Help! My Hubby Won’t Retire

Hey Scott,
 
My husband of 43 years has his own small business and it’s his identity, but I would like him to retire. Thanks to modest living, saving, superannuation and an inheritance, we have $2 million under our belt. We own our own home and have zero debt. He’s never taken long service leave, only three or four weeks off every year, so I reckon it’s our turn to spend some time together and enjoy life more. But he won’t (can’t) bring himself to stop working. Please tell him he’s a nong.
 
Lonely wife.
 
Hello Lonely Wife!
 
Your husband sounds like a typical nong-y small business owner.  
 
And we all have the same disease: it’s our baby that never really grows up, and will always need us.
 
So let me offer a suggestion:
 
Your husband needs to find someone young, and full of energy to shack up with*.
 
*In a business sense.
 
Selling a small business lock stock and barrel can actually be quite difficult, especially if the business owner is central to that business. And another big problem is that banks generally don’t lend people dough to buy a small business, unless it’s against an asset like a house, which limits the pool of buyers.
 
That’s why one idea I suggest to the business owners is to sell the business to one of their workers, or to find someone who is willing to take over the business, and structure it as a multi-year earn out, where the worker earns a small wage, while paying off the agreed price for the business over say three to five years.
 
Why would they do that?
 
Because it works for everyone.
 
The young worker learns how to run the business while the owner is there.
 
The owner gets to start to wind down … and not annoy his wife (you).
 
And he also not only gets to mentor someone, he knows that his baby is hopefully in very good hands.