By Sankeetha Selvarajah
Today's issue is brought to you by Zensei LLC. We help high achieving entrepreneurs get clear on their growth by planning their exits in a mindful, systematic process. If you're an entrepreneur who is looking to exit and scale in a way that fits your lifestyle, sign up for our Zensei Group Accelerator with our discovery call here.
Self-abandonment and PROFIT MARGINS.
After advising companies and CEOs for over 15 years, there is a consistent, harsh truth that I can firmly state.
People run businesses the way they run their personal lives.
Pause here.
CEOs are individuals that are the common denominator in their personal and professional lives.
I affectionately call it the People-squared Principle.
Generally speaking, how you, as the CEO show up in your professional life will bleed into your personal life. And vice versa.
Humor me this Sunday, Reader..
Let’s talk about self-abandonment.
Merriam-Webster defines Self-Abandonment as: 1. a lack of self-restraint. 2. a surrender of one's selfish interests or desires.
Self-abandonment is subtle but is damaging in the long run to you….and definitely your business.
How it manifests in your business shows up first in your personal life. How are you NOT honoring your own boundaries, goals, and desires in your current life?
1. Take a loving look at where you, as an individual, are self-abandoning your needs and wishes in your personal life.
- Are you not having the hard conversations with your life partner/children about household obligations so you can rest? Or do you just do it yourself because it’s faster?
- Are you avoiding reviewing your budget or statements because you know some of your spending may be “splurges” or unnecessary?
- Are you over-committing your time to other people’s events so that you can “keep the peace”?
2. Now, take a savage look at where you, as a CEO are self-abandoning your Company's profit margins.
- Are you undercharging your services because you don’t know how to have difficult conversations with your clients?
- Are you not doing your taxes or monthly bookkeeping to honor your yearly financial goals?
- Are you not firing certain employees or contractors because you don’t want to go through the hiring process again?
Let's take it a step further:
The extension of the People Squared principle is:
Without proper advice and guidance, people will also exit companies the way they EXIT their personal relationships.
Planning an exit isn’t a simple endeavor. Our exit plans are minimum 2 YEARS in the making.
This is a marathon…never a sprint.
If you wake up one morning and decide to sell your company that day without any planning or potential buyers, chances are that it will be sold at “fire sale” costs.
(Exit term: Fire Sales happen when the Seller wants to sell the company at whatever minimum cost to a Buyer as if it’s on “fire” and needs to be unloaded quickly.)
There are times that a Fire Sale is necessary, but generally at Zensei, we don’t advocate for this type of exit. (However, because we’re a planning company, your exit plan comes with 3 different Fire Sale options).
So, for you as an individual and a CEO, we advocate for the Exit mindset.
Exit Mindset is where every act/creation/partnership goes towards your actual Exit Plan.
It’s a conscious, consistent act designed to keep your priorities in order, even when your personal or professional life is challenged.
Action Steps for this week:
- Identify 3 areas in your personal life that you’re subtly or overtly self-abandoning yourself? Work on 1 area this week by asserting your boundary.
- Identify 3 areas in your professional life that you’re subtly or overtly self-abandoning your profit margin? Work on 1 area this week by completing the necessary tasks.
Honor yourself,
Sankeetha
Exit Term to know: Management Buy-Out (MBO)
The exit method of Management Buy-Out is when the Buyer(s) are ALREADY within the Seller's company. The existing management or employees pool their resources and cash to buy out the current CEO's stock and ownership.
CEO is then exited with no further ownership or leadership of the company.
Whenever you’re aligned, here is the best way way we can help you:
1. Our Zensei 4 week Group Accelerator begins in 2 weeks - March 11. At half the cost of an individual Exit Plan, this allows you and I to co-create a 2 year Exit Plan for 2024 and beyond. Taking a cohort maximum of 6. Every Exiter has a private, 2 hour Exit meeting with me at end of Program and a complimentary 30 day followup. Sign up for a free discovery call here to learn more.
2.Do you want to scale your company faster by planning your exit? Apply for private, full exit planning for 2-4 years here.
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