Business Owner Financial Planning

The business owners I serve today are serious about extracting maximum value from their companies and they recognize that doing so requires building maximum value into those companies. Such leaders understand that it’s better to over-communicate, to overthink, and to prepare a number of contingency plans to address any eventuality. Otherwise, they’ll be wide open to the very real possibility—whether at retirement or as the result of some unforeseen catalyst—of having only bad options to choose from. Determined, carefully directed communication and planning make the difference. Those factors allow owners and entrepreneurs to choose from several good options and to pick the best path for all concerned. That’s what the Getting Out Gracefully process is all about. I’ve carefully designed it to ensure that your company is constantly building value, and to prepare you and your company for any circumstance.

So the question isn’t if an owner of a successful enterprise needs financial planning? The question is – what type of financial planning do they need? And how do they evaluate planner A against planner B, when the market all seems the same? Surely, there are simple and inexpensive ways of securing broad-based financial advice that would prove applicable?

Well, take it from a guy who has seen more than his share of such “plans,” because many of my clients were hooked by their perpetrators. When it comes to these quick-turnaround advisors, there are pretty much two kinds.

The first kind provides you with the same information you’ll find in any business owner financial planning book at Barnes & Noble. They deliver a sheaf of maybe two hundred pages containing a host of charts and graphs along with their invoice—of course—which typically runs in the thousands of dollars. They put your name in the appropriate blanks, and voila! There’s your “customized” plan. The recommendations often aren’t the least bit customized—but even if they were, when exactly would you get around to implementing them? You’re left with a doorstop of paper, and your underlying circumstances haven’t changed in the least.

Then there’s the second kind, the bargain-basement option: $300 buys you a business owner financial planning app complete with drop-down menus. You fill in the fields and it spits out a recommendation: “Contribute to a 401(k).” Really?

The Getting Out Gracefully process is specifically designed and customized to the needs and realities of business owners and entrepreneurs. It actually does what others only promise thanks to the depth of expertise and specialization we bring to the table. It doesn’t happen overnight, because, quite honestly, there’s too much work involved and too much at stake. I’m reminded of the quote from the classic drama, The American President, when Andrew Shepherd finally responds to his competition in a pubic speech, claiming, “We have serious problems, Bob, and we need serious people to solve them”.

Don’t shortchange your business – your baby, your identity, your passion and life’s work – with just anyone. Whether its us – or another laser-focused specialist, your partner through this process can help write – or erase – your life’s story.