E264: Scared of Life After Selling Your Business? The N.E.X.T. Framework Will Change Everything - Watch Here

About the Guest(s):

Jerome Myers is a dynamic leader and the founder of Exit to Excellence, a consultancy focused on helping business owners transition from their companies with both confidence and a sense of purpose. Previously, Jerome built a successful $20 million division for a Fortune 550 company. Post-corporate life, he ventured into real estate, significantly impacting the market through apartment syndications. Jerome now dedicates his time to coaching and consulting entrepreneurs, ensuring they find fulfillment and significance beyond monetary gains from selling their businesses. His expertise in helping business founders navigate exits aligns deeply with his personal experiences of transformation.

Episode Summary:

In this engaging episode of How2Exit Podcast, host Ronald Skelton welcomes back Jerome Myers, founder of Exit to Excellence. Jerome dives into the nuances of the "Founder's Exit Paradox," where entrepreneurs face unexpected challenges of emptiness and depression post-business exit. Highlighting the importance of a purpose-driven transition, Myers shares insights on how he helps founders prepare for life beyond their companies through his N.E.X.T. framework—an organized approach focusing on nourishment, evaluation, exploration, and transcendence.

The episode delves into the psychological intricacies of exiting a business, emphasizing why maintaining personal and professional relationships beyond work is crucial. Jerome and Ron discuss various exits scenarios, spanning from forced exits due to life circumstances to planned strategic exits. They further explore the necessity of self-reflection, understanding one's skills, and redirecting energy towards purposeful endeavors to overcome post-exit challenges and find newfound significance and fulfillment.

Key Takeaways:

• Business exits can lead to emotional challenges like the "Founder's Exit Paradox," where monetary gain may quickly be overshadowed by feelings of emptiness.
• Jerome Myers developed the N.E.X.T. framework—Nourish, Evaluate, Explore, Transcend—to guide founders in planning purposeful transitions beyond business exits.
• Relationships significantly change post-exit; building a supportive network outside of work is essential to mitigating feelings of loneliness.
• Proper succession planning and self-reflection on skills and goals can prepare entrepreneurs for a fulfilling life after exiting their businesses.
• Understanding and navigating the six centers of doubt: self-image, relationships, work, health, prosperity, and significance, can facilitate a meaningful and successful exit journey.

Notable Quotes:

1. "It's very rare for people to do as many episodes…and to be a repeat guest is just an honor." - Jerome Myers
2. "We live in a world where most aren't comfortable enough to share that they value and appreciate each other." - Jerome Myers
3. "You're going to lose more deals hands down through not understanding the human side of this transaction." - Jerome Myers
4. "What's next? That's where the depression kicks in." - Ronald Skelton
5. "Recognizing the energy, recognizing the soul, the humanity of the other person you’re dealing with…that energy is friend." - Jerome Myers

Article:

The Founder's Exit Paradox: Navigating the Emotional and Strategic Journey Beyond Business

Key Takeaways

• Successful business exits require more than financial preparation; they demand careful emotional and relational planning.
• The Founder's Exit Paradox illustrates the often-overlooked emotional fallout following a business sale.
• The N.E.X.T. framework offers a structured pathway to meaningful post-exit life, emphasizing personal growth and exploration.

In the intricate world of mergers and acquisitions, traditional metrics often overshadow personal and emotional dynamics. Business transitions are not just about acquisitions and sales figures; they profoundly intertwine with personal identities and long-established routines. Ronald Skelton and Jerome Myers, through their rich dialogue, unravel the complex emotional pathways intersecting business exits. Their conversation is a compass for navigating what Myers terms the "Founder's Exit Paradox."

Understanding the Founder's Exit Paradox

When entrepreneurs part ways with their businesses, they frequently encounter an unexpected emotional void. Myers draws attention to a revealing moment at a business conference where an executive, post a $2 billion exit, was still at a loss, admitting, "I’ll let you know when I do," in response to escaping his so-called existential crisis.

This introspective journey—where success isn’t purely measured by financial gain—is eloquently discussed in the transcript. As Skelton points out, some business owners tying their identity to their company suddenly feel untethered. "Once you’ve done a lot of that stuff, it’s like, what’s next?" says Skelton, empathizing with those who find themselves adrift post-exit.

The solution lies not in shallow victory but in understanding the broader implications of stepping away. These leaders must transition from a purpose defined by a company to one they define themselves. Myers positions this as a foundational misunderstanding within the traditional M&A realm—a gap where transactional prowess often overshadows genuine human connection.

Embracing the N.E.X.T. Framework

One pivotal method Myers introduces to navigating such transitions is the N.E.X.T. framework. Constituting Nourish, Evaluate, Explore, and Transcend, N.E.X.T. facilitates personal and professional growth beyond an exit. Myers emphasizes the importance of reflection, explaining, "You realize that you’ve probably built it as big as you’re going to build it."

The initial stages—Nourish and Evaluate—demands an introspective journey, where leaders assess their intrinsic tools and talents. This reflection uncovers the vast array of skills which are often overshadowed by years devoted solely to business growth. Through genuine self-assessment, Myers advocates for a match in capabilities that could readily apply to new ventures or endeavors.

The Explore phase emphasizes directed, albeit flexible, action. It’s here entrepreneurs are encouraged to metaphorically "head West," as Myers elucidates, "I just need to start heading west," emphasizing the progress that precedes perfect information. This approach beckons the courage to venture into purpose-driven actions, unimpeded by rigid plans.

Cultivating Purpose and Legacy

Myers introduces a profound notion—significance, a concept extending beyond monetary prosperity to encompass deeper, more meaningful achievements. He underscores this ideology with Maslow’s Hierarchy’s less tangible realms: love, belonging, and self-actualization. Here, financial security empowers but does not fulfill.

For business leaders, purpose becomes chairperson over profit. The transformation from business-centric to community and life-centric activities exemplifies real fulfillment. Examples shared by Myers, from education enhancements to transitional housing projects, prove that decisions driven by genuine humanism create enduring impacts.

Delving into this concept of legacy, Skelton warns against traversing life without a defined roadmap. "You’re on the perfect path to be wandering around lost in the desert for the rest of your life," he cautions. The articulation of a finely-tuned future underscores the essence of the N.E.X.T. framework, promoting calculated yet brave engagement with life’s opportunities.

Business exits are layered events with far-reaching consequences, as revealed by Skelton and Myers. The conversation is a clarion call against viewing business exits merely as financial windfalls. Through the Founder's Exit Paradox, they highlight exits as crossings from known to unknown, where the richer journey lies in discovering one's truest purpose. Guided frameworks like N.E.X.T. don't only guide in strategic financial terms but set trajectories towards fulfilling, significant lives. Exiting, indeed, becomes not just leaving a business behind, but propelling forward into new realms of personal excellence and societal contribution.

---- MORE COOL STUFF ---

Are you ready to take your podcast listening to the next level? Subscribe to "DEEPER by How2Exit" newsletter and never miss out on our latest episodes. Join our  newsletter  HERE

Want to stay in touch with what's happening in the Main Street M&A Space?  Subscribe to Growth & Acquisitions(Formerly The Hub)