In prior Deal Notes® Exit Planning (DN109) and Closing Day Proceeds (DN71), we discussed two critical elements of a successful sale: long-range post-sale preparation and a clear plan for managing newly realized liquidity. In this DealNote®, I’m covering an additional important component: maintaining personal momentum after the deal closes.
Selling your company often marks the culmination of decades of work, yet it also begins a new and unfamiliar phase – one where your identity, schedule, and financial life all shift at once. Many former owners underestimate the pace and emotional complexity of this transition.
Your post-sale transition plan should therefore go beyond your transition period to the new owners and your initial investment allocations. You should think about how you want to spend your time post-sale. A small sample of post-sale objectives our past clients have enjoyed: serving on boards, mentoring in the industry, launching a new venture, completely retiring, going on an incredibly long and much-deserved vacation, etc.
Without thoughtful discussions with your trusted family, friends, colleagues, and/or advisors, it’s difficult to understand “what’s next” for you personally.
Just as pre-sale exit planning takes years to optimize, post-closing planning requires early thought and discussions with professionals and people you trust. The most successful sellers begin this thought process long before closing day, so they can move smoothly from deal closing to what’s next in their lives. Even if having “no plan at all” is “the plan”, it’s important that you make this conscious decision for yourself and discuss it with your people.
Lastly, for those of our readers who are U.S. Veterans of our Armed Services, the Alderman Team wishes to thank you for your service!
Have a great day everyone,
Bruce Andrews
Partner
