No one prepares you for what happens after the deal closes…
The legal documents get signed.
The headlines go out.
The champagne flows.
And then… the emotional rollercoaster begins.
I went through it all after selling my agency:
👉 Euphoria
👉 Regret
👉 Camaraderie
👉 Fear
👉 A deep sense of “What now?”
But I was ready for it.
And because I’d done the inner work (not just the due diligence), those four years post-sale earnout became some of the most rewarding of my career.
💡 Financially, yes.
💡 But also as a leader.
💡 As a teammate.
💡 And as a human being.
Most people advising sellers focus on the transaction.
The valuation. The earnout. The legal clauses.
But no one tells you what it’s going to feel like to:
– Have a boss again
– Let go of the name you built from scratch
– Navigate holding company/PE bureaucracy
– Keep your team motivated under a new regime
– Reassure clients that your team’s passion hasn’t been replaced by PowerPoint
– Redefine your personal identity — when your business was your identity
I’d had a head start.
Before founding my tech-driven agency, I’d worked in big corporates, holding companies, client-side and a big four consultancy.
So I knew what it meant to operate and thrive in someone else’s system.
I knew the value of managing expectations — especially my own.
Not everyone’s that lucky.
Since then, I’ve seen many brilliant founders struggle post-sale.
Some burn out.
Some fight the system.
Some quietly disengage.
The fallout can be huge: for the business, the team, the client, the work, the buyer, and the founder’s sense of self-worth.
And while my story centres around a business sale, these same challenges show up any time a leader steps into a new structure — whether that’s a merger, a re-org, or a major promotion.
That’s why part of my coaching work today is helping founders and leaders prepare for and navigate what happens after.
Not just the paperwork.
But the power dynamics.
The emotional shifts.
And the leadership recalibration that’s required when you’re no longer the only one in charge.