Why Letting the Seller Stay for 2 Years is a Bad Idea

You just bought a great business. The retiring owner wants to stick around for two years to "help with the handoff." Sounds great, right? Maybe not. We see this all the time, and keeping a seller around for too long usually backfires. If the old boss is still in the building, employees and customers will just keep going to them instead of you. It makes it really hard to step up and actually run the company. Plus, if you're using an SBA loan, you really can't keep them on the payroll anyway. The SBA usually limits them to a 12-month consulting setup. We just put together a quick guide on how to handle this. For most deals, a 3 to 6-month transition is the sweet spot. You can read our tips on how to handle the handoff (and figure out if customers actually like the business or just the old owner) right here: https://searcherinsights.com/how-long-should-you-retain-a-seller-post-acquisition/ Curious to hear from the operators here—how long did you keep the seller around, and did it work out?