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For PhoxZee Elliott and her husband, Darren, selling their business meant two things: freedom and time. “We were at a time in our life – we realized we wanted to be able to spend time with our daughters (now ages 10 and 12) – getting a little bit more freedom and a little bit less stress. We needed to focus on what matters. I’m so glad we were at a place to be able to sell the company. I think it’s pretty neat how Cortney connected with us right at that time in our lives. We were in one of those zones where we said, ‘If we could do something different, not so demanding, we would do it.’”

PhoxZee and Darren made their business, Red Concrete, Inc., an enormous success, in part because they focused on sustainable growth. “We’ve always grown our business within our means. We bought things with cash. We looked for a good deal rather than buying new. We valued the people who worked for us and with us. Everyone was part of our team.”

PhoxZee’s business sale was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but they successfully closed the sale in April of this year.  Since then, PhoxZee and Darren have been able to slow down, organize their life, and do the things they love that they want to spend time doing. PhoxZee and Darren built Red Concrete from the ground up, so letting go was a challenge in itself. “You have to let go – you have to step back and let that person take the reins. It’s hard to let go of something you’ve put so much time and effort into.” PhoxZee said she was a bit surprised that the new owner didn’t ask for more help – then she realized how proud she was that they had the processes of the business so well in place that a new owner could “pick it up and run with it.”

Since the sale, PhoxZee and Darren have been able to pursue other goals. They’re planning on remodeling their home and revamping their life for whatever comes next. PhoxZee was been able to get more involved in her 7th grade daughter’s school, and they both were able to get more involved in ministry and giving back to the community, something they’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have time before. They even bought an RV for family vacations.

PhoxZee learned a lot from owning Red Concrete and wants to use that knowledge to go into another type of business that isn’t as demanding. She recently obtained her real estate license, with a few ideas of owning some storage facilities, or opening up properties to help battered women get into for a period of time until they can get back on their feet. “Knowing right now that we’re not pressured to do anything yet – we have time to listen and wait – we’re in a good place.”

PhoxZee and Darren are incredibly grateful for their time with family since the sale of Red Concrete. PhoxZee believes the timing of the sale was a miracle for their family. “We have faith in God. I felt like He was preparing us for this. I felt like He helps us and had other things in place.” She realized all of the stress that comes with selling was worth it in the end. They took a leap of faith and stepped outside of their comfort zone hiring an M&A firm from Omaha, not knowing what was going to happen.

Her advice for business owners: “Work smarter, not harder. Grow a little slower. Fine tune the processes.” She added that the first few years of owning a business are very difficult, but you “just keep pushing through.” Most importantly, though, “You never know what tomorrow holds. You’re never guaranteed tomorrow – our choices to spend the time with people we love is the most important.”

 

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The Firm makes no warranties or representation in consideration to the information provided above. All communication regarding this business must occur directly with The Firm Advisors, LLC. The Firm is not a real estate brokerage and does not sell real estate. The Firm solely advises on exit strategy.