🏴‍☠️ The trap behind “one more good year"

Hey, it’s Kinza.

In today’s issue.

1. Why most founders delay exit (and it’s not about money)

2. The hidden identity cost of selling your business

3. What “one more good year” is really masking

4. And more…

I post every day on LinkedIn here.

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Deep Dive

You tell yourself: “Let me fix this one thing first.”

“Just one more clean year of financials.”

“Then I’ll be ready.”

But here’s what no one tells you:
Most founders delay exit not because they’re not ready, but because they’re afraid.

Not of the buyer.
Not of the numbers.
But of what comes after.

I’ve been there.

After I sold my first business, I thought I’d feel proud. Relieved. Settled.

But instead, I woke up in a house that was too quiet. With a calendar that didn’t know what to do with me.

My brain, so used to firefighting and forward motion, went into withdrawal.

I didn’t miss the business.

I missed who I was inside it.

That’s the trap:
We build businesses that need us at the center. Then we wonder why stepping out feels like losing oxygen.

One founder I worked with (let’s call him Chris), was the perfect example.

His numbers were tight.
His industry was growing.
He’d been approached by multiple buyers.

But every time he got close, he’d pull back.
“Just one more year,” he kept saying.

When we finally sat down, I asked him: What are you actually afraid of?

He didn’t even mention the money.

He said, “I don’t know who I am without this.”

That’s the thing most deal prep guides won’t tell you.

Exit readiness isn’t just operational.
It’s emotional.

Takeaways

If you want a clean exit, not just on paper but in your gut, start here:

1. Name what the business gives you beyond income.

   
   Leadership. Identity. Chaos. Relevance. Start listing it. You'll need to recreate it in some other way post-exit.

2. Stop aiming for perfect, start aiming for optionality.

   
   Your business doesn't need to be flawless. It needs to be understandable, transferable, and profitable without you.

3. Don’t just build a sellable business. Build a life you’d be proud to step into.

   
   If that next chapter is foggy, the exit will always feel too early.

See the full tear sheet here.

Before You Go: Two Ways I Can Help

1. If you’ve sold already and the quiet surprised you, hit reply.

2. Meet with me 1:1, whether you plan to sell your business now or later. Schedule a free consultation.

See you next week.

-Kinza