For those of us who own a business, the truth we often find is that, once we’ve built one, we want to build another.  Maybe the industry we’re currently in isn’t serving us, or the markets have changed and we see a new opportunity, or maybe we sold the company we had and have decided to start up another one. 

No matter the circumstance, entrepreneurs tend to keep opening new businesses. 

Michael E. Gerber, author of The E-Myth Revisited, noted this, and despite so many years of helping entrepreneurs to refine their companies, even Gerber acknowledged that sometimes, the existing business isn’t capable of being “fixed.”

He called that problem “OldCo” and presented it as an entity that – aside from generating the money necessary to finance your new business – what he called “NewCo” – it simply wasn’t worth messing with. 

So where does that leave you? 

Here’s some prompts to be aware of that it might be time to create your own “NewCo.”

1.      You’ve come to realize that the business you built isn’t where you really want to be.  Maybe you built a successful single family real estate company in a small town that is getting too big for you, or you and your spouse are empty-nesters and are looking to move.  Bear in mind that this isn’t just a geographical question – it also could be that you’re in a business that doesn’t serve your interests.  Your dream is to operate a world-class fly-fishing resort in Montana, not a chiropractic clinic in Flagstaff. 

2.      When you can’t stop thinking about this new opportunity or idea, it might be time to walk away from OldCo – or at least systemize it to allow you the ability and time to focus on the new startup.  A startup requires a lot of time and money, and if you don’t have plenty of them, you may never be able to launch that next dream. 

3.      Your support system is generally one of two things:  either the cash generated from selling OldCo or the systems you’ve created that allow you to walk away from the daily, weekly, monthly, and even annually management of it.  Your support system is bigger than that, though.  Family and friends need to be aware that you are building and launching, and they need to understand how important it is to honor your goals. 

4.      Your “NewCo” is going to solve a specific problem that no one – or relatively few- can see.  You’ve got an innovative approach AND a solution that is not only realistic, but also scalable.  If you’re the only one who can do it, you’re only creating a new job for yourself, not a business you can truly profit from.  It’s true that potentially many other people are providing that same solution, but your own vision has identified a new way of doing it that can change things for the better. 

No matter what your current situation is - a successful small business or a business you’ve grown to multiple millions of dollars annually - there comes a time for a lot of us when we have to think about moving forward into uncharted territory.

Not to worry, if you’re thinking about building out a new idea, my team and I can help you figure it all out based on your current economic strategy and your future one!