Top 10 Things Jewelry Store Owners Need to do Before They Retire
An impending business retirement should be a time for anticipation and joy. Yet many jewelry store owners still expect to run their business past the age of 65. Some even never retire or did not plan to retire until they were at least 75 years.
When a jewelry store owner finally decides to do a jewelry store retirement, there are several things he needs to do before finally shifting to retirement mode and enjoying some cocktails on a beach.
There are plenty of things that will keep you busy as you close for business retirement. How long does the process take? If you are a sole proprietor, you can wrap things up in a short period.
If your jewelry store is bigger or more complex (a Partnership and LLC or a corporation) it will take longer to dissolve because cash and/ or unsold assets have to be divided (based on each partner’s capital account or the number of shares).
Decide whether to pass on your store to a relative or simply close the jewelry store
Are you passing the store on to your children, or simply closing it? If you are passing the business to your children or any relative, make sure they have an interest in the family business?
Passing the business to your children or business succession is the easiest process because a status quo will be implemented to a certain extent. If you are selling the business or closing it for good, the process could be more complicated.
For purposes of this guide, it is assumed that you will be closing your jewelry store.
Notify your team
Let your team know in advance that you will be retiring and closing the store. Many of your staff will remain as long as you keep paying them to help with the wrapping up of operations.
Make sure you know each employee’s vacation leaves that have been used or unused. Pay your employees on their last working day or your last business day.
Notify your customers
There are two reasons you need to notify customers of the coming closure of your store. If you are having a retirement sale, making your customers aware can help you unload your remaining inventory and retirement sales. You can announce your impending closure via a press release on your social media channels or website.
Your press release will also notify customers who have pending jobs with you. This is the time when you need to complete all in-progress jobs and deliver paid orders. You will need to issue refunds to customers who have made deposits but you will be unable to complete the job.
Conduct an inventory and assessment of current jewelry stocks.
Your current jewelry, stones, and jewelry materials inventory need to be updated as well as their values. You need this to know the value of your current stocks.
Run a retirement sale
Again there are two ways to run a retirement sale to liquidate your current inventory.
You can opt for a hassle-free way of selling your entire inventory to a Retirement Sale Service and they will make an offer for your entire inventory.
You can engage the services of a Retirement Sale Service to promote and advertise your in-store Retirement Sale or Closing out Sale.
These companies can create a Retirement Sale that works for your jewelry store so you can liquidate as much of your inventory as possible. You can also opt to run the Recruitment Sale yourself.
Liquidate your assets
Other than your current inventory, you also need to dispose of physical properties of your business such as equipment, vehicles, computers, chairs, desks, showcases, and more. Liquidating these assets can help you close your doors for good with more money.
Notify your Suppliers / Creditors
It is the right business courtesy to notify your suppliers and creditors that you are closing your store for good. Start paying any outstanding debts, too.
Make your final sales tax payments, final payment as employers, and income taxes
Before finally closing your doors for the last time, submit your last sales tax forms along with any taxes you need to remit to your state.
You also need to file your final employer tax return for your employees and file your taxes. Mark each payment as “final” to inform the tax authority that you have closed your shop.
Close bank accounts
As soon as your last issued check has cleared, and your collection from the sale of inventory and assets is complete, close your business bank account. Be careful to check everything to avoid bouncing checks or having no account to deposit payments from your customers.
You may also need to close your merchant account if you accept credit card payments.
Cancel your lease, permits and licenses
Check your lease contract to know how many days’ notice your landlord requires before you terminate your lease contract. Most contracts would specify a 30-day notice, but check your lease contract for the exact details.
Do not forget to cancel or close your business permits and licenses, too.
Maximize the Potential of Your Jewelry Store Before Retiring
If you need to decide on when to retire, choose the time when your jewelry store is doing well, when you still have a huge inventory and high customer goodwill.
With high customer goodwill, you will be able to easily sell your business (if you have chosen this path) or run successful jewelry store retirement sales generating more income in about 8 to 10 weeks.
Make the decision now on how you will move forward with your business when planning your retirement. Do everything you need to do.
By the way, selling your jewelry store, lock stock and barrel, is also an option. If you choose this path, decide whether you will engage the services of a sales broker or sell the business yourself.
After the top 10 things you need to do before you retire are over and done with, you can now do everything you have always wanted to do but never had the time for because you were too busy running your jewelry store.
