Real Entrepreneurs Never Retire, They Adjust Their Resources for Freedom

The following is adapted from The Business Owner’s Dilemma by Ali Nasser.

The concept of retirement planning for entrepreneurs is quite flawed. Creating a plan for when you’ll sell your company, stop working, golf, socialize, and travel the world — it’s more than likely not going to happen. The reality is that most entrepreneurs don’t retire. Not because you can’t, but because you don’t want to. You want to live your life’s purpose, and that often involves actively using your talents and abilities for as long as you can.

If you choose to sell your company, you might spend a few months relaxing before you realize you have been an entrepreneur because you love to build things and make progress. I’ve witnessed this firsthand with many business owners. They simply don’t retire. Instead, they move on to something new.

This is not to say that retirement doesn’t happen, but it’s the exception rather than the rule.

Your Retirement is Unique to You

Most of you already know whether you’re a person who doesn’t want to retire. I can relate. I’m confident I’ll always be working toward something. I love what I do, and I couldn’t sit still if I tried. If you do not know the answer yet, your spouse will — if he or she laughs at the idea of you retiring, you can take it as gospel.

Rather than trying to fit into the common model of retiring at age sixty-five and collecting an annuity and a Social Security check, your planning and thinking around retirement should match your unique planning and thinking as an entrepreneur.

Instead of being able to stop working, you probably just want to refocus on freedom of time — a future where you can apply yourself to whatever entrepreneurial venture you desire, regardless of the level of revenue or profit.

Your Time is an Asset

There are two key concepts that can really help in thinking about all of this: the Point of Optionality™ and your Return on Life Experience.

Some entrepreneurs have reached a point where what they have built is worth more than what they will ever want for their desired lifestyle. If they sold their company, they would never have to work another day in their life.

They could pursue whatever passion, business, or endeavor that their heart desires, regardless of what financial impact it would make. I call this the Point of Optionality. And many who have reached this point don’t even realize it.

On the other hand, almost everyone is painfully aware that time is finite. We all get 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year — the choice is how to use that time.

Value Your Return on Life Experience

There are many ways to capture your business success that help you to increase your return on investment. However, for many entrepreneurs, there is something even more valuable than return on investment, and that’s the Return on Life Experience.

The choices we make about how we spend our time, how we think, and who we are with collectively make up our life experience. But how we allocate our time is one of the most powerful ways to impact our Return on Life Experience.

Time and money are deeply connected, and the more money you accumulate, the more intentional you can be with your time. Think of it this way: if you had all the financial resources to reallocate your time in whatever way you desire, what would you do?

Chances are you would still build something, maybe keep building your current business, but would the way you build it change? Would the way you spend your time change? I can almost guarantee it would.

Be Intentional With Your Time and Money

In your ideal world, how many days a year would you be working? How many days traveling? How many days unallocated? What would you do with loved ones? Do you have passions, hobbies, or interests that you haven’t had the time to pursue?

Most entrepreneurs have never truly thought about these questions because we have been so consumed by building our business. But creating intentionality with both time and capital will increase your Return on Life Experience.

Regardless of where you are in the entrepreneurial journey, repositioning your time and capital to align with your desired life experience is one of the most powerful exercises you can do to create the retirement you imagine.

For more advice on how to retire the way you want, you can find The Business Owner’s Dilemma on Amazon.

Ali Nasser is a passionate entrepreneur, communicator, and life enthusiast. He loves helping people find their best path forward and enhancing intentionality. Ali is a sought-after communicator and keynote speaker and has shared his insights at a variety of institutions, workshops, and conferences, including Entrepreneurs’ Organization, Vistage, and the EOS National Conference. He lives in Houston, Texas. Connect at AliNasser.com.