How do I know if I'm ready to retire, or if I just want a change from day-to-day management?

These are genuinely different decisions, and it's worth separating them before you talk to anyone about selling. Wanting out of day-to-day management usually means you're tired of the operational grind — the staffing, the fires, the constant availability — but you might still want ownership, income from the business, or some involvement in bigger decisions. Being ready to retire usually means you want out of the business entirely: no ownership stake, no ongoing decisions, and no obligation to be reachable.

The distinction matters because it points toward different structures. If it's really the daily grind you want relief from, hiring a manager, restructuring your own role, or bringing in a partner to run operations can solve that without a full sale. If it's genuinely retirement, a full sale — or a succession to a family member or key employee — is the more natural fit, since a partial step-back won't actually get you what you want.

Sitting with this question honestly, ideally with input from your accountant on what a change in role versus a full exit would mean financially, before you approach a lawyer to structure anything, tends to save people from starting down the wrong path.