A friend of mine is preparing to dissolve her beloved business. Big sigh. When I heard the news, I knew she must be in the starting stages of business grief. I prepared to contact her in much the same way as I would reach out to a newly widowed friend. What to say? Will she be able to talk about it, or is it too soon?Fifteen years ago, I closed my family's business, a travel agency. After making the decision, there was much to do: meet with employees, negotiate debts with creditors, sublet the office space for the remainder of the lease, sell our fixed assets, contact our licensing agencies, etc... Among the toughest parts was, without a doubt, letting long-time clients and suppliers know that we had decided to close the doors and why. They had become such great friends over the years.
We were closing the business because of my mother's terminal illness. Because of that, the closing of the business became a metaphor for what was happening in our family. A few months later, when she passed away, many clients and vendors came to her memorial and shared wonderful stories about their fun experiences with the travel agency as much as with my mom. The memorial became a funeral for 2. My mom and her business.
I am a believer in happy endings. Because we hold our businesses so close to our hearts, I have suggested to my friend that she have a business wake. I'll host. We all love her business and will miss it. This would not be a funeral, but more reminiscent of an Irish wake, with a lot of drinking and jolly story-telling. I imagine that these might become commonplace. Perhaps this could be a new business for an enterprising event producing entrepreneur!
When it comes time to close a business, the owner can feel ashamed, and filled with a sense of failure. I say, "Nonsense!". When a venture no longer serves its original purpose, profitable or not, close that sucker down and move on to another path toward your next source of happiness. Far too many of us have held on to a business, a job, or a career that WE have outgrown or that has simply become a drag.
So, make the decision, fulfill your obligations to others, throw a party and move on to brighter days. I'll host.
2 comments:
It's amazing how many people deliberate too long before closing their businesses, and in the meantime drain their financial and emotional resources. It's best to move on and begin something (as difficult it may seem at the time) better.
Where were you when i closed my publication, Great Deals (EverGreen Up North)! Gina, March of Dimes, and i did work through the pain. i called her at 2:00 on the day i decided to close that part of Alpha Mail. i picked her up at her office at 2:10 and we went straight to Bubba's. It is nice to have a friend to commiserate with over what you might feel as failure. It is NOT failure! i have been more successful than ever in AMI now that i can concentrate only on that. So in the words of a great woman "suck it up and just do it"!
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