Case Study: Should you Sell after you Move?

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A classic entrepreneurs issue is whether or not to run a business where you live for efficiency, or try remote operating.

When I got my property management company in England established, I moved three hours away and then to a different country. I thought I could handle it but ultimately it reduced my drive, my desire to work on that business (shiny object syndrome), and employee morale.

Today we have a case study on a $1.3m fishing business facing the same issue, but first a word from our sponsor Synthflow

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In this interview, which you can watch here, Will is the owner of a fishing products brand grossing $1.3 million annually with seven employees. Originally based in Miami, he relocated his family a couple of hours away during COVID and has been running the company remotely ever since.

The interview quickly got to the heart of the issue: Will feels the business has plateaued. He can keep it steady, but not push it from where it is today into its next stage of growth at least not while operating from a distance. So the two options on the table were:

1. Sell the business outright.

2. Relocate it closer to home and re-engage directly.

What I found interesting was how the conversation unpacked each choice.

• On moving: The business doesn’t actually depend on Miami. Its customers are spread across the Southeast, sales are split between wholesale and online, and the only real “local” factor is testing saltwater products. In other words, the business could run from almost anywhere near the coast.

• On employees: With just four full-time staff, the team is valuable but not irreplaceable. The interviewer pushed a hard truth keeping a business in the wrong location just to preserve a handful of jobs is unsustainable. Offering relocation support or severance is the fairer, long-term solution.

• On selling: The only compelling reason to sell would be if the owner had lost interest altogether. But if he still believes in the product and market, selling purely to escape remote management would mean leaving growth potential on the table. On top of that the small number of employees makes it harder to sell anyway

The conclusion was blunt: he should move the business. Get hands-on again, reset operations in the new location, and only sell if he genuinely no longer wants to run it.

I have to agree with the host Dave on this for a simple reason: it’s clearly dependent on him. Any due diligence will quickly find that the plateau is caused by Will’s remote work, so logically a full exit will lead to the business folding. Better to grow it a bit more before thinking about selling.

💡 Takeaway for sellers:
If you’ve moved away and are tempted to sell just to simplify life, ask yourself first: is this business stuck because of the market or because of my absence? The answer will tell you whether it’s time to move closer, re-engage, and unlock more value… or whether it’s truly time to sell.

Here’s to your next win!

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