One year on from selling my business, here's what I've learned

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.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:01

You're listening to the Secrets of Successful Business podcast, your go-to source for business tips, tricks and proven strategies that will help you create a streamlined and profitable business. We chat to the best minds in business about their journey. It's my business and I'll do it my way, how they started, rather than going harder to get more focus on growing more with what you have. What they learned along the way. How long are you going to give this?

Speaker 2 0:29

What compromises are you going to make? Just because you can do it doesn't mean that you should do it.

Speaker 1 0:33

It's really important to remember that it's a long game and, of course, we'll ask them for their secret source for creating a successful business. If you're not feeling you're not doing it right, you should be struggling at times. That is part of the journey. Join us as we take a sneak peek behind the curtain, talk solutions for those business pain points, working smarter, not harder, mindset and the challenges of fitting it all in with the demands of today's busy lifestyle. If you're a business owner, side hustler or just starting your business journey, this podcast is for you. Now here's your host, business coach and content creator, justine McLean from Fawcys Creative.

Speaker 2 1:13

Hello and thanks for joining me on the podcast today. In case we haven't met, I'm Justine, a small business owner on a mission to uncover and share the secrets of creating and running a profitable, sustainable and successful business. I've been in business for over 20 years now and I get to use all that I've learned along the way to help other women in business reduce the overwhelm, gain visibility around their numbers, charge what they're worth and make more money. It's about designing a life you love that fits into your definition of success. So if I can help you create the profitable business you deserve, please reach out Now without further ado. Let's dive into today's episode. Hi, everyone, and welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 2 2:00

In February 2023, so a year ago I sold off the bookkeeping and compliance arm of my company and since then, I've often been asked why I decided to sell and how I knew it was time to go on. But, more importantly, what did I do after the fact? What have I been doing in the last 12 months? And I guess there's not a simple or single answer about why it was I decided to sell and how I knew it was time to move on, but rather, I guess a meeting of preparation and opportunity that happened to coincide at the perfect time. Someone probably say it was luck, and while I absolutely feel lucky that I sold off that part of my business, I also know that the way I set my business up from the get go meant that when that opportunity arrived I'd be in a really fortunate position to take advantage of it. Now if you're thinking that selling your business is something you want to do, or you've got a business, you've got multiple arms in that business or multiple income streams and you're thinking that you might want to sell just one of them, head to episode 88 of the podcast where I talk about how to set your business up for sale and, I guess, go into more detail about why it was I sold the business or that part of the business. When I think back over the last year and this is a question that I've been asked a lot lately is just about what's happened.

Speaker 2 3:37

What have I learned after selling my business? Because quite often I guess if you are in business and you choose to sell, you sell your business lock, stock and barrel. It's a whole business. You sell it and then there's nothing. You kind of move on. But in my case, obviously I had a multi faceted business. I had a number of different income streams, and so when I sold off one of those income streams, it meant that the rest of the business still remained, essentially for me, even though it wasn't as busy. The day after I sold, it was business as usual. I hope that makes sense.

Speaker 2 4:15

I think, though, that when I thought about selling, I knew that the area of my business that I was selling was certainly the area that had the most significant workload. It was the area that I worked on every single day, and so I was really aware, hyper aware, that when I sold that off, I needed to then focus my attention on building up the other areas of my business and those 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 kicked off this company many years ago was to really think about my overall exit plan not necessarily the timing of it, although I had a rough idea in my mind but it was more about what was it that I wanted to achieve when I decided to move on. So, for me, it wasn't so much exiting small business as a whole, because I've been a small business owner for 30 years and I can't imagine working for anyone else and I still do it because I love it, not because I have to. So for me, selling off that part of the business, that exit plan, that initial exit plan, really centered on leaning into my desire to help other business owners with their finances. Because one of the things that I had seen in the early days of my own business, but exceedingly when I was working with other successful business owners, was that no matter how successful they were one minute, it was really simple for them to end up in Struggle Street or to go bust completely, and it all came down to the numbers. And because I watched this over and over again and I helped people claw their way back from those situations over and over again, I always had in the back of my mind that it would be so nice if people chose to be the author of their own stories and that could only start by reading the numbers. Because, in my opinion, learning to read the numbers and the story that they tell you helps you to understand what to do next. So if you want to be the author of your own story, in need to understand the numbers and because that was always part of my exit plan. I really had to then focus on what was my end goal. As I said, didn't focus too much on the ideal timeframe for selling, but I had in my mind that I would always sell the bookkeeping and compliance arm of the business, because that was a part of business that I had built up in a deliberate strategy to sell it for profit and I knew how much I wanted to earn. When I sold that, I knew what I wanted to sell that for and with that in mind and then also really understanding what it was I wanted to do next, I felt like I was more prepared for when the opportunity came.

