I think there are four main reasons people become entrepreneurs. It's to create freedom for themselves, to get rich, to build something unique, or no one else would hire you.
Of these reasons, the only one that makes sense to sell is those who want to get rich. Everyone else needs to think twice about building and selling a business.
Within the entrepreneur circle, it seems the main point of business is to get a great ideal, hustle your ass off for as long as you can, and then sell the business for gobs of money.
The community seems to glaze over what to do after the sale.
There's a better way to build a business, and it's not for the sale. It's for the now; or more specifically, for the journey.
Now it's not to say that selling a business is always a bad idea. Life isn't binary. I'll talk about when and why you should sell your business, and spoiler warning: getting rich isn't one of those reasons.
Why should you sell a business?
Most simply, you're ready for the next thing, and your current business can't help you get there.
But isn't that why most people sell their business?
Probably not. I think most people are selling their business because it's no longer fun to operate. Because they've made some poor decisions that they don't want to or don't have the capacity to unwind.
When you're running away from your business, you're also running away from your ability to grow as an entrepreneur. You're running away from leveling up, solving the problem, and hitting new growth levels.
The reality is that if you choose to sell your business because it's hard, it sucks, it's not the right fit, then you won't be able to overcome those same problems when you encounter them on the next business.
If you think selling your business will solve your problems, then you haven't yet fully grasped what you need to be doing as an entrepreneur.
Your role as an entrepreneur is simply to identify problems, prioritize them, and solve them. The problems never end; they just change.
I think one of the most challenging situations is when you are not aligned with your business partner. You can be ready to persevere through all problems faced in the business; however, they might not have that same resolve. The mistake you made was your selection of your partner, and frankly, you have no control over someone else.
Selling a business and dissolving that relationship might need to be the way to solve that problem.
Sometimes you are in too deep with the current business. You've made decisions you can't unwind. You've put yourself in a bad position, and selling is the only option you have. I get that.
In those cases, it's important to learn and understand what got you into that position. What were the decisions you made that handcuffed you, and how do you grow so the next business doesn't have the same hurdles.
I hope this article is able to reach people before they start their business. So they can build a pathway that makes sense and doesn't force their hand.
So how do you build a business that you never sell?
It starts with understanding the fundamentals. Who are your partners who you feel comfortable building a life together. Business partnerships are a lot like marriages, and there's a lot of emotions bundled with it. Who you choose to make your partner is probably one of the most important decisions you can make, and if you've never had a business before, you're likely to misprioritize who to partner with.
The perfect partner isn't someone with complementary skills; the perfect partner is one who aligns with you philosophically and has the abilities to identify problems, prioritize them, and solve them.
They need to think like an owner and not like an employee. To me, red flags would be any compensation conversation and not understanding the difference between equity and salary.
And for those who haven't run a business, salary is what you pay yourself as an employee with expectations that you perform highly in that role. You should be paid a market rate that aligns with how you pay your employees. So if you aim to pay your employees at the 75th percentile for a given job, you too should have the same compensation within your role (typically as CEO or COO).
Then, an added bonus is taking distributions from your company if you're profitable. This will be split according to your ownership amount. So if you have 50% and your partner has 50%, then y'all will split it equally. It doesn't matter how many hours are put in for distributions. The same is true if you have investors who own a piece of the business. They are entitled to distributions.
Overpaying yourself a salary and not doing distributions, or asking a partner to take less money so you can get more distributions, is bad behavior and should be avoided at all costs.
Most partnership battles are from people not understanding these differences.
If your potential partner cannot grasp this concept, you need to avoid being a partner with them. It will only end up in strife.
Now, let's say you have a good partnership, but you've simply lost passion for your business.
This seems like a reason to sell, but I don't think so. I think it's simply another problem to solve, and it should be high at the list. How do you make it so you're excited about the business and the problems it's facing?
Maybe you need to develop a new product, maybe a new side brand, maybe a new channel. Something that gets you fired up again. Do it in a way that doesn’t put your business at risk.
You need to remember that as an owner of a company, you have full control to do whatever you want. There's no law that says whatever you started your business as has to do that forever. Can you take a bigger vision for your business?
For example, if you build railroads and that industry is dying, can you instead think of your company as building transportation infrastructure. Allowing yourself the freedom to pivot into building roads.
My industry, beard care, has plateaued. So how do I solve the problem? Instead of simply selling, I can use the skills and team we developed to have them focus on a similar industry that is no longer stagnant. This might mean I keep the products the same but spin up a new brand because the company name "Beardbrand" is too linked to beard care.
For all this to work, the most basic principle of business needs to be followed.
Profitability.
To be profitable, you need to make hard decisions to turn away great potential opportunities that don't have the margins. Or to accept being at a smaller-sized business to not take on debt that erodes profitability.
The constant reminder you need to tell yourself is that you only have the "now." The moment you are experiencing now is what you need to build for and plan for. How do you build a company where the "now" is the desired outcome?
It is cliché to say the journey is the way, but people say it because it's true. Once you realize the gift you have and the control you have in your business, you'll start seeing how selling the business is probably the last thing you should aim for.
The goal is really building a business that allows you to do the things you love. If you enjoy marketing, you can continue marketing while hiring out the rest. If you love investing, you can hire out operators and look for unique opportunities. If you love product, you can stick to that and hire the rest. You don't have to be CEO. You don't have to run it. You get to pick your passion.
Solve that problem, and you'll find immense gratitude for life and the things you have. Maintain profitability, keep enough to put a roof over your head, food on the table, and savings for tough days.
Enjoy the journey, it's all you got.
Keep on Growing!
Eric Bandholz
Founder, Beardbrand
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Eric Bandholz is the Founder of Beardbrand, a leading men’s grooming company that helps men embrace their personal style through quality beard care, grooming products, and education. After launching Beardbrand in 2012, he transformed the brand from a passion project and community for urban beardsmen into a globally recognized e-commerce company known for its storytelling, strong brand identity, and customer-first approach. Under his leadership, Beardbrand has become a standout example of how authentic content, community building, and direct-to-consumer strategies can create a lasting brand. Eric is also the host of Ecommerce Conversations by Practical Ecommerce and is recognized as a thought leader in entrepreneurship and e-commerce, sharing his experiences on building a purpose-driven company, growing a loyal audience, and self-expression.
