There's a Right Way to Close Your Business
Shutting down any company hurts. But
you still have obligations -- and a future.
General managing partner, G2T3V and Chicago High Tech Investors
The reckoning is
here. Companies that have scrambled for the last year or two to keep
their heads above water are now reaching the point where the ride is over and
the tide is out. They needed a lot more substance and a lot less
"story" to keep their boats afloat and a much bigger bankroll to
weather the current storm. No one's rushing to save the day or to be the
last money in, regardless of how bright the future may be. Sadly, being
"about to turn the corner" in these times is a lot like being
Carnival cruise lines. No one's anxious to get on board.
So, if you're the
owner in a situation like this, you're going to have to write the memo
announcing that the time has come to quit-; turn off the lights, shut the
doors-;even though no one is certain where they're headed or what comes next.
Over the years, many of us have been there, and, as Springsteen says: "you
don't know where you're going, but you know you won't be back." Hopefully,
you've been preparing the path (even with the abruptness of the latest crisis)
and you won't be leaving everyone or anyone high and dry. There aren't a lot of
skid marks when a small business shuts down. But there is a
right way to do these things.
You'll need to tell
your team that the dream has turned to dust. They were there for you in so many
ways and thanking them for their hard work and commitment is a great place to
start the conversation. Be honest and make it clear that the last few weeks or
months of any failing business are never fun. More like being pecked to death
by ducks.
A lot has been
written about the value of failure, but some experiences don't make you
tougher; they just wear you out. The key takeaway, and what still makes even
the wind-down process valuable, is that you hung in there and did it together.
You had the opportunity to work with some great and talented people under the
worst conditions and circumstances and see them trying to come through for the
customers and employees that depended on them. Giving up is easy; gutting it
out is hard.
I'd suggest that
there are four other important messages that weave into your story. No pride of
authorship here -- just some ideas to throw into the hopper. Ultimately, the
story's gotta be your own or it won't be authentic or helpful to anyone.
First, you don't
want anyone to forfeit their future because of the bumps and bad breaks of the
past. These things happen and - in the most honest sense - this is no one's
fault. It could have been handled better in some ways and in a timelier
fashion, but no one could have foreseen this black swan. Frankly, the earlier
the mitigation was, the more economic damage to small businesses there would
have been. Each member of your team should take the lessons (good and bad) that
they've learned and use them to help make something better and stronger the
next time around. Because this too shall pass.
Second, it's
important to neither romanticize nor ceaselessly mourn the whole thing. Things
were never as great or as horrible as they might seem in retrospect and in the
selective retelling. Some poet once said: "when one door closes, another
opens, but we often look so longingly and so regretfully upon the closed door
that we do not see the one that has opened for us." There's no question
that your team has lived through some of the best and most exciting times of
their young lives and that what comes next may never take them to those
emotional heights again. You are only a virgin once.
But that doesn't
mean that everything from now on will be a pale imitation of the past or a
disappointment. We're all products of our past, but no one has to be a prisoner
of it unless they're willing to settle for that. No one can step over you
unless and until you lie down. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on
down the road.
Third, nobody ever
said that life was fair. No one could have anticipated the depth and severity
of what we're going through or the arrogant fool we have in charge of our
collective futures. But we're here now and we've all got to muddle through the
mess and get on with our lives.
After years of hard
work and plenty of grief, things didn't work out exactly as you expected. No
surprise there. They never do. Real life's like that. Nature doesn't make
appointments. The virus doesn't know or care that you were on the verge of
greatness. As the old New York Yankees manager/philosopher Casey Stengel once
said, "Baseball is the only place in life where a sacrifice is really
appreciated." The most important thing is to always keep moving forward
and to remember that, in tough times like these, there are really no winners --
only survivors. The trick is to be sure to be one.
And one last
thought as you look forward to your next whatever. Doing what you don't believe
in really diminishes your soul. And even if the right song is playing, no one
is going to tell you to get up and dance. It's all on you. Don't rush to just
find a job. Find something that you passionately care about, throw yourself
into it with all your heart, and let the new chips fall where they may.
PUBLISHED ON: APR 21, 2020
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists
are their own, not those of Inc.com.