Speaker 2 7:15

I think for a lot of business owners, their personal identity can be tied up in their professional identity or their business, and I think that can be really dangerous. In my case, that certainly wasn't the case. I obviously cared about my clients, so it was important for me to help them land in a good place when I eventually sold. But it's not like I was defined by my business, and so if selling is something you're thinking 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 in mind, but to also really think about, ask yourself that question and answer honestly is your identity in some way tied to your business and if it is, how can you extricate yourself from that? Because I think it's important that you find that separation.

Lessons Learned After Selling a Business

Speaker 2 8:08

So roll forward a year later, a year after selling, and one of the fantastic things about who I chose to sell to was that he had very similar, almost identical business values to me, and so I know that my clients are still being taken care of and I know that the business that I sold is still thriving with a new owner, and that makes me really happy. But the really neat thing is that the customer loyalty that I had gathered over many years working with the clients who went along with the business sale is still there and I'm still able to work with so many of my former clients, albeit in a different capacity, and, as a result, while I've kind of taken that step backwards in my business in some respects, I haven't had to build up my other income streams from scratch because I've still managed to maintain that loyalty. And again, that's all about starting, as you mean, to continue having that exit plan in mind and really understanding the benefits of, you know, choosing the right customers. I guess, working with the right people. In my case, that's also been the benefit of diversifying your business and having that variety of income streams, because when you do that, as I said, most people will sell a business and they'll sell the whole thing. But I was able to sell off just one of those income streams and then take advantage of the customer loyalty I had, the list that I have already built up over many years and sell them into some of the other areas that I work on in business. But what have I learned and what would I do differently if I had to do it all over again? And it's been really interesting sitting down and thinking about that on this one year anniversary, and I think the first thing that I've learned is really the importance of selling a business as a going concern.

Speaker 2 9:59

And what do I mean by that? Essentially, it means that you hand over a complete operational business. So you walk out the door at 5pm on one day, the new owner walks in at 9am the following day and the business just keeps operating. There's no close down or downtime. It's simply that transition from one owner to the next, and it's so seamless that if you didn't mention it to your clients, I guess they've been none the wiser. The new business owner obviously gets the business name, your clients, your staff, if they're happy to move across all your IP, your systems and processes, and then any plant and equipment or handover notes that you've got, if those are applicable. And selling as a going concern not only makes life much easier for the new business owner, but it also makes life easy for you too, as the person who's selling, because one of the things that you'll often do when you sell a business is to agree that there'll be a bit of a crossover period, a bit of a consultation period where you'll be available to speak to the new business owner as needed to answer questions or things that come up that they don't really understand.

Speaker 2 11:08

And because I'd set things up so well, I had great systems and processes in place, I obviously had chosen great staff, I had lots of great clients through that period, I think I got two quick phone calls and that was it. So that's the first thing I would recommend Sell and set up to sell your business as a going concern, and you can head back to episode 88 and you'll get more details on how to do that, and so a year later, as I've already mentioned, when I sold my business, I had a very clear idea of what was next, what it was that I wanted to do. But, in all honesty, I still woke up the day after the business had sold and I was a bit of a loss wondering okay, well, it's nine o'clock, what do I do now? And this, I think, was the first mistake that I really made. Instead of taking some time off which I would highly recommend and, honestly, I really needed after working for the last 29 years nonstop as a business owner, I decided to immediately dive in to writing and launching my business money magnet program, and while that's turned out to be a really positive thing for my business and, obviously, for the people in the program, it really didn't help me. It didn't help my health, it didn'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 and give myself some time off, because I didn't understand the impact that working for that long at the level that I'd obviously been working at I mean, we all know business ownership is a 24, 7, 3, 6, 5 proposition I really didn't understand, I guess, how tired I was until it really hit me a few months later. So you know, I've immediately dived in the day after the sale into writing business money magnet. Then I've gone ahead and I've launched that program. And launching is a massive job. If you've ever launched an online program or course or anything else, you're doing Huge job. Lots of stuff that goes into it. So I did that, committed to that. You know eight weeks where I spent the time inside the course and worked with the cohort.

