The other thing that I'velearned after selling my
business is when you've had ateam, particularly a good team,
going back to having no team isreally harder than you think.
(21:20):
But although you are, I guess,thinking you need to hire again
and do it quickly, which is whatI originally thought I took a
pause because I really wanted tounderstand what I needed help
with in this new phase of mybusiness and why hiring that
person was important.
(21:41):
When it comes to hiring, thereare so many different ways you
can hire a team.
There are so many differentoptions for local, offshore,
different amounts of time andmoney you can commit to, but I
chose someone that I've workedwith before, who is more
expensive but who I know willget what I need done in the
(22:03):
hours that I have engaged her towork for me every single week,
and I've only just startedworking with that person.
So that's a whole year later.
The other thing that has becomevital, and that really was
apparent to me one year on fromselling my business, is just how
important it is to protect yourboundaries and to really learn
(22:27):
to say no.
So I have had to make somedecisions about what's important
to me personally and thenchoose to focus on that.
So during business hours,during the time that I dedicate
to my business, that's all aboutbusiness, and the rest of the
time is my time.
So I have learned to close myoffice door because I work
(22:50):
inside my house, I have a homeoffice, so I've learned to close
that office door and switch offcompletely.
Once upon a time I would findthat almost impossible to do,
but I am absolutely gettingbetter at it.
Do I still think about business, often at night time, as I am
mindlessly scrolling through myphone?
Sure, but I have found thatthrough choosing to protect my
(23:12):
boundaries and also building insome great habits that I will
focus on before I go to bed likeno phone for hours before I go
to bed and then just sitting andreading it helps me to really
switch the brain off, focus onsomething else, and then I get a
great night's sleep, and thathas been a game changer for me.
One of the other things thatI've learned, a year on from
(23:35):
selling my business is it is theimportance of staying positive.
I think as business owners, weknow that there's no clear
straight line to success.
There's lots of bumps and lumpsas we go along and there's lots
of challenges.
But I think that's certainlytrue when you are rebuilding a
(23:57):
business, when you are startinga new business or when you are
starting over, when you've hadone business, you've sold it and
you're starting over and I havegot a little group of friends
and we're all in the sameposition and I think it's easy
to think, wow, I've been in thisgame for 30 years, for 10 years
, for five years, we've got afew people at different stages
(24:19):
and think I should know thisstuff.
I should have it down pat.
I should be able to turn thisinto my vision of success in
five minutes.
It shouldn't take all of thistime.
That can actually give youconfidence a bit of a shake.
But I think staying positiveand knowing that you're going to
get there in those moments isreally key, and so I think,
(24:42):
whether you're sold a businessor whether you're just in that
state at the moment where yourconfidence has been given a bit
of a shake, my advice is that itis really important to
understand your destination,know where you're headed and
have a really clearunderstanding of how you're
going to get there.
Don't panic.
Really important not to panic,because the reality is people
(25:06):
are spending less at the moment.
The economic climate is notnecessarily conducive to a lot
of service-based businesses.
Certainly, if people are goingto pull back or save money,
they're probably going to do itby saving money on courses or
coaching or being part of groupsor memberships, so all of that
stuff makes sense.
They're also probably going tostop spending on some services
(25:29):
like VAs and social media.
So the idea is to not panic butto find a way to still work
with people at a price that theycan afford and a price that
doesn't impact on your time oryour energy.
So that's a conversation foranother time.
I touched on that in my pricingepisode, so head back there and
(25:50):
have a listen to that.
But it's important not to panicand if you are feeling a bit low
, if you're feeling that stayingpositive is not something that
you can do easily, then talk tosomeone, find a group of people
who are in a similar position orsomeone who's been there before
, and have a chat to that person, hopefully with no judgement on
(26:11):
their part.
If you need advice, you canalways ask for that too, but I
think sometimes getting thosethoughts and feelings out and if
you don't have someone youcould write it down is really
important and then be preparedto change it up if you need to.
As I said, be fluid.
Keep that fluid definition ofsuccess in your mind, and if you
(26:31):
need to change things, you needto shake things up, then go
ahead and get that done.
For example, you know, goingfrom big live launching to
evergreen launching.
That's something that I'vechosen to do for the time being
and so far, so good.
It's working for me.
And then the other thing that Iwould say, if you are starting
to flag when it comes topositivity, is to find something
(26:54):
to take your mind offeverything else.
