How to Sell with Confidence Even When You're Burnt Out

Hey {{first_name}},

For more than a few business owners, the reason they want to exit is simply burnout.

Even if they won’t admit it.

They’re tired of the daily grind, they’re inspired by other new projects, or perhaps experience has shown them a different occupation would better suit their life goals.

If that’s you, it’s important to remember to not let it emotionally take you over.

In order to sell at a truly great price, you can’t ‘give a negative vibe’ to investors. Here’s three tips on dealing with business burnout. But first a word from our sponsor Synthflow:

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Not everyone will share your (negative) feelings

I was able to buy my first company because the owners were burnt out.

When I took over, I was excited by the same things they were sick of. We often warn others of having ‘rose tinted glasses’, but the opposite is actually true as well. You might have ‘mud tinted glasses’ (or whatever adjective you want) from running the same business for so long.

If selling to a new buyer, being a business owner is a very exciting prospect to most people and the chances are they view it an adventure, a new chapter in their lives. It’s important to remember they might view things differently than you, in a good way.

Keep a United Front

There’s two main reasons why you shouldn’t indicate, even subconsciously, that you’re tired of the business to a buyer. Firstly, they might think the company is on the decline and doesn’t have future potential.

Worse is the second option, where they see your exhaustion and capitalize on that by trying to low-ball you on price or give you a lop-sided structure. Like a shark smelling blood in the water.

Staying positive and aspirational to your staff, customers and investors isn’t just good for new opportunities, it’s a protection for you as well.

I’m not here to say ‘toughen up’ or anything like that, but here’s a personal example: two weeks ago I wasn’t really in the mood to write that week’s article because I was at a polo game, but I did it anyway and afterwards that day’s events were far more enjoyable because I got everything done. Good things happen when you persevere.

Make absolutely sure you do not mentally check out of the company before a deal. Everyone can sense it and it kills the company culture. I cannot stress this enough.

Making your business sellable will make it easier to run, even if you keep your ownership

As we’ve mentioned previously, to have the best chances of a great exit you’ll need to make your business as turn-key for acquirers as possible (reply to this email to learn how).

In doing so, you’ll be improving many processes in your company so that it runs by itself as much as possible.

Usually burnout comes from one of three options,

Too much work, not enough financially rewarding work or not enough meaningful work.

Making your business ‘inheritable’ will mean less mundane hours for you as an owner. Ever done a thorough reorganization of a room in your house and felt massive relief after? There’s a good chance doing that with your company might fix your burnout and rediscover the joy in your niche by making yourself investible.

Here’s to your profitable exit,

Unlocking Wealth Weekly