How much money do I need outside the business before work becomes optional?

A good rule of thumb is that your annual expenses need to be 4% or less of your investment accounts. Before making a decision though, you should have an advisor use a monte carlo simulation to give you an exact number needed.
We have found that every clients’ expectations differ on this. Some expect they have enough already and are wrong while many others think they need to work 5 more years but have already saved enough.
Spending and income are the two biggest levers in retirement planning. So, it is unsurprising that it takes a significant amount of savings and conservative spending to be work-optional at 45 or 50 instead of 65.

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