5 ms·
Have you ever started a business before? Yes, you technically no longer own it once sold, but there's a huge amount of blood, sweat and tears that goes into bu
by AussieWog93 4y ago
Have you ever started a business before?
Yes, you technically no longer own it once sold, but there's a huge amount of blood, sweat and tears that goes into building something from nothing - not to mention a sense of loyalty to your staff - and you genuinely do want to see it go into good hands and become managed well.
I guess a somewhat leaky analogy would be like giving away a dog you raised to another family and finding out later that they're abusing it. Yes, it's no longer your dog, but you're still going to care deeply about its wellbeing.
- hansword 4y ago(a) if you want the dog to go to good hands, don't sell it. Spend time finding the best hands possible and give them the dog. (b) as you might see, your analogy is not very good. (c) if you find you care about the money, sell it to the highest bidder. be happy with the money. (d) if you find you care about the fate of the company, perhaps not sell it? or if you do, sell it to someone who also does? or if you don't, at least realise it was your failure to find such a buyer. (e) if you expect an acquirer to care about what they acquired beyond how to make money from it, you are a romantic, a fool, or both... and I want to buy your company for cheap.
- leaflets2 4y ago> sell it to someone who also [cares about the company] That's easy to say But it partly requires reading someone else's mind
- killingtime74 4y agoI empathise and think the only solution is to either not sell (only sell a non controlling stake?) or vet the buyer very carefully
- pbhjpbhj 4y agoA pattern I've seen a few times (can't recall examples right now, sorry) is to sell the business and then when the business fails, or turns bad, start a new business to compete. Obviously companies try to tie past owners hands to avoid future competition, but it still happens sometimes.
- makeitdouble 4y agoDog breeders and trainers have this issue in spades. The common advice is to separate your job from your feelings as much as you clearly as you can, otherwise it gets bad really fast and not only you can't continue your job, but it breaks into your personal life as well. Your analogy could be apt: don't sell your company if you can't see it suffer in other people's hand.
- jmyeet 4y agoThis isn't unique to running a business. You see it with screenwriters for example. A script is sold to a studio and as soon as the check clears, it no longer belongs to the author. The studio is free to completely change it or just put it in a drawer and forget about it. Some have a problem with that. It's their baby. Selling something is letting it go.
- varjag 4y agoIt's more like selling your dog for a lucrative amount, even if there's 50/50 odds the new owner is a sadist.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]