Speaker 2 13:25

And then there was a few weeks where there was a bit of a lull. I had no bookings, no workshops, no speaking gigs. I had nothing to do really, and I think that was when the first signs of burnout really hit me. And if you're listening to this and you're thinking that burnout is a bit of a furpie, I can honestly tell you that it is totally real and that it will have a massive impact if you don't recognise the symptoms and signs early and do something about it.

Speaker 2 13:57

I think you know, during that lull in my business, during those few weeks that you know where I had no commitments, nothing to do, that was where all the physical symptoms that I've probably been pushing into the background, started to really show themselves, things like exhaustion, sure physical symptoms, but also this feeling of self-doubt and hopelessness, in a way, that started to creep in. I found myself looking at what other business owners were doing, thinking, gosh, you know, who am I to be on this kind of you know bandwagon, talking about finances? What am I doing? And I think I knew almost instantly what was going on, I think in the moment that I'd finally forced myself or that I was finally forced, I guess to stop, because there was literally nothing that I needed to do In those moments, you know, I knew then that I needed to slow down. I knew that I had made a really big 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 well and feeling more energized, I actually felt more and more tired. Not only that, but when I just wanted to sit on the couch and do nothing, I found myself feeling really guilty about that, and so, mentally, I was, you know, beating myself up not a good formula.

Speaker 2 15:23

So, after talking with a few people and thinking about what it was that I really needed to do next, I immediately put a pause on launching the next business money magnet program. I decided to really go back to the drawing board and rethink all of my business plans for the rest of the year. So there were some things you know that I was booked to speak at and I was adamant that I was going to commit to those and see those through, but other things that weren't as essential I decided to just put pause on and I think you know you'll obviously, if you've listened to this podcast before, you'll hear me talking about success and really deciding on what that means to you. As you go through, you know any given season of life and business and you know post selling, I had a very clear idea of what success, what that success was going to look like for me. But after that first, you know, launch of business money magnet I realized, you know that I needed to stop and I also realized that in my current state, I needed to have an even more fluid definition of success and what that was going to look like throughout the rest of 2023. And I think it's something that you know we can apply to business all of the time.

Speaker 2 16:44

By the way, you don't have to wait till you're in a burnout phase to do that, or until the end of the quarter to do that. I think if things aren't working out as you want them to or you find that you need time off whether that's because of circumstances that are within or out of your control then go ahead and rejig that success goal that you've got. Be open to that change if you need to change it, because I think when you become wedded to that goal and you don't achieve it particularly if you're a bit of an all or nothing person or you're the sort of person who likes to really strive in your business, you can do you a lot of damage to yourself mentally when you don't get there. And, honestly, you don't have to wait for burnout or something bad to happen. If we're your head, it just doesn't resonate with you for any reason, you are allowed to change course. It's your business, it's your choice, and while I've always known this to be true, I think post one year, post selling my business, it's really been rammed home to me. So keep that in mind.

Transitioning and Balancing Business Ownership

Speaker 2 17:49

What else have I learned after selling my business? Well, I think this one goes back to really deciding on what your success definition is. And you know, the other thing is you don't always have to listen to the business gurus to make that decision, because now I know for sure, 100%, that it is vital, really, really important, that I choose to run my business in a way that suits me. So I am in what I would call a legacy phase of my business. It's where I no longer need to hustle for a regular wage. It's about building wealth now for the next stage, and so that makes a big difference to how I approach my business.

Speaker 2 18:36

For a start, I only want to work to 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 that has a really clear purpose, and my purpose for 2024 is helping business owners increase their financial literacy and make more money, and I want to make it as easy as possible for them to achieve that. So on those two to three days that I am working, I want to lean into that purpose and I want to work with people who are determined to achieve that for themselves and their business. So it's about working with a lot of my existing client base, but also nurturing the audience that I have to see if I can bring them along for the ride as well. So I am definitely being a lot smarter about how I work and finding that balance between the effort and the ease and I think people talk about that balance is nonsense. I don't think I necessarily agree with them. I think balance is about finding that point between the effort and the ease when you can happily exist.

Speaker 2 19:49

So one of the things that means for me and for my business and this goes against all of the business gurus out there who teach about online having online product or virtual product is that for me there is no more big, flashy launches. Amy Porterfield, who is one of my mentors, would be disgusted in me. I haven't broken that news to her yet, but I need to do that. My program, business money magnet, is now going to be open in Evergreen. I have extended the length of the program, extended access to me in that program, so people get to work on the program over a longer period of time. They get to work with me in that group setting on a more regular basis. They also have access to me at a heavily discounted rate if they need that one-to-one help, but that idea that they can, that a business owner can join when they need to, when they're having money troubles, rather than having to wait until the next time I launch, and that they get that access to me throughout the course and to the program and to the expertise that I've built up over all of the years that I've been in business. That makes me really happy. It's going to fulfill my purpose and that's what business is all about for me right now.

