I received an email today, and a snail mail message yesterday, suggesting that I consider selling my business. This is nothing new, of course, as business brokers are always on the prowl for business owners who are ready (or capable of being convinced) to explore a sale. These two messages, though, in the context of some of the interactions I've had with clients of late, give me reason to seriously consider whether I should at least explore putting my business on the market.
It's an odd service business, is some respects, but not unique. There are at least 500-600 others in the same business across the country, some very successful, others on the brink of collapse. Mine is somewhere in the middle. I'm paying six people a living wage, covering a big chunk of health insurance, offering paid vacation and holidays, and otherwise acting like a good, attractive employer. My wages are not high, but people have exceptional opportunities to enhance their skills, learn new ones, and grow in their positions.
But, and it's a big but, I am not happy doing what I'm doing. It's been that way for years. I wanted my own business, but I should have done it 20 years earlier. At this stage in my life, I'm not satisfied with managing associations for clients. I want something completely different.
So, I am altering my "to do" list for this year, and probably next. Submitting a piece of fiction for publication is no longer on my list. Instead, finding options for selling my business will take its place. I recognize that, for a number of reasons, I may be unable to sell my business. If that comes to pass, then I shall explore ways to minimize the outflow as I slowly decommission various parts of it. I haven't discussed this with my wife, but I think she's on my side. Our life it just not the way we want it to be...we don't have enough time to explore the world, explore our own psyches, and relax. We don't have enough time to breathe. So, you should not expect the Great American novel from me, at least not this year nor next year. Instead, I hope you will see my announcement that I've figured out a way to move on.
A week or so ago, I was looking at housing costs and weather histories for Halifax, Nova Scotia. I even persuaded my wife that the temperatures in the summer are worth the occasional winter frigidity. I have this sense that, if I don't do something before long, it will be too late. I may be wrong. But I'd rather look back at my "sense" with amusement than discover too late that it's infallible.
2 comments:
Wow. I admire you for realizing that you're not happy with what you're doing and deciding to do something about it. I wish you the absolute best of luck. Coincidentally, and very bizarrely, if you ask me, I was also looking at Halifax, Nova Scotia a week or so ago. Right after spending the night in the cardiac monitor unit for what turned out to be, more or less, a rising sense of panic. So there you go.
I sure hope you find a buyer and are able to find something that suits you. Keep us posted.
Thanks, auntiemurray, for your coments and good wishes. And the same to you, Bev, for your comments. I'm afraid I'm trying to get out from under something that's both hard to leave and hard to replace. I need the money. Well, maybe tonight's lotto ticket will cooperate.
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