Losing a business is overall, akin to the “death” of a loved one. So much of a business owner’s personality and hard work have gone into a business, that when tragedy strikes, for whatever reason and the business is forced into bankruptcy or to close, the emotions felt by the business owner are nothing short of serious and all encompassing!
Since losing a business is considered a “major life stressor”, along with divorce and the death of a loved one, a business owner that loses a business can be just as emotionally devastated. With this in mind, it is appropriate for the business owner to take into account the five stages of grief that do occur in a major life event or “stressor”. These stages are according to the work of renowned Swiss born psychiatrist, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross:
1. Denial. This stage is a healthy stage when the individual asks the question, “Why Me”?, and develops strategies to develop defenses against the impending stress.
2. Anger or Resentment. Blame occurs in this stage.
3. Bargaining. This is a “truce period” where an individual makes “deals” in their minds, if “only” things don’t play out the way they are bound to do so.
4. Depression. This is the real grief phase, and an individual will primarily feel discouraged and hopeless.
5. Acceptance. This is where reality is dealt with and the process of “going on” begins. Withdrawal from others may occur temporarily here.
Although Dr. Kubler-Ross developed the five stages primarily to be used when dealing with terminal illnesses that lead to death, her work can readily be applied to many major life stresses, including the loss of a business. In addition, not all individuals go through each stage routinely in order, with some skipping stages, or staying in one stage longer than others.
Business owners that suffer the catastrophic loss of a business need to allow themselves the same flexibility and time for acceptance that other major life stressors require. They need to work through the five stages until the fifth stage, acceptance, is reached. They also need to put the loss into perspective if they can, and determine just “why” and “how” the business faltered and eventually failed.
With defeat, sometimes knowledge is attained, and if a business owner can work through the stages of grief successfully, and use the knowledge attained for enlightenment, then perhaps they can successfully start another business in the future, and achieve better results.
Business owners should make a list after they are on their feet again of exactly “what” went wrong, and methods of prevention in the future, as they can then use this to their advantages. The list can include such information such as:
1. Why the business failed overall: Was it the wrong type of business for the wrong type of clientele? Was it targeted incorrectly? Was it too unusual to succeed? Was the marketing of the business incorrect? Were the expenditures too great? Was the business plan and outlook faulty or realistic?
2. What mistakes led up to the failure: Did the business grow too quickly or too slowly? Were there actual methods in place for prevention, or was the business “reactive” rather than “proactive”?
3. What can the business owner correct/rectify in the future? This is the most important question, and a list of all methods that may be used as a measure against future failures should be made.
Business owners need to give themselves time to heal and sort through their feelings, though. Any loss is so emotionally draining, that jumping right back into the “business fire” with another business is not necessarily a good idea until the business owner has recovered their energy and worked through their feelings of grief completely.
