If you are a solo business owner, you probably don’t have a large team or a board room full of partners. It’s just you driving everything forward, and many solopreneurs love that independence. It’s part of what makes the business work. But it also creates a challenge when you begin thinking about the future.
There is no obvious transition path.
No built-in successor.
No clear moment when the business naturally continues without you.
Your income, your identity, and your daily structure are often tied closely to what you have built. So when you start asking what comes next, it’s far more than a financial question.
A Real Example
James is a business consultant in his late 50s who built a highly successful practice, earns a strong income, and genuinely loves the impact he has on his clients. When we met him, he had no plans to stop.
What he was concerned about
His entire financial life depended on the business continuing to perform. If the market changed, his pipeline slowed, or something unexpected happened, everything was at risk.
He had carried that concern for years. He had the motivation to fix it, but no clear plan, no defined targets, and no way to measure whether he was making progress.
What we did
We started by defining what financial independence actually looked like for his life and translated that into clear, measurable goals. As a business owner used to setting growth targets, this immediately clicked.
From there, we built a plan around those goals:
- Reduced his tax bill through a tailored retirement plan for his practice
- Created a structure for giving to family and causes he cared about
- Put a system in place to track progress and make adjustments along the way
What had been a vague concern became a clear set of targets. Once that clarity was in place, he took off. He stayed engaged, followed the plan, and made consistent progress.
Where he is today
Within four years, he reached his financial independence target. That clarity gave him something to work toward, and the confidence to follow through.
Today, he still runs his practice, but the pressure is different. He knows what he needs, he knows he has achieved it, and he knows there is a plan in place to keep everything on track. He enjoys his business more than ever, not because the business has changed, but because the uncertainty around it is gone.
Here’s how to start building a plan like this.
Is your exit plan truly tax-smart?
5 Key Decisions to Build Your Plan
There is no single path forward, but there are a few key decisions that can help you shape what comes next.
1. Understand What You Actually Need
Before you can decide what to do with your business, you need to understand what your life requires.
- How much income will you need?
- What does your lifestyle look like?
- What role, if any, does the business need to continue playing?
Many business owners either underestimate or overestimate this number.
We walk through this in How Much You Need to Retire, but the key idea is simple. Once you know what you are solving for, your decisions become much clearer.
2. Use the Business to Build Your Financial Foundation
One of the biggest advantages you have as a solopreneur is flexibility.
You have control over how income is structured, how much you save, and how you plan for taxes. The question is whether that opportunity is being used fully.
As we’ve outlined in other articles, retirement plans like 401(k)s create tax-deductible retirement savings and strategies like Cash Balance Plans can significantly increase how much you can save in your highest income years.
Used well, your business becomes more than a source of income. It becomes a tool for building long-term financial independence.
3. Protect What You’ve Built
As a solopreneur, your business is often your largest asset. But if something were to happen to you unexpectedly, what happens to the value you’ve created?
For your family, this often means making sure they are not left trying to sort through a business they may not be equipped to run or sell. Protecting the value of your business with life insurance can help ensure they receive the financial value of what you’ve built, even if the business itself cannot continue.
For your team and your clients, what if you were suddenly unable to operate:
- Who would step in to support your clients?
- How would relationships be transitioned?
- Is there someone who could take over, even temporarily?
Protecting your business is not just about preserving value. It is about making sure the people who rely on you are taken care of, no matter what happens.
4. Decide What Happens to the Business
Unlike larger companies, solopreneur businesses often do not have a natural transition plan. But you still have options. You might:
- Sell the business outright, which creates freedom but requires a buyer
- Transition it to a family member, if you have a suitable candidate
- Slow down, bring in part-time income, and set a date to wind things down
Each path comes with tradeoffs. The right decision depends on what you want your life to look like and how the business fits into that picture. It helps to choose a direction, knowing the path may evolve over time.
5. Think Beyond the Business
For many solopreneurs, the business has been the primary outlet for energy, creativity, and purpose.
So an important question is not just what you are stepping away from, but what you are stepping into.
What replaces that structure?
Where does your time go?
What continues to give you a sense of progress and fulfillment?
We explore this further in The 4 Parts of a Joy-Filled Retirement Life Portfolio, but the core idea is simple: a fulfilling life is shaped by how you choose to invest your time and energy, a truth often missed when people think about life after business only from a financial perspective.
Turning This into a Plan
For a solo business owner, there is rarely a single right answer. But there is a better process.
- Clarity around what you need.
- A plan to use the business to build your financial foundation.
- A thoughtful decision about the future of the business.
- And a vision for what comes next.
Without a plan, it is easy to keep going by default. With a plan, you can keep going by choice, not default. If you’re ready to turn these ideas into a clear plan, reach out for a conversation with our team!
Grant Monson
CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®
Partner, Financial Advisor
About the Author
Grant grew up on a working wheat farm in eastern Washington. Today, he credits his family – who still manage the farm – for preparing him to build a business serving others. His vision to lead Alterra is built on relentless dedication to the success of his clients and the team – his extended family.
Grant’s dad says that he hasn’t worked a day in his life because “it isn’t work when you love what you are doing.” When combined with his mom’s view that “helping others should be part of every day”, Grant’s view of financial planning comes into focus. Alterra Advisors is very much a reflection of Monson family values.
Grant earned a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s in economics at Washington State University. He launched his own financial advising practice over a decade ago, an entrepreneurial quest has become one of the most impactful things in Grant’s life. He loves coordinating the complex financial lives of business owners, bringing a depth of understanding that is rooted in his family’s own experience.
The “Alterra” name was coined by joining the Latin roots “alter”, the origin of the word “altruism” with “terra” meaning earth or land. This name reflects the company philosophy of “clients before profits” and providing firmly grounded advice.
