You Have Ended Your Business – Now What?

For many, your business is your identity. It’s who you are and what you do. For many small business owners, your success or failure is dependent upon the success or failure of your business. When your business ceases operation, then what? What is your plan of action? That’s an important question.

It is crucial for us all to understand that we are not our business, we are our own being. When your business ends it is time to move on to your next adventure. You are not a failure, your business was not a failure, it simply did not work as planned–a huge difference. Failure is for those who do not try and do. That’s failure. Those who fight and fall are heroes. Remember, it is not about the fall, it is about how you get up.

Here is the recipe for success after your business ceases operations. Pay attention; follow it exactly and wonderful things will happen.

Upon closing your business, allow yourself a defined period of time to whine, feel sorry for yourself, doubt your skill, and generally beat yourself up. Frankly, 24 to 48 hours is enough but if you need the full 48, go for it. Spend an entire weekend; that should be more then adequate to exorcise the demons. Monday morning, you’ll be done feeling sorry, done whining, and ready to do… NOTHING!

Yes, folks, absolutely NOTHING. I know, there are bills to pay, etc. I understand, but here is the drill.

You are an entrepreneur, a small business owner and developer. You have tremendous creative energy and skill. You have the heart of a warrior. You are emotionally burned and mentally fatigued. You must heal, rest and allow your superhuman entrepreneurial skills to resurface and launch you in your next crusade. Do nothing. Read, go for walks, work out, take a vacation, hang out with your family, and rest assured that your brain is rebuilding itself and scouting the horizon for opportunity and direction. Your internal compass has taken over and you are on autopilot but all systems are working. They never stop. When you are reading the newspaper, surfing the Internet, doing nothing… your mind is at work. Sometimes it’s through the subconscious, other times through dreams, and of course, even with focused attention to the “what’s next” question that never leaves your mind.

Soon, you will awaken to a mission and your next adventure will identify itself. You will know it when it arrives, and the process will begin again of building your next empire. Whatever it may be, it will appear and fill the void. It always does. Rest, relax, and be patient and the answer will come to you, rest assured. Only after the one door shuts will the next door open. This process cannot occur before you have shut down the business, it can only occur after the fact when all is done and you are alone.

Trust your inner warrior self. Trust your lifetime of entrepreneurship to guide you. You are a creative, daring, courageous entrepreneur. At the cessation of one business, another business opportunity will reveal itself and you will know it when you see it. You’ll be on the train again the next moment, doing cash flows, creating the vision and soon, implementing the plan whatever it may be.

This process cannot begin until the business has ended and you are done, finished, complete. Then, just as you cannot stop the flow of water, the void will fill itself. You must wait and see what happens, it will amaze you. Be patient, allow the system to work, allow your inner warior to take over and propel you to the next mission.