The check clears. Now what?
The transition window (2–8 weeks). Honor your transition commitments fully. Show up on every scheduled ride-along. Answer the buyer's texts within hours, not days. The buyer's success in the first 90 days is partly your reputation, and your escrow release usually depends on it.
Tax planning. Your CPA needed to be involved months ago, but if not, get there now. Asset-vs-stock allocation, installment sale treatment, Section 1202/1244 considerations, state-level treatments, all of these can shift your effective rate by 10+ percentage points.
The non-compete. Read it again before you start anything new. Most non-competes prohibit servicing pools within a defined geography for 2–5 years. Violating this is the fastest way to give back a chunk of what you earned. Adjacent businesses (repairs, equipment sales, consulting outside the geography) are usually fine, confirm with your attorney.
Identity reset. Many sellers report a strange grief in the months after closing. The route was a daily identity for years; now it's gone. Have something queued up, another business, a sabbatical with a defined end, consulting, a real hobby. Sellers who go straight to "nothing" often regret the sale within a year, not because the price was wrong but because they didn't plan the *after*.
Refer the buyer business. If the new owner does well, your referrals (from old neighbors, friends, etc.) help them and cost you nothing. It's also genuinely good karma in a small industry where reputations follow you.