Author: HairWeavings Editorial Team

You’ve just finished another long day, and not for the first time, you wonder: “Am I ready to move on?” It’s a question many small business owners grapple with, often pushing the answer into the future. After all, your business is more than just a job – it’s a reflection of years of dedication, late nights, and personal sacrifice. But if you’re already asking the question, it might be time to act.

Here are five compelling reasons to start the process of selling your business today.

1. The Market Is Right, Right Now – And You Don’t Want to Miss Out

Markets change in the blink of an eye. Today we have relatively favorable conditions: interest rates on the decline, inflation under control and high interest in good businesses. These won’t last forever. If you wait, you risk missing the peak of your business’s value.

The emotional weight of hindsight can be heavy. Imagine looking back a year from now, wishing you had acted when the time was right. Don’t let regret be part of your story. Selling now gives you the confidence that you seized the moment at its best.

2. Selling Takes Longer Than You Think – And That’s Okay

The journey to sell your business isn’t a quick sprint; it’s a marathon. It takes months to prepare, market, and negotiate a successful sale. Starting now ensures you have the time to do it right. Emotionally, this means less stress and more control.

When you start early, you can navigate the process without feeling rushed. This time is also an opportunity to savor the transition, honor your clients/customers, engage with your employees and contractors, and prepare yourself for what’s next.

3. Business Value May Decline Over Time – And That’s Hard to Accept

You’ve worked hard to build something valuable, but business value isn’t static. As I metioned in #1 above, market trends can worsen, competition can get stronger, and industry changes can all diminish your business’s worth over time. This decline can feel personal, like watching a beloved creation lose its shine. Acting now allows you to preserve the pride in what you’ve built and sell at a point where its value reflects your hard work.

4. Health and Energy Aren’t Guaranteed – And You Deserve to Sell on Your Terms

This one was hard for me. As you know, running a business takes stamina – both physical and mental. While you might feel fine today, life has a way of throwing curveballs. Many owners wait until they’re burned out or facing health challenges before selling, which can make the process even more overwhelming.

Selling while you’re still energized ensures that you can tackle the complexities of the sale with clarity and purpose. It’s an emotionally empowering choice that puts you in control of the timeline, rather than letting circumstances dictate it for you.

5. Life After the Sale Awaits You – And It’s Time to Embrace It

This is my favorite reason (probably because I’m done with the sale of my business). What’s waiting for you after the sale? Maybe it’s the chance to travel, spend time with family, start a new venture, or simply enjoy the freedom of knowing your hard work has paid off. Whatever your next chapter looks like, it can only begin after you’ve closed this one.

Holding onto your business out of fear or uncertainty keeps you stuck. By starting the process now, you move closer to that new beginning (what I like to call “the promised land.”) You deserve to dream big and turn those dreams into reality.

Take the First Step Today

The question isn’t just, “Am I ready to move on?” It’s also, “What’s waiting for me on the other side?” The best way to answer that is to take the first step today. The future you’re dreaming about is closer than you think.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What’s holding you back from starting to sell your business today? Please make a comment and share your thoughts. And, if you’d like a sympathetic ear to listen to where you are in your journey to what’s next after your business sells, please contact me. I love to talk with business owners who are ready to take their next steps in the journey.

Saturn is entering Aries.

I hate to brag, but I consider myself a world-class thrifter and consignment shop guru. It’s all I can do to contain myself when a psychotherapy client tells me about their thrifting adventures – I want to trade stories of our conquests and even run up to my closet for a quick show and tell.

Luckily, I have been able to resist that urge in my 30 or so years of being a psychotherapist. I did have an awkward moment when I realized my client was wearing a pair of shoes I had consigned earlier that season.

She was showing them off, and it occurred to me that situations like these were never discussed in grad school seminars on how to be an effective psychotherapist.

My Favorite Shop

So, with my passion for all things thrifty, it’s very fortunate that there’s a lovely, classy, cheerful consignment shop not far from my home. The shop owner, Fran, has a great eye and even brings back treasures when she travels to Italy to visit her family.

Fran only accepts stylish clothes that are often more fashion-forward than I can pull off comfortably. She works with my quiet style. She has dressed me for events, and sometimes I realize that every single piece of clothing I am wearing is from her shop.

I was on a local TV show once and thought it appropriate that there should be some kind of caption: Clothes Provided by EcoChic Boutique Consignment. You probably don’t see that too often.

How Could I Resist?

A few days ago, I found myself in Fran’s lovely shop, looking through the dedicated Eileen Fisher rack. Picking up some great wardrobe staples, I went up to the register to pay.

A flash of color grabbed my eye. A bucket handbag in an impossibly vibrant and beautiful shade of lilac stared back at me. Was it… pebbled leather? With a slouchy boho shape? I asked Fran to bring it down from the shelf. I was getting a little breathless.

Fran stated knowingly, “This is such a Nicole color.” Indeed. Almost everything she’s sold me is black or a version of plum.

Yes, It’s Real Leather

Did I need a new purse? Of course not. I’m loving my new modified minimalist lifestyle of less is more. I’m preaching the benefits of non-consumption. And yet. I looked at the price tag. $45. For a Coach leather satchel?

