In years of better economic conditions, hard-working individuals who had invested their labor and their money into their own businesses usually knew those companies were essentially their own retirement plans – cash in, move on to that beach and enjoy some sunny golden years.

During the last four years of economic decline, entrepreneurs have found that the easy exit strategy isn't neccessarily the same as it was. Like their real estate investments, their businesses are frequently upsidedown in value and many are finding themselves working into their 70s as a result – in jobs where seven-day-a-week schedules are normal.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, very low and slow growth in revenue in once-hot industries such as real estate and construction has forced many into a kind of "business purgatory," a Catch-22 that keeps them forever unable to retire yet unable to see tangible economic improvements on the horizon.

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