Perhaps you’ve planned it from the beginning, or maybe you’ve taken years to decide. Somewhere down the line will come the time to sell your business, and you want to make sure you come out on top.

“I sold my business” is a magical phrase for entrepreneurs. It conjures up of pictures of wealth, leisure and exciting new challenges. For many entrepreneurs, it’s the goal from day one.

“Selling might not be everyone’s objective when they’re starting out, but it should be” says Ned Minor. Mr. Minor is a transaction attorney in Denver, and the author of “Deciding to Sell Your Business: The Key to Wealth and Freedom.” It seems eventually, every business owner leaves their business either sitting down at a deal table or feet first on a stretcher.

The idea of working until your last breath is not uppermost in our minds when we start out on that exciting roller coaster ride known as “entrepreneurship.” But if you aren’t already planning a more graceful exit, you may come out on the short end of the stick.

When starting a business we’re usually so busy with the details involved in making it an eventual success that selling out is the furthest thing from our minds. But the day you start building should be the day you should start designing your exit. It should be the ultimate goal of your success.