Even entrepreneurs are mortal. So they need to think hard about eventually selling or passing on their business. These days the professionals call this exit planning. It sounds morbid, but is a necessary process if you want to maximise the proceeds from a disposal. There are even grandly named Certified Exit Planning Advisers who can offer technical assistance. But the core issues facing any private company owner are easy to identify, without any expert help.

Perhaps the most important question is: when do you want to sell? Retirement for the self-employed can be a voluntary choice, but illness, exhaustion, divorce and partnerships unravelling can force a decision. Ideally the timetable should belong to the owner, who can then pick a moment to enhance the value, and to suit their lifestyle. Of course if the company is being transferred to younger family members or staff, then optimisation is likely to be a better word – a fair distribution all round, taking into account relative contributions and needs. Either way, preparation is a good idea – because a business is not an inanimate asset like a house, but a dynamic construct that is extremely vulnerable if neglected.

Most founders are proud of their creations, and would much prefer to see them prosper in the future, almost as a form of legacy. Entrepreneurs might pretend to have no emotional attachment to the business they spent perhaps decades building, but often I have found that impression to be false. These owners have strong bonds to their employees, customers and suppliers, and a passion for their products and markets. That intensity of involvement means making sure that if possible the business ends up in the hands of appropriate shareholders – rather than it being broken up, over-borrowed or run by the wrong management. I have frequently seen owners turn down higher offers from their obvious corporate rival because they cannot bear to sell out to a bitter competitor who will gut their business.