So, whether that is meditation,for me it's been paint by
numbers.
Surprisingly, I am a painter.
I love sitting down andpainting, but when I'm painting
a big canvas, I'm alwaysthinking about composition and
colour and where it's headed,and it uses a different part of
your mind, but it's still aboutthinking, and I just needed
(27:17):
something where I didn't have tothink about anything.
So painting by numbers has beenthat meditation that I think
I've really needed over thislast few months in particular.
I think the other things thatyou need to keep in mind,
particularly after you sell yourbusiness or you go through a
big change in your business, isthat you know what you know.
(27:40):
No one can take that away fromyou.
But you can also leverage thatknowledge and it can help you to
move ahead with confidence,because when you can use that
knowledge in other ways in notonly your business, but in, but
also outside of your business,it can open the door to more
opportunities.
And I think it's aboutunderstanding what it is.
(28:02):
You can share with the world,taking that knowledge and
thinking about unique anddifferent ways that you can use
that.
When I say unique and different, that's unique and different to
you, to what you're doing now.
The other thing I've learned isthat selling your business can
give you the type of freedomthat you have always wanted the
freedom of choice, the freedomwith your money, your financial
(28:25):
freedom, but you still need tobe very conscious and deliberate
about what you choose to dowith the sales proceeds as you
move forward, because I imaginefor a lot of people it would be
very easy to spend that money ina very short space of time, and
when you think about how longit's taken to build up your
business to the point that youwant to sell it, you want that
(28:48):
money to work for you when thebusiness or following the sale
of the business really importantto think about that.
As I think back over this lastyear, they're the main things
that I've learned from sellingmy business, and if you're
thinking of selling yourbusiness or perhaps one income
stream, like I did, I guess thenext question is how do you
(29:11):
really know when it's time tosell?
And that's something thatpeople ask me often, and so I
want to wrap up this podcast byjust giving my thoughts on that
how to know when it's time tosell.
So I guess my first tip is tosell before it's too late.
Don't wait until you're burntout or completely over your
(29:31):
business before you decide tosell.
I'm a member of a few Facebookgroups and what I've been
noticing of late is that thereare a lot of people who have
great businesses but thingsaren't going very well right now
and they're over it.
They've had it, and the numberof people who have put their
hand up and said I think Ireally need to sell my business,
what are people's thoughts onthat?
(29:51):
Has risen exponentially,particularly over the last few
weeks.
So I think it's important tosell at the right time and to
the right person, but also notto make that decision as a bit
of a knee-jerk reaction becauseyou're over your business or
you've got a health issue, oryou're just feeling downright
(30:12):
exhausted, because it'ssomething I think you will
regret as you kind of look backin retrospect.
And I think also the terms ofthe sale might not be as good
for you, because if you are inthat mindset, you'll be prepared
to take whatever's offered.
For me, I had a really specificnumber in mind.
I negotiated on my sale pricebecause I actually wanted more
(30:34):
than the initial offer, and Idid that because you have bottom
line.
If the sale didn't go through,I didn't really care.
I just wanted to sell at theright number for me.
Speaking about the numbers, somany business owners think their
business is worth way more thanit's actually worth.
There are lots of differentways to value a business way too
(30:57):
complicated to get into on apodcast episode.
So if you are thinking ofselling, I would recommend
seeking independent advice,whether that is from a broker or
your accountant, to find outwhat your business might be
worth.
But at the end of the day, youneed to be realistic.
It's probably not going to beworth what you think it is, and
(31:19):
so know that as you're goinginto the sale process.
If selling might be an optionfor you at some point in your
future, then I would talk to anexpert well before you are
thinking about doing that.
So, in the very early stages ofyour business or well before
you plan to sell, talk to thatexpert so you have everything in
(31:39):
place and ready to go when youdecide to proceed.
The other thing to do,particularly when you are
gearing up to sell, is to takean honest look at your business.
Is it something that someonewould really want to buy.
Is it something that, 12 monthsafter the sale date, is still
going to be living and breathingand working without you as part
(32:02):
of the business?
Or is it going to be an entitythat will die on the vine
because you're no longer part ofit and hustling as you need to?
And while a lot of people mightsay, well, not my problem, once
I've sold, I don't care whathappens to my business, that's
okay.
It was important for me that mybusiness still continue when I
(32:23):
sold it, when I passed it on,because I felt that was
important for the people that itwas serving.
