For many entrepreneurs, their business has been the center of their world for decades. Early mornings, late nights, and years of sacrifice have built a successful company that they can now monetize, but as they approach selling, transitioning, or stepping away, one critical area often gets overlooked in the planning process: the business owner’s personal health.
A business owner can plan a flawless financial exit, find the perfect successor, and protect their legacy, but if they don’t have the health to enjoy their next chapter, their victory will not be complete.
Prioritizing Personal Well-Being in the Exit Planning Journey
Stepping away from a business is a personal transition that reshapes daily life, identity, routine, and purpose. Many owners spend years preparing their companies for succession, transfer, or sale, yet very few pause to assess their own readiness for the chapter that comes next. The long hours, pressure, and responsibility that built the business often came at the cost of sleep, nutrition, hobbies, relationships, and personal time. When the deal is signed and the dust settles, that neglected health and well-being becomes impossible to ignore.
A successful exit should leave a business owner with more than liquidity. It should leave them with the physical energy, mental clarity, and emotional resilience to enjoy the freedom they’ve earned. Prioritizing personal well-being throughout the exit planning timeline helps ensure that the next chapter feels fulfilling instead of unsettling.
Here are six tips for a healthy exit strategy:
1. Your Health Is Your True Wealth
Most business owners think of “inventory” in terms of assets, revenue, and value. Yet the most important inventory you can take before exiting is your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Your business has likely demanded years of constant travel, decision-making, and stress. Over time, even the most resilient entrepreneurs can experience burnout, fatigue, or neglect their personal wellness in pursuit of business success.
The time to focus on your retirement health and wellness mindset is when you are preparing for your exit.
2. Transition Stress Is Real and It Can Take a Toll on One’s Health
Exiting your business isn’t just a financial transaction – it is also an emotional one. Many owners underestimate the psychological impact of stepping away from their life’s work. Feelings of loss, uncertainty, and even depression can surface in the months following an exit.
Many business owners experience some form of emotional distress or an identity crisis after selling or retiring. Without a plan to manage the transition both physically and mentally, a business owner can experience health issues, isolation, or dissatisfaction with what should be a rewarding new phase of life.
If you have a healthier, more balanced mindset, you will be far better equipped to navigate this change with the energy, focus, and optimism needed.
3. Take a Personal Health Inventory Before You Exit
Just as a business owner evaluates his or her company’s strengths and weaknesses, they should also take time to assess their personal health across these four dimensions:
- Physical Health: When was your last comprehensive physical exam? How is your energy level, sleep, nutrition, and fitness ?
- Mental Health: Are you managing stress effectively? Do you feel emotionally ready to transition?
- Relationships: Have you nurtured personal connections outside of your business life ?
- Lifestyle Habits: Do your daily routines support long-term wellness, or have they been built around business demands?
This quick personal audit can help identify areas that need attention before they become barriers to enjoying your post-exit life.
4. Make Wellness Part of Your Exit Strategy:
A successful exit plan integrates more than just business and financial goals. It includes strategies to ensure you are healthy, active, and ready to live a full life after your transition.
Consider incorporating these five steps into your business exit plan:
- Scheduling annual medical checkups and developing a long-term health management plan.
- Collaborating with a nutritionist, personal trainer, or wellness coach to rebuild healthy routines.
- Including stress management techniques, such as meditation, yoga, or mindfulness, into your daily routine.
- Exploring hobbies or activities that keep you physically and socially engaged.
- Taking short sabbaticals or “mini-retirements” before your exit to assess your post-business lifestyle.
A comprehensive health & wellness plan deserves the same focus you are applying to your business plan.
5. Reinvest in Your Personal Well-being
After years of investing in your business, it’s time to invest in you.
Your body, mind, and soul are your most valuable assets, the ones that will determine how much you can enjoy your wealth, relationships, freedom, and contentment after the sale of your business.
If a business exit marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another chapter, your last chapter should be focused on quality of life.
6. The Reward: A Life You Can Fully Enjoy
The goal of every exit plan is more than a sale. It’s a successful life beyond business. By taking a proactive inventory of your health, you ensure that your next chapter is not only financially secure but also physically strong, mentally clear, and emotionally fulfilling.
A healthy exit isn’t just about what you walk away with; it’s about what you’re able to walk into.
Prepare for Life After Ownership with IEPA
Stepping away from a business is one of the most meaningful transitions an owner will ever make. It affects far more than financial outcomes. It reshapes daily rhythms, personal identity, health, and overall well-being. IEPA understands that a successful exit requires preparing both the company and the owner for what comes next.
IEPA’s Certified Business Exit Consultants® provide a structured, experience-driven approach that helps owners evaluate their personal readiness, clarify their long-term vision, and understand what a healthy life after the business could look like.
Through practical assessments and thoughtful guidance, IEPA supports owners in building an exit plan that aligns with their goals, their wellness, and the future they want for themselves and their families.
Speak with a Certified Business Exit Consultant® and start shaping your next chapter with confidence, clarity, and a renewed focus on your well-being.
Find a Certified Business Exit Consultant® Now!
About the Author
James J. Talerico, Jr. CMC ® CBEC ® is an award-winning author, blogger, speaker, and a nationally recognized small to mid-sized (SMB) business expert, with outstanding business consulting, succession planning, value acceleration, and exit planning credentials. He is the owner of Greater Prairie Business Consulting, Inc. (www.greaterprairiebusinessconsulting.com) located in Irving, Texas and has helped thousands of business owners throughout the US and in Canada maximize their business performance and exits for more than 30 years. Jim currently sits on The IEPA’s Education Committee.
