A few weeks ago a good friend passed away unexpectedly.

His business was not prepared.Now his office is in shambles, the employees are not sure if they will have jobs moving forward and his widow is left to pick up the pieces when she should be spending her time mourning his passing.Is your business prepared for an emergency or even for your retirement? Do you have a plan at all?The following information is taken from the Small Business Administration's website.Plan your exitHow are you going to exit your business?You may have a dream of going public, selling to the highest bidder, or retiring and handing over your business legacy to your family.Big dreams aside, the truth is that many small business owners have no exit strategy for their businesses in the event of their disability, retirement or death.As a small-business owner, you are focusing your energies on business survival, future growth and even remaining active in business after retirement.However, a business exit strategy not only means having a plan for the unexpected including financial hardship, injury, disability and even death it also means having a plan for the succession or transfer of ownership of your business when it comes time to hang up your hat and retire.Here are a few things to consider as you plan your business exit strategy:Develop a succession planThere is no "one plan fits all" when it comes to developing a succession plan for your business. But following

www.score.org/resources/successionplan can help provide some practical direction and deliver the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your life's achievement is in good hands.Insure your worthAs with career employees, you will want to ensure that you invest in a retirement plan, life insurance and even personal disability insurance all of which will protect you and your family when it's time, forcibly or not, to step away from your business.It's relatively easy to address retirement planning, because we all hope to get there and, more importantly, want to enjoy it. But life and disability insurance are equally important for the small-business owners, because they protect you and your family, should the worst happen.If you are a sole proprietor then you may want to talk to your bank about a setting up an IRA or other retirement solution. If you have employees, setting up a small-business retirement plan for both you and your employees needn't be that difficult and also offers a nice tax deduction.Whether you are selling your business, transferring ownership, seeking retirement or facing a "forced-exit" such as bankruptcy or liquidation planning your exit is a big undertaking that has implications on employees, your business structure, its assets and your tax obligation. Before you embark on your exit strategy, be sure to engage your lawyer and even a business evaluation expert.That way, you will be sure that you have explored all the options available to you.Kathy Henderson is the director of Economic Development for the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development.