Business founders often spend decades building their enterprises, yet only a fraction of that time thinking about how to make them endure, MARANA BRAND finds.
There’s a fundamental difference between earning an income and building a business. A salaried mindset protects income. A founder’s mindset risks everything to create it.
“A successful business owner will constantly identify business opportunities with great clarity and then have the drive to deliver on them,” says Jaco Gouws, Head of Proposition at Private Clients by Old Mutual. “They’re decisive. They adapt. Whether it’s shifting markets, rising costs or global disruption, they keep going.”
Yet those same qualities can make it difficult to step back and take the time to plan for a lasting legacy.
“Business owners are capital allocators. They’re always asking, ‘Where should this money go? Should I expand, invest or buy something new?’ It’s a mindset built on action and control, where decisions are immediate and outcomes feel tangible.”
Over time, however, this journey evolves through four stages: building, scaling, unlocking and stewardship, Jaco says.
THE RISKY SCALING PHASE
The early phases are familiar territory. “At the start, it’s exciting and uncertain. You’re passionately building something from nothing. Then, as it starts working, you move into scaling – growing revenue, expanding, gaining momentum.”
But it’s during the scaling phase that most of a founder’s wealth becomes tied up in the business. That concentration may have created the wealth, but it’s also where the greatest risk lies.
“Many entrepreneurs are aggressive in their business, but conservative with their savings. They’re often sitting on significant cash, but it’s not being used efficiently, from a tax perspective or an investment one. And personal and business wealth often become blurred.”
Founders tend to measure everything against what they can achieve inside the business. “They’ll say, ‘I can double this money if I reinvest it, why would I put it elsewhere?’ Or they make decisions to reduce tax in the short term, but those choices can be destructive over the long term,” Jaco says.
LOOKING BEYOND THE BUSINESS
As success grows, so does the need to think beyond the business itself. “External investments are not there to compete with the business; they are there to protect it. They give you liquidity, reduce concentration risk and provide options if something changes.”
Without that diversification, everything remains tied to a single outcome.
But business owners are often wary of stock markets, viewing them as too volatile and preferring to keep capital accessible.
“They want control and flexibility, but while holding cash feels safe, it’s often inefficient,” Jaco says.
“Through asset-backed lending, we can help clients stay invested in a diversified portfolio while unlocking liquidity against it – often at rates below prime – so business owners do not have to compromise between growth and access.”
FROM BUILDING TO STEWARDING
Scaling is followed by what Jaco describes as the unlocking phase, an important inflection point where value is realised. “Founders may sell, partially exit or hand over to a successor. And then you move into stewardship – where you’re no longer building the business but managing what it has created.”
It is in this phase that many founders find themselves on unfamiliar ground.
“For 20 or 30 years, you’ve been solving problems and driving growth. Suddenly, you have liquidity and options, but you don’t necessarily have the same clarity about what to do next. People think wealth creates freedom, and it does. But it also creates pressure.”
There are many successful businesses, but far fewer cases of wealth that lasts.
“Returns are important, but continuity, access and efficiency matter just as much – making sure wealth can transition across generations, that it can be used and that it doesn’t erode over time.
But without structure and deliberate planning, even significant fortunes can dissipate,” Jaco says.
Still, many founders delay confronting these issues. “They’re busy. They’re focused on the business. That’s what they know,” Jaco says.
The mindset that builds wealth is not the same one that sustains it. “The focus and conviction are still important, but they need to be balanced with perspective – thinking about the long term, your family and what this looks like decades from now.”
Shifting from building wealth to managing it is not a single decision; it requires new habits. “You need to consciously set aside time regularly to step back and ask, ‘Where am I in this journey? What would happen if I exited today? Am I financially set up for that? Will I have access to enough money if a big opportunity arises?’”
This requires the right support. “Having someone outside the business – with the experience, expertise and perspective to guide these decisions – is critical. We work with business owners and families at every stage of this journey, so we know what works and what doesn’t.”
There is no perfect time to start, Jaco says. “It’s never too early, and it’s rarely too late. But there are missed opportunities if you don’t start thinking about it.”
Because, in the end, the real question isn’t whether you can build wealth. It’s whether it survives you.