A Faithful Exit

— by Jon Elder

Oftentimes, it feels like a Christian is an entrepreneur is an oxymoron.  Honestly, the vast majority of entrepreneurs are unsaved and are focused on one thing: profit.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  Profit is the name of the game but as a Christian, there is a higher calling.  And that is to honor Christ.  My story is one that is not only unique but inspiring because of the Lord and what He chose to do with my business.  

So, some quick history.  I started an Amazon-based business in late 2014 with a simple product, a golf brush.  I had a general interest in it as I had enjoyed golfing earlier in life and was fairly cheap to source from overseas.  This one product eventually grew into 100 across various categories.  To say my business grew fast is an understatement.  In my first year of business I did just over $100k in sales.  The very next year I did over $1.5 million in sales.  At my peak, I did over $6 million in sales and was a top 3000 Amazon seller!  Then came 2019 when I sold my business to a private buyer for seven figures.  All I all, it was a 5-year journey that grew me, challenged me, and increased by faith in God to a level I hadn’t imagined was possible.  

So, how does one exit a successful business faithfully?  As a Christian, you are called to serve others unconditionally regardless of who they are.  Biblically speaking, this included the buyer of my business of course!  Because of this belief system, it changed the way I approached the exit and the buyer.  Instead of simply looking at it from a financial perspective, it became more of a partnership with the buyer.  Desiring that the buyer of my business experience success after the transfer was important to me.  This resulted in some training of the buyer before the actual sale of the business and starting the onboarding process in a way that didn’t leave anything out.  The real training, of course, came after the sale, which required me to fly to the buyer’s home state to do some intensive in-person training.  During this part of the training, it was a real joy to walk through incredibly detailed aspects of the business and ensure that the buyer had a good grasp on what I was teaching.  

I think another way to stay faithful during an exit is to be honest from the very beginning about your business.  This applies to your financial books to real challenges you experienced.  I think this is crucial because it not only brings you buyers who are genuinely interested in the business, but it brings people who want to take what you built and make it even greater.  From the start of the search for a buyer to closing on the business, I kept lines of communication open and transparent.  Why this is not commonplace is beyond me as it built up trust between myself and the buyer.  

Lastly, I think that it’s honorable to run a business like you always would all the way up until the sale.  I have heard one too many horror stories about guys who will lose steam once talks are getting serious with a buyer and will start neglecting critical elements of their business.  This not only makes you look bad but it can end up with a buyer being in a terrible position post-sale.  That is not God-honoring one bit!  It took me 8 months to close on my business and I’ll be honest, it was always tempting to get lazy and neglect the business.  I’m glad that didn’t happen, and I stayed the course!  The buyer of my business is now growing the business and is in a great position to take it to new heights and be highly successful.  

As a Christian, every element of your life should reflect Christ.  It’s not always easy but the verse that comes to mind is Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  This is a verse that my wife and I teach my son and have encouraged him to memorize.  No task is too great for a Christian who has the great assurance of salvation!   

So, what’s next for me?  Well, during the training sessions I had with the buyer of my business, I realized I enjoyed teaching others.  Naturally, Black Label Advisor was born!  This is my new venture, a VIP style consulting service focused on one on one service with nothing but 100% focus on you.  I assist and help others on their Amazon selling journey to hopefully experience the same success I had.  Feel free to connect with me! 

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[ Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash ]