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Both my husband and I are both self employed. Our son will take over my business and he already works for me. Even if I get a deal here and there, I'm sure he'll pay me something.
My husband's business is a different story. He could literally do it till he's 90 or longer. But once, he sells he would be out. It would be hard to start up again if he got bored. He is a CPA full service, all year long.
He has a lot of certifications - always taking a course in something.
I was going to take a week here and there just to get him out of the office and see different parts of Florida.
Then, our employee passed away unexpectedly so this might not work.
Just something I'm struggling with. He will mention "in 5 years, we'll think about it" - stuff like that.
Did you sell outright? Did you have employees that you were concerned about?
We have IRA accounts - not as many as we would like to have - plus a couple of 401K accounts but again, not as much as we want to have. I don't know what difference having an IRA would do.
I'm trying to get him to see that there is a life outside of CPA-Land. It's hard to do that during most of the year. My only window is from around November 10th through year end.
We never were able to take traditional vacations as a family. The last one was probably in 2004. We would take an overnight here and there but that's not really a true vacation.
Dh just quit renewing contracts, and then it stopped.
He will still do small things at his leisure, on his terms. If they don't agree, he doesn't to it.
He did not sell his business.
Wife and I transferred ownership to our son two years ago. Wife and I were able to give up more responsibilities and work fewer hours. Things were working great I could work 6 hrs a week and Wife and I could take loooong weekends away. Great way to ease into retirement. 6 months back we lost two valuable employees. We've been able to replace one, but the other is harder to find. So I need to work 10-15 hrs a week now, So cry me a river right! Wife told me I got two years to be 100% or she's leaving without me. So I let the boss know I put in my two year notice.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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I know several CPA's who take on 'apprentice' / or someone employed as CPA, hoping to start their own practice. Then they transition over 5 yrs to being less and less inolved, and eventually being minimally involved. (With adequate compensation to reflect value of business and customer base.) My sis is a CPA and helped (3) different self owned firms transition to retirement. She's on her 4th gig doing that at the moment. She has no interest in her own company, she just steps in to orchestrate the transition to retirement. Sometimes they sell to a corp, or to a private owner, or dissolve. She takes care of assuring the clients have a smooth and desired transition, and that the CPA owner has a definate 'departure' / step-away date.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I had a business for 16 years, but in the recession of '08 at age 57 my customer base was dropping like flies. It was a a rough year, closing up with the house in pre-foreclosure, maxing out credit cards, and cashing in my IKRA, and selling my classic car. Eventually I found a good job, eventually was able to recover and more, retiring next spring with a pension from 15 years service.
The plan had been to sell the business and though we have lost that potential money, I think we're actually better off than we would have been.
I've known CPAs who have retired and go back to the office at tax time to take care of a handful of specific, usually long term, clients that aren't complicated and don't need a lot of hand holding. Basically, they only work a few months out of the year, if that.
It is great that your son is able to take over your business. It would be even nicer if your husband would hand over the reigns of his business to a younger colleague and do a little traveling while you are both still young enough to really enjoy it.
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How did you move away from your business?
