August 24, 2018
In our 1st look at Retirement, I outlined how I wanted to share with you some ideas about retirement from my own personal experience. Perhaps a question might be – when should you start thinking about retirement – a learned friend told me when I was just starting out – prepare to retire the 1st day you start to work. Now he did not mean, I had to simply start counting the days until I quit, but it never will hurt to have a plan, know what the financial implications are all about – yes begin to save for the those days. When you are 24, have a new wife, a mortgage for $20,500 and earning only $400.00 a week (this was 1958), one really had little time to take the time to plan. But I never did forget what we told me – I did take steps to think a lot and plan on what might happen. After a career in several companies, I went out on my own. Because, I never spent enough time with anyone organization, a vested company pension was never achieved. With some groups, there were no such benefits, so I had to create my own financial structure. As a successful Business owner for the past 30 + years I developed a concept and thoughts I want to share with you. Remember the small business owner is really the backbone of the economy in most countries of the world. The greatest percentage of us has less than 25 employees. We do not enjoy many of the benefits of employees in the government services or those involved with many large private or public traded corporations
For A Successful Life after Business, Follow the W.I.N.O. Process
There comes a time in business owner’s life when they know they have to exit. Maybe you do not have any more the energy to deal with trivial issues, your health is not what it was, or you want to enjoy life with your partner travelling around the world or spending time in your new home in Florida or the cottage by the lake This can only be addressed by a profound change in who you are as a person.
You can do it the wrong way or the right way:
The wrong way is to ignore that you will have to leave your business one day and let external factors push, force or manipulate you into changing in ways that do not suit your requirements, values or aspirations. One thing you know is that you are not immortal, if you do not do anything death will come and force you to exit the business. If you are not prepared for this eventuality you can leave your family and business stakeholders in a real mess.
The right way is to change your beliefs and how you see yourself from your deep inner, change that is based on what you dream of, who you are and what you hope to achieve starting a new and exciting phase of your life.
Achieving change from your deep inner is not an easy way, but it is by far the most effective way to get lasting, positive results. Choosing to let other control your life has one big advantage it takes all of the hard work out of your hands. However, the risks that you will not like the new situation, you find you in, is very high and you may become resentful, dissatisfied; unfortunately, it may be too late to change again.
Follow the acronym W.I.N.O. to create the kind of stable, successful change that will make your life after business enjoyable and comfortable.
What do I Want and why?
Lay out what it is about your current life in business that needs to be changed to accommodate your new life. List the things that can remain the same and the things that must be changed.
To help to come up with the best solution you should start listing what it is you like in your business life and what you did not like. This will help ensure that the change you make fits your needs and desires.
For example, if you like the intellectual challenge of your work you may want to find an activity that will replace this, or you could still want to be involved with the business as a consultant. If you like working with your staff obviously this will have to change when you exit the business. However, you can remain in contact with your former colleagues or you may want to become a trustee of a charity, or a non-executive director of a private company to enjoy dealing with people.
Listing the things you like and do not like about being in business will help you make a better decision about your
What is important to me? Before you make any plans to exit, determine what is important to you.
For example” I want a big house in a sunny and warm country with water view, I would have a boat to take my grandchildren sailing and fishing, the house has to be closed to an airport, so I can travel with my wife easily”. What are your beliefs, your requirements, your dreams, your passion… If you do not address these, the change from being a business owner to your new identity and way of living will mostly likely be ineffective and probably unstable. You should refer to these at all steps during the transition process, to make sure that the decisions you are making and you might want to consider these aspirations.
What do I Need? Make a “wish list” of things you would like to do in the next twenty to thirty years and how much money you will need to continue to live a comfortable life. Make a list of all the things that are essential, things that are not essential but you would like to have, and things that you do not want at all but may cost you money. Ask for a valuation of your business and your estate and find out if it will be sufficient to let you accomplish all you want. You may not be able to afford everything on your list, so you would have to decide with your family what compromise you are ready to make and if those are not sufficient to satisfy your desires you should look for adjustments you can make to your business or your estate to allow you to afford the life you want. Having a list will make sure you do not forget something, and will encourage you to compare your options more effectively.
To internalise the changes required, to accept your new identity and have a comfortable new life, you should ask yourself for each item on your list if it is a real need, or a “should have”. Is this something I really want or has it been suggested to me by somebody else? Other people’s idea of what you should want or should need does not reflect how you feel or what your aspirations really are. If you find yourself saying, “Maybe I should do this,” or “Perhaps this should be a consideration,” it’s time to check in with yourself and your family to see if this is something you really want, or if it’s coming from outside pressures.
Do not let other people tell you what you want. They don’t have to live with the consequences of any poor decisions or inappropriate changes you make based on their “suggestions.” The only people who get any say in how and what you change are those who have to share the consequences of the choices you make, usually, but not always, limited to your spouse and children.
What Obligations do I have to make my dreams come true? You need to prepare yourself, mentally, for a new social status. Your personal identity is intertwined with your business identity. You need to determine how to extract yourself from the business and what your new image will be.
Being a business owner is who you are and who you have been for years. It is reassuring; it gives you pride and a feeling of self-worth.Losing this social status is extremely painful and it will take you a long time to find a new identity. Separating yourself from the business is a process ensuring that you are mentally and emotionally ready to leave your company. It will help you find other activities or interests where others to regain pride and self-worth can value your talents. If you do not do it you are at risk to see your intellect declining rapidly and your joie de vivre disappearing as you will be soon forgotten by those in the active world.
The most successful succession plans should be started years in advance. When Exit Planning is left too late, the failure to plan ahead can lead to disaster. This takes time but is worth the effort.