So I think it's valuable toreally have that honest look at
your business, have a look ifthere are any sort of red flags,
things that might be a problemfor the perspective buyer, and
commit to improving them,because I believe that everybody
(32:45):
should sell in good faith,knowing that they are handing
over something that is valuableand in the valuation you can ask
more for that sort of businessand, as I said before, you
choose to sell or if you'rethinking of selling, know what's
next for you.
One of the best things I did,well before I sold my business,
(33:06):
was just to have a conversationabout what that next chapter
would look like for me.
As I've mentioned throughoutthe podcast, so much of our
identity can be tied up in ourbusiness, but when you
understand what's next, it makesit easier to close that one
door and then to move onmindfully.
So that's it.
One year on, and while I have avery different business that I'm
(33:29):
running now, my approach tobusiness is exactly the same.
It's all about quality overquantity, leaning into my values
and purpose and working withthe people that I absolutely
love my A-list clients and Ithink if you do that, you can't
go wrong.
And if you're thinking ofselling or you've recently sold
your business, I hope that thishas helped you and remember, if
(33:52):
you want to set your business upfor sale, just head back to
episode 88, where I've got allof the details that will help
you do that.
So until next time, keep livingyour definition of success.
You're listening to the Secrets of Successful
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(00:57):
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Speaker 2 (01:13):
Hello and thanks for joining me on the podcast today.
In case we haven't met, I'mJustine, a small business owner
on a mission to uncover andshare the secrets of creating
and running a profitable,sustainable and successful
business.
I've been in business for over20 years now and I get to use
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business reduce the overwhelm,gain visibility around their
(01:37):
numbers, charge what they'reworth and make more money.
It's about designing a life youlove that fits into your
definition of success.
So if I can help you create theprofitable business you deserve
, please reach out Now withoutfurther ado.
Let's dive into today's episode.
Hi, everyone, and welcome tothe podcast.
(02:00):
In February 2023, so a year agoI sold off the bookkeeping and
compliance arm of my company andsince then, I've often been
asked why I decided to sell andhow I knew it was time to go on.
But, more importantly, what didI do after the fact?
What have I been doing in thelast 12 months?
(02:23):
And I guess there's not asimple or single answer about
why it was I decided to sell andhow I knew it was time to move
on, but rather, I guess ameeting of preparation and
opportunity that happened tocoincide at the perfect time.
Someone probably say it wasluck, and while I absolutely
(02:44):
feel lucky that I sold off thatpart of my business, I also know
that the way I set my businessup from the get go meant that
when that opportunity arrivedI'd be in a really fortunate
position to take advantage of it.
Now if you're thinking thatselling your business is
(03:04):
something you want to do, oryou've got a business, you've
got multiple arms in thatbusiness or multiple income
streams and you're thinking thatyou might want to sell just one
of them, head to episode 88 ofthe podcast where I talk about
how to set your business up forsale and, I guess, go into more
detail about why it was I soldthe business or that part of the
(03:28):
business.
When I think back over the lastyear and this is a question
that I've been asked a lotlately is just about what's
happened.
What have I learned afterselling my business?
Because quite often I guess ifyou are in business and you
choose to sell, you sell yourbusiness lock, stock and barrel.
It's a whole business.
(03:48):
You sell it and then there'snothing.
You kind of move on.
But in my case, obviously I hada multi faceted business.
I had a number of differentincome streams, and so when I
sold off one of those incomestreams, it meant that the rest
of the business still remained,essentially for me, even though
it wasn't as busy.
(04:10):
The day after I sold, it wasbusiness as usual.
I hope that makes sense.
I think, though, that when Ithought about selling, I knew
that the area of my businessthat I was selling was certainly
the area that had the mostsignificant workload.
It was the area that I workedon every single day, and so I
(04:34):
was really aware, hyper aware,that when I sold that off, I
needed to then focus myattention on building up the
other areas of my business andthose areas that I really wanted
to sort of lean into and push,and so one of the most important
things that I did when I kickedoff this company many years ago
(04:57):
was to really think about myoverall exit plan not
necessarily the timing of it,although I had a rough idea in
my mind but it was more aboutwhat was it that I wanted to
achieve when I decided to moveon.
So, for me, it wasn't so muchexiting small business as a
whole, because I've been a smallbusiness owner for 30 years and
(05:20):
I can't imagine working foranyone else and I still do it
because I love it, not because Ihave to.