Speaker 2 21:08

The other thing that I've learned after selling my business is when you've had a team, particularly a good team, going back to having no team is really harder than you think. But although you are, I guess, thinking you need to hire again and do it quickly, which is what I originally thought I took a pause because I really wanted to understand what I needed help with in this new phase of my business and why hiring that person was important. When it comes to hiring, there are so many different ways you can hire a team. There are so many different options for local, offshore, different amounts of time and money you can commit to, but I chose someone that I've worked with before, who is more expensive but who I know will get what I need done in the hours that I have engaged her to work for me every single week, and I've only just started working with that person. So that's a whole year later.

Speaker 2 22:13

The other thing that has become vital, and that really was apparent to me one year on from selling my business, is just how important it is to protect your boundaries and to really learn to say no. So I have had to make some decisions about what's important to me personally and then choose to focus on that. So during business hours, during the time that I dedicate to my business, that's all about business, and the rest of the time is my time. So I have learned to close my office door because I work inside my house, I have a home office, so I've learned to close that office door and switch off completely. Once upon a time I would find that almost impossible to do, but I am absolutely getting better at it. Do I still think about business, often at night time, as I am mindlessly scrolling through my phone? Sure, but I have found that through choosing to protect my boundaries and also building in some great habits that I will focus on before I go to bed like no phone for hours before I go to bed and then just sitting and reading it helps me to really switch the brain off, focus on something else, and then I get a great night's sleep, and that has been a game changer for me.

Speaker 2 23:32

One of the other things that I've learned, a year on from selling my business is it is the importance of staying positive. I think as business owners, we know that there's no clear straight line to success. There's lots of bumps and lumps as we go along and there's lots of challenges. But I think that's certainly true when you are rebuilding a business, when you are starting a new business or when you are starting over, when you've had one business, you've sold it and you're starting over and I have got a little group of friends and we're all in the same position and I think it's easy to think, wow, I've been in this game for 30 years, for 10 years, for five years, we've got a few people at different stages and think I should know this stuff. I should have it down pat. I should be able to turn this into my vision of success in five minutes. It shouldn't take all of this time. That can actually give you confidence a bit of a shake. But I think staying positive and knowing that you're going to get there in those moments is really key, and so I think, whether you're sold a business or whether you're just in that state at the moment where your confidence has been given a bit of a shake, my advice is that it is really important to understand your destination, know where you're headed and have a really clear understanding of how you're going to get there.

Speaker 2 25:00

Don't panic. Really important not to panic, because the reality is people are spending less at the moment. The economic climate is not necessarily conducive to a lot of service-based businesses. Certainly, if people are going to pull back or save money, they're probably going to do it by saving money on courses or coaching or being part of groups or memberships, so all of that stuff makes sense. They're also probably going to stop spending on some services like VAs and social media. So the idea is to not panic but to find a way to still work with people at a price that they can afford and a price that doesn't impact on your time or your energy. So that's a conversation for another time. I touched on that in my pricing episode, so head back there and have a listen to that.

Speaker 2 25:51

But it's important not to panic and if you are feeling a bit low, if you're feeling that staying positive is not something that you can do easily, then talk to someone, find a group of people who are in a similar position or someone who's been there before, and have a chat to that person, hopefully with no judgement on their part. If you need advice, you can always ask for that too, but I think sometimes getting those thoughts and feelings out and if you don't have someone you could write it down is really important and then be prepared to change it up if you need to. As I said, be fluid. Keep that fluid definition of success in your mind, and if you need to change things, you need to shake things up, then go ahead and get that done. For example, you know, going from big live launching to evergreen launching. That's something that I've chosen to do for the time being and so far, so good. It's working for me.

Speaker 2 26:47

And then the other thing that I would say, if you are starting to flag when it comes to positivity, is to find something to take your mind off everything else. So, whether that is meditation, for me it's been paint by numbers. Surprisingly, I am a painter. I love sitting down and painting, but when I'm painting a big canvas, I'm always thinking about composition and colour and where it's headed, and it uses a different part of your mind, but it's still about thinking, and I just needed something where I didn't have to think about anything. So painting by numbers has been that meditation that I think I've really needed over this last few months in particular.

