The 'Did you achieve FI by starting your own business?' thread got me thinking about the particular issues and challenges facing people leaving their own business rather than just quitting a regular job. There seems to be quite a few people here who might have some interesting experiences to share, so I thought I'd kick off a discussion about it.
I find it very difficult finding common ground on this topic with friends and family, as most are employed and don't have the same type of emotional connection to their work. They may enjoy (or not enjoy) their work, but once they've worked up to giving their notice then that's it, they're more or less out and the work issues largely pass onto someone else. As a business owner currently working towards an exit plan I'm finding myself not only dealing with the personal FI numbers and retirement goals but also having to consider the business future, the future of existing employees, the most tax efficient way of exiting, etc etc, all while struggling to deal with the emotional side of letting go of something that's been in the family for three generations.
I'd be interested in hearing other people's stories and tips, both those currently working towards the self-employed wind-down process and those who have already FIRED. e.g:
- What type of business do/did you have? What sort of scale? How long did you have it?
- Did you make exit plans from the start of the business or were there any general or specific events that prompted you to make them?
- Did you sell the business, close it, or other option?
- How long did the exit plan take?
- What steps did your exit plan include?
- Did you find any practical tools or exercises particularly helpful when coming up with an exit plan? (e.g. particular books, websites, planning tools etc.)
- What exit challenges did you/do you expect to face as a business owner as opposed to being employed?
- Did you get any outside support, if so where from?
- Were there any major emotional issues when giving up your business and how did you deal with them?
- In hindsight, what do you think you did right and wrong about retiring from the business?
- Or any other thoughts, I love reading case studies from other people who are/were in a similar boat.