THE PLAN
The Business
Owner’s Unique
Financial Picture
A complete estate plan is complex but doesn’t need to be complicated. Most business owners have the majority of their net worth tied up in their business. That concentration creates a specific planning challenge: how do you reinvest in the business to keep it growing while also building the personal financial security that does not depend entirely on a successful exit? We provide support to business owners through the following:
- Connecting business and personal finances into one coherent plan
- Building wealth outside the business so it’s not your only asset
- Tax strategy specific to business owners
- Retirement planning designed for variable or self-directed income
- Exit and succession planning before it’s urgent
- Protecting your business and your family with the right risk coverage
Add in irregular income, the complexity of business and personal taxes intertwining, and the challenge of knowing where the business ends and personal finances begin, and you have a financial picture that most generalist advisors are not equipped to handle. We work with business owners every day and we understand both sides of the ledger.
THE WHOLE PICTURE
Personal Wealth Building Outside the Business
Building wealth outside the business is one of the most important things a business owner can do, and one of the most commonly deferred. The tools available are powerful: SEP-IRAs, Solo 401(k)s, SIMPLE IRAs, and (Roth) 401ks can shelter significant income from taxes while building personal assets that are not dependent on the business continuing to perform. We help you maximize these vehicles within the context of your overall compensation and cash flow strategy.
The goal is financial security that does not require any single exit event to materialize. When you have built real wealth outside the business, you negotiate exits from a position of strength, not necessity.
Business Succession & Exit Planning
Planning for your eventual exit, whether through a sale, a succession to family or key employees, or a wind-down, is some of the most consequential financial work a business owner will do. The difference between an exit that has been planned for years and one that has not is frequently measured in millions of dollars and years of stress.
Timeline matters enormously here. The earlier you begin thinking about exit structure, business valuation, tax minimization strategies, and what comes after, the more options you have. We help owners build exit strategies that maximize value and position them for a financially strong next chapter.
Risk Management & Protection
Key person insurance, buy-sell agreements, disability planning, and liability protection are not exciting topics, but they are critical ones. A business owner who cannot work due to illness or injury faces a financial crisis on two fronts simultaneously: the business and their personal income. We help you identify the exposures that matter most and put appropriate protection in place.
A well-protected business and personal financial picture is the foundation everything else is built on. We make sure that foundation is solid before we focus on growth.
Planning That Evolves With You
A financial plan written once and never revisited is not a plan. It is a document. Life changes: income grows, families expand, laws shift, markets move. Your plan needs to adapt to all of it. We meet with clients regularly to review what has changed and update the plan accordingly. The goal is to always be ahead of what is coming rather than reacting to what already happened.
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