So for me, selling off thatpart of the business, that exit
plan, that initial exit plan,really centered on leaning into
my desire to help other businessowners with their finances.
Because one of the things thatI had seen in the early days of
(05:41):
my own business, but exceedinglywhen I was working with other
successful business owners, wasthat no matter how successful
they were one minute, it wasreally simple for them to end up
in Struggle Street or to gobust completely, and it all came
down to the numbers.
And because I watched this overand over again and I helped
(06:04):
people claw their way back fromthose situations over and over
again, I always had in the backof my mind that it would be so
nice if people chose to be theauthor of their own stories and
that could only start by readingthe numbers.
Because, in my opinion,learning to read the numbers and
the story that they tell youhelps you to understand what to
(06:27):
do next.
So if you want to be the authorof your own story, in need to
understand the numbers andbecause that was always part of
my exit plan.
I really had to then focus onwhat was my end goal.
As I said, didn't focus toomuch on the ideal timeframe for
selling, but I had in my mindthat I would always sell the
(06:48):
bookkeeping and compliance armof the business, because that
was a part of business that Ihad built up in a deliberate
strategy to sell it for profitand I knew how much I wanted to
earn.
When I sold that, I knew what Iwanted to sell that for and
with that in mind and then alsoreally understanding what it was
(07:08):
I wanted to do next, I feltlike I was more prepared for
when the opportunity came.
I think for a lot of businessowners, their personal identity
can be tied up in theirprofessional identity or their
business, and I think that canbe really dangerous.
In my case, that certainlywasn't the case.
I obviously cared about myclients, so it was important for
(07:32):
me to help them land in a goodplace when I eventually sold.
But it's not like I was definedby my business, and so if
selling is something you'rethinking of, I guess that's one
piece of advice I would give you, not only to have you know to
start with that exit plan inmind, but to also really think
(07:52):
about, ask yourself thatquestion and answer honestly is
your identity in some way tiedto your business and if it is,
how can you extricate yourselffrom that?
Because I think it's importantthat you find that separation.
So roll forward a year later, ayear after selling, and one of
the fantastic things about who Ichose to sell to was that he
(08:17):
had very similar, almostidentical business values to me,
and so I know that my clientsare still being taken care of
and I know that the businessthat I sold is still thriving
with a new owner, and that makesme really happy.
But the really neat thing isthat the customer loyalty that I
had gathered over many yearsworking with the clients who
(08:40):
went along with the businesssale is still there and I'm
still able to work with so manyof my former clients, albeit in
a different capacity, and, as aresult, while I've kind of taken
that step backwards in mybusiness in some respects, I
haven't had to build up my otherincome streams from scratch
because I've still managed tomaintain that loyalty.
(09:02):
And again, that's all aboutstarting, as you mean, to
continue having that exit planin mind and really understanding
the benefits of, you know,choosing the right customers.
I guess, working with the rightpeople.
In my case, that's also beenthe benefit of diversifying your
business and having thatvariety of income streams,
(09:22):
because when you do that, as Isaid, most people will sell a
business and they'll sell thewhole thing.
But I was able to sell off justone of those income streams and
then take advantage of thecustomer loyalty I had, the list
that I have already built upover many years and sell them
into some of the other areasthat I work on in business.
But what have I learned andwhat would I do differently if I
(09:45):
had to do it all over again?
And it's been reallyinteresting sitting down and
thinking about that on this oneyear anniversary, and I think
the first thing that I'velearned is really the importance
of selling a business as agoing concern.
And what do I mean by that?
Essentially, it means that youhand over a complete operational
(10:05):
business.
So you walk out the door at 5pmon one day, the new owner walks
in at 9am the following day andthe business just keeps
operating.
There's no close down ordowntime.
It's simply that transitionfrom one owner to the next, and
it's so seamless that if youdidn't mention it to your
clients, I guess they've beennone the wiser.
The new business ownerobviously gets the business name
(10:28):
, your clients, your staff, ifthey're happy to move across all
your IP, your systems andprocesses, and then any plant
and equipment or handover notesthat you've got, if those are
applicable.
And selling as a going concernnot only makes life much easier
for the new business owner, butit also makes life easy for you
(10:48):
too, as the person who's selling, because one of the things that
you'll often do when you sell abusiness is to agree that
there'll be a bit of a crossoverperiod, a bit of a consultation
period where you'll beavailable to speak to the new
business owner as needed toanswer questions or things that
come up that they don't reallyunderstand.
