PERSPECTIVE: A look at the personal side of retirement planning

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Have you thought about life after exiting your business?  Many business owners regret selling their business because they failed to plan for a life post exit.  Knowing more than just your financial needs in retirement will provide the framework for a successful life after your business career.   

Who Will You Be Without Your Business? 

One goes from being the “Who’s Who” in their respective industries, to “Who is that?” seemingly overnight. Many business owners are not prepared to address these changes and suffer an identity crisis. Being a business owner was their entire life, and now that part of them is gone.  

Retirement Mindset – Two types  

Fixed: The best years of my life are behind me. I am over the figurative hill and the rest of my life will be downhill from here. 

Growth: The best is yet to come. I am looking forward to experiencing this next chapter of my life.  

Business owners might have had a growth mindset when it came to their business, but a fixed mindset in their retirement.  

The Retirement Honeymoon  

We have all heard the old retirement trope of the retired business owner spending their days on the golf course and living a life of leisure. What we don’t hear a lot is the fact that most retirees get bored of this lifestyle in 6-18 months.  

Even retirees with an extensive bucket list of items to accomplish are not prepared for a successful retirement. What do you do when the last item on the list is checked? Without a detailed lifestyle plan, your retirement will feel less like the long vacation you envisioned and more like Groundhog’s Day, forced to repeat the same day over and over again.     

What is Your Purpose in Life? 

Every human being has the fundamental need to feel like their life has a purpose. For retired business owners, their purpose was intertwined in their business for so long that they struggle to find purpose in their post-exit life.  

Before you retire, think about the things in your life outside of your business that give your life meaning and purpose. Perhaps it is spending time strengthening your family relationships, tending to a garden, or expanding your knowledge by reading about topics that interest you. Whatever gives your life purpose should have a place in your post-business life.    

Take the first step towards learning how prepared you are for a life after your business by taking the “Retirement Satisfaction Predictor” survey.  It will provide immediate results that you can take away now to make changes in the way you see your personal life developing post exit.  And if you want to know how well-prepared you are to exit financially from your business, I can also provide you with the Business Readiness Assessment. You will receive an immediate report free of charge. 

Jan Graybill is CEO and Senior Partner of Legacy Planning Partners