If you’re thinking about exiting a business, congratulations – you’ve hit the stage where the late nights, the firefighting, the self-funded gambles and the “just one more year” conversations have finally turned into something that feels like a real opportunity.
But if you’ve already started talking to advisors, acquirers or even your inner circle, you’ve probably noticed something: everyone loves talking about the process… and absolutely no one talks about the feelings.
Because exiting a business is a wild mix of logic, spreadsheets, legal documents – and mild emotional chaos.
This is the blog where we tell you the bits people don’t usually say out loud. The truth, the nerves, and the bits you only learn once you’ve lived it.
1. Exiting a business – you’ll feel weirdly guilty
Selling a business shouldn’t come with guilt…yet somehow it does.
You’ll worry about your team.
You’ll worry about your customers.
You’ll worry about whether that one client who likes to ring you at 6:30am will cope without you (spoiler: they will).
It’s the guilt that no “exiting a business” guidebook warns you about – and it’s very normal.
2. There is a tiny part of you that wants to back out
You can spend months preparing your business exit strategy, feel completely ready, and still have that moment where you think:
“Is now the right time?”
“What if I could grow it more?”
“What if the buyer doesn’t love it the way I do?”
This happens to almost everyone. Exiting a business is like dropping your child off at university – you’re proud, you’re relieved, but you’re also hovering by the car thinking, “Should I just take them back home?”
Again… normal.
3. Buyers don’t love the things you love about your business
Here’s the hard truth about any business exit: buyers aren’t emotionally attached.
You might get misty-eyed over the logo you designed in 2011.
Or the client you rescued at 9pm on a bank holiday Monday.
Or the plastic plant you bought for the office that everyone pretends is real.
Buyers care about something else entirely: Systems, documentation, recurring revenue, and whether the business can run without you in the background.
It’s not personal – it’s practical. And shifting to that mindset is part of getting ‘deal ready.’
4. The minute you plan to exit your business; you will care about everything you used to avoid
Suddenly, you’re updating KPIs, documenting processes, reorganising files, and rewriting job descriptions you’ve ignored for years.
Nothing sparks motivation quite like knowing someone else is about to inspect your business during the exit process.
5. You’ll imagine your life post exit… and it will look different every day
One morning you’ll picture yourself sipping an Aperol Spritz in Italy.
By lunchtime you’ll be planning a new business venture.
By 3pm you’ll be googling “hobbies for grown adults” because apparently, you’ve forgotten what you enjoy outside of work.
This is part of the emotional unravelling of exiting a business – and it’s actually a good sign. It means you’re finally creating space for a life beyond running the show.
6. Your deal team will become your support group
Accountants, lawyers, advisors – during a business exit, they become the people who hear your deepest fears and your strangest questions.
You will send emails at 11pm.
You will vent about documentation.
You will, at some point, say “I know this sounds stupid but…”
And the right team will reply with, “It’s not stupid – we’ve seen it a hundred times.”
Good advisors don’t just do deals. They emotionally stabilise distraught business owners.
7. You won’t realise how much of your identity is tied to your business… until you’re handing it over
This one hits hard.
Because for years, you’ve introduced yourself as the owner, the founder, the director – the person who knows every nook and cranny of the business.
When that title shifts, even in a planned way, you’ll feel it.
But this is also where the upside starts: clarity, fresh energy, new direction, and the chance to actually take a proper holiday.
8. The relief doesn’t come all at once – it comes in waves
People think exiting a business ends with one big sigh of relief.
In reality, it’s a series of moments:
The first time you realise the team is fine without you.
The first time you see the business still thriving.
The first time you sleep through the night without waking up thinking about payroll.
The new chapter doesn’t start instantly – it unfolds.
9. The right buyer completely changes your business exit experience
A good buyer doesn’t just offer a fair deal. They make you feel like your business will be cared for – your team, your clients, your legacy.
The wrong buyer?
You’ll feel it.
And you should listen to that instinct.
When the fit is right, the whole experience becomes less about “letting go” and more about “passing the baton.”
Just read about Philip Pugh & how he felt about his sale of Adept CTS in our blog.
10. You won’t regret preparing properly
The bit that no one wants to talk about (but everyone eventually realises)…
Your business is worth more – both financially and emotionally – when it’s not dependent on you.
Getting operationally ready, tightening up processes, understanding deal structures, sorting out finances…
It all leads to a smoother sale and a much calmer you.
Future-you will be very grateful.
You’re not going mad – you’re just exiting a business
It’s not supposed to feel easy.
It’s supposed to feel big.
Because it is big.
But you don’t have to do it on instinct or emotion alone. With the right preparation and the right people alongside you, the process becomes clearer, calmer and far more rewarding.
And if you ever need a sounding board, a sanity-check, or someone who’s been through the emotional rollercoaster with countless other founders – you know where to find us.
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If you’d like to know if you’re ready to exit your business, take our free assessment here >