Closing your business is one of the most difficult jobs you can do as a business owner. Not only because there are a lot of things that need to be done, but because it is a very emotional time in your life – your business has failed. It doesn’t matter what experience you have or how well you adapt to the saying: “Fail more to be more successful” it is still an emotional moment.

There are many articles, guides, checklists, etc. available to help you with the mechanics of closing a business, but very little is offered to help you handle the emotional stuff required. Hopefully the following will help:

1) Do not delay the decision. If your business is in trouble, you must move on, implement a turnaround program, or close the business. Someone once said that it is important to “fail hard, fail fast”, good advice when your company has serious problems. Set a deadline and a “do or undo” result goal, then give it all you have. If you don’t reach your goal, close your business.

2) Sit down with your family. It is not fair to keep family members out of your business problems. Nothing can hurt a family more than having a process server knocking on your door and delivering your spouse’s foreclosure papers at your home. Family members can also be of great help and support during this difficult time.

3) Seek outside advice. Hopefully you will have an advisory board or group that you can share your concerns with. If there are seasoned entrepreneurs in the group, they’ve likely experienced what you’re going through and can help guide you through the mechanics of closing a business. They can also provide emotional support.

4) Don’t use government money. Never use any tax withholding or tax deposits of any kind to keep your business running. You hold these taxes in trust and are personally responsible for them. Don’t make things worse by spending some of this money.

5) Develop a closing plan. There are dozens of things that need to be done in a short amount of time and they always seem overwhelming. Make a written plan with dates and times to complete each task listed, then cross off each item as it is completed. You will find that this reduces stress considerably. Share this plan with your family and your advisory group.

6) Try to make everyone complete. Ideally, your closing plan would show enough money to pay off all of your business debt, including money from the investors involved. However, conditions are rarely ideal under these circumstances, so you will have to pay as much as you can to whoever you can. This will be extremely important when you start your next business.

7) Your business failed, not you. This is the most important thing to keep in mind when closing your business. Every successful entrepreneur you could name has had failures, big or small, during their careers, and that certainly isn’t. them failures.

8) Look for the next one. Once an entrepreneur … always an entrepreneur. Even if this was his first business, now he’s spoiled for going back to working for someone else. Even through all the stress and tough times, your entrepreneurial spirit will emerge strong. So keep an eye on your next business project, even while you’re finishing your current one.

There you have a basic list of things to do when closing a business, each of which involves some aspect of the emotional stress of closing your business. No one said it would be easy, but many people go through the process every day. If necessary, you can also do it.