Around 10 years earlier, our clients had made a decision that many people think about but relatively few actually make.

They gave up secure employment and set out on their own.

They hadn’t done it with grand ambitions of building a business worth millions. Their motivation was much simpler: they wanted independence. They wanted to make their own decisions, build something for themselves and stop spending their working lives taking orders from somebody else.

Starting the business meant giving up the security of a regular salary. There were clients to win, bills to pay and no guarantee that things would work out.

But gradually, they did.

Fast-forward around a decade and the business was firmly established. Turnover was growing, profits were healthy and the uncertainty of those early years had been replaced by a successful and valuable company.

Then came the opportunity to sell.

They could carry on. The business might become larger, profits might increase and a future buyer might eventually pay considerably more.

Or they could recognise what they had already achieved.

They were still only in their 30s. So the question became: if you’ve already achieved the financial security you were working towards, why automatically delay taking the win?

What did they want the next 10 years to look like?

There was no pressing financial need to sell. The business was profitable and continuing to grow. Keeping it could provide a very good income and, if that growth continued, the business might ultimately become considerably more valuable.

Purely from the perspective of maximising their eventual wealth, carrying on could be very attractive.

But life had changed during those 10 years too. They now had young children. And the business that had originally given them freedom had inevitably created responsibilities of its own.

Clients depended on them. Employees depended on them. Decisions ultimately came back to them.

They had escaped taking orders from a boss, but successful business ownership had brought a different set of demands on their time.

So the question wasn’t simply: “How much more could we make if we keep going?”

It was: “What do we want the next 10 years of our lives to look like?”

They hadn’t set out to make a fortune

This was important.

Building substantial wealth hadn’t been the original objective. They had started the business because they wanted greater control over their working lives. The fact that it had become valuable was a consequence of its success, rather than the reason they had created it.

That distinction mattered. Because if maximising wealth had never been the objective, continuing for another five or 10 years simply because the business might eventually be worth considerably more wasn’t automatically the right answer.

There would always be another turnover target. Another profit milestone. Another year of growth. And potentially another opportunity to sell for more.

At some point, they needed to decide what “enough” looked like for them.

What would selling actually give them?

The proposed sale would transform their personal finances. The proceeds would allow them to repay their mortgage in full, retain a healthy cash reserve and still leave more than £1 million available to invest for their longer-term future.

That was a very strong financial position for a family still in their 30s.

But it didn’t necessarily mean they could stop working forever. They potentially had another 60 years or more to plan for. There would be future spending, inflation, investment uncertainty and all the changes that inevitably occur over a lifetime.

So we weren’t trying to answer: “Can you retire in your 30s?”

The more useful question was: “How much freedom would selling the business give you over what you do next?”

We modelled different futures

Cashflow modelling allowed us to look beyond the immediate sale proceeds. We considered their existing assets, mortgage, cash reserves, available capital and likely future earnings.

We then explored different possibilities:

• What if they returned to demanding, highly paid full-time careers?

• What if one or both worked part-time?

• What if they accepted lower salaries in return for greater flexibility?

• What if they continued contributing to pensions and investments, but at a slower rate?

• What if investment returns were lower than expected?

The purpose wasn’t to predict exactly what would happen—nobody can reliably forecast someone’s life for another 60 years. Instead, the modelling helped us understand how much financial flexibility they had already created.

A spreadsheet can model the financial cost of selling too early. It cannot model the cost of waiting too long.

But another clock is running

There is a danger that “enough” never arrives. A £1 million valuation becomes £2 million. £2 million becomes £3 million. And once you reach £3 million, it’s very easy to start wondering whether you could get to £5 million.

The financial finishing line keeps moving.

But another clock is running at the same time.

Your children become 10, then 15, then 20. Eventually, they’re no longer children.

There are no more school football matches to attend — or miss. No more netball games. No more school runs.

You can’t decide at 50 that you’d now like to go back and spend more time with your children when they were 8.

Once you’ve accumulated enough money to provide genuine security, having greater control over your time may be worth considerably more than simply accumulating another £1 million on a balance sheet.

Taking the win didn’t mean retiring

Our clients weren’t looking to retire in their 30s. They had valuable skills and experience and still wanted to use them.

Following the sale, they returned to work part-time.

The difference was that work could now fit around the life they wanted, rather than their life having to fit around work. They could continue earning and making use of their skills and expertise, while having considerably more time as a family.

They hadn’t abandoned work or ambition. They had simply changed the role work played in their lives.

Why delay taking the win?

Business owners are naturally conditioned to look forward. The next client. The next turnover target. The next profit milestone. The next valuation.

And when you’ve successfully grown a business for 10 years, it can be remarkably difficult to stop asking: “How much bigger could this become?”

There is nothing wrong with continuing if building the business is still what you genuinely want to do. But there is a danger that the pursuit of more becomes automatic.

Our clients had an opportunity to do something different. They could recognise that the business had already achieved what they originally wanted from it — and considerably more.

The sale didn’t buy them retirement; it bought them choice. It provided the freedom for their next decision not to be driven primarily by money, allowing them to take the win while they still had plenty of time to enjoy what it gave them.

Financial planning when you’re considering selling a business

When somebody is considering selling a successful business, attention naturally focuses on valuation: “How much is the business worth?”

That’s obviously important. But financial planning introduces another question: “What would that amount of money actually allow us to do?”

For one business owner, the answer might be retirement. For another, it might mean starting another company. For someone else, it could mean working three or four days a week, changing career, travelling more or simply being around more while their children are growing up.

Understanding that can even change how you think about the sale price. Because the objective isn’t necessarily to accumulate the greatest possible amount of wealth.

It’s to understand how much is enough for the life you actually want to lead.

About this case study: This illustrative example brings together situations we have encountered when working with clients. Details, figures and circumstances have been changed or combined to protect client confidentiality. Cashflow modelling uses assumptions about the future and cannot guarantee future outcomes.

Ready to talk about what comes next?

If you’re considering selling your business, stepping back or simply wondering whether you’ve already accumulated enough, an initial conversation can help you understand what the numbers could mean for you and your family.

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What does “enough” look like for you?

Request a complimentary copy of 50 Today 100 Tomorrow

Written by Scott Gallacher, Chartered Financial Planner at Rowley Turton, 50 Today 100 Tomorrow explores an idea that’s particularly relevant to successful business owners: once you’ve accumulated enough, what is the money actually for?

The book looks beyond simply accumulating more wealth and considers the choices money can create — from working less and spending more time with your family to planning for retirement and deciding what you eventually want to leave behind.

If you’re starting to wonder whether you’ve already accumulated enough, it may help you think differently about what comes next.

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