You spent a significant part of your adult life making your business successful and profitable. When it came time to sell your business, you received a hefty purchase price and were able to retire on the proceeds.
Now what?
After years and years of running your own business, you now have no professional responsibilities in the world. You and your spouse had plans for retirement that included:
- Traveling;
- Spending more time with the family;
- Making improvements on your home;
- Relaxing.
It all sounds like paradise until you actually start relaxing. That is when you realize that turning off the habits you developed for most of your adult life is not as easy as you thought. You need a little advice on what to do with your life after selling your business.
Go Ahead And Travel
You have no pressing meetings scheduled and no clients to go see for the rest of your life. Instead of worrying about what you will do, you should just go ahead and travel, or take part in those activities that you and your spouse had discussed.
There may come a time when you are tired of traveling and you would like to spend a little less time with your family, but that will not happen right away. Your best bet is to dive right into those retirement plans you had and enjoy yourself for a while. Even if the desire to enjoy yourself wears off, at least you can say you tried.
Become A Mentor
You will find that your phone will not stop ringing just because you sold your business. All of those professional contacts you made when you owned your business will want to get some useful advice from you. This is your chance to share that knowledge you have built-up from experience and put it to some good use.
When you mentor other professionals, you help their careers and you feel better about yourself. Teaching others to be successful is a great way to stay in touch with your business contacts without having the pressure of owning a business.
Start Another Business
You may find that you like mentoring so much that you want to start a consulting firm. It is a great way to make extra money, fill your time with something worthwhile, and still have the thrill of owning a business. The key is to start a business on a much smaller scale than the one you just sold.
Make a work schedule that coincides with your new life and make sure that you leave plenty of time for yourself. You do not want to get caught up in the daily grind of running a business again, but you do want to feel like your time is being well spent. Starting a small business can be a great way to get everything you want out of your professional experience without giving up your retirement.
Take On A Part-Time Job
When you owned your own business, you:
- Worked six or seven days a week;
- Had a regular schedule that you kept each day;
- Had a sense of satisfaction with the job you did.
It is hard to just turn off those old habits, but maybe you do not have to. Instead of starting another business, you can work part-time for someone else. Let someone else worry about the paperwork and stress that goes with running a company. You can just focus on your job.
You can work for a relative who owns a business, or you can offer to stay on part-time with the business you just sold to help out the new owner. A part-time position where you work the hours you choose can help you feel like you are accomplishing something, while still enjoying the benefits of being retired.
Reap What You Sow
Some entrepreneurs sell their businesses when they are still relatively young. These are the business professionals who go on to start new full-time businesses and tackle new challenges. But if you are a little older, then getting back into the corporate grind may not seem too appealing.
There are plenty of things you can do after you sell your business. You can volunteer your services or become more involved in your community.
Whatever you decide to do, remember that you have worked hard and you should allow yourself the chance to enjoy all of the rewards that you have earned.