Once you clarify why you want to sell your business, give deep, specific thought to what comes next. Doing this before you sell serves two important purposes.
Preserves Happiness: Many people I know feel adrift and unhappy after selling their business. They underestimate the importance of their work relationships, the sense of accomplishment work provides, and—especially for founder/owners—the role their business played in giving them a sense of recognition and identity within the community. Planning for new commitments and challenges before you sell helps you avoid the doldrums.
Quells Uncertainty: It’s hard for an owner to seriously engage in business succession planning when they haven’t done so in their own life. Several business consultants have told me the number one obstacle they encounter is business owners self-sabotaging the succession process because they don’t know what they want to do next. Finding something compelling and meaningful is key to avoid unwittingly falling into this trap yourself.
Define what brings you true fulfillment and happiness beyond financial success. Reflect on your personal values, passions, and the legacy you want to leave. The more concrete the answers are in your mind, the more motivated you’ll be to make the plunge.
Then do it! There will always be risks in selling, like not realizing the return you hoped for. But there is also risk in hanging on too long, like not fully embracing the most important values and relationships in your life.
Here’s when survey respondents said they expect to be able to sell:
- 31 percent: When they find a buyer or successor who meets their requirements.
- 18 percent: When the company is worth enough to make selling attractive.
- 17 percent: They don’t plan to ever transition ownership.
- 16 percent: When they’re financially secure enough to retire, including any sale proceeds.
- 15 percent: When they can no longer work for health reasons.
These responses shed light on the risks above. Finding the perfect buyer or achieving the desired value may never materialize. And of course, the unpredictability of life—including health issues—can disrupt plans. Evaluate the timing of your sale in the context of what truly matters to you at your particular stage of life. The odds of successfully selling your business go way up if you have a realistic and flexible mindset about the timing and conditions of selling.
Although most CDL training in Alaska is done through schools like NIT, trucking companies are increasingly offering internal CDL training, Crum says.
At Sourdough Express, a Fairbanks-based freight and moving business, there’s a pipeline to commercial truck driver jobs that starts with hauling furniture and boxes in and out of houses. The company employs 120 people, of which 70 have their CDLs.
Most Sourdough Express drivers received CDL training outside the company, but, where possible, Sourdough Express tries to promote from within, training people as-necessary to get their CDLs, says Josh Norum, business director of operations. Generally people advance from being laborers for the moving business to moving drivers to freight drivers.
”We kind of have a structure. We like to get the most out of guys who work for us so they don’t get bored, get burnt out,” Norum says.
Employees who train to earn a CDL start by reading the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles CDL manual and a company study guide to prepare for the written test. When they’ve passed the test and have their permit, drivers start practicing with company trucks.
“We have a couple guys at each terminal who we’ve trusted and who enjoy training new people,” Norum says. “The biggest thing with the CDL is just having the seat time to get out and practice.”
Employees usually spend about eighty hours driving by the time they’re ready to schedule a driving test with the Division of Motor Vehicles.
There’s no special government requirement to drive the Dalton Highway up to Prudhoe Bay, but Sourdough requires additional training for drivers who don’t have Dalton Highway experience.
“It takes a lot of trips,” Norum says. “People don’t know how fast the road can bite you. When you’re going loaded, stuff happens faster on that road than any other road in Alaska.”
Employees without experience on the highway spend at least two years driving trucks on paved roads before starting on the Prudhoe Bay service road. To drive the road in the winter, drivers must spend a summer learning the road and make five winter trips accompanied by another driver.
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