Retirement is often the goal of many hardworking adults in the world. The promise of magical retirement fuels a lot of workaholic men and women to continue working long hours and sacrificing their time, energy, and youth in the process. However, as someone who is nearing retirement, you might be wondering what exactly you will you do with the copious amounts of free time you’re soon to have. Assuming that you’ve saved up a lot for retirement, here are a few things you can do to ease your way into retire as an entrepreneur.
Choose the worthiest successor
If you own the company or business, chances are, you have to make the tough decision on who will succeed you in leading your company. As someone who worked seriously hard for the benefit of the company and your team, you know it’s not an easy decision to make. Some people intend to pass the baton to their kids, hoping that their relationship is enough to steer the company to the right decision. But the truth is, sometimes it isn’t. As they say, leaders are not born but made. So giving the reigns to your relative may not always be the best decision.
Determine what qualities of a leader are important for your company before you go looking for someone who fits the bill. Examples of good qualities to look for the next leader are critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and the ability to inspire others to act.
Sell your company for the right price
Now if you’re not as involved in your business as you once were, you might be thinking of giving up the venture altogether. This is not a bad decision, especially if shutting down operations isn’t really part of your options. Luckily, there are online business brokers who are happy to take on the task of looking for the perfect buyer for your company which will allow you to use your precious time and attention to more important things: getting ready for retirement.
Reconnect with your family
Assuming you’ve taken care of business, the first thing you need to do as a retiree is to reconnect with your family. Whether or not your kids have grown up to have their own families, you need to make an extra effort to become part of their lives while you still can.
Some people realize it too late that they’ve devoted too much of their time at work, which ultimately led to them becoming strangers with their own loved ones. Sometimes, this is unintentional but it happens. So before you start doing what you want, make an effort for your spouse, kids, and other relatives first.
Start a passion project
Once you’ve made up or enjoyed the company of your loved ones to your heart’s content, it’s finally time to focus on you. Most retired entrepreneurs find themselves to be a little bit restless since the daily grind was all they knew before. In order to address that feeling, you can start a passion project, especially if you’re still strong enough. Passion projects are basically activities that you seriously want to do that will benefit other people in society. After all, giving back is always a good thing even during retirement.
The Bottom Line
A retiree is not a useless person in society. A retiree is much like an army veteran who has done his fair share of battles and all the wins and losses that come along with it. As a retiree, you get to decide what you want to do in your twilight years so make it count.
But take my advice and do take things slowly. Retirement is a long time and if you try to do everything all at once, you will find yourself with nothing better to do even after just 1 year of retirement. Embrace the slow pace of life and be more intentional with the things you do. You deserve it.
