If you’ve walked downtown lately, you’ve likely noticed a shift. Long-standing businesses are closing their doors or changing hands. Some owners are retiring. Others are facing lease or mortgage renewals that alter the financial landscape of their operations.

It’s a quiet but significant transition happening across Durham Region and beyond, and it’s prompting a critical question for many local entrepreneurs: 

What is my exit plan?

Many business owners count on selling their business as their primary retirement plan. However, relying only on a future sale can be risky because it doesn’t consider capital gains taxes, changes in the market, the chance that the business might not sell for the price expected, or your continuing health.

The business owners I work with who feel most confident about their retirement are those who’ve taken the time to build a succession strategy with me. That often includes setting aside funds in personal investment accounts, maximizing their TFSAs, and moving retained earnings into a holding company with an investment portfolio. There are many options to choose from, so I work with owners to find what makes sense for them.

The truth is, retirement planning for business owners looks different for everyone. You don’t get to simply contribute to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and consider it done. Your retirement responsibilities include thinking about succession, tax implications, and contingency plans if the sale doesn’t go as expected.

A well-structured and personalized plan keeps your options open. You might sell to a family member over time, financing part of the transition yourself. You could bring in a partner now who gradually buys you out. Or you might identify prospective buyers who share your values and vision for the business.

What you don’t want to do is wait until it’s nearly time to sell your business AND THEN start planning for retirement. 

The good news? There are strategies that work, and they’re designed to protect you. The goal is to reach a place where selling the business is a choice, not a necessity. Where you can wait for the right buyer and the right price because you’re prepared, not pressured. You can feel confident about your retirement plan, knowing you have multiple streams of income for retirement.

If you are a business owner and want to plan strategically for the evolution and succession of your business, now is the time. Do not put it off. Do not wait until it’s too late. 

My team and I at BGIP work with many local businesses to build a win-win succession plan. Making sure the years and decades of hard work pay off in the end is the goal. Let’s start today.

Book a no-pressure appointment here:

BGIP.ca

Want more great advice? Read more of this blog at: theinvestorscorner.ca

Brian Gribben and the BGIP Team