The Retirement Years You Can’t Get Back

Time, retirement, and the value of knowing when enough is enough

The House on the Lake

Over the years, I've worked with many business owners approaching retirement. I've come to believe that one of the most important considerations in deciding when to sell has little to do with valuation. It has to do with time.

One owner I worked with had purchased a house on a lake a few years before his anticipated business sale and retirement. During his remaining working years, he spent many available weekends improving the house and surrounding property.

I remember sitting with him in his office during the sale process. On numerous occasions he proudly showed me photographs of the progress he'd made. He was clearly looking forward to transitioning his life to the lake house.

Unfortunately, he passed away unexpectedly before that plan became reality. He never had the opportunity to enjoy the retirement he had been preparing for.

He wasn't necessarily stubborn about valuation or someone who deliberately extended his working years indefinitely. He was a man with retirement plans, and life didn't give him the time he expected.

None of us knows how many healthy years we have remaining. We should be careful about postponing the life we've worked so hard to create.

When the Selling Price Becomes a Matter of Principle

There's another situation I've encountered many times. An owner is financially secure, no longer enjoys daily responsibilities, and would prefer to retire. Family members may be looking forward to more time together. Yet the owner continues working because the market value of the business feels disappointing.

An owner may believe the company deserves $5 million when buyers see something closer to $3.5 million. Those figures are illustrative. The long hours, risks, and sacrifices of building the business are meaningful, but buyers generally evaluate future earnings, assets, opportunities, and risks.

Sometimes owners wait year after year, hoping to prove the market wrong. Meanwhile, healthy retirement years pass. Accepting a market price doesn't erase the company's accomplishments or the owner's career.

Some Owners Should Keep Working

Not everyone wants a traditional retirement. I've known owners who genuinely enjoy the work, employees, customers, and challenges of operating a company. Continuing into their seventies or beyond may be exactly right for them.

The distinction is whether continuing to work is a genuine, satisfying choice or a reluctant decision driven by frustration over valuation or a desire to increase an already sufficient nest egg.

A Question Worth Asking

If you knew the market value of your business would never increase, would you still want to operate it for another five years?

If yes, because you love the work, that's a reasonable choice. If no, and you're continuing primarily because the business deserves a higher price in your mind, reconsider what you're trying to accomplish.

There will always be another financial target. There may not always be another healthy year.

The Lesson

The owner with the lake house reminds me that life doesn't follow the schedule we've created. Owners who stay solely because they're unhappy with valuation remind me that expectations can keep us working long after we want to stop.

A successful business should provide its owner with choices. One of the most valuable may be knowing when to enjoy what you've already accomplished.