IT Valuation ’ s Reed Warren on how to avoid emotional upheaval after selling your MSP business .
M & A SERIES
The “ Postpartum Depression ” MSPs Go Through After Selling Their Business
IT Valuation ’ s Reed Warren on how to avoid emotional upheaval after selling your MSP business .
BY PEDRO PEREIRA
Reed Warren , CVA CEO of IT Valuations
Most owners who sell their MSP businesses experience an unexpected emotional fallout . It ’ s something Reed Warren , a certified valuations analyst ( CVA ) and CEO of IT Valuations , has seen again and again . IT Valuations handles more than 100 valuations and up to 15 transactions each year , mostly involving MSPs . In a recent conversation with MSP Success , Warren talks about the post-sale blues , which is far more common than you might guess .
MSP Success : How Common Is It For Owners To Experience Feelings Of Remorse And Depression After Selling Their MSP Businesses ?
Reed Warren : Close to 90 % of sellers go through some level of mild to severe depression . It usually happens between months six and 18 . We keep in touch with our clients after their transactions , and we ’ ve certainly seen some patterns . Now , in every conversation when sellers start talking about selling , we start talking about the role the business plays in the identity of the owner , and to start preparing for it . Every seller I know has the same attitude pre-sale : “ If the biggest problem I have to solve is what to do with all my time and all my money , I think I can figure that out .”
MSP Success : What Causes The Post- Sale Emotional Upheaval ?
Warren : You lose your rhythm because you ’ re used to getting up in the morning , you ’ re tackling the problems , you ’ re working because you want to do something with what you earn from work , and those kinds of things are gone . You lose the drive , and you lose the affirmation from it . The other part is , “ Who am I without my business ? I ’ m used to being this , and now I don ’ t know who I am .”
MSP Success : How Bad Does It Get ?
Warren : I do know of people that have sold their business and committed suicide , but it is a very , very small percentage . The fissures , the emotional strains are
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