What to Do With the Money After You Sell Your Business

Selling your business is more than a liquidity event. It’s a full identity shift. The wire hits, the congratulations roll in... and then the questions start.

You go from running a company and managing people to managing liquidity, tax exposure, and an entirely new financial reality. It can feel exciting, but also disorienting.

Here’s how to approach the post-sale phase with clarity and intention, so that your wealth continues to serve you, rather than overwhelm you.

1. Don’t Rush to Invest Everything Immediately

It’s tempting to “put the money to work” right away. But post-sale planning works best when it starts with clarity - not urgency.

Before moving large amounts into the market or alternative investments, take time to recalibrate:

• What do you need your money to do in the next 1–5 years?

• Are there lifestyle upgrades coming (travel, housing, family gifts)?

• What portion of this needs to generate income vs. grow long-term?

Creating a short-term liquidity bucket, often held in a high-yield savings account, short-term treasuries, or money markets gives you time to think without sacrificing flexibility.

2. Build a New Personal Income Stream

When the business disappears, so does the paycheck. One of the first priorities is designing a new personal income plan - ideally one that blends tax efficiency with predictability.

Your options might include:

• Drawing a structured distribution from a newly created investment account

• Setting up a charitable remainder trust (CRT) for income and tax deferral

• Living off interest or dividends from a portion of your portfolio

• Creating a bond ladder or muni income stream

This is where tax smart planning matters. The source of your income (qualified dividends, long-term gains, ordinary income, etc.) will determine how much you keep after taxes.

3. Revisit Your Risk Profile and Investment Strategy

Before the sale, your business was likely your biggest, and riskiest,  asset. After the sale, your portfolio may be far more liquid, but that doesn’t mean the risk is gone.

In fact, the absence of income from the business means your portfolio now carries the burden of replacing it. This often calls for a more conservative and intentional approach than the one you used while building wealth.

Reassess:

• What is your actual risk tolerance without business income as a buffer?

• What’s the purpose of each account?

• Are you diversified across asset classes, tax treatments, and liquidity timelines?

4. Address Taxes Proactively, Before Year-End

Just because the sale already closed doesn’t mean the tax planning is over.

This is the moment to get organized around:

• Estimated tax payments from the sale year

• Timing charitable gifts for deduction impact

• Converting to Roth IRAs during lower-income years

• Harvesting losses to offset future gains

• Structuring new real estate or private investments with proper tax treatment

Work with your CPA and planning team before year-end to finalize projections and position yourself for future savings.

5. Redefine What Success Looks Like Now

Selling a business changes more than your balance sheet - it shifts your relationship with work, risk, identity, and time.

Some clients lean into entrepreneurship again. Others want to build a family legacy, take a sabbatical, invest in real estate, or get more involved with philanthropy. Whatever path you’re on, your financial plan should support the next version of you, not just preserve what you’ve built.

That means aligning your capital with your goals, your lifestyle, and your new definition of success.

Beyond the Numbers: What No One Talks About After a Business Sale

Here’s the part no one prepares you for: when the business is gone, so is your driver.

You’ve spent years waking up with a purpose, leading a team, solving problems, and having your identity tied to something you built. When that disappears overnight, it can leave a void. Some people feel lost. Others feel guilty for not feeling more excited. A few feel outright depressed.

This is more common than you think.

That’s why this next phase requires not just technical advice, but emotional awareness and intentional vision. It’s okay to take a breath. It’s okay to feel uncertain. And it’s more than okay to ask, “What’s next for me?”

Many successful owners find the most meaningful fulfillment after their sale - through mentorship, investing in others, teaching, travel, or finally focusing on family.  Or pursuing that next Big Idea. The key is not rushing that answer. Give yourself time to explore what matters without the pressure of immediate reinvention.

Your financial team can help structure the money. But purpose? That’s something you’ll redefine over time.

If You’ve Sold Your Business, or Are About To, We Can Help

We guide business owners through the transition from business equity to personal liquidity. That includes designing your post-sale cash flow, building an investment and tax strategy that fits your new life, and helping you move forward with clarity.

Any discussion of taxes is for general information purposes only, does not purport to be complete or cover every situation, and should not be construed as legal, tax, or accounting advice. Clients should consult with their qualified legal, tax, and accounting advisors before implementing any strategy discussed herein.

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