The journey of purpose.
Just over 2 years ago I lost my purpose.
I had worked all my life to the dream of doing something great (perhaps not Elon Musk great) but certainly my own business and my own destiny and back in 2007 setup what was going to be the start of everything I had ever wanted.
Since 2007 and over nearly 13 years, I grew my IT business to £8 million turnover and enjoyed my journey immensely. I learnt so much and made some great friends and if it wasn’t for a great team the business just wouldn’t have been the same or as great!! (thank you to everyone who was involved and you all know who you are!)
However, when I sold Blue Logic computer systems back in May 2019, it left me feeling lost, with a huge void in my life. I pondered and scrutinised what I had done. You get all sorts of advice when you’re selling a business but never “what are you going to do afterwards & how will you feel” and that you should think about it seriously before you actually sell.
Of course, I had family, and other important things in my life but from a work or business perspective (I believe anyway) that you need purpose which is outside of the family. And I had LOST mine….
I have rebuilt my purpose over the last 2 years, with a number of different businesses and commercial interests and overall learnt to work in a different fashion moving forward (that’s a different story).
BUT today I have finally finished rebuilding my purpose, by buying in and investing in to Rabb-IT a local based IT services or MSP company which just feels like home! It’s just like the early days of Blue Logic which was just the most exciting time. I am thrilled and full of enthusiasm to get stuck in and help the business develop to be the Yorkshires most reputable IT company and beyond.
This I have come to realise is who I am, I love my other interests and variety if your lucky enough to have it is great. But I just know now that the IT world is where I belong and Rabb – IT is home!
I have purpose, direction, focus and excitement (plus much more) and this is what I had lost.
Enjoy Dave, a sense of purpose in life is truly important. We spend so long chasing dreams we're never really likely to achieve, we never stop to think what our purpose will be if we do. The reality is, most of us have purpose tied up in materiality.... some really insightful people manage to find a real sense of human purpose that isn't material - without ever going through the whole company building and exit thing! Personally, I love learning, working with people and solving complex problems - I just find that business gives me the best place to do that.
Isn’t it interesting how we fuel ourselves for so long without necessarily assessing our purpose. I absolutely loved recruitment for over 30 years but it came at a price of high anxiety and burnout. A couple of years ago I took stock and I realised that my purpose was to help other women find theirs, and to help them live a life without the overwhelm and stress I put myself under. I look forward to watching your new adventure.
Great post. I’m excited for you and your new found purpose. See you soon.
Great partnership Dave. 👍
Good luck Dave. I am pretty sure I asked you "What are you going to do and how will you feel?". During our acquisitions probably the most common observation is "seller's remorse". Not around value or price but around purpose. This generally manifests, initially, as questions or criticism of the new management or strategy but, whilst we welcome the advice, it feels like there is a separate underlying issue. I now always ask the seller what is their personal plan after exit. The idea of travel and golf and holiday homes is wonderful but they are not direct replacements. When you have spent decades building a business filling that gap can be surprisingly difficult. Delighted to see you back and building.