You sold a successful business. How do you use your windfall? Maybe a dream trip?

But when you sell your business, you’ll need to create an entirely new plan to guard your future.

Even if you’re lucky enough to be freshly flush with millions of dollars after selling your business, you still need a comprehensive financial plan to ensure you can fund the next stage of your life, provide a legacy for your loved ones if you like, and perhaps leave something behind for causes you believe in.

What does a plan like that entail?

Start at the very beginning

David Rowat, vice president at boutique investment bank Strategic Exits, says owners should start thinking about the sale of their businesses when they first form the company.

“It all has to do with tax, and the structures that you put in place early on can dramatically affect the tax that you will have to pay upon exit,” says Rowat, a specialist in guiding companies through the exit process.

For example, an exemption for Canadian-controlled private companies allows an individual to accumulate the first $800,000 in capital gains tax free. A common strategy among business owners is divvying up a company’s shares among as many family members as possible, allowing each of them to shelter up to $800,000 in capital gains generated by a business sale.

While experienced business owners may have laid the groundwork for their eventual ride into the sunset, young, aggressive entrepreneurs focused on surviving until the end of the week aren’t always as concerned with such a distant future.

But youth isn’t an excuse for ignoring what could be real concerns in the future. Particularly in the technology space, where Rowat spends much of his time, “certain kinds of wealth management and tax planning don’t happen soon enough,” he says.

The cheque’s been delivered. What now?

Let’s assume you just sold your highly successful business for $40 million. By planning ahead, you have minimized the amount of your proceeds going to the CRA, while putting other vehicles in place: trust funds for your children, tax-free savings accounts, various retirement savings plans and registered education savings plans.

Time to put the rest of your money to work.

1. Paying for the rest of your life

With your own finances mapped, you might have other priorities you want to tend to, such as leaving a legacy for your family members and supporting organizations close to your heart.

This is where more volatile investments, including growth stocks and foreign currency, play a larger role, as the higher returns involved will make the most impact. You won’t necessarily want to take big swings at individual stocks, but funds geared toward technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence and medical tech, as well as those that track today’s FAANG giants (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google), could provide short- and long-term growth.

With a substantial amount of money to spend, different tiers of the real estate market will open to you — residential, commercial, land and even development. Don’t overlook this option as a source of potential legacy income.

Not only can you set aside rental income from residential and commercial properties for your family or chosen charities, but when you're ready to offload them, you can potentially reap a hefty profit or simply pass them on. An appreciating asset makes a pretty decent gift.

And at a time when so many young Canadians are struggling to afford homes, buying your kids property may be the shortest route to helping them build wealth of their own.

2. Providing for your family and favourite charities

With your own finances mapped, you might have other priorities you want to tend to, such as leaving a legacy for your family members and supporting organizations close to your heart.