Business Owners
-
Your business is likely a large part of your financial success. Even after you eventually leave your business, you may still rely on your business to achieve financial security. This often means that you need…
-
By Michael Torney, J.D., CFP®, LL.M., CEPA After a business owner has completed an enterprise value assessment and gone through the protect stage, it’s time to evaluate whether to build the business. Two ways an owner can…
-
By Michael Torney, J.D., CFP®, LL.M., CEPA After a business owner has completed an enterprise value assessment, it’s time for action. One of the first steps to increasing value is to protect what you have already built…
-
A guide for business owners who want to get the value they deserve when selling their company. It’s the (hopefully) multi-million-dollar question for business owners looking to sell their business – “How much is your…
-
By Michael Torney, J.D., CFP®, LL.M., CEPA Business owners face a unique challenge that most employees or sales contractors do not. Their lifestyle is funded by their business yet most of their net worth is tied up…
-
Planning for a successful future often takes years. And even the most forward-thinking plans often encounter unexpected obstacles that can add more time to achieving your goals—perhaps more time than you’re comfortable with. How can…
-
Revenue and profitability are generally good indicators of your company’s strength. However, when it comes to planning for a successful future, they are far from the only things that determine your company’s strength. As you…
-
By Michael Torney, J.D., CFP®, LL.M., CEPA When people start a company, it’s impossible to predict events that could affect it 10 or 15 years in the future. But after working together many years to…
-
By Michael Torney, CFP, J.D., LL.M. I have advised many business owners on the tax implications of various financial planning areas. The area that has the single largest impact on the financial success of an entrepreneur is…
-
A common tragedy for business owners is facing a life-changing event, such as a sudden death or illness that devastates the business, without a plan. While these events may seem uncontrollable in the moment, the…
-
Building a business that’s attractive to buyers is both a powerful way to pursue a successful future and a sign of its value. There’s generally one trait that makes businesses most attractive to buyers: self-sufficiency…
-
By Michael Torney, CFP, J.D., LL.M. Founders of small businesses have many tax benefits while running their business. They also may qualify for some tax advantages when selling the business. Certain kinds of company stock have…
-
When business owners think about planning for a successful future, they sometimes believe that it will take years to reap what they sow. This can make it tempting to push such planning off to an…
-
By Michael Torney, J.D., CFP®, LL.M., CEPA Many business owners assume their business is more valuable than it actually is. One of the biggest reasons? Key man risk. Key man risk is the concept that a business is…
-
By Michael Torney, CFP, J.D., LL.M., CEPA So, you’ve started thinking about exiting the business. It happens to every owner at some point. We spend so much time building the business and running the business. But at some…
-
Starting a business is inherently risky. Fortunately, even the riskiest businesses have opportunities to reduce their risks and protect their interests with proper and early planning. Let’s look at a fictional but representative story of…
-
Running a business can be one of the most fulfilling things you ever do. You dedicate everything you have to position the company to be successful. With all the effort you pour into your business,…
-
You were so busy building your business that you never took time to consider an exit plan – now what? So far away, and yet so close. That’s probably how the time horizon for selling…
-
Unexpected events often have bigger risks for business owners than many other people. Family members, employees, and even communities can face devastating consequences due to a business owner’s death or permanent incapacitation. Fortunately, there is…
-
By Michael Torney, CFP®, J.D., LL.M. Most owners work constantly to build their businesses. They are always seeking to find new customers, increase revenues and maximize profits. Yet, many don’t know how much their business is…
-
All business owners eventually exit their businesses – by choice, death, or otherwise —no matter how successful, powerful, or high growth they are. And like building a successful business, a successful exit is usually the…
-
Consider this scenario: A traveler wakes up in a foreign place with three things—the clothes on their back, a map in a language they can’t interpret, and 10 coins. As they begin walking down what…
-
By Wesley Sebacher, CFP® Managing healthcare and dependent care expenses can be a significant financial burden for many individuals and families. However, by leveraging the benefits of a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA) or…
-
“The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley.” -Robert Burns What should you do if a plan you made isn’t working? Let’s look at how exit planning can position business owners to successfully…