And because I'd set things up sowell, I had great systems and
(11:12):
processes in place, I obviouslyhad chosen great staff, I had
lots of great clients throughthat period, I think I got two
quick phone calls and that wasit.
So that's the first thing Iwould recommend Sell and set up
to sell your business as a goingconcern, and you can head back
to episode 88 and you'll getmore details on how to do that,
(11:35):
and so a year later, as I'vealready mentioned, when I sold
my business, I had a very clearidea of what was next, what it
was that I wanted to do.
But, in all honesty, I stillwoke up the day after the
business had sold and I was abit of a loss wondering okay,
well, it's nine o'clock, what doI do now?
And this, I think, was thefirst mistake that I really made
(11:59):
.
Instead of taking some time offwhich I would highly recommend
and, honestly, I really neededafter working for the last 29
years nonstop as a businessowner, I decided to immediately
dive in to writing and launchingmy business money magnet
program, and while that's turnedout to be a really positive
(12:20):
thing for my business and,obviously, for the people in the
program, it really didn't helpme.
It didn't help my health, itdidn't help my physical health,
it didn't help my mental health,and what I needed was to just
stop to take a big breath andgive myself some time off,
because I didn't understand theimpact that working for that
(12:42):
long at the level that I'dobviously been working at I mean
, we all know business ownershipis a 24, 7, 3, 6, 5 proposition
I really didn't understand, Iguess, how tired I was until it
really hit me a few months later.
So you know, I've immediatelydived in the day after the sale
(13:02):
into writing business moneymagnet.
Then I've gone ahead and I'velaunched that program.
And launching is a massive job.
If you've ever launched anonline program or course or
anything else, you're doing Hugejob.
Lots of stuff that goes into it.
So I did that, committed tothat.
You know eight weeks where Ispent the time inside the course
(13:23):
and worked with the cohort.
And then there was a few weekswhere there was a bit of a lull.
I had no bookings, no workshops, no speaking gigs.
I had nothing to do really, andI think that was when the first
signs of burnout really hit me.
And if you're listening to thisand you're thinking that
(13:43):
burnout is a bit of a furpie, Ican honestly tell you that it is
totally real and that it willhave a massive impact if you
don't recognise the symptoms andsigns early and do something
about it.
I think you know, during thatlull in my business, during
those few weeks that you knowwhere I had no commitments,
(14:03):
nothing to do, that was whereall the physical symptoms that
I've probably been pushing intothe background, started to
really show themselves, thingslike exhaustion, sure physical
symptoms, but also this feelingof self-doubt and hopelessness,
in a way, that started to creepin.
I found myself looking at whatother business owners were doing
(14:24):
, thinking, gosh, you know, whoam I to be on this kind of you
know bandwagon, talking aboutfinances?
What am I doing?
And I think I knew almostinstantly what was going on, I
think in the moment that I'dfinally forced myself or that I
was finally forced, I guess tostop, because there was
(14:44):
literally nothing that I neededto do In those moments, you know
, I knew then that I needed toslow down.
I knew that I had made a reallybig mistake by not having that
time off immediately post sale,and something needed to change,
because, as every day went on,instead of, you know, getting
(15:07):
well and feeling more energized,I actually felt more and more
tired.
Not only that, but when I justwanted to sit on the couch and
do nothing, I found myselffeeling really guilty about that
, and so, mentally, I was, youknow, beating myself up not a
good formula.
So, after talking with a fewpeople and thinking about what
(15:28):
it was that I really needed todo next, I immediately put a
pause on launching the nextbusiness money magnet program.
I decided to really go back tothe drawing board and rethink
all of my business plans for therest of the year.
So there were some things youknow that I was booked to speak
at and I was adamant that I wasgoing to commit to those and see
(15:51):
those through, but other thingsthat weren't as essential I
decided to just put pause on andI think you know you'll
obviously, if you've listened tothis podcast before, you'll
hear me talking about successand really deciding on what that
means to you.
As you go through, you know anygiven season of life and
business and you know postselling, I had a very clear idea
(16:16):
of what success, what thatsuccess was going to look like
for me.
But after that first, you know,launch of business money magnet
I realized, you know that Ineeded to stop and I also
realized that in my currentstate, I needed to have an even
more fluid definition of successand what that was going to look
(16:37):
like throughout the rest of2023.
And I think it's something thatyou know we can apply to
business all of the time.
