• Visit The Grief and Trauma Healing Centre and connect with them on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
• Connect with Ashley Mielke on Instagram and LinkedIn.

 Joe Sanok 00:00:00  I'm so excited to introduce you to the best website designers out there. We have a brand new partnership with session sites. It is where good therapy meets brilliant design, and they get your website switched over or built in less than two weeks. They fine tune your messaging, use science backed user experience methodology, and work exclusively with mental health professionals. In fact, new clients right now are going to get three free therapy marketing strategy calls with their creative director of session sites. If you book today, you're not going to want to miss this. Head on over to session sites.com/joe again that session sites.com/joe get the website of your dreams today session sites.com/joe. This is the practice of the practice podcast with Joe Sana. Session number 1145. I'm Joe Sand, your host, and welcome to the end of the year. I hope that you are doing great as we wrap up this, this year, as we land this plane, this final, session around ownership of a practice. actually, it's not the final one. Sorry.

Joe Sanok 00:01:24  We have two more after this. just didn't look at my notes. is what ash, thinks that she wishes that she would have known before selling her group practice. so let's dive in.

Ashley Mielke 00:01:35  Welcome back to the practice of the practice podcast. I'm your host, Ashley Melky, and I'm really excited. Today we are going to be diving into part five of our seven part series on selling a group practice. So today I'm going to be sharing more of my journey. What I wish I would have known before selling my business, and hopefully this gives you some insights and an insider look into what you may experience and what considerations you can take before embarking on this journey. Overall, it was much more of an emotional journey that I than I anticipated, and we talk about this more in the next episode with our amazing guest, Doctor Jenny Ward, who'll be joining us in the next episode talking about the struggles involved personally, emotionally, spiritually in selling a business. So let's dive right in. Number one, a big thing that I took away is to start the process sooner than you think.

Ashley Mielke 00:02:50  It's, I think, high level. I kind of thought, okay, well, when I'm ready to sell and I'm ready today, okay, like, let's let's close the deal today. it's a slower process than you think. Even when you're moving quickly. I am an action taker. I move very quickly when I commit to doing anything in my life. So I kind of had this idea that if I. Okay, I've secured my buyer, and as long as I provide them with everything they need in the due diligence process, we will sign the sale agreement and it'll be a done deal and it'll be that simple. So in my head, I'm thinking this can't possibly take more than six months. Well, I learned very quickly that you can anticipate at least 12 months. This allows time for negotiations, which can take several weeks. This isn't a okay. I provide a number of what I'd like to sell my business for. The buyer just graciously accepts. Right. They're going to come back with their number, and there might be a negotiation, and it might take several weeks just around the conversation of the sale of your business and some of those other aspects like, you know, non-compete, non solicitation and how they want the process to look.

Ashley Mielke 00:04:17  So you're going to want to give yourself at least 12 months for the process. And this can take up to 18 months depending on how quickly you move your buyer moves. What's involved in the sale. How big your practice is. So give yourself that grace and space to start now. Like if you're looking at selling in the next year or two, start that process now. Get organized, get your financials together. Organize and optimize your operations. Do you have handbooks and policies and procedures? Do you have standard operating procedures ready to go? For all of the intricacies and inner workings of how your practice runs? Because like I said before, that's going to be very appealing to your buyer. And if you have all these processes and systems in place, it's going to make it a lot more efficient and move a lot quicker. And you're going to want to have those conversations with your lawyer and your accountant and your family, and any of your other advisors as early as possible, so that you can start the process.

Ashley Mielke 00:05:25  And another thing is just be very clear on what you hope to accomplish through the sale. Like what are your ultimate goals in the sale of your business financially? What do you want that to look like, right? If you can imagine that number in your bank account, what is that number? What are your personal professional goals? What do you want that transition to look like? And now that I can look back on the journey and they say hindsight is 2020, I can look at all the ways that I could have had more clarity for myself. And and I think sometimes we just have to have the experience, right. We don't know what we don't know until we go through it. So I also give myself grace that I have never gone through this, and there's really no one in my life who's gone through this except for my colleague and friend, Doctor Jenny Ward, who is going to be on our podcast next episode. and so I was really grateful to have her support, but otherwise it's you're sort of like walking around in the dark trying to figure this out as you go.

