Planning Your Practice Exit: The Retirement Math That Sets the Floor

Questions? Thoughts? Send a Text to The Optometry Money Podcast! We'll answer your question on the show.Episode SummaryMost practice owners spend close to two decades building their business — and too often only a few months planning how they exit it. That imbalance shows up in the outcomes.This episode kicks off a new series on planning for the sale of your practice, built around five questions worth answering long before a sale shows up on your calendar. We start with the first and most important one: not "what is my practice worth?" but "what does this sale actually need to do for my retirement to work?"Because those are two completely different questions — and the gap between what you assume the practice is worth and what you actually need it to do is where a lot of the regret lives. We walk through why your retirement gap sets the floor for every other exit decision, how to actually build that number, and why the earlier you start, the more flexibility you'll have on your way out.What You'll LearnThe five questions to answer when planning to exit your practice (and why this one comes first)Why your practice valuation only matters in relation to your retirement gapHow two identical practices can lead to two completely different sale strategiesWhy earlier owners have far more flexibility — and how to "pre-fund" your future buyoutHow to build your retirement gap: lifestyle spending, guaranteed income, existing assets, and the gap that remainsHow that gap becomes your negotiating floor — shaping timeline, buyer type, and payment structureThe what-if scenarios worth testing before you ever sellKey Takeaways for OptometristsYour practice valuation is only meaningful in context. The number that actually matters is the gap between what you've already built outside the practice and what your retirement plan needs to succeed. Until you know that gap, every conversation about price, structure, and buyer is theoretical — you have nothing to measure an offer against.Figure out that number first, and it becomes your negotiating floor. It tells you whether you can wait for the right buyer, whether you can sell to an associate at a friendly price or need to chase a higher multiple, and whether work is truly optional afterward. Too many owners step into a sale unsure of what their family actually needs — and let the deal determine their retirement plan rather than the other way around.Resources for OptometristsPodcast Ep 160: How to Maximize Your Optometry Practice Value Before You Sell with Erich MatteiPodcast Ep 50: Guide to Due Diligence on Practice Purchases with Erich MatteiPodcast Ep 80: Intro to Optometry Practice Valuations with Erich MatteiPodcast Ep 70: Financial Planning Considerations for Owners of Established Optometry PracticesWant a more proactive approach to your planning?You can schedule a no-commitment introductory call to discuss what's on your mind financially and learn how we help optometrists navigate those same decisions nationwide.👉 Schedule an introductory callThe Optometry Money Podcast is dedicated to helping optometrists make better decisions around their money, careers, and practices. The show is hosted by Evon Mendrin, CFP®, CSLP®, owner of Optometry Wealth Advisors, a financial planning firm just for optometrists nationwide.