We bring to you The Money Doctor in collaboration with Bath Life Magazine. Are you thinking about exiting your business? Perhaps you are wondering how to juggle that with retirement? We look at how you can plan when you and your company enter middle age.
Read: Ultimate Guide To Business Exit PlanningAre you starting to think about how you are going to profit from your business? Juggling selling your business whilst planning for retirement? You might not have the motivation to plan because you don’t know what is on the other side of a business sale or what you will retire to. As you and your company enter middle age you’ll have a clearer idea of what your business could achieve. You might start to think about an overarching retirement plan. As we get older our experiences, interests, and hobbies expand, grandchildren may feature and this change creates a shift in priorities. This is part of growing up and we can sometimes find our retirement plan and business exit plan, if we have any, are outdated.
Retirement is by no means the end of the story. Exiting from a business doesn’t have to coincide with never working again. If you are picturing this or perhaps worrying about a loss of identity try to reframe retirement as a metamorphosis. Start thinking about what retirement will look like. The sale of a business could be a stepping stone to a new adventure. What is that adventure going to be? You could even start some new routines at weekends and days off and actually live your ideal retirement life. Then you can move on to think about how your business exit supports this new lifestyle. We always remind clients that you are in the driving seat, you don’t know what you don’t know, so it is crucial to do your research. If you need help with that you know where we are.
Selling your business is one of the most common ways to exit. It takes time and expertise to coordinate a profitable and tax efficient sale so ensure you build a reputable team around you with a solicitor, financial adviser and accountant. There are many different methods for exit from acquisition and management buyout through to family succession. We are a family-business ourselves so we truly understand the nuances of continuity and succession planning and how to tie that in to your family’s financial planning. Your financial planner will help you decide which strategy might work best for both the business exit and retirement. It is important to know your business exit shouldn’t be your only retirement plan as this would be risky.
Looking after your own well-being is incredibly important if you want your post-business-exit lifestyle to be free from health niggles. Running a business is no easy task and we forget that we make stressful decisions every day. Couple this with long days and a fair share of worrying and running a business can have a negative impact on your health. We spend a lot of time coaching clients to take care of themselves and make sure they have the financial protection in place to reduce worries. If you want to find out more about financial wellbeing check out our Guide to Financial Advice.
We have moved from an era of the ‘grey pound’ to the ‘silver owner’. Take some real time out to think about what you want to do after the sale of your business. If you want coaching for this, why not think about speaking to one of our financial advisers as well as a business coach. A joined up approach to exit planning and retirement will create a plan with the flexibility of getting the best value from the business. Balance the numbers with a sense of adventure so you have the motivation to look forward and enjoy the final days, months or years you have working in your business.
If you want to find out more about planning for retirement read our free Ultimate Guide to Retirement Planning
Author & Editor: Cherie-Anne Baxter
Date: 25th November 2021
