For some people, building up the business is both a job and an investment. When they get old, they want the business to have enough value that they can sell it and pay for their living expenses during retirement. Or they want to be able to pass the business on to their kids so their kids are set up to make a good living.
If the business's only value is that it can provide full-time employment to someone, then it has worked out as a job but not as an investment.
There's no one right way to do it. You could instead pay yourself a salary, invest the money in other stuff (maybe through IRAs or individual 401k), and just shut down the business when you retire. And for your kids, send them to college and let them find their own careers.
It really depends on why you got into business in the first place. Maybe you just like working that way better. Or maybe you're good enough at it that you think you can get better returns by investing in your own business than you can by buying a stock market index fund.
If the business's only value is that it can provide full-time employment to someone, then it has worked out as a job but not as an investment.
There's no one right way to do it. You could instead pay yourself a salary, invest the money in other stuff (maybe through IRAs or individual 401k), and just shut down the business when you retire. And for your kids, send them to college and let them find their own careers.
It really depends on why you got into business in the first place. Maybe you just like working that way better. Or maybe you're good enough at it that you think you can get better returns by investing in your own business than you can by buying a stock market index fund.