So okay the worst thing that can happen , happens and you lose your small or medium sized business, what happens next?!.
So you have lost your business and regardless if you did something wrong or the market crashes or the lenders called in the notes, or what ever the reason was that forced the business to close, it does not matter right now!.
What matter right now is that you keep on going and moving your life forward.
You should know that there is a ton of successful people that failed at one point in their life and lost there business also so you are not the first person this happens to and you will for sure not be the last person.
And then some people rebuilt at some point and opened up a new business.
And some did not do so!.
There is also some bigger angel investors in silicon valley who do not invest a dime in a company if the owner has never had a failure/bankruptcy closing what ever you want to call it.
And the reason for this is that you learn a lot from going out of business , things that you can bring with you into your next project or your new job.
So we will list the to do list here for you and the things you should not do to survive and move forward in your life.
No1: The first thing you do is that you go out and look for a good paying job in the business you just came from.
And more often than not you will find this job with one of your former competitors.
So now people say , how can you go and work for a former competitors.
This is actually very simple, you swallow your pride and you contact the owner/ceo of one or several of your competitors and you say to them like something like this.
You know that i went out of business, but this was the reason and then you tell them the reason.
I am now looking for a long-term job, and i can bring all my skills and contacts into your business if you hire me!.
And if they are smart they will hire you, because it will increase the value of their business.
No2: You will have to make some tough choices if you can keep your house or not, if you still have it,and how much do you owe on the first and second mortgage, and do you stay or do you leave your house.
Here you have to be careful so you dont make a mistake for emotional attachment reasons towards your property/house.
No3: Try and tell your family that life will become better in the future, and that you will be an employee for a few years at least, 3-5 years is the minimum suggested time, unless you are sitting on real capital and you can open up a new business quickly again!.
The reason for the suggested 3 to 5 years is that , this is usually the time frame for a person that has lost his or her business to get back on their feet again, both financially and emotionally.
If your significant other wants a divorce which is very common when a company goes out of business, we believe that it is a 70% chance that a divorce will occur within 2 years from the time a family business goes under, to when the divorce happens.
The best advise we can give is to accept the divorce and move forward with your life.
Because your partner has given up on you and does not believe in you anymore, and most likely will never ever believe in you again!.
No4: Zero out your brain as a business owner, and become an employee in your own head.
There are benefits in not running your own business and not everybody is suited for doing that.
So having a boss that gives you orders, lets you relax your brain and you can shut out some noise for a few years that you could never do as a small or medium sized business owner.
Because everything was always riding on you.
No5: After 3-5 years you can think it true very carefully if you should start up something again or if you should stay a salary-man or salary-woman.
Think things true very carefully on what went wrong the last time and try and not to make the same mistakes twice, if you decide to give it another go as a business owner.
A good thing could be to start on the side on evenings and weekends for the first 1-2 years, so you have enough customers so if you quit your job, so you can draw a paycheck the first month of leaving your job.
No6: Look for investors if you are in a cash intensive business.
Because now you have lost so many years, that to catch up you need real capital to get going again.
There are a few things that you should not do, when trying to get back on your feet again.
No7: Do not feel sorry for yourself in any way shape or form.
Shit happens and life goes on.
So by dwelling on sad things like going out of business is not gonna get you moving forward.
No8: The second thing is that dont start abusing anything like alcohol or drugs, let the pain be raw and real.
You will heal much faster and get back on your feet again, by not starting with any kind of self medication.
I know these pointers no7 and no8 are difficult not to start with in some way shape or form.
But take it from people who have lost companies with over 800 employees and gone back to being an employee again, you have to stay the course to be able to ride out the storm you are in!.
Yes it stings having to take orders and having to jump true hops as an employee, but what is the other options that you have.
Sitting at home drinking and watching tv for a year or two, will just set you back with your career.
And going back to work after losing your business will also keep your mind busy.
So here are a few pointers on what to do when you lose your company and go out of business.
Thank you for reading.
Mrlifeadvise.
