My mother raised us with sage input from Dr. Spock. I remember that dog-eared, broken-spine book lying beside her bed. I can still picture the cover.
By the time I was raising my boys, we were inundated with parenting books. Eat this, Whisper that, Ferber vs Sears. But at the end of the day no matter how many books I read, my own style of parenting came down to life experience and example along with experimentation. We set rules and boundaries, set goals and expectations. We provided guidance, discussed values and did our (and sometimes hoped for the) best.
I’ve found that it’s much the same in business. Like parenting, there’s no shortage of books on the market ready to tell you how to ‘do it right’. I’ve read lots of them and continue to read. But once again, at the end of the day, there’s still no substitute for experience, example, and experimentation.
I’m not the first person to compare building a business to raising a child. Businesses grow through several stages of development and as the CEO or Founder we have to adapt. We do our best, guiding our business towards our vision, making decisions rooted in our values.
The comparison came up in my conversation with Elizabeth Kilvert during a recent episode of I'm a Millionaire! So Now What? (listen & subscribe here).
“…if you've got a seven-year-old baby, quite frankly, that's embarrassing. Let your business become a petulant teenager, then let your business become an adult child that moves back into the basement, and then let it be an adult. It will go through those different phases, depending on the supports you have around you, the structures, the institutions, changes in legislation, etc. But let that business grow, not (so it can become) autonomous, but so you can become more autonomous.”
When you get those first ideas, it’s like a baby in the womb. The prenatal development, incubating your business idea, comes with all the excitement, research and anticipation of pregnancy… including coming up with names!
Start Up comes when the baby has arrived. This is a time of tremendous growth and numerous milestones. It also comes with tumbles, scraped knees and mistakes. We get impatient. But businesses need to be nurtured. And they definitely take time to grow.
The Adolescent Business starts testing the waters, stretching, scaling and pushing at boundaries. Your business ceases to depend entirely on you – you may even get to take a holiday! Some businesses never leave this zone – they never really ‘find’ themselves and keep chasing the next new thing. It’s a bad sign to get stuck at this stage, and permanent adolescence is exhausting. Imagine if the teen years went on forever!
The Adult Business settles into stable growth, systems and processes. It’s profitable, self-sustaining. And it can get mundane. At this stage, founders may miss the excitement of the start-up and rapid growth stages. It feels like, ‘Here we are adulting, with our processes, procedures and departments.’
At ‘Old Age’ it’s time to think about succession and a graceful exit. At this stage you may also be thinking about your legacy and what comes next after life as The Founder. Succession plans may involve the next generation. That’s what Mireille and Serge Bellavance, the second generation running Urban Quarry in Ottawa, discuss in this episode of I'm a Millionaire! So Now What?
“(Dad/Laurent) is the president of the company, so we meet with him on a regular basis. We'll go through some financials. He still likes to be involved in troubleshooting on the production floor. It might be an intricate or complex type of application that we need to fabricate. Laurent will be called upon, then he'll be more than happy to get on to the floor and rise to the challenge here. So, he's a very hands-on type of guy. He comes into the office maybe two to three times a week now. So, he's slowly but surely winding down and finding his other passions at home with his love for cars, and woodworking, and our mother!”
Wealth Creators, CEOs, Business Owners – there are numerous ways to make a graceful exit. The best way to actualize your own legacy may be to sell your business. Maybe you’re considering the option of a cash rich exit.
If you’re thinking this way, I’d like to invite you to a workshop I’m planning featuring Cameron Herold, former co-founding COO of 1-880-GOT-JUNK?, and author of Double Double: How to Double your Revenue & Profit in Three Years.
Double to Sell with Cameron Herold: How to Make a Cash Rich Exit
This is early notice, for you, my readers, to find out more and take advantage of a Super Early Bird Offer. The workshop is for business owners who want a cash-rich exit in 10 years or less. Interested? Apply for more info here.
Whether it’s with business or kids, you’ll certainly attract lots of anecdotal and well-meaning advice. Ideally, you’ll find that just-right mentor who can keep you inspired even after a sleepless night. And you’ll certainly end up solving many challenges through trial and error, coming up with creative solutions and, ultimately, by trusting your gut.
The days are long, but the years are short. And this might be perfect timing for you:
Double to Sell with Cameron Herold: How to Make a Cash Rich Exit