American Business Brokers & Advisor Founder & President PROFESSIONAL INTERMEDIARY & MARKET MAKER FOR PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES Author of ‘The Art of Buying and Selling a Convenience Store’ & ‘Selling with Certainty’ Involved in the Sale of 750+ Businesses Advisor • Consultant • Speaker
FEBRUARY 2020
WWW.TERRYMONROE.COM
800.805.9575
“If by taking your dream for a test run, you discover it’s not actuallywhat youwant, don’t be discouraged. Your dream for retirement is out there, and now you’re one step closer to finding it.”
Taking Your Dream for a Test Run Discover the Goal You Should Really Be Striving For
What is one dream you want to make a reality? Do you see yourself retiring to Florida or to the Caribbean to play golf, fish, and enjoy long walks on the beach with your spouse? I agree — it sounds like a nice way to reward yourself at the end of a long, successful career, but let me ask you something: then what? One thing a lot of people don’t realize about Florida is that it’s more than just beaches and Disney World. People have whole lives and careers down there! Twenty years ago, I moved to Florida and helped sell a lot of small businesses. Oftentimes, the buyers were older men who had previously been retired. They were getting right back into the world of business ownership after they had worked so hard to leave it! What had happened was this: These guys had invested so much time in their business that when they finally retired, they didn’t know what to do. They had played golf and fished to their hearts’ content and were left with nothing to do except sit around their houses until their wives threw them out and told them to find something to do. Since they knew how to effectively run a business, a lot of them returned to business ownership in the years they figured they would be relaxing on the beach. Is your dream to one day retire to the warm, sandy beaches of Florida? Many people base their desire to retire somewhere on how they felt during a brief vacation, but that isn’t long enough to know if they would actually enjoy living there. This is why in my book “Selling with Certainty,” I recommend what I call “taking your dream on a test run.” If it’s your dream to retire to Florida, the Caribbean, Bangkok,
or wherever else, take a 30-day break from running your business and spend that time in whatever city you’re planning on retiring to. The reason I recommend 30 days is because psychologists have said that’s the amount of time you need to let your brain shift from “vacation mode” into “real-life mode.” If after 30 days you still wish you could live where you’re vacationing, then it might be time to consider selling your business and retiring. It’s a great way to make certain the dream you’ve envisioned is actually the dream you want to live. Now, you might be thinking: What if after 30 days in my favorite vacation destination, I find I don’t want to live there? Or I don’t want to golf and fish all day? Well, you’ll now have more information to help you make an informed decision about your future. To find the freedom you want, you need to know your options through learning new information. You might find you actually want to keep working but on a more limited basis, perhaps as a consultant. Or, maybe you work out a deal with your management team to only work on a part-time basis. If by taking your dream for a test run, you discover it’s not actually what you want, don’t be discouraged. Your dream for retirement is out there, and now you’re one step closer to finding it.
–Terry Monroe
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800.805.9575
WWW.TERRYMONROE.COM
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