This doesn't mean you should never play golf. Jim remembered the feeling he had when he was growing his company. He told us that in the beginning he couldn't wait to get to the office.

But when the business had grown to over 200 employees, he noticed he didn't want to rush to work anymore.

Topic for discussion: Do you think Jim showed courage when he faced his feelings?

Answer: Yes! Most of us want to hold on. We get comfortable and stop imagining the future being different from the present. We like being at the top of the organization chart because we get to call the shots. If we give that up, what will we do with our time?

Topic for discussion: Are there ways to deal with burnout without selling the company?

Answer: Sure. We see it all the time. Arnold Joseff and George Hill have over 200 employees at their company, Diversified Chemicals.* They have re-organized the business so that each division has a president and the goal is to grow their replacements. Today they are trying not to make day-to-day decisions about each business thereby teaching the new leadership how to be in charge.

Ken Done*, painter and founder of Done, felt the burn-out approaching when a customer asked for products Ken didn't want to make. This same strategy is used by Renegade Animation*. They simply say, "No" to work they don't want to do. This restricts growth and keeps the business is the sweet spot where the founders are happiest.

Topic for discussion: Why did Jim sell his first company and what do you think he learned from that experience?

Answer: The first company Jim started and sold was in the sportswear business. When customers asked him to apply numbers and names to the clothing, he started his second company which is the one that grew to $25 million in sales. Seeing the potential of company #2, he decided he should put all of his energy there. This was a very smart move. He sold company #1 to two excellent employees and today it is generating $6 million in annual sales.

Jim learned that a focused effort will result in success. He also learned that a company can be sold and it can have life after the founder. A business can even improve after the founder is out of the picture!

You think about it: Should you sell your company so that others can improve upon it? Could you sell the parts of your company that no longer fascinate you?

NOTE: All material that we tape doesn't make it into our 30-minute broadcast and there is an interesting tidbit we want you to know about but we were not able to squeeze it into the show.

There are basically two type of buyers of all businesses. There are synergistic buyers and financial buyers. Synergistic buyers are ones who already own a similar business and they want to expand with the purchase of a company that has a closely-related customer or supplier base. For example, IBM is constantly buying small software companies who have developed a product that enhances an IBM invention.

Financial buyers could be venture capitalists or other types of investors who want to put their money somewhere, grow the business, then sell it. Jim's company #1 was bought by employees who wanted to keep it going. They had relationships with customers so we would call them synergistic buyers. Jim's company #2 was bought by investors who knew nothing about the industry. Unfortunately, the financial buyers made some poor decisions resulting in the closing of that business.

Our lesson learned from Jim Schell: If you want your company to succeed after you leave it, you must work hard to choose the right buyer. Jim admits he was anxious to take the cash and run when he sold company #2. Even though the sale made him rich, he is much prouder of company #1 because it is still prospering.

* References:

• Diversified Chemicals, Detroit, Michigan
• Ken Done Gallery, Sydney, Australia
• Renegade Animation, Burbank, California