Dear reader,
Well done. I know from experience that entrepreneurs rarely have anyone tell them they have done great work, so take a moment to acknowledge it.
As your financial planner I know your business was born out of a desire to have more say over the hours you worked and the type of clients you worked with.
You started a home visit chiropodist business with a virtual assistant to help with administration. A few years later you bought premises with a friend who offered physiotherapy services, and you have gradually grown the number of therapies and facilities at your wellness centre – but you didn’t start it with the intention of scaling and reselling.
Up to now, the other people you have shared responsibility with have all been practitioners at the centre. The other therapists are all self-employed and effectively share the premises, administration and some discounted supplies by plugging into and being part of the centre.
Arguably the most important benefit is the good reputation among the local community, and the cross selling of services all available under the same roof. You have been careful and particular about the practitioners invited to join your cooperative, and your leadership has been very influential.
The offer to buy your business comes from a local property developer who has built a small portfolio of businesses similar in profile to your own. He has experience of helping businesses that share premises and resources to optimise their potential, and he believes all the practitioners would benefit from updated premises, systems, cheaper access to resources and he believes the business has over 35pc of unused capacity.
After several meetings with him and his team you can see the centre would have a very different vibe to the collaborative working environment you have built up with your colleagues. While you admit there are improvements in capacity to be had, you believe the cost would be a working environment similar to what you chose to leave behind.
We have done some financial planning that imagined you retiring at 55, but this offer has come to you at 45. We had established the asset base you required to have the lifestyle you desired, with some travelling, doing up a forever home and being generous with family.
It assumed that the first 10 years of retirement would be busy, and once long haul flights had lost their appeal, the new house was done and the family catered for, things would get a little less expensive in later retirement, leaving you with enough money to be sure you don’t run out.