By the way, you don't have towait till you're in a burnout
phase to do that, or until theend of the quarter to do that.
I think if things aren'tworking out as you want them to
or you find that you need timeoff whether that's because of
(16:57):
circumstances that are within orout of your control then go
ahead and rejig that successgoal that you've got.
Be open to that change if youneed to change it, because I
think when you become wedded tothat goal and you don't achieve
it particularly if you're a bitof an all or nothing person or
you're the sort of person wholikes to really strive in your
(17:19):
business, you can do you a lotof damage to yourself mentally
when you don't get there.
And, honestly, you don't haveto wait for burnout or something
bad to happen.
If we're your head, it justdoesn't resonate with you for
any reason, you are allowed tochange course.
It's your business, it's yourchoice, and while I've always
(17:40):
known this to be true, I thinkpost one year, post selling my
business, it's really beenrammed home to me.
So keep that in mind.
What else have I learned afterselling my business?
Well, I think this one goesback to really deciding on what
your success definition is.
And you know, the other thingis you don't always have to
(18:02):
listen to the business gurus tomake that decision, because now
I know for sure, 100%, that itis vital, really, really
important, that I choose to runmy business in a way that suits
me.
So I am in what I would call alegacy phase of my business.
It's where I no longer need tohustle for a regular wage.
(18:28):
It's about building wealth nowfor the next stage, and so that
makes a big difference to how Iapproach my business.
For a start, I only want to workto maybe three days a week, and
during those two or three days,I want to work in a business,
or I want to run a business thathas a really clear purpose, and
(18:51):
my purpose for 2024 is helpingbusiness owners increase their
financial literacy and make moremoney, and I want to make it as
easy as possible for them toachieve that.
So on those two to three daysthat I am working, I want to
lean into that purpose and Iwant to work with people who are
(19:11):
determined to achieve that forthemselves and their business.
So it's about working with alot of my existing client base,
but also nurturing the audiencethat I have to see if I can
bring them along for the ride aswell.
So I am definitely being a lotsmarter about how I work and
(19:31):
finding that balance between theeffort and the ease and I think
people talk about that balanceis nonsense.
I don't think I necessarilyagree with them.
I think balance is aboutfinding that point between the
effort and the ease when you canhappily exist.
So one of the things that meansfor me and for my business and
(19:52):
this goes against all of thebusiness gurus out there who
teach about online having onlineproduct or virtual product is
that for me there is no more big, flashy launches.
Amy Porterfield, who is one ofmy mentors, would be disgusted
in me.
I haven't broken that news toher yet, but I need to do that.
(20:13):
My program, business moneymagnet, is now going to be open
in Evergreen.
I have extended the length ofthe program, extended access to
me in that program, so peopleget to work on the program over
a longer period of time.
They get to work with me inthat group setting on a more
regular basis.
They also have access to me ata heavily discounted rate if
(20:36):
they need that one-to-one help,but that idea that they can,
that a business owner can joinwhen they need to, when they're
having money troubles, ratherthan having to wait until the
next time I launch, and thatthey get that access to me
throughout the course and to theprogram and to the expertise
(20:58):
that I've built up over all ofthe years that I've been in
business.
That makes me really happy.
It's going to fulfill mypurpose and that's what business
is all about for me right now.
The other thing that I'velearned after selling my
business is when you've had ateam, particularly a good team,
going back to having no team isreally harder than you think.
(21:20):
But although you are, I guess,thinking you need to hire again
and do it quickly, which is whatI originally thought I took a
pause because I really wanted tounderstand what I needed help
with in this new phase of mybusiness and why hiring that
person was important.
(21:41):
When it comes to hiring, thereare so many different ways you
can hire a team.
There are so many differentoptions for local, offshore,
different amounts of time andmoney you can commit to, but I
chose someone that I've workedwith before, who is more
expensive but who I know willget what I need done in the
(22:03):
hours that I have engaged her towork for me every single week,
and I've only just startedworking with that person.
So that's a whole year later.
The other thing that has becomevital, and that really was
apparent to me one year on fromselling my business, is just how
important it is to protect yourboundaries and to really learn
(22:27):
to say no.
So I have had to make somedecisions about what's important
to me personally and thenchoose to focus on that.
So during business hours,during the time that I dedicate
to my business, that's all aboutbusiness, and the rest of the
time is my time.
So I have learned to close myoffice door because I work
(22:50):
inside my house, I have a homeoffice, so I've learned to close
that office door and switch offcompletely.
