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Be Prepared Before You Exit
October 12th, 2025
by Bill Boyajian

Many owners feel some form of loss of identity and purpose when they retire. Here’s a sampling of the comments I’ve heard over the years:

“I used to be somebody special in the community, but no more.”

“I wake up in the morning and don’t have a reason to get out of bed.”

“My employees say they aren’t happy with the new ownership.”

“They still pay me to consult, but they don’t ask me to do anything.”

These comments and others tell me that every owner must have a plan to occupy their time prior to going ‘cold turkey’ with retirement. You need a purpose, and a reason to use your considerable knowledge and lifetime of experience in business.

Retirement isn’t all about playing more golf and doing some additional travel. That will fill some time, but will it fill the empty hole of success that was a big part of the growth and development of your business? That’s the question every owner must answer before retiring.

The ideal situation is to find new purpose that will ultimately drive personal satisfaction. Your future in retirement should be challenging intellectually, but not overly difficult. It should be rewarding, but not obligatory.

If you are having trouble dealing with the prospect of retirement, drop me a line or give me a call. I’ll give you some thoughtful advice.

“I needed help orchestrating a succession plan for our business. I had heard that Bill Boyajian specialized in assisting owners to transition their business to the next generation. He knows how to bridge the generation gap and deliver what each needs to hear. I would recommend Bill to any business owner who needs advice on succession planning from a trusted outside professional.”

–Charles Denaburg,
Managing Partner,
Levy’s Fine Jewelry
Birmingham, AL

"Our family needed some guidance on business transition and succession planning. We asked Bill Boyajian to help us because we knew we could trust him to tell us what we needed to hear. Bill became a valuable resource for our company and our entire family. He has the ability to meet each of us where we’re at and it has served us very well."

–Ceylon Leitzel
Leitzel Fine Jewelry
Hershey & Myerstown, PA

“We needed a plan to transition our business to a non-family member and we asked Bill Boyajian to help us. His experience in the area has really paid off, but we didn’t expect the added value of putting us together with a financial planner who helped organize our retirement needs. We now have the fundamentals to transition our business successfully, and we have Bill to thank for it.”

–Ernie & Debbie Cummings
Kizer-Cummings Jewelers
Lawrence, KS