Parting is such sweet – well you know

Over the weekend I sold our 2004 Honda Pilot. It was not an easy decision, since there are four drivers in the family and now only two cars. But it was time. The odometer was approaching 180,000 miles and there were some rather costly repairs needed in its immediate future. It was simply a matter of diminishing returns.

But it was not just a basic business decision but an emotional one as well. It had taken us on uncountable trips and mini-vacations, and transported two children to college while defying all known laws of spatial relations of how many clothes, entertainment equipment, and furniture could be sardined in there for an academic year.

And last year it survived a brutal upstate New York winter while transporting my daughter to and from her classes as she decided to live off campus for her senior session.

So I get it when practitioners get emotional when it’s time to let go of their firm. Folks look at me disbelievingly when I tell them that it’s often easier to merger in a 5-partner firm than a sole practitioner.

Why?

Because for an $8 million firm entering into a merger is more of a business decision than an emotional one. Conversely, for the $500K solo owner, it’s like seeing one of your children married off. In essence the firm is indeed like raising a child, nurtured from birth to a blossoming business. So when a solo owner who is obviously in need of a succession plan begins stalling and second guessing themselves, we realize it’s all part and parcel of CPA firm ownership – especially on a smaller scale.

Therefore when negotiations start to become protracted and the dreaded “deal fatigue” begins to set in, it’s our job to sit the objecting party down and return them to reality and like my Honda, carefully explain the consequences of holding on too long. Sometimes we’re successful and other times quite honestly, we encounter that proverbial immovable object.

As sort of a happy ending to the car saga I sold it to a family with two young children whose father happens to be a quality mechanic and will perfect all the repairs in house so to speak.

I got $600 for it. But like the small CPA practitioner who finally relents, it was not nearly enough in emotional capital.