Retail & Small BusinessFrom Side Hustle to Retirement-Ready Owner
A 42-year-old founder of a boutique retail chain
A retail founder was reinvesting every dollar into growth with zero personal balance sheet. We built a 10-year plan that extracted value systematically while funding retirement and a future exit.
The challenge
The owner had strong revenue but no separation between business and personal finances, no retirement savings, and a tax structure that penalized every profitable quarter.
Our approach
We restructured the entity to an S-corp, implemented a solo 401(k) with profit sharing, built a disciplined owner's compensation model, and created a personal investment portfolio funded by 15% of monthly operating profit.
0% → 15%
Personal savings rate
$38,000
Annual tax reduction
$610,000
Retirement portfolio (yr 5)
+42%
Business valuation uplift
“For the first time I know exactly what the business is worth to my family, not just to my customers.”


