Planning for a successful future can seem overwhelming. Where do you start? How do you make time? Which questions should you ask? Today, we’ll present a process that can help you organize your thoughts and put you on a path toward a successful planning process.
As a business owner, is it a good idea to hire a “professional president” to keep various managers focused? Today, we’ll present some potential benefits of a professional company president.
“How hard can planning my exit really be? I already made it valuable, so all I need to do is find someone to buy it for what I want, right?” If you’ve ever watched a professional football game, you might be familiar with the armchair quarterback—someone who says, “How did he miss that throw? I could do that!”
Many business owners eventually reach a crossroads where their families want them to slow down and take it easy, even if they aren’t ready to. This can be even more challenging if, as one business owner put it, you “feel more appreciated at the office than at the dinner table.”
For many business owners, the business is more than a means to make money—it’s a part of their identity and a link to the past. This can make the idea of leaving it, and committing to the planning required to leave it successfully, very challenging.
Selling your business comes with major tax implications. You likely don’t want to pay any more than the minimum in taxes when you sell. With planning, it’s possible to reduce your tax burden and reap the most out of a business sale.
Business owners are used to having control. But some things are uncontrollable, and without a plan, those uncontrollable things can create negative consequences that reverberate.
Keeping the business in the family or among trusted employees is a point of pride for many business owners. And some heirs apparent truly can’t wait to run the business. Today, we’ll raise some important considerations if you intend to keep the business in the hands of insiders.
Many business owners choose to sell their businesses to third parties for several reasons. If you’re thinking about pursuing a third-party sale as your business exit strategy, consider these four steps to prepare yourself for a successful third-party sale.
Business owners deserve to get full value for their businesses when they decide to retire. But who determines what “full value” is, and how do you create it? Let’s look at three strategies you can implement to pursue and build your business’ value.
Running a successful business that generates wealth is incredibly satisfying. If there’s a downside to it, it’s that much of that wealth is generally illiquid, unless you sell the business or invest outside of your business.
A big part of being a successful business owner is your ability to ask questions. This innate curiosity allows your business to thrive, adjust, and evolve. It’s also a good way to begin planning for a successful future outside the business.
When you co-own a business, you likely don’t go into it thinking, “One day, we may loathe each other.” But over time, goals, ambitions, and the economy itself can change, creating strife among co-owners.
Planning for a successful future can seem like an event—a thing you do in the course of business. However, in many cases, this planning is much more like a relationship: with your loved ones who rely on you, with your employees, and with your advisors.
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 good news is that with foresight and planning, you can regain control over what seems uncontrollable.
One of the biggest changes your business will inevitably experience is a transfer of responsibilities. Transferring important responsibilities to someone else can be exciting and nerve-wracking.
As a successful business owner, the people closest to you likely rely heavily on you. They may also have expectations regarding your wealth. Your plans for how you’ll disperse your wealth, and the expectations others may have, can have major effects on your future.
Many successful business owners are successful because they think about things differently than most people. Others may recognize your personal brilliance and say to themselves, “I wish I could understand how she does it.”
For many owners of independent construction firms, selling their business is more than an exit strategy; it is the cornerstone of their retirement plan.
If you simply are not emotionally ready to sell, if there is still fire in your belly — enough fire to fuel your continued investment in the company — or if you ultimately want to leave the business to family members or employees, then you may not be in a position to sell your business — yet.
With over half of today’s 9.5 million owners of established businesses reaching the retirement age of 50 years old or older it is likely that many of you will be ready to leave your business within the next decade or so.1
Determining your exit plan well in advance of your departure gives you and your advisors the time necessary to make your goals a reality.
A successful business exit plan achieves three important owner goals: achieving financial security, identifying the right successor and minimizing income tax.
“That won’t ever happen.” That is what I told my father-in-law, Ralph, every time he wanted to discuss what I should do if he were to pass away before his father did.
Most construction business owners will spend a lifetime making sure their businesses succeed. After all of your hard work, do you really want to leave the fate of your business in someone else’s hands? As it is likely your largest asset, you’ll want to ensure your business is protected through a detailed estate plan. This plan should focus on minimizing estate and gift taxes as well as protecting your wealth for your family.
Statistics indicate baby boomers account for more than 50% of the construction industry. That means half of owners, along with their skills and knowledge, are headed towards retirement. Even more alarming is only half of those owners have a succession plan. If your company faces a disruption or change in ownership it reduces its chance of survival to only a small percentage. Even owners who don’t have an immediate retirement on the horizon need to have a plan.
You’ve done it. You’ve built a booming construction company and now you’re ready to relax. As a business owner, it’s important to plan your exit from the company years in advance to ensure you can depart with confidence. How will your exit impact you and your family?
Less than a year. That’s how long it took a successful construction company to permanently close after the owner unexpectedly passed away. Before his death, the company was thriving. But without a business continuity plan in place, the business didn’t survive a year.
Anita specializes in business planning, succession planning and estate planning for closely held businesses and high net worth families. By guiding clients through estate and gift, retirement and tax strategies, we help them meet business goals and plan for near term and future needs.