Independence Planning Group/Matt Williams

In terms of planning for your business' future, optionality means your ability to choose an ideal Exit Path while still having the option to pursue other paths as backups

Beginning your planning long before you intend to leave your business often lets you choose the conditions of your exit

If you're like many business owners, your business plays a large role in supporting your family's lifestyle. As you plan for your business' future, you may run into questions about how to treat family members fairly in your plans.

As many business owners create road maps for future success, they can create problems for themselves. Self-made problems are much more difficult for owners to solve, mostly because they don't see the problems as problems at all

Turning a lifestyle business into a business enterprise can be challenging, but there are certain things you can do to begin the transition

Financial security might be the most important aspect of planning for future success, but it isn't the only thing

Planning for an untimely death or incapacitation, you can position your business, family, and employees to thrive without you

Properly planned ownership transfers to employees can be a great vehicle to keep you in control of your business, minimize risks, acknowledge your employees, and still reach your financial goals

Professional buyers, such as private equity groups, know what makes successful businesses successful, and they demand that the businesses they buy have the elements of a successful business.

Perhaps the most important driver of business value is the presence of a next-level management team

Unless your goal for the future of your ownership is to liquidate the business and shut it down, you'll likely need to build your business' transferable value.