Right now you may not know what your business is worth so you can't take out any cash. Once you have determined the value and allow investors in -- either employees through an ESOP or private investors who want to participate in the growth of the company -- your attitude will change.

You will see things in a new way. You will feel less trapped in the day-to-day. You will start looking harder at the talent on your payroll and you will work harder to develop the individuals who will be calling the shots when you relinquish more and more ownership.

You may even take a vacation or buy some real estate with the cash you receive from selling some of your stock.

Topic for Discussion: With tax advantages as both a sweetener and incentive, why haven't equity programs, the ESOP, employee stock ownership plans or the Small Corporate Offering registration (SCOR) been more readily embraced?

Answer: Corey Rosen, the founder and Executive Director of the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), tell us that he believes there are only about 100,000+ businesseses in the USA that would be well-served by implementing a formal ESOP programs (to date, only 11,000+ have); the stats are weaker for informal employee ownership plans like ProfitLine and Maxim Systems (an Ziba Designs in an earlier episode).

The other equity participation program, the SCOR, is also not very widely used. Is there something wrong with this picture?

Yes. Human nature. Perhaps too many of us still have that child within us that continues to horde the toys. But more likely, most people have no knowledge to base a real change in direction. Although the federal government has been coached and counseled into providing opportunities for small business owners to use their equity more aggressively, we still have a long way to go before small business owners know what their options are.

You think about it: Are you resisting this idea because deep down inside you don't think your business is worth anythingn without you? Do you think you would die if you didn't have the business to run? Do you think you would loose control if you sold some stock?