Once you successfully sell a business , you have the luxury of puzzling over retirement.  In some cases, however, you will just need a chance to take a break or sabbatical, not complete and final rejection of what you have got done within the in the last years.  Let’s study how to build a successful retirement lifestyle, and then observe a different approach:  a "time out" year.

If you’re focused on a traditional notion of complete retirement with no day-to-day obligations, you’re wise to think that out.  Going from a Type A personality to a Type Z could look attractive at first, but ultimately entrepreneurs – the ultimate go-getters – won’t be content with doing nothing.

Before deciding to leave the business, mapping the activities, courses, books, and individuals you would like to engage can help you concentrate on your personal prize throughout the difficult method of selling a company. "Understand thyself" becomes an operating principle here. As a business owner, you possibly are charging arduous at goals throughout life. Can you feel content without one before you?  Also, you have greater control over selecting your goals once a business is sold.  How will you seize the opportunity for change?

For some, the concept of a non-stop vacation as a leisure-pursuing aristocrat looses luster after a period of time. To go from a hundred miles per hour to zero will appear attractive, but, over time, it may become unpalatable to a former boss who’s accustomed to making things happen. Even in complete retirement , consider our proposal of splitting life into thirds: complete things you have put off, improve your health, and discover one thing intriguing to devote energies to will make you happy.

There’s another, equally serious reason to examine your post-sale life earnestly before selling a company. Absent a picture of life after the sale, your uncertainty could be so displeasing that it forms unwillingness to selling the business at all. Potential buyers who sense a seller’s reluctance often back out of the sale, fearing it won’t go smoothly or can stop mid-stride. Without investing time in analyzing out what’s necessary to you and designing an exciting future, you may resist partaking in the selling process or focus solely on the money when greater fulfilling choices or potential consumers may be a better match for your long-term happiness.

A "Gap Year"

Perhaps a "gap year" needs to be a component of your plan. This is the European and increasingly American school student concept of taking time off for invidual discovery during college or before beginning a career. Running and selling a business are exhausting, and a pause to rest, to enjoy, and explore could be a wise use of your time. A restorative and contemplative sabbatical might reward you with the chance to review your next moves before enacting them.

Our recommendation to you is that it’s best to put structure around your discovery process. We tend to have suggested putting a flexible limit—a year, for example—on the endeavor. Again, on a more day-to-day level, consider dedicating one-third of the time on activities you’ve postponed, one-third on maintaining or building your health, and one-third on actively looking out for your personal "next big thing." Perhaps meaning taking classes or meeting people, perhaps engaging a personal coach, or taking up other activities that help you to assess yourself and find new ways to contribute and challenge yourself.  It puts a strategic focus on what to become concerned with, instead of letting whatever crosses your path captivate or capsize you.  Our clients have told us that this approach of thirds offers them a balanced break yet additionally pushes them to outline the next phase of life.

I invite you to use these ideas to form your best-life business exit strategy.

Marian Cook is a highly sought after business transition expert and speaker with over 25 years experience helping business owners design their best-life exit strategy, and improve their business performance and valuation.  She is the co-author of “Selling Your Business For More:  Maximizing Returns For You, Your Family and Your Business” (published by Macmillan).  If you are ready to sell a business and jump-start your business sale process, connect with Marian via her free tips, articles, checklists and blog at Business Transition Experts.

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