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In recent decades, one hasn't had to look to far to find evidence of the entrepreneurial spirit in the UK.
Even the negative effects of recession and the Covid-19 pandemic do not seem to have dimmed many individuals' intentions or ambitions to run their own business.
That much is reiterated in the annual publication by the House of Commons' Library of figures on business health across the country.
The most recent edition revealed that the number of registered businesses had increased by almost two-thirds since 2000 to 5.7 million.
Yet I would imagine that at least some of those men and women who dreamt of owning and managing a business at the turn of the century and are still trading have already given thought to what comes next.
After all, every organisation faces change and challenge during its life cycle.
A recent survey of owner-managers by HMRC illustrated as much. Although 63 per cent of owners did not foresee a difference in how their businesses would be run in the next five years, 16 per cent reported a wish to sell.
Yet further research has shown that only one-third of owner-managers have any formal strategy for an exit.
Given that circumstances can prompt a rapid change of heart or plan, I believe that it is essential, whatever your objective - maintaining the status quo, sale or even succession - to ensure that your organisation is in the best possible shape for the future.
To some people, change is a singular event, no matter its nature. Many years of working with owner-managed businesses, however, has taught me that change is, in fact, a process and one which is best prepared for well before it becomes an immediate priority.
By that, I mean it is not just possible but advisable to adopt good habits from the day that a business is launched.
Doing so can have an enormous impact on your prospects, both on a day-to-day basis and when it comes to major transition points.
It does not have to entail enormous structural or production shifts. In my opinion, the most telling impact can be away from the 'doing' of the work itself.
Paperwork can be considered something of a chore, especially for small organisations.
Yet establishing and regularly reviewing terms of business to ensure robust customer and supplier contracts, for instance, does more than remove the potential for ongoing headaches and sleepless nights.
It can be an important element in demonstrating prospective viability to possible new owners, partners or funders.
Sound, transparent, well-organised contracts make the due diligence process more straightforward.
Without them, any sale of a business might be downgraded in value or even abandoned altogether because of uncertainty.
In that sense, robust paperwork can quite literally pay dividends in the future, even if organisations are not planning for a 'transition event'.
For those businesses which have been trading for a while, I would say that it is never too late to improve the situation.
I have undertaken such work with dozens of owner-managed businesses. It can take time to make a thorough assessment but it is very much a good investment for the future, particularly for anyone thinking about selling on, expanding or handing down their enterprise.
The fact that taking care of the paperwork can have a monetary value can come as a surprise to some but that is surely something better known in advance than when it arrives as a sudden, nasty shock.
