I have a successful business I own that makes a $250k+ a year, cash stashed away, and no debt (personal).

Personally, I'd stash the remaining savings into an account for the next property

Is it best to have a certain amount stashed away that can cover that?

That is what I am doing and I am 27 years old working in banking and stashing cash while I wait for the right opportunity.

If I hoard weapons and ammo, and the crap hits the fan........all i need to protect is my weapons stash and my family......Anything else I may need for survival is just a matter of grabing my guns and going out and "getting" it.       

If you have a different goal such as stashing capital then of course you should look into selling it so that you could possibly redeploy that capital into a rental property, etc. 

After about a year, I had stashed up enough cash in the bank, and built a big enough business that I started to want to live on a predictable income again.

And take some time to find the person that is right for you - someone who has values you respect and seems to have the right balance of work / life balance for the age they are.Ask yourself if that's where you want to be at that age.If you have family in the industry, that is a good start but its likely wise to spend some time under someone else.Walk in knowing who the person is, where they studied, who their family is, some of their interests and sell them on you.Tell them how you can and will provide value to them and their business at the cost of just asking a few question, now and again, only in the safe space of an office.Think about flipping / whole selling things other then real estate for starters such as furniture or if your handy, appliances (mini-fridges).You learn handy skills that come in useful later fixing up rentals and make money.There is a market from a cheap chest of draws , minifridge or a huge fan among students.Consider churning gift cards to build credit history..Finally, be ready to see all your planning fall to apart as life tends to do that.Have a bit of extra cash stashed away to help you get though those times.PSThink what you want of your peer but stay humble, sadly no ones likes the overachiever and RE is a people game.Your clearly doing your due diligence. 

You can take the returns from your rental property and either stash it away for the next purchase, or use it to pay down the costs of that purchase.

Stash away some reserves.2) Buy a single family home, and rent out individual rooms to roommates.3) Rent out units and/or bedrooms on short-term rental sites like Airbnb.