Sooner or later we all need a change of pace. You may be young or at a traditional retirement age. You may be looking to scale down your responsibilities or just diversify your assets. In any case, you're looking for a transition to a new role and circumstance in your own life and in the life of your business.

Whether that's retirement, a new focus for your talents, or as the entrepreneur or owner of a business, these changes take considerably more time and planning. Your friends may be able to sign up for early retirement or cut back on their work schedule with a moments notice and the company and capital assets to support that decision will remain unchanged. But what happens when you are the company and a majority, if not all, of your assets are invested in the business.

Most successful businessmen and women know that planning is the key to success. This is never as true as when you are considering a change in your relationship to a business you started and developed. The decisions you make and the method you choose to exit or transition your role will have a long term and significant impact on your life, the life of your family, your employees and the business itself.

There are many ways to go about making a change and transition in your business. Some of the better known are:

1. An IPO: initial public offering.
2. A sale to a strategic buyer, possibly a competitor or someone in a related industry.
3. A sale to a financial buyer, a person who buys companies for investment purposes.
4 A merger or acquisition with or by another company.
5. An ESOP: employee stock ownership plan, whereby the employees purchase the company from the owners.
6. A succession of the business to additional members of the family, generally the next generation, who have the knowledge and desire to continue the business.

Each of these options has there own risks, rewards and challenges. Your choice on how you want to alter your circumstances and what you want to achieve will, in large part, determine which option you choose. The value of the business, the depth of management and the industry you are in will also impact which options are available to you.

In any case, you need to begin thinking about these issues early. It often takes several years before an IPO or merger can be achieved; or several years to prepare the family and the employees for the responsibilities of ownership and management of the company. The key to any successful transition is in the planning.

The difficult question for most business owners is how to get started. I suggest the following steps: (I) Decide what you want your life to be like when the transition is over, traveling in an RV or onto the next business challenge; (2) Determine how much money it will take to support your lifestyle or to develop and implement the goals and plans of the business if it is to continue; (3) Detail out the strengths and weaknesses of your business and the industry, lack of management or rapid growth requiring more time and capital than you want to contribute on your own; (4) Determine where you are in your industry and what is the value of your business in relation to the industry you are in; (5) and finally, seek counsel early.

You will need financial, tax and business counsel to help you and your family plan and prepare for the transition event. A coordinated team approach among your certified public accountant and attorney are crucial for you to maximize the value to you and your business with the least tax paid and disruption to your business. This is clearly an area of business where a little well–timed advice goes a long way.

All businesses are in some form of transition all the time. Like they say, "the only thing permanent in life is change". Let us help you prepare and make the changes in your business and personal life.

Nancy C. Haney is president of Haney & Benenati, P.C., located in Bedford, Texas. Haney focuses her practice on corporations and partnerships, business and commercial transactions, real estate, estate planning and probate. Her clients include both corporations and entrepreneurs at various stages of the corporate cycle.