Even if You’re not Selling Your Agency, You Should Sell Your Agency.
You built an agency business. You have invested into it your time, energy, passion, stress, tears, etc. It is like a part of you.
So, here's why you should sell it: All things are born to die.
Yep. I just jumped straight into an existential contemplation of death. And if that wasn’t enough, next I'm going to quote the Dalai Lama—
“If from the beginning your attitude is 'Yes, death is part of our lives,' then it may be easier to face.” – From The Dalai Lama’s Book of Wisdom by Dalai Lama XIV
Now, I’m not being morbid when I point out that, in the context of your business, it will eventually come to an end. All things come to an end. But you didn't get into your business to get out of it ... I know. But, if we know an ending is inevitable, why not plan now for the best ending imaginable?
How come we don't want to face the ending? I’ve talked to too many business owners who look at their business as an extension of themselves. I call it focusing on the “own” in ownership.
But you are not your business. It's end is not your end. The business is, at its core, an asset designed to make you money. You own it like you would own any other asset. Can I share with you the example I use in my consulting to help business owners appreciate this difference?
The Metaphor of the Family Car
In other areas of our lives, we see objects as assets that have value. I like to use the metaphor of buying a family car.
When you purchase a family car, you are confronting the reality that there are three possible outcomes for that vehicle's future:
Outcome #1 - You sell it.
Outcome #2 - You give it away.
Outcome #3 - You drive it into the ground.
In the first two, you recognize that the car still has value to someone else and you transition the vehicle to the new owner who, by virtue of wanting to own it, values it more than you do. In the third outcome, you have used up all of the value of the car and no one wants it except maybe the junkyard for parts.
But there is an Outcome #4 where you sell the car for a profit. In this metaphor, that would be the same as making improvements on the vehicle, restoring it, and then finding someone who doesn't just want a vehicle, but values that exact vehicle at an amount much higher than you.
In your business, this is the equivalent of finding a buyer that wants your business for the specific strategic and financial benefits it provides to him or her and is willing to pay you much more than the business would be worth to you.
And that is the only reason you should sell your business.
All Beginnings Lead to Endings
By remembering that all things have both beginnings and endings, we can separate ourselves and our individual future from that of the business and its future.
The first and most critical step of selling a business is to leave behind the mindset and identity that comes with being the “business owner” and instead empower yourself to become the "seller of a business" that you control.
In this way, we don’t attach so much importance to the business, but rather have the distance and perspective to see our role simply as having ownership of something that someone else wants to buy.
Because in essence, by creating a business you can sell, you're actually creating a business someone wants to own. Even if that person is yourself.