Business Owners

Business-woman-image

Our specialized expertise helping business owners:

Almost every day, our business owner clients are faced with a continual process of assessing the pros, cons, costs, and implications of many business decisions. You are thinking about customers, products, or services, and your employees, with minimal time to integrate your business and personal financial plans.   

We have experience running businesses and can help you handle the top priorities on your agenda while tabling other items that may be important but less urgent, given we are all constrained by time. Specifically, we can coach you on the most valuable use of discretionary cash flow for you as the owner, as while some tax-advantaged retirement plans sound good on the surface, they can sometimes drive a poor internal rate of return when factoring in taxes, matches, administrative costs, etc. Also, many standard group retirement plans are appropriate for all employees, but there are additional solutions that can be used on a discretionary basis for select key employees to incent their performance and long tenure.

A less obvious client benefit, for many business owners, is the confidence the spouse gains by having a trusted advisor to reach with urgent questions. We have found that you can be tied up day in and day out shifting focus from managing employees, communicating with customers, and “fighting fires” that often arise while running a small business. Hence, often minimal time and energy remain to connect on household financial matters. So, we often serve as a sounding board as urgent questions and opportunities arise.

Oftentimes, we take the lead role in coordinating your legal and tax advisors to focus on your overall goals. The outcome of a more holistic evaluation and process of involving each subject matter expert often drives far greater value for you than doing things piecemeal as your life and business evolve.

Like any client, your inclination is to invest in what you know—your business. Yet achieving a proper allocation of your financial resources requires an impartial coach. We respect what you already know, while educating you on other valuable approaches that may ultimately serve your best interest by complementing your successful business.

Common Business Owner Planning Needs:

  • Coordination with CPA and attorney
  • Strategies to create a minimum business value “floor” due to a premature death or disability
  • Retirement plan design
  • Flexible incentive plans for key employees
  • Asset protection
  • Succession planning