How to Take Control of Retirement Before It's Too Late

Is the thought of retirement keeping you up at night? Whether you are close to retirement or already in it, there are stressors that go along with retirement. If you find yourself up at night worrying if you have enough saved, wondering if your social security will be there, or if you just feel confused overall, you’re not alone. 

Studies show that 34% of small business owners have no retirement savings at all, and 40% plan to rely solely on the sale of their business to fund retirement—a risky strategy given that only a fraction of businesses sell for their intended value. Rather than confront these uncertainties, many business owners push them aside. But ignoring the problem doesn’t make it disappear—it makes it bigger. 

The longer you wait, the fewer options you’ll have, and the harder it will be to create a retirement plan that truly works for you. The goal for most people, whether they say it this way or not, is to retire happy, healthy, and wealthy. Most people would like to leave a legacy rather than become a burden on their heirs. 

If this sounds like you, it’s time to take control. Using the first three steps in my Control the Controllable process, you’ll gain clarity and direction. I call them the 3-As for Change: Awareness, Acceptance, and Adjustment. If you’ve been stuck in a cycle of avoidance, these steps will help you break free and start making the decisions that will shape your future.

Step 1: Awareness—Recognizing the Real Problem

What exactly is keeping you up at night when it comes to retirement? Maybe you’ve spent years reinvesting in your business instead of setting aside personal savings. Perhaps you thought you’d make more money then you would be able to save more money. In the back of your mind or on a napkin you might have had a plan to sell your company would be your exit strategy, but now you’re unsure if that’s realistic. Maybe you don’t even know where to start and feel like it’s too late, so you continue to do nothing.

Ignoring these concerns won’t make them go away. The first step is to bring them into full awareness. What specifically about retirement planning feels unclear, overwhelming, or impossible? The more precise you get, the easier it will be to take meaningful action.

This matters because without awareness, you may be stuck in Survivor Mode, constantly reacting rather than planning. Survivor Mode leads to burnout and poor financial decisions, which then creates more stress. When you take control you can step into Striver Mode, where you acknowledge the challenge, and eventually you can start shifting toward Thriver Mode, where you create a future that supports both financial stability and personal fulfillment.

This takes time and it may not be your original retirement dream, but at least you still have a dream or a vision. Don’t give up on your vision. In my next blog I’ll share a tool to create a new vision for retirement. But let’s first continue to get ready for shift.

Step 2: Acceptance—Owning Your Reality and Making Peace with Change

This is where many business owners get stuck. Acceptance is partly about acknowledging the facts, but it’s also about deciding what you can and cannot control. Maybe your original vision of retirement isn’t realistic anymore. You imagined a large home near your grandchildren, with a beautiful garden in the backyard and you saw yourself taking several vacations each year. But financial realities—or even personal desires—may point toward a different path. 

Your new vision may include a condo rather than a house and it could be in a smaller city or even abroad, to lower cost. Lowering your cost of living in retirement is paramount. This will help you lower the stress as you continue to plan. Retirement planning doesn’t end when retirement begins. That’s a misconception.

A 2023 study found that 55% of retirees regret not saving more earlier in life, yet many still struggle with the transition from working to retiring. This is because they never fully accepted their financial reality and adjusted their expectations accordingly. Part of acceptance is recognizing what’s possible now and committing to a new vision—one that aligns with your current financial situation, lifestyle goals, and personal values.

Ask yourself: Am I resisting reality because it’s different from what I expected? If so, you are not alone and that’s why joining a group like our ThriveWell Collective Community could help you gain awareness and even move toward acceptance by participating in our weekly discussions. It’s like a Facebook group, only more private. 

Step 3: Adjustment—Making the Necessary Shifts

Once you’ve acknowledged what needs to change, the next step is to make the Adjustment. If you’ve been prioritizing others—your children, family members, neighbors, or even church members—at the expense of your future, it’s time to set new boundaries. Every time you say “yes” to someone else’s financial needs, you are saying “no” to your future self. 

This doesn’t mean you have to stop helping others, but it does mean you need to ADJUST how you help. You’ll need to create more structure and have a gifting plan that also secures your own well-being.

Adjustment might mean having an exact amount each month that you are able to give away while having an exact amount each month that you add to your retirement account. Just as you diversify your assets, you may need to diversify the way you help others. 

The first answer might be no. If it’s not no, the next option will be how much you help. And it doesn’t always have to be money. You can help with time and advice, but even this could take too much from you while you are focusing on yourself, so make sure there is a limit set. 

Adjustment could mean starting to downsize now to reduce expenses later. It might even mean rethinking your identity, shifting from being the business owner to embracing the role of an investor, mentor, or consultant as you look at all the options for your succession plan.

The key is to start now rather than waiting until circumstances force your hand. Consider these statistics:

• Only 14% of small business owners have a formal exit strategy.
• Nearly 30% of businesses fail to sell when their owners try to exit.
• Many entrepreneurs underestimate how much they need to retire because they don’t look at the true numbers enough.

These numbers highlight why adjustments must be made sooner rather than later. The sooner you take action, the more control you have over your future.

Don’t Let This Problem Get Bigger—Start Taking Action Now

You may not have the perfect solution yet, but the worst thing you can do is continue ignoring the issue. Start by acknowledging the challenge, accepting what needs to change, and adjusting your actions accordingly.

Retirement doesn’t have to be a source of stress—it can be a calm transition into a new phase of life if you have awareness. But only if you take control now and know what’s happening. Surprises can be quite stressful, and if you aren’t looking at the numbers you are in for a surprise.

To help you take this first step, I’m inviting you to join me live on March 14th for the Retirement Challenge. In honor of World Sleep Day, we’re tackling what’s keeping business owners up at night—especially when it comes to financial security. I’ll post all the details in the ThriveWell Collective Community.

The best way to join us and to stay on track is to be part of our supportive community that helps you take action. Join the free ThriveWell Collective Community today, and you’ll get all the details. It’s time to stop avoiding the conversation, let’s talk it through, before it’s too late. I promise that the stress of ignoring the problem is bigger than the stress of dealing with it. You can do this. 

Join the ThriveWell Collective and let’s get started before a fixable problem gets worse. You are not alone!