Financial Planning for Business Owners

A business financial plan is a comprehensive strategy that merges personal and professional goals. It considers an entrepreneur’s holistic situation, incorporating personal wealth management and business-related milestones, such as succession planning and exit strategies. This integrated approach helps ensure every decision supports the business owner’s overall objectives, balancing personal goals with the company's long-term vision.

Small business financial planning recognizes the interconnected impacts of business decisions on personal life and vice versa, helping to ensure nothing is overlooked. With a roadmap in hand, business owners can better make adjustments and informed decisions, such as setting realistic timelines, optimizing tax strategies, projecting future financial needs, and planning a smooth transition during a succession or business exit.

Business owners are often heavily focused on their business’s success, putting their personal planning on the back burner or leaving them unaware of the consequences or opportunities presented during planning. Planning allows business owners to continue focusing on their business while having peace of mind for their families and futures.

Additionally, financial planning is crucial because it addresses unique challenges and aspects beyond typical financial planning. This may include developing exit strategies, succession planning, accelerating value, preparing to sell, tax implications, and more. Since many business owners also have a significant portion of their net worth tied up in their business, a tailored financial plan helps align business decisions with individual goals for a balanced approach to personal wealth management and legacy.

Financial planning mistakes we often encounter and help business owners avoid include:

• Lack of a financial plan: Without a comprehensive plan, business owners often create a fragmented view of their finances, which could lead to future financial uncertainty and missed opportunities.
• Lack of focus: Some business owners may only focus on their business finances rather than their personal wealth, or vice versa, whereas a comprehensive plan can help create cohesion and efficiency.
• Do-It-Yourself financial planning: Without the help of an expert, many business owners may overlook key strategies when managing their finances that could benefit their business or personal wealth.
• Overlooking succession and exit planning: Business owners who don’t have a detailed exit plan may experience financial loss or a rocky transition when exiting their business.
• Missed tax opportunities: Ignoring key tax implications of business decisions, for example, when preparing for a sale, often leads to risks that could have been avoided with proper planning.

Business owners face several considerations, requiring careful planning and expertise. Engaging a professional team, including a financial advisor and tax professional, to collaborate on your behalf can help identify opportunities and navigate complexities unique to your situation. Here are some key considerations:

• Sale of the Business: Business owners must weigh the pros and cons of each type of sale, whether to an internal or external buyer, as each type has distinct tax implications and impacts on their financial goals.
• Sale of Assets or Stock: Business owners should review each type of sale, as they have unique tax consequences, liability assumptions, and market considerations that may influence the outcome.
• The 5 Ds (death, disability, divorce, disagreement, and distress): Business owners should consider contingency plans for unexpected scenarios to safeguard their personal and business future.
• Business Valuation: Business owners should regularly assess the value of their business, especially as they plan their company exit. Advanced strategies, such as accelerating business value, can help enhance their financial position and assist in a smoother transition when the time comes.
• Managing taxes: Monitoring taxes and identifying opportunities to reduce tax liability is an ongoing task for business owners that can affect their financial health while operating the business and preparing to exit or sell it.

Finding a financial advisor you can trust and who is a good fit requires careful consideration and some key questions, including:

• Are they a fiduciary? Fiduciaries have an ethical and legal responsibility to act in your best interest with a clear goal in mind: helping you succeed financially. Learn more about the benefits of choosing a fiduciary.
• How are they compensated? A simple fee-only payment structure favors you as the client. Without the incentive of a commission, fee-only advisors can focus on making personalized recommendations based on your goals.
• How will the relationship work? This will give you insight into a planner’s process, time commitment, and philosophy, so you will know what to expect when you work together.

Dive deeper into these questions in our blog: The Top 3 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Financial Advisor.

Partnering with a financial planner provides various benefits, including:

• Access to specialized expertise in integrating business finances and personal wealth that considers your long-term plans, goals, and potential challenges.
• A financial planner who is also a fiduciary can provide unbiased, objective guidance tailored to your situation.
• Partnering with a professional is an efficient way to manage your finances while allowing you the time to focus on your business.

Here are more reasons why it may be time to collaborate with a financial advisor.

Financial planning lays the groundwork and looks at your bigger financial picture to identify a path that will allow you to achieve specific goals. It is your financial reference to know if you’re headed in the right direction and, if not, what adjustments you need. Whether you’re preparing to buy your first home, funding your child’s education, facing a significant transition, or positioning your business for generational success, financial planning presents appropriate options and unbiased guidance that help you reach your highest financial potential.

Wealth management develops and implements long-term strategies to build and preserve wealth. These strategies include investing, advanced tax planning, intergenerational wealth transfers, estate planning, and other methods most often tailored to high-net-worth clients.

Since we all have different objectives, a good financial plan should be customized to your life and concerns. It typically entails short- and long-term goals, budgeting, savings and investments, cash flow management, taxes, retirement planning, debt management, insurance needs, and more.

While there is quite a bit that goes into creating a financial plan, developing your personal roadmap requires diving deep into various areas of your life to help answer questions such as:

• Are there strategies to lower my tax bill either now or in the future?
• Am I appropriately invested, or do I need to adjust my allocations to achieve my goals?
• How much life insurance do I really need?
• What should I do with my company stock options?
• Do I have an estate plan designed to reflect my wishes?
• Am I saving enough for retirement, and am I leveraging the right types of retirement accounts?
• What else should I be doing with my money, and what changes do I need to make to reach my goals?

A financial advisor can help guide you through this type of examination process, which is personalized to your situation. They can also offer new insight, recommendations, and tools down the road if and when your lifestyle or goals change.