By Bill Taber
My father was a business owner, and I learned many important lessons from him. He showed me what it takes to start a business, and he modeled perseverance and success. And, when it came time for me to start my own business as a financial advisor, he was one of my first clients.
He knew how to keep customers coming back and how to generate profits, but he put all of his earnings into certificates of deposit (CDs) in the bank. Having lived and worked through the Depression years of the 1930s, he knew that it was a relatively safe way to protect his hard-earned money. But, as price inflation became a factor during World War II and its aftermath, he missed out on some serious wealth accumulation by not diversifying his assets.
Many business owners focus so much on running and growing their businesses that they forget to plan for long-term accumulation of personal wealth outside of the business. To better plan for your future, here are some types of planning you should be doing as a business owner:
Retirement Planning
Some business owners are so involved in their work that they can’t fathom retiring; however, it is important to plan for this in the future. Every business owner should be setting aside money now, so later in life they’ll have the option to retire.
Putting your savings into tax-advantaged retirement accounts is one of the most powerful ways to save and grow your wealth for retirement. Here are examples of five retirement plans that may work for you and provide enormous benefits:
IRA (traditional or Roth)
Solo 401(k)
SEP IRA
Simple IRA
Defined benefit plan
Tax Planning
Especially as a business owner, you’ve probably already realized that one of the greatest threats to your financial well-being is taxation.
Every dollar saved in taxes is a dollar that can be used to grow your business and your financial net worth. As such, tax planning is vital for business owners. Tax planning includes everything from the type of entity you use for your business to how you manage deductible expenses.
Taxes are not something you should only worry about during tax season. Creating a proper tax-planning strategy with a forward-thinking CPA or wealth manager who specializes in working with business owners can truly affect your bottom line.
Succession Planning
What will happen to your business when you are gone? One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is not having a succession plan in place.
Do you want to sell the business or pass it on to a family member or an employee or employees? If you don’t make a plan now, that may not be possible. Having a plan in place well in advance can help minimize taxes, transaction costs, and relational friction.
Asset Planning
While you may feel that your business is a huge part of your life, it should not be your entire financial life. Having your net worth consist solely of your business increases your personal financial risk. This was a lesson many business owners learned the hard way during the pandemic. Having a strategy for transferring business assets into personal assets for business liability and personal protection is a necessity for all business owners.
Planning for Your Business
Having a financial plan allows you to understand what it takes to reach your goals. We at TABER Asset Management would be happy to discuss your goals and help you make a solid plan for you and your business in the future. Get started today by scheduling a 15-minute intro phone call online or reaching out to us at 515-557-1860 or invest@taberasset.com.
About Bill
Bill Taber is President and Founder of TABER Asset Management, an independent, fiduciary wealth management firm that strives to do one thing well: manage their clients’ money by creating wealth, building wealth, growing income, and preserving capital so they can experience financial freedom. With more than four decades of experience, Bill is dedicated to building relationships with his clients and their families and walking alongside them as they navigate financial decisions. His favorite days are the ones when he gets to witness the joy and relief on his clients’ faces when they realize they can pursue their dreams and live their ideal lifestyles. Bill is known for going the extra mile, getting things done with integrity, and working with a stewardship mentality.
Bill graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and fell in love with the profession when he got to help one of his first clients—his father—turn his lifetime of hard work into a dream retirement. He got his start in the industry as a corporate services representative for Bankers Trust Company and spent decades working as Assistant Vice President of E.F. Hutton & Co. and First Vice President of Principal Financial Securities. He is also a graduate of the E-Myth Worldwide Mastery Business Development Program and is Series 65 registered.
In his spare time, Bill enjoys giving back to his community and served 11 years as a member of the Board of Trustees of Broadlawns Medical Center and 14 years as a Community Representative to their Board Finance Committee. He is also one of the founding members of the Greater Des Moines Connections Mentoring Program. When he’s not working, you can often find Bill spending time with his family and participating in one of his many hobbies, which include traveling to national parks, presidential libraries, and foreign countries; gardening; reading non-fiction; and practicing yoga, Pilates, and meditation. He also loves the simple joys of listening to music, going for walks or bike rides, and watching James Bond 007 films and any movie starring his favorite actress, Meryl Streep. To learn more about Bill, connect with him on LinkedIn.