Emotions of winding down a company

I haven't read a lot about the emotions that accompany a wind down.  For that matter, I haven't read a lot about the emotions that accompany business in general. This post is about my emotions.
The past week has been filled with anxiety once I knew what was happening and before I told the employees, with relief from telling employees what was happening, embarrassment of having failed and reading about it in the newspaper(not succeeded in the way I hoped -- I actually don't view Judy's Book as a total failure but more on that later), and sadness of letting go of the company dream as well as letting go of my mother in law.
Sadness is where I'm at today. Many people including myself worked hard for a long time to try and make this business work.  It didn't work the way I/we had all hoped. Now people are working hard to wind things down responsibly and they're starting to look for other jobs. In situations like this, employees move on fast -- no one wants to be the last one not to find a seat with another company. It's a bit like an adult version of musical chairs.  At times, I can feel some of the angst as they look for work.  I'm struck by the realization that there are a whole host of relationships with people I like -- that I used to see everyday and now I know that I won't see them. That's a bummer! I'll miss them. I'll miss my investors and our die hard customers. I'll miss Judy's Book. It's sad to see all that come to an end. Yep -- Sadness is where I'm at today. 
I'm glad it's been sunny in Seattle...reminds me that everything is going to be ok in time.

Comments

[Tim Taylor]

Thank you so much for sharing how you feel. I think emotions need to be discussed in all cycles of the business. Emotional fit and understanding are keys to happiness in the business world, we just don't have much of a framework to discuss them.

Hopefully you'll pick up and start again as so many of the entrepreneurs I've worked with have done.

Thanks for sharing!

[Krishna]

It's sad, indeed. Good that you chose to bite the bitter pill than let it fester and rot.

You can make it a lot easier by reminding yourself about the lessons learnt (that makes it less of a loss) and thinking about the way forward.

Leave notes for all stakeholders thanking them for the roles they played, big or small.

When bad times pass and good times roll in (it sure does), it is far easier to re-connect and get going.

This is speaking from experience.

[rob]

a note, more then a comment

so when you are ready to hang out around a different coffee pot and start working on a new plan let me know, we have a few empty desks at the Stable : )