Ashley Mielke 00:06:30  And I really wish I had a bit more clarity for myself moving through this, and I think I would have had a bit more confidence as well. but again, giving myself grace and that's why I'm here, sharing this with all of you, so you can have a really clear vision and clarity around when you'd want this to happen, what you want that to look like, and to go in with that conviction. The biggest surprise for me was the emotional side of selling. And I know I've talked about this in previous episodes. It it was, a lot more, just exhausting and challenging than I thought it would be emotionally. There's going to be extreme highs and lows throughout the journey. The highs for me were the excitement around new opportunities, what doors this would open for me next in my career. Just that, you know, a new beginning, right? A fresh start. I've been in this business for 11 years, which has been incredible, very fulfilling and really humbled by the impact that we've made in our community, helping people heal after significant loss and trauma.

Ashley Mielke 00:07:41  And I just felt like that spark in my heart was going to be reignited after the sale, and I could really get back to being in that place of service to others, which is one of the reasons why I did decide to sell. I really just felt like it was just becoming too hard to run such a large practice with multiple locations, and also pursue new things, and also be a wife that's attentive and present, and a mother to two little boys and one of them being a newborn. So if you if you're a parent out there, you get the stress and the struggles, particularly with your mother, the, the challenges of being both a mother and present for your baby and also running a business, it's it's incredibly taxing and for me, just not sustainable. Like, I feel like ten years ago, I could do it because I was younger. I had a bit more energy, and now I'm just, you know, I'm 37. And not to say I'm old by any means, but I just feel like energetically I really needed to reprioritize because being burnt out, I've been there before and it's not a great place and it serves no one.

Ashley Mielke 00:08:47  It does not serve me, my family, my clients. So this is where really reprioritizing my life was really important. So the highs were the excitement around simplifying my life. The lows were, you know, what was this going to look like? This was going to be such a big shift in my identity. How were my relationships with my therapist who work for me? How was that going to change? And my other my administrative team? And once we sort of dissolve, the way things have been for so long, what does that look like? So there was just a loss, some grief around the change in relationships in my life. I also thought about my clients. What does this mean for them? You know, I've poured my heart into this business and wanting to create a really safe and beautiful space for them and for our therapist. So there's a lot of grief around those relationships And my identity. Just what is this going to look like and who am I going to be without this business? Another thing for me was, even though a sale agreement has been signed, anything can happen.

Ashley Mielke 00:09:56  I've just heard nightmarish stories of not in our industry per se, but just generally we're business deals fall apart, right? Maybe the financing doesn't come through for the buyer, or maybe something crazy happens. So I that that sort of hung on me, hung over me like this dark cloud for several months. Right? Almost a year while I'm still trying to do life and be home with my baby and think about my next adventure. And, you know, in conversations with my lawyer and my family is a lot. And until the cash is in your bank account and the transition happens on closing day, you're kind of not really sure if this is going to happen 100%. And so that that is something that I kind of wish I knew and had prepared myself for. I feel like I could have managed my feelings, a lot better and lived more pleasantly if I just really trusted the process without trying to cling on and try and control and understand everything. because, you know, some of these things are just not in your control, and you really just have to trust what's going to happen.

Ashley Mielke 00:11:09  When I said goodbye to the business on the closing day, it really felt like someone died in my life. And not to compare to the death of a person, because I've been there and I've lost significant others in my life. But it was that sense of, you know, the end of something so familiar, the end of a relationship, the end of a routine and a structure and an identity that was just who I was and how I lived my life for so long. And that was all going to change now. And that responsibility that I had to my team and to my clients also was gone. So it was very much like a death in my life or yeah, just this kind of change in relationship. So that is something that I share and not to frighten you, but just to give you some realistic insight into what it was like for me and what it might look like for you one day. And that is okay to give yourself grace, that this is a big loss and it's a big change in your life, even if you wanted it.

Ashley Mielke 00:12:24  Even if there's some really exciting change coming in the next chapter of your life. So I'm still, you know, I'm not even two months out. I'm still kind of shedding the old and saying hello to the new and giving myself grace around, letting go of everything familiar. And to be very honest, for the first couple of weeks I just had a bit of a pit in my stomach and and I know that's what it was. It was the grief of of the experience and starting to question myself, did I right? Did I make the right decision? And I know it all came from that place of fear. And as a grief therapist and grief coach, I know that fear is the primary emotion attached to loss. So I could at least have these internal conversations with myself to say, this is normal, Ashley. You know, feeling scared about the future, feeling scared that, you know, almost doubting myself is is all a part of the process. And that I wouldn't have made this decision if it didn't feel right.

