> If it continues to be successful and they can find someone else to run the business when they retire than Big Business never gets a chance to move in. The w

> If it continues to be successful and they can find someone else to run the business when they retire than Big Business never gets a chance to move in. The way you typically do this is by selling the business to someone who wants to continue operating it. > Either way, everyone is happy. The owners of the store still retire Owning a business that is managed by somebody else in retirement is not the same as selling the business and retiring. If you still own the business, you are still responsible for it. If you have a great manager and just collect your checks from it, great! But what if that person quits suddenly/dies/etc.? Now you're managing the business again. If the manager of the business needs to work in it (e.g. retail store manager) and you moved away, now you've gotta get back there and start running it again. Lots of answers in here speaking from very theoretical perspectives with a clear lack of understanding of the actual day-to-day reality of what owning a small business looks like.