March 1, 2010 is now a red letter day in our history. We sold our 20 year old technology company this morning and opened a new chapter in our lives. We formed the company the same year we were married, 1990. It began as a side business but quickly the operation grew steadily and became a full time job for both of us. Initially we developed, marketed, and supported a Microsoft Windows based software program that our customers installed and used on their own computers. Ten years later we realized the future potential of what is today called "cloud computing," and in 2004 launched a new product line that offered similar software as a hosted web based application that our customers used over the Internet. The business grew rapidly since then, with 2009 revenue moving it from the "small" to the "medium" size category. Along with this growth came increasing demand on us as owners, and our recognition that the time was right for us to sell. So last fall we began looking for potential buyers, and serendipitously discovered that the owner of our accounting firm was interested. After some trial and tribulation we struck a deal, and on March 1st officially completed the sale of the entire business to him (he has since sold his accounting practice). Sue's immediate plans are to rest, relax and get back into the crafts she enjoys such as photography, knitting, pottery, and card making. Under the deal, Dan will continue to work as a consultant to help the new owner and staff with their transition. Dan's consultancy will initially be for one year, however he has an opportunity to provide software development services as a consultant for up to seven additional years. We've agreed to stay in the Grand Rapids area for this first transitional year (through February 2011), but expect to move south out of the snow belt after that. Initially we are looking at moving to Louisville Kentucky for a home base while we search for the city and state we want to "retire" to. We will begin by looking around Georgia, the Carolinas and possibly Colorado. Top requirements for the state we are looking at moving to next must have a lot of sunshine and good non-smoking laws. It's been both exciting and an emotional time for us. On one hand it's recently been a lot like the last day of school is approaching (some freedom on the horizon). On the other hand, we're passing along a successful enterprise we built ourselves from the ground up, with plenty of our own blood sweat and tears. One thing is certain: we're both excited about whatever might come next, even if we're not sure exactly what that's going to be!