How to Let Go of a Business You No Longer Want to Be In
Updated: Mar 20, 2021
This is a touchy subject, and very personal for me.
I was making tons of money selling graphics and websites to nightclubs. From 2005-2014, we pretty much led the industry in this niche. I was speaking at nightclub conferences, writing nightclub marketing books, and leading nightclub marketing blogs.
But anyone will tell you that the industry is unstable and, at times, abusive. They didn’t always pay on time, they closed down from one day to the next, and always needed everything yesterday.
I became tired of it all, but…my identity was wrapped in it. I was Alex, the nightclub guy. Also, my employees received their pay from these clubs, and I did too.
How do we let go of things that aren’t bringing us joy anymore? How do we transition from a business we USED to love, but now we hate.
It’s not easy. Killing your old identity to start a new one isn’t a ‘snap your finger’ event and poof, everything is all good. Like death, there are stages you will go through until you’re out.
How long does that last? Well, that’s up to our ability to know one important question: If this other business isn’t for me, then what is?!?!
I believe God has a purpose for us all, a business we’re supposed to be in, a service we were gifted to provide, a product we were talented enough to create.
Step 1 is seeing the new opportunity, the ‘born to do’ path. You have to see how you’re going to get back to the same revenues, and MORE!
In the book of Acts, chapter 19, there’s a riot that ensues in the city Ephesus because of…well, businessmen that were about to be out of business because of Jesus! Let me explain. The city of Ephesus worshiped this certain goddess. Everyone in the world at that time knew that Ephesus was all about this particular goddess. People would travel there to witness this. Naturally, savvy entrepreneurs set up shop. Craftsmen made figures to represent the goddess. Can you blame them? I would have too! Business is business.
But when Paum and his disciples come into the city to tell them the REAL God and, essentially, debunk their current God, you can imagine the businesses that profited from this goddess were none too happy. They formed a huge mob and got the entire city behind them.
These businessmen couldn’t see how life would be if they weren’t doing their current business. They were so attached to this one thing that they were blind to using their skills for anything else.
You might be in a situation where the industry is changing. You might be encountering a shift in your own mind about the services you provide because you don’t think it’s a good industry anymore. But you can’t think of any way out.
You have to realize that God has plans for you that are so much greater than what you think. Think of your biggest plans, now multiply them by 10. You STILL fall short of God’s best for you.
But it all starts by recognizing that you won’t be able to achieve this on your own. You can’t know your ‘calling’ in life without going to your ‘caller’ and asking this question: what would you have me do next?
This complete surrender is what I had to go through in 2014 when I completely dropped the nightlife. From one day to the next, all of my clients were put on notice that this would be the final round of designs. I sent everyone to new clients. 2015 turned out to be the biggest, most profitable year of my business. Everything turned around. I found joy in what I really wanted to do. I didn’t need to deal with the nightlife anymore.
We all have things in our business we want to move away from. We all have clients we wish we didn’t have. So what’s stopping it from happening?
You.
Godpreneur Rule #17: To know your calling in life, you must go to the one who has called you into existence.