3 Life Lessons From My Somewhere Exit
In 2019, my business partner Marshall and I founded Shepherd with nothing but a $100 domain and a dream: to bridge Filipino talent with small businesses in the US.
After many sleepless nights, hard work, and sacrifices that tested my faith and resilience, we sold controlling stake in the company. Shepherd — now called Somewhere — was valued at $52 million dollars.
To say that the sale was a huge and unexpected blessing would be an understatement.
Now that I have had some space to let it sink it, please allow me to share three of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from this experience.
Lesson 1:
What kind of regret are you willing to live with?
When the opportunity to sell the business came our way, Marshall and I sat down and had a serious conversation. We asked ourselves: what kind of regret can we live with?
Can we live with the regret of pride: to sell Somewhere and watch it flourish into a billion-dollar company without our input?
Or can we live with the regret of greed: to hold on to the business and miss out on a great opportunity?
As two paths arose before us, we prayed for discernment.
In the end, we chose to sell. We would rather take the chance of entrusting the company and its growth to new capable leaders instead of holding on to greed.
For us, knowing that we built something that we can be proud of was enough.
Lesson 2:
Who takes care of you?
Leaders have the privilege and obligation to serve their teams.
As Somewhere’s general manager, this was a role that I took to heart. Generosity became my guiding principle in leadership, freely giving time, effort, and resources to my team. But like I always say, you can not give from an empty cup.
As the business grew, I realized that running it took a lot from myself, my well-being, and my relationships. I was running on empty.
In his book Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek shares that:
“The true price of leadership is the willingness to place the needs of others above your own. ”
But Somewhere’s sale forced me to do the opposite: to put myself first. After thinking of my employees’ welfare and putting the company first for almost 5 years, the opportunity to sell Somewhere gave me the space to truly introspect and think about my goals, values, and direction.
I decided to put myself first. Thankfully, it’s turning out to be the best choice for the company as well.
Lesson 3:
The art of detachment
Detaching myself from a business that we built from the ground up was indeed challenging. Honestly, it was hard, especially since I had created many wonderful and genuine relationships with my team.
I found that the best way to detach yourself from one business is to be open to new ones. As we closed in on the sale, I gave myself permission to explore other ventures like:
Content creation - I’m jumping back into content creation with short-form videos. I am also posting my learnings and insights on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Threads, I hope you’ll follow me there!
Angel investing in other companies - Over the last year, i’ve invested in Filipino-owned small businesses like this sneaker store and this cafe.
Mentorship - I’ve had the opportunity to mentor budding entrepreneurs. It’s been a very rewarding experience so far!
A new agency - I may have a new creative agency in the works. I can’t wait to tell you more about it!
These new projects have given me a renewed purpose. It made me realize that I can continue helping people even outside of my role at Somewhere.
My final thoughts
Selling Somewhere unlocked a new level of growth. It required me to look deep into my values, review my priorities, and trust in what God has in store for me.
Big decisions come with valuable lessons. I hope my experience imparted something that you can learn from.
Until the next post,
Joemer.
