In my book Surviving M&A: Make the most of your company being acquired and in earlier posts on this blog (see, for example, ‘What happens if you ARE fired or made redundant after a merger?’), I have mentioned that one of the first things that you need to do if your company is being acquired is to decide whether you want to stay with the company (and if so, follow the advice on this blog on how to improve your chances of being a survivor) or to leave.
If you do decide you want to leave, one of your choices is to start up your own business and work for yourself. If you do make this decision — or are considering doing this — can I recommend that you see a new book by David Mellor: From Crew to Captain and which you can buy from Amazon by clicking here. In David’s words, ‘The purpose of “From Crew to Captain” is to help people understand the transition from working for a big institution to working for themselves. I have made this journey, and helped many others do the same.’
David’s advice is both practical and immediately actionable. He shows the challenges but also the rewards of the hard work of being your own boss. Importantly, he demonstrates that you don’t need to have a tremendously creative or new idea before you launch your new business. Most new business are not earth-shatteringly new and won’t develop into the next Apple, Microsoft or Body Shop, yet they are very rewarding for the founders nevertheless.
Do also check out David’s blog which has the headline: ‘Welcome to the next chapter of your life’ … which is a very relevant comment for anyone in a company that has just announced a merger or acquisition, and whether you decide to stay or leave.
