Thinking of selling up?

Jeremy Tauri.

If you're in business, you don't need me to tell you that you've made sacrifices.

While your employed friends might have put in for annual leave - sometimes with increasingly large entitlements over their careers - you've probably slogged on through, sometimes with barely a weekend to yourself.

Why do we do it? Of course there's the gratification that comes from being your own boss. It's rewarding to set out on a goal and achieve it through your own hard work.

But there's another reason: Most people hope that at some point their business will be worth something and the time and hard work they have invested will pay off financially.

If you are getting near retirement, it could be time to start thinking about how to maximise the value in your business.

Make sure all your processes are well-documented and you have good records of everything that new buyers will want to see - that might be employment agreements or contracts with clients. If the entity you use to trade through includes other ventures, then thinking early about separating those records for sale purposes will allow some further transparency come due diligence time.

If you have staff who seem to be showing an interest in stepping up, consider whether there is a way to pass the business over to them. It might mean giving them the chance to slowly buy into the business. Then again, is the entity you're using the right one for succession planning purposes? A gradual share buyout might be a better option under a company than in a situation where you are working as a sole trader entity.

This is not a problem that will be yours alone. MBIE data shows that business owners aged 50 to 59 are the second-largest group of self-employed people, after people aged in their 40s. You'll want yours to stand out.

- Jeremy Tauri is an associate at Plus Chartered Accountants.