1551: [Part 2] What I’ve Learned From Owning A Company by Marc Bilodeau on Business Ownership

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Work Daily. What Ive Learned From Owning A Company, Part 2 by Marc Bilodeau of MarcBilodeau.com.

[00:00:09] If the company is doing well, why sell? There is the constant struggle to balance the company's growth, keeping the lights on, and to secure everyone's job and morale while searching for the next opportunity.

[00:00:21] With all this time dedicated to the business, personal life suffers. However, it's important for owners to balance time with family life, to disconnect from work, and maintain good relationships. This is much harder than it seems.

[00:00:34] My personal decision to sell the company came down to the fact that I felt I've grown the company as far as I could without a major personal investment. The company was profitable and had no debt. It was healthy and making money.

[00:00:46] After almost two decades of steady growth, I wanted to see the company go to the next level. Therefore, we searched for the right buyer that shared our vision of the technology, that understands the industry, and aims to grow the business even further.

[00:01:00] It wasn't luck that they acquired the company. A buyer of this caliber doesn't acquire businesses unless they see potential. I know there is potential to go further because the company's accomplishments and team speak volumes of its past and current successes.

[00:01:13] So how do you know when it's the right time to sell? The answer is simple but frustrating to the person who asks that question. The answer is, you just know when it's time.

[00:01:24] Lessons learned and pro tips. I hope to leave some wisdom from my experiences so others can benefit. I've certainly learned a trick or two. Through trial and error, I continue to refine skills and find new ways to improve my workflow.

[00:01:37] However, there are some lessons that have become just as valuable in business as they are in everyday life.

[00:01:43] Learn not to take things personally. When pouring so much time and effort into something, it's easy to become emotionally invested to the point where any criticism hurts.

[00:01:52] However, it's important to detach the heart from what people say and take it as feedback. Listen closely, as there may be useful information.

[00:02:00] Feedback is an opinion and should be treated as such. Starting a company or a brand new hobby means doing something new and unique. Other people tend to speak negatively about something that they don't understand.

[00:02:12] However, even the harshest criticism can have a few words of wisdom. Everything else can be ignored.

[00:02:18] Write things down

[00:02:19] It always amazes me how people try to rely on their memory. Our memories are finite. Take lots of notes and review them frequently. When bombarded with information from many different sources, writing things down takes the thought out of your head and puts it in a specific place to reference later.

[00:02:36] The mind will have one less thing to juggle around and then can think critically when the next unforeseen situation arrives. Secondly, reviewing notes regularly allows you to thoroughly think about ideas.

[00:02:48] Furthermore, additional ideas and thoughts can be explored and documented for later reference. There always seems to be an urgency to make decisions immediately. However, take the time to think things through, talk to people, and do some homework before making any important decisions.

[00:03:03] Take care of yourself

[00:03:06] Your health is paramount to your success. When you're in excellent shape, both mind and body, you can tackle problems and keep up with the demands of life and the company. Exercise regularly, eat properly, and

[00:03:18] Get plenty of sleep, and avoid overworking. Working 60 to 80 hours a week may be necessary sometimes, but it will hurt you in the long run even if you enjoy the work. Eventually, your body will revolt against you. Unplanned rest always comes at the worst time.

[00:03:33] Secondly, don't forget that there is a world happening outside of the company. Take time away from the company to do other activities and remember to relax and appreciate the little things in life. This is also a time to reconnect with yourself and never forget who you are and what's important to you.

[00:03:49] There are many different goals to achieve, however, broad goals will fail. Learn to split each goal into smaller tasks. This provides stepping stones toward achieving the overall goal and allows parallel efforts through delegation between your time or other people.

[00:04:04] Once tasks and goals are defined, staying focused is critical. Although focused does not mean applying tunnel vision or being hyper-focused towards the goal. It's important to be flexible during the journey and be ready to react to changes along the way.

[00:04:19] Know when to stop

[00:04:21] You will put a lot of time and attention into ideas and projects. However, sometimes the solution is to stop instead of working harder when something isn't working out. Unfortunately, most people choose to work harder and fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy.

[00:04:36] A sunk cost is a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered. This cost can be money, time, or resources. People have an aversion to loss or being wrong and sometimes then make irresponsible choices in order to avoid those losses.

[00:04:52] For example, a person hires a consultant for $2,000 to investigate the pros and cons of their business model. The person also spends many hours doing their own research.

[00:05:01] The consultant concludes that the market is in decline and the business will likely fail. However, if the person doesn't move forward, that $2,000 and time spent researching would be wasted, so they decided to move forward anyway.

[00:05:16] Learn to know when to stop

[00:05:18] Review the data, consider other people's opinions, and keep a close eye on the progress of the goal. If all signs point to failure, then learn to let go and move on to something that's more worthy of your time, money, and resources.

[00:05:32] Final Thoughts

[00:05:34] Each company is unique. Therefore, the skills gained will be unique to you. However, owning a company isn't for everyone, and that's okay. It requires sacrifice above and beyond the call of typical ambition and hardworking ethics.

[00:05:47] There is no way to prepare for the adventure of owning a company. However, understanding the dynamics and potential personal toll will somewhat help you prepare mentally for the challenge. No matter what happens, remember to breathe, and that the company doesn't control you. You control the company. Until you sell it.

[00:06:39] You're a nice compliment to this show. You can find Optimal Living Daily and all of our other podcasts as well by searching for Optimal Living Daily wherever you're hearing this.

[00:06:47] And that's going to do it for the Sunday episode. Hope you enjoyed the post and your weekend, and I will see you right back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.

[00:06:56] Will уже see you right back then.

[00:06:56] Georgie

[00:06:56] Will

[00:06:56] Dr