I’m at the point where I could hang it up right now, but my main motivation is to have a profitable business to pass along to my kids.
As someone who grew up in a family of non-entrepreneurs, I always wished that there was a family business that I could take over because it was so damn hard building one from scratch.
Now that I have kids in my own, I have a real appreciation for being able to pass something along to them, although at this point I have zero idea if they’ll actually want to take the business over.
Just curious if anyone else out there has a similar situation.
It sounds like you need to explore with your kids whether taking it over is something one of them wants to do. Assuming they’re adults right now, if you don’t already know that one of them is both interested and competent to take over in a successful way, you probably would be better off selling to someone who is and handling the proceeds as you see fit (retirement, donations, seeding other ventures, etc).
I come from a family of entrepreneurs and there’s a fairly clear distinction between those who have signed up for the stress, responsibilities, and failures that come with entrepreneurial ventures and those who prefer the 9 to 5. Entrepreneurship is definitely not for everyone and that’s ok - I recommend that you evaluate your successor situation for what it is rather than what you possibly wish it was (if there’s a difference).
Nope they’re not adults.
And it’s a one-man consulting business so I can’t outsource or hire someone to babysit the business until they’re of age to decide. I don’t even know that selling it is an option since I’ve got a lot of specialized knowledge.
I’d be willing to ease my kids into it over a few years, but I think it would be too long to transition to a buyer.
Nope, they’ll have their own path in life. Passing a business down the line makes many people feel obliged to continue with it and trapped.
Possibly, but it’s a pretty easy gig. I work about 10 hours a week and this year I’ll probably make $150k.
I would have killed for the opportunity to have a part-time job at a full-time income with no boss.