Most owners are millions short of the retirement they want — and don't know it.
Seven quick questions. One uncomfortable number. Plus the exact growth rate your business needs to hit to close the gap.
When do you actually want to be done?
Years from today. Be honest — not the polite answer you give at networking events.
Most owners pick 7–15.
What income do you actually want to live on?
Annual, after-tax-ish, in today's dollars. The lifestyle you'll be unwilling to downgrade from.
We use the standard 4% safe-withdrawal rule to back into your nest-egg target.
What's your business actually doing today?
Trailing-12-month normalized EBITDA — what a buyer would underwrite, not the optimistic version.
…at what EBITDA margin?
EBITDA Margin = EBITDA ÷ Revenue. Skilled trades / manufacturing typically 8–15%; professional services / healthcare 12–25%.
How much of the business do you actually own?
Your equity stake. Partners, investors, and option pools all eat into your share at exit.
100% if you're sole owner. Drop it down for partners, investors, ESOPs.
What have you set aside outside the business?
Liquid investable assets — brokerage, retirement accounts, cash. Excludes your house and the business itself.
If most of your net worth is locked in the business — you're not alone. That's the gap.
What are you stashing away every year — outside the business?
Annual contributions to retirement accounts, brokerage, savings. The money that leaves the business and doesn't come back in.
Even modest savings compound. We grow them at your assumed return rate (5% default — editable in the full model).
What does the business owe today?
Long-term debt — bank loans, SBA, lines drawn. Comes off the top at sale before you see a dime.
…and how much do you pay against it each month?
Total monthly payment — principal + interest combined (your real monthly outlay). We annualize × 12 behind the scenes. Skip with $0 if no debt.
Drag the slider to set the multiple a buyer will pay at exit. The teal band shows the typical range for your industry — but you can go anywhere.
The margin you'll operate at when you exit. Expanding margin without growing revenue is a real value-creation lever — slide it up to model margin expansion contributing to your EBITDA target.
You have the number. Now manage the business as the asset it is.
Three levers move valuation — grow revenue, expand your margin, or expand the multiple buyers pay for it. The first two grow EBITDA; the third grows what buyers pay per dollar of EBITDA. All three come from the same three questions every owner should be able to answer at the end of every month.
Live dashboards with full historical financials, a KPI scorecard, and industry benchmarks against peers. So seasonality stops fooling you — and you can see what's actually moving the business.
An annual budget, a three-statement rolling forecast that updates every month, and a monthly review with a dedicated FP&A analyst. You see the gap forming in March — not in December.
The platform that turns your equity-value target into a quarter-by-quarter cascade your leadership team actually runs. A strategic plan that doesn't show up in next week's meeting isn't a strategy — it's a wish.
The full three-scenario model. Edit any input to see how it moves the target. Your seven quiz answers are pre-loaded; the rest use sensible defaults you can override.
Common Inputs
| Personal | |
| Years to Retirement | |
| Liquid Assets | $ |
| Retirement Income | $ |
| Business | |
| Normalized EBITDA (TTM) | $ |
| Long-Term Debt | $ |
| Your Equity Stake | % |
| Current EBITDA Margin | % |
| Target EBITDA Margin | % |
| System | |
| Return on Liquid Assets | % |
| Interest Rate on Debt | % |
| Inflation Rate | % |
| Safe Withdrawal Rate | 4.0% |
| Deal Fees | % |
| Taxes | % |
Scenario Specific Inputs & Valuation
Each metric shows all three scenarios stacked.
| Base Scenario | Scenario 2 | Scenario 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scenario Inputs | |||
| EBITDA Multiple | x | x | x |
| Annual Debt Payment | $ |
$ |
$ |
| Annual Personal Savings | $ |
$ |
$ |
| Personal Asset Build-Up | |||
| Total Assets Required | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Future Value of Liquid Assets | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Future Value of Savings | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total Personal Assets | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net Proceeds Required | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Flat Trajectory Net Proceeds | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Surplus / (Deficit) at Retirement | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Personal Assets + Net Proceeds | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 🎯 Reading these as a floor, not a ceiling. Because your Base scenario is on track, the figures below show the minimum your business needs to hit to clear your retirement target. A negative growth rate means you have headroom in that scenario — earnings could decline modestly and still make it. Anything above the target is legacy / cushion. | |||
| Business Valuation Target | |||
| Target EBITDA (Yr 10) | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Required EBITDA Growth | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Enterprise Value | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Debt Remaining at Exit | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Equity Value | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net Proceeds (Pre-Split) | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Ownership % | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Owner's Net Proceeds | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue & EBITDA Schedule
Figures in thousands ($ 000's). The blue row is your target retirement year.
Scroll horizontally to see all three scenarios.
| Year | Base Scenario | Scenario 2 | Scenario 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA | Revenue | EBITDA | Revenue | EBITDA | Revenue | |
This tool is for scenario planning purposes only and should not be considered financial, tax, or legal advice. Please consult with qualified professionals for personalized guidance. Defaults — 5% return on liquid assets, 6% interest on debt, 5% deal fees, 30% tax rate, 6x EBITDA multiple — are reasonable starting points for SMBs but vary by industry, geography, and deal structure.