Take Risk Together
A funny thing that happens in our line of work is that we buy a business from someone who intends to retire and they stick around longer than expected. This isn’t because they are financially stressed and need the job or because the business can’t function without them, but rather because after we get involved, and this is not to toot our own horn, the work becomes fun again.
See, when your net worth and your livelihood and your time is all tied up in one and the same thing, that one and the same thing becomes stressful the longer you do it even though it was once invigorating earlier in life. After all, the closer one gets to retirement, the more one has to lose and so we often meet entrepreneurs with lists of initiatives that they would undertake if they were younger and willing to take more risk but instead have mothballed in the name of safety and security.
But the fact of the matter is that taking risk is fun. This is why whitewater rafting is a thing. And cliff diving. And roller coasters. I could go on…
Yet as an entrepreneur grows more risk averse, it may be that that entrepreneur doesn’t have to stop taking risk, but rather find a partner with whom he or she can start taking risk together. We love being that partner for people, and this is why I think that when we buy a business from someone who intends to retire they often stick around longer than expected. Because with some risk off the table and a friendly partner to take risk together with, now the risk is fun again.
If there’s something you want to do, but don’t want to do it alone, think about doing it with others. And if that’s you and the context is a durable business earnings between $2M and $20M annually, please call Emily.
Thanks in advance and have a great weekend.
– Tim
