Gen-X is Exiting

Ricky Recap-Pexels

Being “Gen-X” often feels like being in a forgotten generation. Sandwiched between the mass of the “Boomers” and the needs of the larger “Millennials,” we spent a lot of our lives watching recessions, bubbles, and technologies come and go.

But, in reality, we weren’t the slacker generation at all. Without the job security that our parents enjoyed, we embraced entrepreneurship in unprecedented numbers.

Gen-X, generally defined as being born between 1965 and 1980, have created the technological advances that we embrace fully today. Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are Gen-X, as are the founders of YouTube. Elon Musk is famously a Gen-Xers. Most of the movers and shakers in Hollywood are Gen-Xer (thus the nostalgia boom, for better or worse). This doesn’t even begin to cover advances in medicine, science, and politics.

Now Gen-X is on the cusp of retirement. Entrepreneurs who have worked their whole lives building their businesses are looking for the next steps. How long can they keep working? What happens if they can’t? What will become of the business that they’ve nurtured and developed for so long? Do their children want to take over? Do their partners want to continue their vision?

They are looking for answers and strategies that are clear and concise. They don’t like to waste time, and they are tech-savvy and up-to-date. They are also flexible and adaptable. Raised in an uncertain world by the Boomers and parents to late Millennials and Gen-Z, they know when to be steady and when to swerve.

They are also passionate about their businesses. and passing it into the right hands is very important to them. Financial security is important to them, as is work/life balance.

As Gen-Xers ourselves, who have started multiple businesses and sold them, we are equally passionate about meeting their needs and sending them into retirement in the best possible way.

If you are a Gen-Xer and considering selling your business in the next few years, now is the time to start planning. Blue Sky Exit Planning can work with you to plan the next steps on your journey.