Selling your mobile app, game, or business has an emotional side that nobody talks about. The business world might come across as cold, run by numbers, and what seems like “emotionless people”. It doesn’t wait for you to handle your emotions or have it all together before making a decision that will impact your life and the people relying on you, such as employees, stakeholders, and most importantly, your family.
In reality, the business world is run by humans who, by nature, are emotional beings. Those who use their emotions in their favour thrive, while those who don’t end up learning a lesson the hard way.
If you own a mobile app, game, or business, and the idea of selling has crossed your mind or the decision is already made, this article is for you. Through this article, we want you to feel acknowledged and heard by discussing what you can expect emotionally and how you can navigate the feelings that arise in the process of making an exit from your life’s work and thrive.
Thank you for being here!
What Are You Selling For?
“What for?” is one of the first questions to be answered. It’s a question that gives purpose to your decision. In order to answer that question, you could consider the following: What comes to your mind when you think of selling?
- Fear
- Courage
- Creativity
- Freedom
- Sadness
- Options
- Boredom
- Re-capitalization
- Pension
Whatever comes to your mind, allow yourself to think of it, feel it, analyze it… If you feel comfortable with the decision, then it might be coming from a good place, from intuition. On the other hand, if you feel uncomfortable, it might be coming from a different place, and it’s important to analyze where it is coming from and if it’s a good motivator to run your decision from.
Once you have figured this out, then you can give a rational answer to your “What for” question, and this will be your anchor for any emotion that arises during the entire process of selling.
It might be the case that you are selling because you have no options, and even in that case, giving an answer to the aforementioned question could help you make peace with the decision and get the best outcome from the process.
Attachment to Your Creation
One important feeling to relinquish when you have made your decision to sell is attachment. You may feel as if your mobile app or game is like a baby to you; you poured so much time and effort to grow it, and now it feels as if you are giving it away. Or maybe you feel like it has consistently provided for you, and the thought of letting that sense of security go overwhelms you.
The reason behind the attachment will vary from person to person, or maybe you don’t feel it at all. In any case, taking the time to recognize how you feel about it will help you on your path forward. Go back to your “What for” question, and remind yourself that there is a purpose behind your decision. Sit down to reflect on how your type of attachment is making you feel and if it’s baggage that you want to continue carrying or free yourself from.
“The journey is inevitable; baggage is optional.”
Unknown
Facing attachment might take time; not facing it before selling might interfere with your decision-making process. Having a third party involved can help you save time, make more rational calls that align with your purpose, and provide better results.
Letting Go of Control
You have defined your purpose, relinquished your attachment, and now comes the time to let go of control. Letting go of control can be a hard task, especially when you feel like you are lacking information. Take the time to educate yourself or find an expert whom you trust to help you throughout the process of selling your apps or games; in any case, information will help you free yourself from control. Ask yourself some of these questions:
- What does the process of selling look like?
- What kind of information will I need to deliver?
- How do I protect my information?
- What kind of buyer do I want to sell to? (This one is connected to your purpose.)
- How do I make sure to get the best value for my asset?
- How will I get paid? Is it secure?
- How will the buyer handle the asset after I sell it? Is this really important to me?
- What will be my responsibility to the buyer once I sell?
Giving answers to these questions and many others will help soothe your nervous system and allow you to make informed decisions. In return, it will make it easier for you to let go of control and own the process of selling your asset.
Identity and Self-Worth
Who are you? Definitely not your mobile app, game, business, or the success coming from any of these. You are the person you had to become to build the aforementioned, and selling it won’t take that away from you. Who are you? You are a businessman/woman, a parent, a friend, someone’s child, a sibling, a lover; you are all of those things and none at the same time. You are nothing that is outside of yourself because those are just a reflection of what you really are inside.
That being said, your worth and your identity are not built by your asset; your worth and identity built your asset, and nothing can change that. Instead of identifying with your material creation, think of the person you had to become to build it. Think of the transferable knowledge that will continue to exist within your identity even if you let go of your asset.
When it comes to self-worth, whenever you place it outside of yourself, it will be volatile, like a currency. It depends on the market, the opinions of people, competitors, clients, and other fluctuating factors. Make sure to choose wisely where you want to place your worth.
What are your identity and self-worth? Dare to find out!
Fear of the Unknown
What comes next after selling? For some, the answer to this question is obvious; for others, it remains unanswered.
One thing is certain: life goes on. Selling your asset might leave an empty room in your mind with lots of questions to answer, like:
- How do I relocate my free time?
- What do I want to do with the profit coming from the sale?
- Do I want to keep the responsibility of owning a company?
- How do I continue to make money? Do I need/want to?
Whenever we free space in our mind from one habit or activity, it’s important to reoccupy that space and time with intention; otherwise, life will do it for you. Take the time to analyze how you want your life to look after selling. Reflecting on this will allow you to have a sense of direction and will certainly help you with the fear of the unknown.
“We do not have a fear of the unknown. What we fear is giving up the known.”
-Anthony De Mello
Financial Considerations
There are plenty of emotions and stress related to the financial aspect of a sale. Of course, you want to get the highest value for your asset, and once you get it, you worry about expenses such as taxes and how to make good use of the remaining profit.
For the process of selling itself, it’s important to bear in mind that the very nature of the buyer-seller relationship is that the seller wants to sell for the highest price, the buyer wants to buy for the lowest, and the negotiation will be typically closed in the gap between the expectations of each side.
When it comes to what happens after cashing in, this is something you want to reflect on and get advice for; this will be part of your after-selling plan and should be aligned with your purpose.
Having a third party on your side during the negotiation can significantly reduce the stress related to it by making sure you get the highest value possible for your asset without having to handle the process yourself.
Impact on Relationships
Selling your assets will have an impact on your relationships. Depending on who is involved, you might have to communicate the decision to several parties such as team members, investors, collaborators, and maybe even your users.
Take the time to communicate the decision and next steps, giving them time to also assimilate the change. Acknowledge their work and dedication to the asset, and be prepared to deal with different kinds of emotions coming from them.
Grieving the Loss
Finally, you have given away your life’s work, your creation, your sense of identity or worth, your source of success, one source of income, or maybe your only source of income; you have given away whatever your asset meant to you.
It might feel like a loss, and it’s okay to feel that way. Take the time to sit down with your loss, grieve it, and finally enjoy the benefits of your sale. Here’s where having a purpose before selling comes in: your anchor. If you had a purposeful sale, your sense of loss is diminished because there is no regret in your decision. It’s part of a plan, and now you get to start feeling the excitement from your new phase of the plan.
Enjoying the Ride of Selling
All types of emotions have an important role in our lives. And because not all emotions are unwanted, remember to take the time to enjoy the process of selling your asset, to feel grateful to yourself and others for creating this opportunity for you, to feel the excitement of new doors opening, to celebrate your achievements, whom you have become while achieving them and why not, enjoy the ego boost of “I made an exit”. Whatever the vibe, make sure to enjoy the ride.
Conclusion
In conclusion, selling your mobile app, game, or business involves a set of emotions that you will have to handle throughout the process. Making use of the advice provided in this article can help you to acknowledge them, which in return will allow you to have those emotions on your side. As a result, having your emotions on your side will bring better outcomes from your selling process.
Mastering the above can be a tough task, but having a third party on your side will make your life easier, giving you access to instant knowledge and advice from a partner who cares.
Thanks a lot for reading!