Once upon a time I would findthat almost impossible to do,
but I am absolutely gettingbetter at it.
Do I still think about business, often at night time, as I am
mindlessly scrolling through myphone?
Sure, but I have found thatthrough choosing to protect my
(23:12):
boundaries and also building insome great habits that I will
focus on before I go to bed likeno phone for hours before I go
to bed and then just sitting andreading it helps me to really
switch the brain off, focus onsomething else, and then I get a
great night's sleep, and thathas been a game changer for me.
One of the other things thatI've learned, a year on from
(23:35):
selling my business is it is theimportance of staying positive.
I think as business owners, weknow that there's no clear
straight line to success.
There's lots of bumps and lumpsas we go along and there's lots
of challenges.
But I think that's certainlytrue when you are rebuilding a
(23:57):
business, when you are startinga new business or when you are
starting over, when you've hadone business, you've sold it and
you're starting over and I havegot a little group of friends
and we're all in the sameposition and I think it's easy
to think, wow, I've been in thisgame for 30 years, for 10 years
, for five years, we've got afew people at different stages
(24:19):
and think I should know thisstuff.
I should have it down pat.
I should be able to turn thisinto my vision of success in
five minutes.
It shouldn't take all of thistime.
That can actually give youconfidence a bit of a shake.
But I think staying positiveand knowing that you're going to
get there in those moments isreally key, and so I think,
(24:42):
whether you're sold a businessor whether you're just in that
state at the moment where yourconfidence has been given a bit
of a shake, my advice is that itis really important to
understand your destination,know where you're headed and
have a really clearunderstanding of how you're
going to get there.
Don't panic.
Really important not to panic,because the reality is people
(25:06):
are spending less at the moment.
The economic climate is notnecessarily conducive to a lot
of service-based businesses.
Certainly, if people are goingto pull back or save money,
they're probably going to do itby saving money on courses or
coaching or being part of groupsor memberships, so all of that
stuff makes sense.
They're also probably going tostop spending on some services
(25:29):
like VAs and social media.
So the idea is to not panic butto find a way to still work
with people at a price that theycan afford and a price that
doesn't impact on your time oryour energy.
So that's a conversation foranother time.
I touched on that in my pricingepisode, so head back there and
(25:50):
have a listen to that.
But it's important not to panicand if you are feeling a bit low
, if you're feeling that stayingpositive is not something that
you can do easily, then talk tosomeone, find a group of people
who are in a similar position orsomeone who's been there before
, and have a chat to that person, hopefully with no judgement on
(26:11):
their part.
If you need advice, you canalways ask for that too, but I
think sometimes getting thosethoughts and feelings out and if
you don't have someone youcould write it down is really
important and then be preparedto change it up if you need to.
As I said, be fluid.
Keep that fluid definition ofsuccess in your mind, and if you
(26:31):
need to change things, you needto shake things up, then go
ahead and get that done.
For example, you know, goingfrom big live launching to
evergreen launching.
That's something that I'vechosen to do for the time being
and so far, so good.
It's working for me.
And then the other thing that Iwould say, if you are starting
to flag when it comes topositivity, is to find something
(26:54):
to take your mind offeverything else.
So, whether that is meditation,for me it's been paint by
numbers.
Surprisingly, I am a painter.
I love sitting down andpainting, but when I'm painting
a big canvas, I'm alwaysthinking about composition and
colour and where it's headed,and it uses a different part of
your mind, but it's still aboutthinking, and I just needed
(27:17):
something where I didn't have tothink about anything.
So painting by numbers has beenthat meditation that I think
I've really needed over thislast few months in particular.
I think the other things thatyou need to keep in mind,
particularly after you sell yourbusiness or you go through a
big change in your business, isthat you know what you know.
(27:40):
No one can take that away fromyou.
But you can also leverage thatknowledge and it can help you to
move ahead with confidence,because when you can use that
knowledge in other ways in notonly your business, but in, but
also outside of your business,it can open the door to more
opportunities.
And I think it's aboutunderstanding what it is.
(28:02):
You can share with the world,taking that knowledge and
thinking about unique anddifferent ways that you can use
that.
When I say unique and different, that's unique and different to
you, to what you're doing now.
