You've worked on your business for years. Step by step built everything into a well-run business. But with the exit in sight, doubt strikes. Who are you without a business and what will you do after the sale?
It's a familiar phenomenon: you've taken risks, brought in every customer yourself, hired every employee personally. Experienced many ups and downs, but always persevered and survived it all. The result is a well-run business of which you are proud. Rationally, you have now decided that it is time to say goodbye and sell a business. But then doubt strikes and you suddenly get cold feet. Why doesn't this feel like a victory? Like a nice reward for many years of blood, sweat and tears?
Yet this is how it works. Because sell a business is not just a financial or strategic decision - it is also a deeply personal process. Behind the spreadsheets and due diligence reports is often an emotional roller coaster. And that very psychological side of a business sale is often underestimated.
In this article, we take a look at the main psychological pitfalls when sell a business. In the run-up to your exit, it's a good idea to think about these psychological barriers and how you deal with them. Because you won't be the first - and certainly not the last - entrepreneur who decides to call off the sale just before the signing of the deal at the notary.
1. Identity loss: Who are you without your business?
For many entrepreneurs, their business is an extension of themselves. It's not a "business," it's who they are. If you ask them how they are doing they think you mean revenue rather than their personal well-being. The fear of the familiar black hole after the sale is real: What am I going to do with my time? Will I still feel useful? Who am I without this role? Many entrepreneurs do not think sufficiently about what they will do after selling their business. As a result, they endlessly put off that sale. Until circumstances (illness, burn out, liquidity problems, etc.) force them to sell a business. Needless to say, in terms of timing and negotiating power, this is usually not the best time.
2. Loss of control: You are no longer in charge
Entrepreneurs are used to deciding everything for themselves. But when you sell a business, you hand over that steering wheel. The new owner will inevitably do things differently - and that can hurt. Especially if you've agreed to stay connected to the business for a while, this is a familiar pitfall. From the moment the sale is a reality, you are no longer in control. Customers, suppliers and employees focus on the new owner; you will have to adjust to the new relationships. For entrepreneurs with large egos, this is often an insurmountable problem.
3. Overestimating company value
As mentioned, you spent many years buffering to build your business. It has cost you blood sweat and tears and now you want to cash in on all that and see it reflected in a nice sale proceeds. For many business owners, that's the basis for determining what the business is worth in their eyes. But a buyer looks rationally, has nothing to do with the past and looks primarily to the future: what will it yield? That mismatch between emotional and economic value often leads to frustration in negotiations. Through an unrealistic asking price from the seller or rejection of serious offers out of wounded pride. It will not be the first time that a deal eventually falls through because of this. The result is a disillusioned entrepreneur who, for the time being, has no desire to take his business to the market.
4. Unspoken expectations within the family or team
In a family business or close-knit team of employees, loyalty and expectations often play a silent role. The son or daughter who thought they would take over the business. Loyal employees who feel passed over because they are not included in the sale. This often leads to guilt on the part of the selling business owner, which in turn leads to confusion, poor communication and not infrequently to postponement of the sale. Too afraid or unsure to tie the knot, many a business has been destroyed by it.
5. Last-minute doubt: the cold feet phase.
Cold feet can set in when a business sale is called off at the last minute, because the emotional process of a business transfer can take a long time and have a lot of impact on the entrepreneur and others involved. Rationally, the entrepreneur thinks he or she is ready, but he or she is shocked when the deal gets really close. The signature suddenly feels like a betrayal of the past. In practice, this often leads to unnecessary delays or even cancellation of the deal.
Ideal time to sell
Sell a business is technically, legally and financially complex - but the biggest pitfall is often in the mind and heart of the entrepreneur. Rationally, there may be every reason to sell your business now (great offer, next phase) but there is only one good time to sell: when you yourself are ready.
