Occasionally, successful business owners will say to themselves and their advisors, “I’m too old to start a multi-year plan for my future.” In many respects, this mindset is similar to saying, “I’m too old to succeed,” which is preposterous! Let’s look at a few reasons why you’re never too old to plan for a successful future.

Proper planning can give you time back

The strongest businesses often have written plans for how to address unexpected events and mitigate risk, known as business continuity instructions. Their owners ask questions like, “What happens if a co-owner or I die?”, “How do we protect key employees from competitors?”, and “How do we address interruptions in our supply chain?” Here are three major items to consider as you create your own written business continuity instructions.

Generally, business owners feel comfortable being owners. They enjoy what they do, but rationally, they know they need to change their roles in their businesses eventually. But most owners don’t resist planning their exits on a rational basis. Instead, they resist Exit Planning at an emotional level.

Consider Clancy, a 50-year-old business owner. He loves working at and owning his 25-person manufacturing company, but he knows that he’ll eventually need to start preparing for retirement. He assumes that if he can sell his business for about $5 million, he and his wife can live comfortably and still help send their grandson, Ralph, to the finest colleges. He gets his business professionally appraised and learns that it’s currently worth $3.5 million