Speaker 2 27:29

I think the other things that you need to keep in mind, particularly after you sell your business or you go through a big change in your business, is that you know what you know. No one can take that away from you. But you can also leverage that knowledge and it can help you to move ahead with confidence, because when you can use that knowledge in other ways in not only your business, but in, but also outside of your business, it can open the door to more opportunities. And I think it's about understanding what it is. You can share with the world, taking that knowledge and thinking about unique and different 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.

Speaker 2 28:14

The other thing I've learned is that selling your business can give you the type of freedom that you have always wanted the freedom of choice, the freedom with your money, your financial freedom, but you still need to be very conscious and deliberate about what you choose to do with the sales proceeds as you move forward, because I imagine for a lot of people it would be very easy to spend that money in a very short space of time, and when you think about how long it's taken to build up your business to the point that you want to sell it, you want that money to work for you when the business or following the sale of the business really important to think about that.

Speaker 2 28:55

As I think back over this last year, they're the main things that I've learned from selling my business, and if you're thinking of selling your business or perhaps one income stream, like I did, I guess the next question is how do you really know when it's time to sell? And that's something that people ask me often, and so I want to wrap up this podcast by just giving my thoughts on that how to know when it's time to sell.

Speaker 2 29:23

So I guess my first tip is to sell before it's too late. Don't wait until you're burnt out or completely over your business before you decide to sell. I'm a member of a few Facebook groups and what I've been noticing of late is that there are a lot of people who have great businesses but things aren't going very well right now and they're over it. They've had it, and the number of people who have put their hand up and said I think I really need to sell my business, what are people's thoughts on that? Has risen exponentially, particularly over the last few weeks. So I think it's important to sell at the right time and to the right person, but also not to make that decision as a bit of a knee-jerk reaction because you're over your business or you've got a health issue, or you're just feeling downright exhausted, because it's something I think you will regret as you kind of look back in retrospect. And I think also the terms of the sale might not be as good for you, because if you are in that mindset, you'll be prepared to take whatever's offered. For me, I had a really specific number in mind. I negotiated on my sale price because I actually wanted more than the initial offer, and I did that because you have bottom line. If the sale didn't go through, I didn't really care. I just wanted to sell at the right number for me. Speaking about the numbers, so many business owners think their business is worth way more than it's actually worth. There are lots of different ways to value a business way too complicated to get into on a podcast episode. So if you are thinking of selling, I would recommend seeking independent advice, whether that is from a broker or your accountant, to find out what your business might be worth. But at the end of the day, you need to be realistic. It's probably not going to be worth what you think it is, and so know that as you're going into the sale process. If selling might be an option for you at some point in your future, then I would talk to an expert well before you are thinking about doing that. So, in the very early stages of your business or well before you plan to sell, talk to that expert so you have everything in place and ready to go when you decide to proceed.

Speaker 2 31:42

The other thing to do, particularly when you are gearing up to sell, is to take an honest look at your business. Is it something that someone would really want to buy. Is it something that, 12 months after the sale date, is still going to be living and breathing and working without you as part of the business? Or is it going to be an entity that will die on the vine because you're no longer part of it and hustling as you need to? And while a lot of people might say, well, not my problem, once I've sold, I don't care what happens to my business, that's okay.

Speaker 2 32:18

It was important for me that my business still continue when I sold it, when I passed it on, because I felt that was important for the people that it was serving. So I think it's valuable to really have that honest look at your business, have a look if there are any sort of red flags, things that might be a problem for the perspective buyer, and commit to improving them, because I believe that everybody should sell in good faith, knowing that they are handing over something that is valuable and in the valuation you can ask more for that sort of business and, as I said before, you choose to sell or if you're thinking of selling, know what's next for you. One of the best things I did, well before I sold my business, was just to have a conversation about what that next chapter would look like for me. As I've mentioned throughout the podcast, so much of our identity can be tied up in our business, but when you understand what's next, it makes it easier to close that one door and then to move on mindfully. So that's it.

Speaker 2 33:26

One year on, and while I have a very different business that I'm running now, my approach to business is exactly the same. It's all about quality over quantity, leaning into my values and purpose and working with the people that I absolutely love my A-list clients and I think if you do that, you can't go wrong. And if you're thinking of selling or you've recently sold your business, I hope that this has helped you and remember, if you want to set your business up for sale, just head back to episode 88, where I've got all of the details that will help you do that. So until next time, keep living your definition of success.