5 Stages of Grief... but for Business Owners: Jack's Journey

The 5 Stages of Grief... for Business Owners Trying to Sell Their Company

Meet Jack. Jack is the proud owner of a successful business. Well, at least, he thought it was successful… until he decided to sell it. Cue the dramatic music. Jack’s journey through the sales process became an emotional roller-coaster, and he learned a hard truth: owning a business and selling one are two very different things.

Let’s walk through Jack’s journey—aka the 5 Stages of Grief… but for business owners.

1. Denial

Jack was so confident. He thought, “This is going to be easy. I’ve built an empire! Surely someone will want to buy it for millions.” But when the valuations came in lower than he expected, Jack convinced himself, “This can’t be right. My business is worth WAY more!” So he asked for another valuation… and another… and yet another. All the numbers were roughly the same, but Jack still thought, “These people don’t know what they’re talking about.”

2. Anger

Once Jack could no longer pretend everything was fine, he got mad. “Are these people blind? Can’t they see the potential? I’ve spent YEARS building this!” he shouted to his dog, Mr. Snuggles, who was trying to nap. He blamed everyone: the market, the economy, even the weather! He spent a good amount of time sending out angry emails, demanding to know why no one could see the pure brilliance of his business.

3. Bargaining

When the anger subsided, Jack moved on to bargaining. “Okay, okay. Maybe I can make some quick changes,” he thought. “I’ll upgrade the website, replace that ancient printer, and give the office a fresh coat of paint. That’ll add, what, $500K in value?!” He even tried sweet-talking buyers with “But look at how much potential there is! It just needs a little bit of work…” Suddenly, Jack was throwing in everything from the company coffee machine to his gym membership just to make the sale more appealing.

4. Depression

Nothing worked. And that’s when it hit him: all those years of running the business, and he’d never actually thought about how to get it ready to sell. “This is hopeless,” he mumbled, staring into his lukewarm cup of coffee. He started wearing sweatpants to work and listening to sad playlists on repeat. Jack’s employees thought he was going through a midlife crisis (and honestly, they weren’t entirely wrong).

5. Acceptance

After weeks of moping, Jack had a realization. “Alright. This is it. I have to face the facts. The business is worth what it’s worth, and no amount of wishful thinking is going to change that,” he said to Mr. Snuggles, who had become his unofficial business consultant by this point. Instead of dreaming about a quick sale, Jack decided to take a step back, get professional advice, and start making strategic improvements to increase the business’s value—for real this time.

The Moral of the Story:
Don’t be like Jack. If you’re thinking of selling your business, start planning well in advance. Get expert advice, make strategic improvements, and remember: there’s no shame in asking for help. Otherwise, you might find yourself negotiating over who gets the office plant and your favorite mug.

If Jack can learn to accept reality, so can you.

If you found 5 Stages of Grief but for business owners please CONTACT Purple Turtle Investments for a complimentary copy of RiC Spear’s book, 5 Stages of Grief selling your BABY (business)

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