Closed on the sale of my distribution company three weeks ago. I spent two years preparing for this, and now that it's done, I feel like I'm living in a fog. I wake up at 5:30 out of habit and just sit there. I drove past my old building yesterday and almost pulled into the lot. It's strange to go from being needed every day to not being on anyone's call list.
Post-Sale
Why post-sale life feels completely surreal at first
Three weeks is still very early. I sold my landscaping business last October and I think it was month four bxefore I stopped reaching for my phone every time it buzzed. The routine part was harder than I expected.
the 5:30 wakeup thing hit me too. I kept doing it for like two months. My wife kept telling me to sleep in. I couldn't. My body didn't know what to do with the extra hour.
I remember the weird quiet more than anything. For the first few weeks I kept thinking I forgot to do something important. That feeling faded eventually but it was there for a while.
Did you have a plan for what came next? That was my problem. I had a plan for selling but nothing for after. I think that made the fog worse for me.
Do you miss the actual work or just the feeling of being the person in charge? I keep asking myself that. I think it's mostly the second one for me, which bothers me a little.
Plumbline_jack brings up a good point. I had almost nothing planned either. I spent one week feeling relieved and then about six weeks feeling lost. I started taking long walks just to have somewhere to go.
For me it felt surreal in a good way at first. Like a weight I didn't realize I was carrying had lifted. That lasted maybe ten days. Then the strangeness set in.
I drove past my old shop fkr months. Eventually it just became a building. That sounds sad but it was actually a relief.
I think people underestimate how much of your identity gets tied up in being the owner. I spent fifteen years being the guy who ran the place. When that stopped, I had to figure out who I was. Still figurin it out, honestly.
How did you handle your old staff? I still get texts from my former employees even though I signed a deal with the buyer. It's hard to know where the line is.
I had that same issue with texts. I ended up telling them to route everything through the new manager. Felt harsh but it was the right call for me.
Skein_and_needle, I think the line matters more than people want to admit. I answered questions for a couple months and then stopped. It felt weird to cut it off but the new owner needed to build his own relationships.
The surreal part for me was the money hitting the account. I had worked toward it for years and when it was just a number on a screen I didn't feel anything close to what I expected. That was disorienting.
I think everybody thinks it's like crossing a finish line and then you realize the track just keeps going. Sounds like you're not alone in feeling strange.
Mackenzie_stone, that's exactly it. People talked to me about the money for weeks and I just kept nodding. The number didn't feel real. I think it still doesn't.
I'm only two two months in. The mornings are the hardest part. Afternoons are easier. I don't have any advice yet, just wanted to say you're not the only one in the fog.