Ashley Mielke 00:13:25  And it reminded me of, you know, when I was younger and I would break up with a boyfriend and I knew the relationship was really toxic and unhealthy, and I wasn't happy, and I knew it wasn't something I wanted to be in. But then when you do it, you really miss the familiarity of the relationship. It's kind of like that. It's like a breakup. And, you know, intellectually it's the right thing, but emotionally your heart is grieving. So I've been just really kind with myself as much as possible and open up to my very dear friends and my husband and my spiritual director and my therapist about this, so I can just feel heard and kind of process these feelings as they come up.

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Ashley Mielke 00:15:23  Another big thing is that I really didn't prepare for was how this was going to impact my team. I know I talked about this before. I was The hardest part was telling them and before that was the confidentiality that's required of you when you go through the sale of a business. This isn't something you talk about. You sign an NDA. It's that's the part of a business transaction.

Ashley Mielke 00:15:54  So it's kind of like this big secret that you keep for months and months and months. And when people ask you about how your business is doing or they say, hey, what are our plans for, our Christmas party this year and you can't really talk about it? That felt incredibly misaligned. It, there was some cognitive dissonance there for me, for sure, because I am a transparent person and I really value integrity and being honest. And so that felt very uncomfortable for me. But again, it was that mindset of this is a this is a business deal. This is how it's done. I trust my lawyer. I follow his advice. He's done this million times. He's going to guide and direct me and how I go about this. So that was very, very hard, keeping it a secret from people and other people in my life as well. Like the total confidentiality of this was between my advisors and my husband and I, and that was it. That was very, very challenging.

Ashley Mielke 00:17:00  So yes, keeping that confidential was hard. So having the right people in your corner when you go through this will be really, really key. I was grateful to have good people around me, like my therapist, who I did disclose to within confidence of what I was going through, my spiritual director, again, those those key advisors in my life that were there for me and making this decision and supporting me along the way. And if you have colleagues who've gone through something similar to have them in your corner to support you as well, it can be really key because it's can be very isolating. going through such a big transition like this, other things that I kind of wish that I knew. Now, these might be really obvious things, but they weren't super obvious and clear to me. It's really important that you know what buyers value most when they're looking to buy a practice. So we might assume it's all the bells and whistles. It's your beautiful website and videography. It's your beautiful office space and furniture.

Ashley Mielke 00:18:07  It's, you know, this remarkable team that you've built. It's your marketing. And all of these things are our key assets. And they can help really leverage the success of your business. And when you provide them with that prospectus, it's it's a part of your proposal of what makes your business so incredible. But at the end of the day, the most important thing to a buyer is going to be your profitability. They're going to want to look at your profit margins, your expenses, how much money you're actually making at the end of your corporate year. That's what they care about. And again, I talked about knowing your EBITDA, say, times 3 or 4 approximately is what you can look at for a sale. But really presenting your numbers is going to be the most important thing. That's going to be the investment. And they're going to look at what is the return on investment for me, if I buy this company, and how quickly am I going to be able to get back the cash that I've invested to purchase this business? So you want to take those actions now? I cannot emphasize this enough.

Ashley Mielke 00:19:18  You've heard it from me a million times already in these in this seven part series to get your books organized. You want to cut out at least 10% of your expenses right off the top, and you want to run your business, with the lowest overhead as possible. So the size of your business doesn't matter more than your profitability. And I cannot emphasize that enough. Some other key things are going to be the stability of your staff, how long they've been there, the culture of your business. That's going to be something that stands out to a buyer as well. And the consistency. So what is your financial what is your financial growth been over the last handful of years? What are the projections looking into the future? Do you have consistent intakes and operations and referral sources so that they can just come in and run the business as usual? And another thing would be you just want to understand what is important to your buyer so that you can prioritize those aspects as a part of preparing for the sale, especially if you're looking at the next 12, 12 months to 18 months.

