It is important to evaluate all available options and determine which paths are best for your business. Below are reviews of the most common options adopted by business owners: divesting the business, selling the business, or voluntarily liquidating the business. Hand over the business to a successor. When it comes to handing over the business to a successor, you have two main options. : either keep the business in the family or find a non-family successor within or outside the business. Keep it in the family Family businesses used to be passed down from one generation to the next, but succession to subsequent generations is now much less. common. In the United States, for example, the Family Business Institute reported in 2013 that only 30% of family businesses succeed to the next generation, and less than 13% are passed on to the third generation. This is partly due to the lack of adequate succession planning. If you run a business, you need to think carefully about whether you want a family member to continue your job, and whether they are even willing to do so. You don't want to force anyone to run the business, but you also shouldn't assume that your family members wouldn't be.