A friend asked me to review a business plan that he was putting together. Many of the require elements were there, e.g., business description, market analysis, summary of competitors, marketing strategy, financial projections, etc. When we met a few days later, I gave him my thoughts and comments. When I mentioned one item that was lacking, he gave me a puzzled looked and asked, “Why do I need to an exit strategy?”

I explained that starting and running a business was very much like a race. There is a stating line; a middle part of the race and the finish line. They don’t call it the Daytona Whenever You Finish Race. There has to be a definite goal in sight. Another way to look at it was as if he was a runner. While the 400 meters and a marathon are both races (start, middle and finish), they require different training methods leading up to the event and also different tactics or strategies during the race.

The same holds true for a business. If you are seeking outside investors when starting or buying a business (as my friend was), your investors will eventually look to cash out. They are not looking to be investors in your company until you are ready to retire; therefore, you need to add a section to your business plan on what the liquidity event is going to be, e.g., selling the company within five years.

Maybe you are planning on creating a business that can be passed on to a son or daughter. Well, at some point, you need to groom them to take on additional responsibilities to prepare them to take on the task of running the entire business.

Under either example, you are exiting the business (the finish line of the race). However, the path that you need to get there may be different and should be considered in your business plan. Just remember, you may get to mile 450 of your 500 mile race and realize that you are still having fun and are excited to go to work in the morning. The plan is not set in stone; you modify it and make it a 600 mile race.

Ed Baloga, Principal of Baloga Associates, is a New York based small business advisor offering part-time/interim CFO services to growth and entrepreneurial companies. He can be reached at ebaloga@baloga-associates.com and followed on Twitter @edbaloga.