Ashley Mielke 00:20:37  When you do tell your therapist and your team that you're going to be selling. It's important that you have the support in place for yourself to manage the expectations of others. Manage, various reactions that you will get. For me, I had a number of people that were very excited for me, very happy for me, very supportive, and they express their gratitude and being a part of the team for as long as they were. And then other people were more quiet, so didn't hear a whole lot. And, you know, I think there were probably some other emotions in there as well. it can feel really jarring to get information like this that feels to them like it was, sort of this bomb that you drop on them. And even though it's been something you've been dealing with for a year or longer, for them it feels sort of out of the blue and sort of sudden and unexpected. So it's important that you have the support to manage others expectations, to hold space and have grace for their reactions, recognizing that they're going to be processing a lot of their own feelings and and will be taking into consideration the next steps for them.

Ashley Mielke 00:22:03  Another thing to start to think about as well is just to have clarity around, like, do you want to stay with the company? Do you want to move on from the company? These are things that I wish I had thought about as well, maybe with a bit more clarity, like, are you going to step away completely. Once the deal closes, do you want to stay on and work for them? Just have an idea. Again, with conviction and clarity around what your next steps are going to look like. And then you want to celebrate. So it's going to be this emotional roller coaster for you. And there's going to be highs and lows. But once that deal happens this is an opportunity to celebrate. Celebrate that you built and scaled and exited a business that was saleable, that someone else wanted to buy and continue on your legacy. That is incredible. This is something I'm really hard on myself, and it took me some time to get to a place where I felt like I could celebrate.

Ashley Mielke 00:23:08  I think because I've just been processing the grief and the change of this experience and, you know, starting something new and just all the conflicting feelings in that. So it took me some time to get to a place where I was ready to celebrate, and for me, that was having a staycation with my husband and having a break from our kids, going for a nice dinner, doing some shopping, and I'm talking like I'm pretty practical these days. Like I used to blow money on, you know, designer bags and shoes. And now that I'm a mom and I work from home, I thought, you know what? I'm gonna. I'm gonna buy some things that are really practical for me. So that's what I did. That felt really good. And my husband and children and I are going to take a trip to Hawaii in February next year and just take some time to connect as a family and enjoy our time at the beach. We love Hawaii. It truly is Paradise for us. And it's it's like a home away from home.

Ashley Mielke 00:24:13  So I'm really excited to just go and be with the four of us and just really relish in making new memories together. So that's what I'm doing. So you want to give yourself some time to celebrate as well for all of your hard work and getting to this point. From starting, scaling and exiting your group practice. So I hope that you have found this episode helpful as you think about just things that I kind of wish I knew beforehand, and being able to plan out and kind of project what you want this experience to look like, and just to prepare yourself emotionally for the journey that you will be taking, and to surround yourself with supportive people and people who have gone ahead of you, people who kind of know what to expect because that's going to bring so much security and reassurance your way. And if you are looking to take this conversation with me another step deeper. Whether it's scaling your group practice one day with the plan to exit or you're ready to exit your group practice and you would like a little bit of support from me, I would feel very honored to walk that journey with you.

Ashley Mielke 00:25:35  I am a group practice consultant on the team at the practice of the practice, and I work one on one with my clients and would love to connect with you so you can actually reach out to me directly if you'd like. Ashley at practice of the practice.com, and I am really looking forward to our next episode where we're going to be interviewing Doctor Jenny Ward and her experiences of selling her group practice. So take care today and I will see you in the next episode.

Joe Sanok 00:26:13  If you're like me, I want to get things wrapped up and ready for next year so that we are starting the next year strong. If you need help with time tracking, health insurance, 401 K benefits payment, payroll taxes, open enrollment, all those sorts of things, you've got to move over to gusto. It's who we use here at practice of the practice. And because you're a listener, you get three months totally free. Head on over to gusto.com/joe again. That's gusto com forward slash Joe. And I'm telling you you're gonna love it.

Joe Sanok 00:26:42  Thank you for letting me into your ears and into your brain. Have a great day. I'll talk to you soon. Special thanks to the band silence sexy for that intro music. And this podcast is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is given with the understanding that neither the host, the producers, the publishers or guests are rendering legal, accounting, clinical or other professional information. If you want a professional, you should find one.