MBA1005 Q&A Wednesday: How do I close my business for good without upsetting my customers?

The $100 MBA Show

Omar Zenhom

Entrepreneurship, Business, Careers, Marketing

4.8 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2018

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Goodbyes are tough. When you’re closing your doors, how should you address it with your customers?

That’s what one listener asked us for this week’s Q&A Wednesday. There are perfectly good reasons to close a business, from a lack of profitability to plain old retirement. But when you do so, you take something away from a group of people who supported you.

As a business owner, you owe it to them to bow out gracefully.

Today, we discuss how to communicate the end of your business in a respectful, productive way. Any exit strategy requires careful planning, including salvaging whatever good will you can. It requires correct timing, articulation, and possibly honoring some legal obligations. The way you close will have an impact — one that can follow you into your next business.

Learn how to soften the blow. It’s the right thing to do. Click Play!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Heyo! Welcome to the $100 R. V. Show, making the most of 10 minutes to make your business better
0:15.9	every single day with our daily 10 minute business lessons for the real world.
0:20.0	I'm your host, your coach, your teacher, Omar's at home.
0:23.2	I'm also the co-founder of the $100 MBA, a complete business training and community online
0:28.2	over at 100 MBA.net.
0:31.1	And today's episode is a Q&A Wednesday episode. On our Q&A
0:34.3	Wednesday episodes, we answer a question from you, a listener of the show. If you have a
0:39.6	question you want to ask, just email me over at omar at 100MBA.
0:44.5	Today's question comes from Vicky.
0:46.9	And Vicky asks, how do I close my business for good
0:50.0	without upsetting my customers?
0:52.3	A super solid question, Vicky.
0:54.5	Sometimes we will choose to close our business forever.
0:58.2	And it could be for several reasons.
0:59.8	Maybe it's just not profitable, it's not worth your time anymore, or effort. Or maybe it's doing just fine but you
1:05.1	want to retire and you want to close up that coffee shop. Whatever the reasons you
1:09.6	need to be able to communicate this to your customers properly.
1:14.1	Because hey, they've been loyal customers, patrons of your business for so long,
1:19.1	and they were the reason why you were in business.
1:21.8	On top of that, you want to make sure your exit strategy, your
1:24.2	transition out when you close your business, that whole process needs to be smooth,
1:28.7	headache-free with minimal issues from your own customers.
	...

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