What Comes After the Business Exit?

A Guide for Families Navigating Wealth and Purpose

For many families, selling a business is a momentous milestone. It marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another - often filled with uncertainty. The question, “What now?” is not just about money, but about identity, purpose, and direction.

In Australia, families have often taken on the responsibility themselves to organise their financial lives and co-ordinate their advisers or establish a Single Family Office to manage their affairs. However, as seen globally for many years now, engaging with specialist Multi-Family Offices is increasingly being recognised as a way for families to simplify complexity, offering scale, flexibility, and access to a curated ecosystem of advisers and services. The landscape is shifting, and families no longer need to figure it all out alone. 

Transitions Are a Process, Not a Point in Time

Business exits are often treated as a single event - a transaction, a closing date, a liquidity moment. But in reality, they are a process that unfolds over months or even years. Successful transitions are built on preparation, planning, and readiness. Too often the focus is on the business and not the family itself. Families who take the time to start planning the family’s future before the exit are far less likely to feel lost or overwhelmed afterwards.

“There’s no one way to prepare and organise your family to manage wealth outside the business. But there are learnings we can share to help you set up in a way that works for your family. It’s about being purposeful and strategic - and not just financially, but personally and collectively.”

Start with the Family, Not the Wealth

The most successful transitions begin with conversations - not spreadsheets. What does each family member want to do next - individually and together? What values and goals will guide the family’s decisions?

A business exit affects each family member differently. For those who worked in the business, their identity and purpose may have been deeply tied to its operations and success. The transition can feel like stepping away from something that defined their professional life. For others who weren’t involved in the business, the exit may be the first time they’re asked to engage in family planning, governance, or shared decision-making - roles they may not have considered before.

This shift can be both empowering and challenging. It opens the door to new possibilities but also requires intentional dialogue. Families may need to explore questions like:

• Do we want to work together going forward?
• What does success look like for each of us?
• How do we honour individual paths while building a shared future?

Why Traditional Advice Falls Short

Too often, wealth managers present a single investment portfolio - one they would offer to most clients - without tailoring it to the unique needs and goals of the family. This approach may overlook the fact that families often want to manage their wealth in ways that meet both lifetime financial needs and long-term legacy aspirations - for future generations and potentially the community.

Advice focused on tax, legal structuring, and investing is essential, but it’s not enough. What’s often missing is support for the governance, operational, and communication frameworks that help a family live well with wealth. These are the structures that enable families to make decisions together, resolve differences, and stay aligned over time.

Many advisers stay in their lane, offering technical advice in isolation. Others may quickly jump to investing the money without understanding the broader context. But what families truly need is integration: a way to align advice and services around their shared values, individual goals, and the complexity of their relationships.

Practical Steps for Families Before, During, and After a Business Sale

Transitions are a process - not a point in time. Families who prepare early and thoughtfully are far more likely to experience a smooth and purposeful shift from business ownership to stewardship of wealth.

Before the Exit

Many business owners defer family strategy until after the sale. They don’t want to get ahead of themselves, or they simply don’t have the capacity to give space to what life after the business might look like. But this is precisely when the groundwork should be laid.

• Pause and Reflect - understand what the family wants - individually and collectively. What does life after the business look like for each person?
• Establish a Family Strategy - define shared values, goals, and purpose. Begin conversations about how the family wants to live, work, and grow together.
• Build Readiness - prepare governance structures, communication plans, and roles for family members. This ensures the family is organised and aligned before wealth is transitioned.

During the Exit

When the sale is underway, families are often encouraged into investing the proceeds. Advisers may be eager to pitch products or secure mandates, but this can distract from the deeper work of transition.

• Stay Aligned - keep the family informed and involved in key decisions. Ensure everyone understands the implications of the sale.
• Engage Advisers Early - legal, tax, and strategic advisers should work together - not in silos. Their advice should be coordinated and family-centric.
• Protect the Family Dynamic - ensure emotional and relational aspects are supported, not just financial ones. This is a time of change, and families need space to process it together.

After the Exit

Once the business is sold, the family enters a new phase - one that requires structure, intention, and support.

• Design the Right Family Office Model - choose between a Single Family Office, Multi-Family Office or hybrid model. The structure should reflect the family’s goals and scale.
• Engage the Next Generation - facilitate mentoring, education, and participation. Help younger members find their place in the family’s evolving story.
• Plan for Legacy and Succession - address estate planning, philanthropic goals, and long-term governance. Ensure the family’s values are embedded in future decisions.

Example: From Business to Stewardship

One Australian family, after selling their manufacturing business, chose to establish a family office that supported both shared and individual goals.

They allocated part of the liquidity to fund the operations of the family office, enabling shared investing and governance. Another portion was distributed to family members to support their independence and personal ventures. The remainder was directed toward philanthropic initiatives aligned with the family’s values.

Their investment strategy included both operating businesses and passive investments - designed to meet income needs while growing capital over time.

The family office became a hub for oversight, cohesion, continuity and purpose.

Final Thoughts

Ten years ago, families in Australia often had to navigate this journey alone. Today, there are a small number of advisers who specialise in helping families transition from business owners to stewards of wealth and purpose. The right support can make all the difference - not just in financial outcomes, but in keeping the family connected and aligned.

“You’ve worked hard to get this far. Now is the time to do what you can to ensure the family - and its individual members - continues to thrive and achieve what they are seeking.”

Jason Chequer

Managing Partner, Linara