How We Help: Business Owners

Written By: Brian Ellenbecker, CFP®, EA, CPWA®, CIMA®, CLTC®

As a business owner, you have a unique set of circumstances regarding finances. Not only do you share many of the same concerns most families do, but you also have to incorporate your business into the mix. You need to plan for the investing needs of your business, both now and in the future, all while protecting it if anything happens to you.

While you’re focused on running and growing your business, it’s important to have a team of professionals to support you on your journey. Your financial advisor, accountant, estate and business attorneys, among others, can ensure all details are taken care of behind the scenes. Your financial advisor can act as the quarterback of your team of professionals while you focus on running the business and strategic planning.

Shakespeare Wealth Management can serve in the financial advisor/quarterback role for business owners managing their financial affairs. Some of the key areas we typically discuss during meetings include:

Tax Planning

Your financial advisor can work with your accountant to make sure you’re doing everything you can to minimize your tax bill. This will include things like making sure you’ve chosen the right structure for your business, optimizing contributions to your employer retirement plan, deducting all available expenses and taking advantage of available tax credits. All this while integrating tax planning for your business with your personal income taxes.

Retirement Planning

Making sure your business has the correct retirement plan in place to optimize contributions and meet the savings goals for you and your company is important. Is the goal to reward employees for their loyalty and work? Do you want to maximize contributions for the owners? Business owners have access to a variety of plans with different sets of pros and cons. Making sure you understand your options will allow you to maximize this important savings vehicle.

Estate Planning

It’s important to ensure your business is properly accounted for in your estate plan. Small business owners should include their business in their personal plan to ensure a smooth transition of ownership and management in case of incapacity or death, preventing disruptions to the company. It also helps minimize potential estate taxes and provides financial security for their heirs or chosen successors.

Succession Planning or Selling a Business

Your team can help address the systematic transfer of the management and ownership of the business. If you’re approaching retirement, developing an exit strategy is critically important to maximize the value you’re able to receive. Working with your team of experts (which may include a business broker to help find a buyer) will ensure you don’t overlook anything, review the different exit strategies available to you, and optimize the value you receive. Your financial advisor can also help measure the potential impact the sale will have on your personal financial plan and run different scenarios.

Legacy Planning

On top of the traditional financial aspects of planning, we often serve as a confidential sounding board to bounce ideas off and provide emotional support. A lot of financial aspects in a person’s life connect to supporting family, creating a legacy, being charitable and achieving lifelong goals. It’s important to discuss these matters openly so we can provide the best, most personalized advice possible.

Financial planning when you own a business can be incredibly complicated and nuanced. We customize our meeting agendas according to each individual’s specific needs. We are here to help provide peace of mind and help tie the moving pieces together for you. Reach out to your Shakespeare Financial Advisor to discuss your personal situation in more detail.