NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Building a business takes more time, energy and focus than most small business owners could ever anticipate, and sometimes walking away is the hardest task of all.

But parting needn't be such sweet sorrow when it's profitable.

Whether you are ready to step down, move on or hand off, here's how some small business owners cashed in when they decided to cash out.

And even if your business isn't primed for sale, there are ways to to build it before you sell out.

"When we got nose to nose with McDonalds we figured it was the perfect opportunity to leave the industry," said Javid Bohlat.

He and his dad bought their first Burger King restaurant in 1991 and within eight years owned three Burger King franchises in California.

The duo raked in double-digit sales increases year after year until they felt it was time to "go into something that was a little more health conscious," Bohlat said.

They found a buyer by word of mouth and sold the burger eateries in a package deal. "We bought the first store for $225,000 in 1991 and sold it for $980,000" in 1999, Bohlat said.

Bohlat used the proceeds to buy a Juice it up! smoothie franchise and is now in the process of opening up another store.

Husband and wife team Mary and Dino Vassilakos thought a local bagel business in New Jersey might be the perfect in compliment to their full-time jobs in New York City, but 14 months later they decided to cash out after the long hours took a toll on their marriage and family.

"We were both working the equivalent of two full-time jobs, instead of spending time with our children. One of us was at the shop all the time," Mary said.

The couple listed their business on bizbuy.com, an online resource for small businesses, and walked away about two months later. "We sold it for just about the same as we bought it for, in an all cash deal," Mary said.

But it wasn't long before the couple came across another opportunity to go into business for themselves. "It was the entrepreneur aspect that we loved," Mary said. They now own a CertaPro Painters franchise in Freehold, N.J., which they run in addition to their day jobs.

Roger Perreault started his own property and casualty insurance agency in 1973. When he decided to sell his agency 27 years later, he was 58 years old, and ready to retire.

"I just felt it was time to sell the business," he said. "Larger agencies were interested and the business sold quickly by word of mouth."

Although he profited handsomely from the sale in 2000, Perreault said he realized he wasn't quite ready to walk away.

"I would get up in the morning and look outside. Everyone else had gone to work and I was still at home," Perreault said. "I said, 'What the heck am I doing here?' There was a void in my life and I was out of the loop. I had to do something."

Perreault then opened Metal Supermarkets, a small industrial metals dealer, in Waterbury, Conn., in 2001 and is now contemplating hanging that up.

This time, though, he plans to hire a business broker. "I would like a nice easy transition," he said.

Of course, selling your small business isn't the only way out. They are plenty of other options available if you'd like to take some money off the table but aren't ready to throw in the towel.

For example, FdG Associates, a New York-based private equity firm that specializes in helping small businesses with financing, management buyouts, investing for growth and dealing with consolidation in their industry.

FdG, whose investments have included The Vitamin Shoppe and Hercules Tires, will purchase a percentage of your business and provide the capital to help it grow or rebuild.

"We view ourselves as coaches rather than players," said Mark Hauser, managing director. "We maintain those businesses for five years on average," he said. By then the business can be sold or, in some instances, goes public.

Hauser believes this could be the right approach for an owner who would rather ease out of the business or lacks the energy, resources or manpower to grow.

"If someone wants to retire tomorrow, this type of transaction is not for them. If you have a person that wants to build a management team over the course of five years and then exit, then this (strategy) is for them," Hauser said.

---------------------------------------------

Related: More retirees opting to launch startups

Related: Retire rich: Keep out the taxman.