YOUR OPENING BEGINS AT CLOSE
As Stephen Covey famously advised in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Begin with the end in mind.” If you’re pursuing acquisition entrepreneurship—becoming a “searcher”—this wisdom is critical. Don’t just plan for your acquisition; visualize your years of ownership, your exit, and what comes after.
Early in my career as a new associate at a law firm, I once told my mentor, a partner:
“You’re so lucky—you’re at the finish line! You’ve got it made.”
He looked at me, half amused and half pitying: “Partnership is where the real games begin.”
At the time, I couldn’t comprehend what he meant. It felt like those years as an associate were merely the price of entry for the office politics and rainmaker Olympics. Later, once I made partner, the veil lifted. There really isn’t a finish line in sight.
That lesson stuck with me and resurfaced during my time at Nike, which ran a legendary ad campaign in the mid-70s: “There Is No Finish Line.” (I always found that a bit meta—especially since the athletic shoe store The Finish Line launched only about a year earlier.) But even over five decades later, those posters capture something essential about the journey, the struggle, and the joy, not just the victory.
Most aspiring acquisition entrepreneurs (“searchers”) dream of owning their own small to mid-sized business. But it’s easy to become magnetically pulled toward “the deal”: finding the right business, making the numbers work, wrangling lenders and investors, and finally seeing that magical word—“Closed”—stamped across the dotted line. The moment of acquisition can feel like the finish line.
Yet, as my own journey from associate to partner revealed, the real games begin the day your title says boss on the door.
Nearly every aspiring searcher I meet is a tenacious problem solver, relentlessly focused on the milestones of buying a company. But here’s the twist: one of the biggest challenges is about your own life, not just the business. Many searchers don’t spend enough time envisioning that long arc after their purchase. What will your days actually look like when you’re running the business? How will you grow it, shape the culture, and add value? And what does your ideal exit look like—five, ten, even fifteen years out?
Most of all: how does your family fit into that vision? How will your choices reshape your relationships, your routines, and even how your family sees you? For many, the appeal of business ownership lies in the promise of flexibility and freedom—making it to your kids’ soccer games instead of taking calls from the parking lot, or having enough routine to finally sign up for Thursday night salsa lessons with your spouse.
The dream is real. But so are the risks of focusing only on “getting to close.”
The Risks of Ending Your Vision at “Closed”
If you don’t plan for what comes after acquisition, you risk hitting roadblocks like:
- Burnout: Realizing too late that the day-to-day isn’t a fit—for you or your life
- Stunted growth: Getting stuck in a business you can’t evolve with
- Missed opportunities: Overlooking strategic moves that require years to set up
- No clean exit: Being unable to transition or sell the business as you’d hoped
Owners, Not Just Buyers
So go beyond asking, “Can I buy this business?” Instead, ask: “What will my life—and my business—be like after I own it?” This is the real mindset shift: think like an owner from day one, and imagine yourself years down the road.
- Will you still love the role you step into, day after day?
- Are you ready for the challenges and rewards of leading people, managing payroll, and serving customers?
- Do you know what kind of legacy—or exit—you want to create for your family and yourself?
Begin with the End in Mind
So what does “begin with the end in mind” mean for searchers? It’s not just about making it to closing. It’s about seeing your future years of ownership, your family’s life, and your plan for what comes after.
- Envision your next chapter: Picture yourself—and your business—five or ten years beyond acquisition. What does a typical day look like for you and those you care about? What matters most?
- Reverse-engineer your goals: If selling is your dream, define what makes your business attractive to a buyer. If steady cash flow and a family legacy matter more, start building durable systems now.
- Check the fit: Does the company you’re considering bring you closer to your true aspirations—or just to the closing table?
You Don’t Have to Know Everything—But You’ve Got to Have a Plan
No one expects you to have the entire EtA journey mapped out. Even if there is no finish line, having some goal posts along the way will allow you to know if you are going in the right direction.