I read an article recently that gave 3 reasons for businesses closing when the owner wants to retire:

• internet competition,
• lack of loyalty among younger customers,
• and owners not being able to find a buyer. 

All of these reasons come back to one uncomfortable truth:

The average business owner has been watching the internet come roaring down the track for years and has made little to no effort to figure out how they could use the web to:

• improve their business operations and efficiency,
• increase customer loyalty,
• improve communications with customers,
• reach target markets they could have never dreamed of before, 
• and adapt their business to survive.

My father was blind, which makes the topic of disabled access dear to my heart.

As a kid, I had to learn not to do things like leave things in the floor for him to trip on, so I'm naturally more aware of the ramifications of limited access and how much sighted people take for granted.

Have you ever stopped to think about what it would be like to not be able to see a website, though, or use a mouse to navigate a site? Or what you have on your site that could, in effect, trip someone up?

About 8 million people in the US are blind or have a significant vision impairment, making it difficult or impossible for them to see your site. Another 20 million people have difficulty lifting or grasping, which can affect their ability to use a mouse or keyboard to navigate.

Recently I had a feature about accessible websites in Collective Hub magazine, which is sold in print in 37 countries and digitally worldwide.

What's a small business owner to do when they're faced with a life-changing event like caring for an elderly parent?

It's not often talked about in the media, so most people don't realize how at risk business owners are of falling through the cracks and losing their business in these situations.

Before you can build the business of your dreams, you have to understand what you want out of it. To do that you need to understand what you like and don't like, and then you need to understand the lifestyle you want to live (location, income, hours worked, etc.).

Keeping your nose to the grindstone makes it hard to see clearly, though, so I'm going to share some of my likes and dislikes, how I came to understand them, and how I used them to create my dream business. Hopefully this will help you envision yours.

Build your business from the ground up like you're planning to sell it and you'll make better longterm decisions, develop better processes, and be more likely to not try to do everything yourself (nobody wants to buy a job). Chances are, these same things that make your business more sellable will also help you be better positioned to work with who you want, doing what you want, at the prices you deserve, so you'll get more out of the business while you own it – not just financially, but personally as well.