I hear some version of that most weeks. It's the plan for a lot of owners. Xero's research says about 75% plan to use the sale to fund retirement.
One NZ exit planning specialist reckons around 80% of businesses never sell. That's a big pile of owners whose math doesn't math.
Most of those are decent businesses with good margins. They just need the owner in the room to keep working. Twenty years of building an income and a buyer looks at it and sees a job with a logo.
I'm not saying don't plan on a sale. Plan on it. But… build for it… starting now. A 2IC or relationship manager your clients actually know. Clean financials a random stranger can read in 30 mins.
Anyway, a sale is a lump sum, once, at the end. Nobody gets a second go at it.
What's your plan if the sale doesn't happen?
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