We walked into a nice Sheraton Hotel with our dogs (all Starwood Hotels allow dogs) and our Lab got scared, turned around, and headed back to the entry way. As we entered it was a nice white marble floor, there then was a very shiny black marble section, followed by more light marble.
The sea of dark spooked him. Someone said maybe he thinks it’s water (he has no fear of water, he’s a Lab). To him, it just looked different, it was something unknown, and the fear of the unknown took over. *
After trying a few times to cajole him to move forward I simply started running with him, we crossed the black flooring, he didn’t get swallowed into it, and from then on he was fine.
In my world of business buying, selling, and preparing a company for sale the fear of the unknown is the number one reason that holds back people from taking the actions they know they want to take.
- If I sell my business, what will I do (will I have to be with my spouse 24/7)?
- Will I have enough money for my next great adventure in life (retirement, another business, etc.)?
- How much work will it take to get my business to be worth what I want it to be worth?
- What if the seller isn’t telling me everything about the business (and they wouldn’t withhold something good now, would they?)?
The trick is to turn an unknown into a known, or at least an 80-90% known, there’s always some risk, which is why in my books I say buyers and sellers are making a leap of faith and they want it to be off a chair not the roof.
You do this by research, diligence, and using experts. My clients don’t want to be experts on business buying and selling, they want to get it done and move on. Just like their customers don’t want to be experts on the products they buy from my clients, they just want it to do what it’s supposed to do.
“What is the point of being alive if you don’t try to do something remarkable?” John Green
* He also avoids metal grating whether it be on a sidewalk, steps, etc. We all have our phobias, even dogs.
