How to Close Your Business Elegantly

I understand you don’t want to be a part of the going-out-of-business club.

You have tried your best. But sometimes it just happens.

Wrong business at the wrong time will yield you wrong result. There could be wrong management and decision making involved, but sometimes, no matter how well you run your business, your business simply doesn’t want to survive. Again, it just happens.

It’s part of the learning process in entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurs shall never stop learning – in other words, entrepreneurs must fail to get the most of their learning process.

When your business fail, you normally want to exit ASAP to cut further loss. Business owners often desperately want to get out of business, in such a way that the community, including the customers and clients, ‘shocked’ by your desperation.

I suggest you to think for a while – You see, your business is part of a community. That’s why you work hard to market your business and creating a loyal customer base.

Just like a family member leaving the family home to go elsewhere, exiting business should leave its ‘family home’ elegantly. You don’t want to leave the family home by sneaking out and just leave a note on the dining table, dont’ you? – unless, of course, you have personal issues with your family :)

How to close your business elegantly

I have some tips for you on how to close your business elegantly, with dignity intact.

1. You should have an exit strategy even before you start your business.
   Whether your business is a success or a failure, you have think in advance about how would you get out from your business.
2. Run your business like usual, full force.
   In closing out period, keep your business running as usual, full force. It’s good for your reputation, as well as for your dignity – reputation does follow you wherever you go.
3. Notify your customers and clients.
   It’s the best thing to notify your valued customers and clients about you going out of business. Doing this might bring you to other opportunities.
4. Don’t use ‘Closing Out Sale’ sign
   If your were in retail, you will feel the tendency to put a humongous sign of ‘Closing Out Sale’ – don’t do this! Although it’s a common practice, I personally hate seeing closing businesses sell themselves out like a wh*re. A ‘Help Us Clean The Store Before We Leave’ or something similar would be more elegant.

One, final tip – Close your business positively.

Going out of business doesn’t have to be that bad. Quit mourning – Heads up, gather yourself up, and pursue other opportunities – that what reputable entrepreneurs with dignity should do.

Ivan Widjaya
Being reputable entrepreneur