It looked new! It must be synthetic. I asked Fran about the quality. She was a bit taken back. “Yes,” she said, with a confused look on her face. “It’s real Italian great quality leather.” You know what came next.

Do the Math

As she was ringing up my purchases, I was surprised by the total, which was higher than I expected. I kept adding up the items in my head, which is not that effective when you have an undocumented learning disability in math. I couldn’t figure out why the total got so high. It felt a bit unsettling.

I trundled back to my car, accompanied by my lovely lilac slouchy bag, and took out my dime store reading glasses. No. Lovely bag was not $45. It was $95. My denial about needing reading glasses got the best of me. It wasn’t the first time.

What Happened?

Why didn’t I use my readers? Was it laziness? Embarrassment? Pride? Facing the truth that my eyes, which have always been great, are aging?

I got my great eyesight from my dad, and I’ve been proud of it; it’s served me very well. It’s one thing to get grey hair, but to start losing your eyesight is really tough for me to accept.

But I better find a way, unless I want to end up buying many more purses!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What’s the trickiest part of aging for you? Have you had any surprise symptoms? Do share your stories in the comments below.

This year’s holiday is extra special for their family.

With the holiday season in full swing, my house is decorated, cookies baked, gifts wrapped, and holiday cards sent. With one final thing to check off my list, I saved the most challenging for last – buying a Christmas present for my dear husband.

Finding the right gift for him isn’t easy. When I probe to get ideas, he delivers the same speech each year, “I don’t need anything, so I don’t want you to buy me anything. Just get me a can of nuts.”

The Panic of Fear

With the 12 days of Christmas countdown quickly approaching, I started to fear I’d have nothing to give him. And then, one morning while we were enjoying breakfast at a beachside café, I realized the perfect gift had been right in front of me all along.

As I bit into a warm, sweet pastry, my husband smiled and told me that I would have loved his Mom’s cinnamon rolls. A hint of sadness peeked through his expression, “I really miss her sometimes.”

Sadly, his Mom, Mrs. Murphy, passed away a few years ago, and for the longest time he barely mentioned her name. But for some reason, on that chilly morning, he felt comfortable reminiscing about her funny idiosyncrasies, her love for wildlife, and the adventures inside the Murphy home.

Finding Inspiration in Sad Eyes

My heart broke for him as I saw his strong Irish eyes show a vulnerability I don’t see very often. And with that, I thought of something that would bring him joy – a new family tradition – adding his Mom’s cinnamon rolls to our Christmas morning breakfast.

As excited as I was to share the idea with him, I decided to keep quiet. The challenge was getting a hold of the recipe. Heck, I didn’t even know if it existed. His sister, Patricia, would know.

She responded to my don’t-tell-your-brother e-mail with bad news, “I’m out of town until the New Year.” But the note ended with a glimmer of hope. She’d asked her neighbor to go to her house and take a look around.

The Recipe Search

Mrs. Murphy’s spirit must have helped in the search because the very next day, Patricia sent a scanned copy of the recipe, written in his Mom’s handwriting. It was fantastic.

She had keywords underlined and asterisks emphasizing key points – test with two fingers, grease pan, double in size, warm to the arm. She even drew a picture of a rectangular shape of the type of pan to cook the rolls in.

I was overjoyed, knowing the happiness this gift would bring my husband. As I looked at the recipe, I wondered if I would be able to find a designer to turn it into a piece of wall art to hang on our kitchen wall.

Naturally, I turned to Google. Within minutes, I was on the phone with a local company discussing what I had in mind. To make his present extra special, I wanted to include a facsimile note in his Mom’s handwriting.

Excitingly, I was told this could be done quickly by pulling the individual letters from the handwritten recipe. Wanting to keep the note genuine, it took me over an hour to find the perfect eight words Mrs. Murphy might have written.

Joe,

A little taste of home.

Love, Mom

As a last-minute thought, I had the designer add a photo of my husband’s Mom and Dad (on their wedding day) as well as fun images of cinnamon rolls and cinnamon sticks. It was perfect.

The next day, I picked up the incredible creation, had it framed, wrapped it in shiny holiday paper and placed it under our Christmas tree.

As much as I would love to tell you how this story ends, I can’t. I’m writing this blog before Christmas. What I can do is share my plan of action. On the morning of the 25^th, I’m going to bake Mrs. Murphy’s cinnamon rolls without telling my husband I’m attempting to make his Mom’s recipe.

I hope that he’ll recognize the taste and say something like, “You know, these taste a little like my Mom’s.” I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the taste is similar. At that point, I’m going to hand him the present.

Enriching My Husband’s Life

For me, giving a gift to my husband has nothing to do with how much it costs. It has to do with giving him something that will enrich his life in some way.

This year, I’m taking his loss and turning it into his gain. And best of all, the memory of his Mother will be hanging on our kitchen wall for him to feel connected to her all year long.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What kind of sentimental gifts have you given to your partner? What lengths are you willing to go to so that you gift him (or her) something special and memorable? Let’s chat about our stories below!