The other thing I've learned isthat selling your business can
give you the type of freedomthat you have always wanted the
freedom of choice, the freedomwith your money, your financial
(28:25):
freedom, but you still need tobe very conscious and deliberate
about what you choose to dowith the sales proceeds as you
move forward, because I imaginefor a lot of people it would be
very easy to spend that money ina very short space of time, and
when you think about how longit's taken to build up your
business to the point that youwant to sell it, you want that
(28:48):
money to work for you when thebusiness or following the sale
of the business really importantto think about that.
As I think back over this lastyear, they're the main things
that I've learned from sellingmy business, and if you're
thinking of selling yourbusiness or perhaps one income
stream, like I did, I guess thenext question is how do you
(29:11):
really know when it's time tosell?
And that's something thatpeople ask me often, and so I
want to wrap up this podcast byjust giving my thoughts on that
how to know when it's time tosell.
So I guess my first tip is tosell before it's too late.
Don't wait until you're burntout or completely over your
(29:31):
business before you decide tosell.
I'm a member of a few Facebookgroups and what I've been
noticing of late is that thereare a lot of people who have
great businesses but thingsaren't going very well right now
and they're over it.
They've had it, and the numberof people who have put their
hand up and said I think Ireally need to sell my business,
what are people's thoughts onthat?
(29:51):
Has risen exponentially,particularly over the last few
weeks.
So I think it's important tosell at the right time and to
the right person, but also notto make that decision as a bit
of a knee-jerk reaction becauseyou're over your business or
you've got a health issue, oryou're just feeling downright
(30:12):
exhausted, because it'ssomething I think you will
regret as you kind of look backin retrospect.
And I think also the terms ofthe sale might not be as good
for you, because if you are inthat mindset, you'll be prepared
to take whatever's offered.
For me, I had a really specificnumber in mind.
I negotiated on my sale pricebecause I actually wanted more
(30:34):
than the initial offer, and Idid that because you have bottom
line.
If the sale didn't go through,I didn't really care.
I just wanted to sell at theright number for me.
Speaking about the numbers, somany business owners think their
business is worth way more thanit's actually worth.
There are lots of differentways to value a business way too
(30:57):
complicated to get into on apodcast episode.
So if you are thinking ofselling, I would recommend
seeking independent advice,whether that is from a broker or
your accountant, to find outwhat your business might be
worth.
But at the end of the day, youneed to be realistic.
It's probably not going to beworth what you think it is, and
(31:19):
so know that as you're goinginto the sale process.
If selling might be an optionfor you at some point in your
future, then I would talk to anexpert well before you are
thinking about doing that.
So, in the very early stages ofyour business or well before
you plan to sell, talk to thatexpert so you have everything in
(31:39):
place and ready to go when youdecide to proceed.
The other thing to do,particularly when you are
gearing up to sell, is to takean honest look at your business.
Is it something that someonewould really want to buy.
Is it something that, 12 monthsafter the sale date, is still
going to be living and breathingand working without you as part
(32:02):
of the business?
Or is it going to be an entitythat will die on the vine
because you're no longer part ofit and hustling as you need to?
And while a lot of people mightsay, well, not my problem, once
I've sold, I don't care whathappens to my business, that's
okay.
It was important for me that mybusiness still continue when I
(32:23):
sold it, when I passed it on,because I felt that was
important for the people that itwas serving.
So I think it's valuable toreally have that honest look at
your business, have a look ifthere are any sort of red flags,
things that might be a problemfor the perspective buyer, and
commit to improving them,because I believe that everybody
(32:45):
should sell in good faith,knowing that they are handing
over something that is valuableand in the valuation you can ask
more for that sort of businessand, as I said before, you
choose to sell or if you'rethinking of selling, know what's
next for you.
One of the best things I did,well before I sold my business,
(33:06):
was just to have a conversationabout what that next chapter
would look like for me.
As I've mentioned throughoutthe podcast, so much of our
identity can be tied up in ourbusiness, but when you
understand what's next, it makesit easier to close that one
door and then to move onmindfully.
So that's it.
One year on, and while I have avery different business that I'm
(33:29):
running now, my approach tobusiness is exactly the same.
It's all about quality overquantity, leaning into my values
and purpose and working withthe people that I absolutely
love my A-list clients and Ithink if you do that, you can't
go wrong.
And if you're thinking ofselling or you've recently sold
your business, I hope that thishas helped you and remember, if
(33:52):
you want to set your business upfor sale, just head back to
episode 88, where I've got allof the details that will help
you do that.
So until next time, keep livingyour definition of success.
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