Coming up on a life changing decision as it relates to work. I have been with my current firm +15 yrs, they hired me right out of college and taught me the ropes of the business. My father passed away shortly after I joined and both the owners became somewhat like surrogate fathers to me, with me through thick and thin. One of the owners passed away last November and during the last 12 months we have been negotiating a deal where myself and 3 other senior members where going to purchase a portion of the company. Well that deal fell apart. The problem is, once the door was opened to ownership and the "bell" was rung, the 4 of us wouldn't settle for anything less than ownership. We investigated starting our own firm with highly influential backing but ran into a roadblock. We started looking at buying into another well run firm and have decided its time to make a change.
The hard part to me is separating the emotion/relationships from the "business is business" mentality. If you were to look strictly at the #'s you would call me stupid (or worse) for not making the decision sooner. I am not getting any younger and I think this may be the last career change I make so I am taking it very seriously. At the end of the day this is personal and real long standing relationships are involved. I would like to think that it is more than just the $.......
I am sure some of you out there have been in this position a time or two in your life........any words of advice or wisdom you can share is appreciated.
One of my oldest clients told me this piece of advise yesterday. "No matter how long or how hard of a time it takes to get to a decision, once its made, put it behind you and never look back"
just let him read that post and tell him you would much rather keep his freindship and be partners as opposed to competition. but providing for you and yours is a bigger priority. good luck on the new biz.
a regret is one thing that may happen --but is easier to live with than always having the lingering thought of (what if)
in your 30`s life is still too short to dwell on the minor stuff ---careers /companies will change just -- hold your true loves close
"No matter how long or how hard of a time it takes to get to a decision, once its made, put it behind you and never look back"
= awesome advise
I have had to make a few of these tough decisions in the last 15 yrs. In the end, you and yours have to come 1st no matter what. Without knowing all the details of why the original deal fell through I would think you may need to go ahead and move on. With talking to your clients about it already the owner may be backed into a corner and come out swinging if you know what I mean. I would explain your stance in private and make 1 final offer. Let him know it isn't personal and you'd like to remain friendly. I will give you a piece of advice on partners though. If you don't need them then don't get them. Invariably some will quit pulling their weight and it will make it that much harder. I have had to get rid of a few partners in the last 15 yrs for just that. Good friends that took advantage of my generosity and hard work and as said before you and yours have to come 1st. As far as feeling bad about it you'll get over it. Try to remain friendly and if they can't find the way to understand then move on. When you're sitting on a nice retirement in 20 yrs. because you made the decision now and didn't wait around for something to happen you'll be smiling all the way to the bank. The 1st tough decision is the hardest. It gets easier with time. Good luck with it.
And your client gave you some excellent advice. Never dwell on it, just keep moving forward.
