Build a Business So Good You Never Want to Exit or Quit
How to build a life you're happy with regardless of your moonshot
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Entrepreneurs chase the flashy exits – selling your company for millions or hundreds of millions of dollars and achieving your dreams. The problem comes from the realization that not only is this “moonshot” thinking exceedingly rare, the more you talk with people who have achieved it, the more you realize that it doesn’t end up giving them everything they ever wanted.
If, and it’s a big if, your business is sold for some incredibly large sum of money, you’ll be faced with a dilemma about how to spend your time next, and if you haven’t found how to live your life in a way that lights you up every single day with or without the business when your life is without the business, you have a huge problem.
The problem with “moonshot” thinking is that all of your success hinges on a single moment. The Venture Capital model is built on moonshots, VCs know that 9 out of 10 businesses they fund will do little for their portfolios, but 1 in 10 becomes a 1,000x or 10,000x return. This is great for the fund, but not so great for the 9 out of 10 entrepreneurs who don’t achieve the ultimate moonshot. VCs are diversified, and entrepreneurs are all-in.
In my work with lifestyle business owners, even those doing only a million or 10 million in revenue can fall into the same trap of thinking. Yes, their moonshot may be a bit smaller (say, $5 or $25M in the bank) but they can fantasize about the moonshot nonetheless. Who doesn’t want to see themselves as the hero of the business? Of the one who truly did something different and better than everyone else? Who doesn’t dream about the way it would feel to have you and your family financially set for life in one fall swoop?
One of the most unique types of conversations I get to have with entrepreneurs is talking to them about their careers in such a way that they no longer “want” to exit from them.
It’s a novel concept. Instead of asking how to “exit” – we get to discuss what building a business and career you never want to exit from looks like. While some people might be in business for the thrill of the exit, that’s not often the entrepreneur’s deeper purpose behind their work. After all, the exit is usually the end to the vehicle that allows them to show up and serve their purpose every day.
What if you built a business you never wanted to exit from?
Or even better.
What if you built a life you didn’t want to exit from? That money would only change a little, and you’d be happy living regardless.
This is the opportunity that lifestyle business owners have.
If you have a VC-backed business, you’re signing up as an Astronaut and you hired NASA (VC’s) to get you to the moon. To you, I say Godspeed and I hope you don’t blow up on takeoff. I also think some of what I’m going to share might still apply to you and is worth thinking about.
Always be exiting.
Instead of thinking about the one, single exit that’s going to make your dreams come true, what would it look like for you to “always be exiting”? This might mean selling stock down during fundraises or creating unique products that sell for a ton of money and you take some large profits in the business. Yes, it’s great to compound your money in the company year after year, but it’s also great to actually take profits.
Many lifestyle business owners who are unclear about whether they are building a rocket to the moon or a simple long-lasting lifestyle business forget to take profits along the way.
Diversify your identity.
You got here because work is your number one priority. You’ve worked your entire 20s and 30s skipping weekend parties and the bar scene to stay in and grind. You got so into your health and sleep that you no longer know how to have fun at a Pizza Parlor. Your mind is always wanting to grab for your phone to check email and Slack or X to see what you might be missing.
This incredible dedication to your work turns Moonshot thinking for your business into Moonshot thinking for your identity. You start to believe that you are your business, and therefore your business needs to achieve a certain outcome for you to align with that vision you have for yourself.
Having family and relationships that love you and don’t care at all about your work is essential. But more than that is having that relationship with yourself, where you love you, even if you never work again another day in your life.
Your business cannot be your only identity or you are at risk of losing everything when something out of your control happens and the business goes under, or maybe even if it is successful.
Hobbies, community, and passions outside of your business are essential for staying anti-fragile.
Use the platform you’ve been given for good.
One reason to hold onto your business and built it in a sustainable way that is lifegiving to you and the people involved is that it’s an incredible platform. With a business, you have a microphone and a direct access line to improving the lives of your customers and employees. A business is a vehicle that you can shape to achieve deeper meaning and purpose in your life, and it’s a contribution that creates a sum is larger than it’s parts.
Businesses can give more to charity, create new business models, change cultural thinking, or even just give people a great place to work and meet other great people.
The full range of possibilities is always in front of us, and I have no idea how the stars might align for you and your business to achieve your moonshot. But if you’re not practicing some form of lifestyle diversification along the way, you might find that on the other side of your moonshot is a big wake-up call you weren’t expecting.
If you’ve been having success in your business already and you’re starting to notice that even though things have gotten significantly better financially you’re starting to realize that building a life and business that co-exist and build in such a way that you’re successful no matter what happens, feel free to give me a call.
xx David
If you’re building a million-dollar-plus company, you’ll probably need to talk at some point about the things no one prepares you for – the emotional, personal, and energetic challenges of scaling a business.
🏹 I partner with founders hitting big milestones—scaling, hiring execs, raising money, and selling their company to get clarity on what they want and how to build and expand their business in a way that works for them.