Losing a business is overall, akin to
"death" of a loved one. So much of a business owner's personality and hard work have gone into a business, that when tragedy strikes, for whatever reason and
business is forced into bankruptcy or to close,
emotions felt by
business owner are nothing short of serious and all encompassing!Since losing a business is considered a "major life stressor", along with divorce and
death of a loved one, a business owner that loses a business can be just as emotionally devastated. With this in mind, it is appropriate for
business owner to take into account
five stages of grief that do occur in a major life event or "stressor". These stages are according to
work of renowned Swiss born psychiatrist, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross:
1. Denial. This stage is a healthy stage when
individual asks
question, "Why Me"?, and develops strategies to develop defenses against
impending stress.
2. Anger or Resentment. Blame occurs in this stage.
3. Bargaining. This is a "truce period" where an individual makes "deals" in their minds, if "only" things don't play out
way they are bound to do so.
4. Depression. This is
real grief phase, and an individual will primarily feel discouraged and hopeless.
5. Acceptance. This is where reality is dealt with and
process of "going on" begins. Withdrawal from others may occur temporarily here.
Although Dr. Kubler-Ross developed
five stages primarily to be used when dealing with terminal illnesses that lead to death, her work can readily be applied to many major life stresses, including
loss of a business. In addition, not all individuals go through each stage routinely in order, with some skipping stages, or staying in one stage longer than others.
Business owners that suffer
catastrophic loss of a business need to allow themselves
same flexibility and time for acceptance that other major life stressors require. They need to work through
five stages until
fifth stage, acceptance, is reached. They also need to put
loss into perspective if they can, and determine just "why" and "how"
business faltered and eventually failed.