Ask a business owner about their exit strategy, and you’re likely to get a blank stare in return.  Why? Typically, an exit strategy is the last thing on your mind while you’re working hard to make your business as successful as it can be. As an entrepreneur, you live for the challenge of launching your business. It’s easy to forget that the decisions made today can have huge implications down the road.  

There’s also a psychological roadblock to overcome as the idea of not being in business is synonymous to a death for some business owners or considered “failing”. You may know in the back of your mind that an exit strategy is important, but you put it off indefinitely—you’ll take care of it later. An exit strategy may sound negative, but it isn’t. It’s simply a plan for what will happen when the day comes that you want to leave your business or need to leave it for personal reasons – or purely because it’s time to retire.  

An exit strategy is critical. Important. Incredibly important. Insanely important as a business owner. You’ll be prepared for the future thinking ahead to that day when you’ll no longer run your business. It’s not enough to build a successful business; you must have an exit strategy, a way to get the money you made back out. An exit strategy will ensure that you, your finances, and your business are protected.  

So, whether you’re looking to move on in the near future or just want to plan ahead, we have some tips to make sure you put together a solid exit strategy for your business.

 

3 Ways You Can Start Planning Your Exit Strategy, Today

Define Financial Independence

Financial independence can mean something very different to every entrepreneur. Take the time to envision and plan what financial independence means to you. For some, it might mean multiple vacation homes with the ability to run a business out of an office. For others, financial independence could be having enough assets invested to generate a steady income stream to live the life you’ve always envisioned for yourself. Taking the time to set this goal upfront will help to inspire and encourage you through the obstacles and emotional challenges every business owner faces so that you’re set up for success down the line.

 

Learn the Sale Process Early and Commit to Your Exit Strategy

After years, possibly decades, of hard work, figuring out the sale process of your business and making those trusted business relationships can be almost insurmountable. This is where financial advisors who specialize in serving business owners can be your knight in shining armor. Financial advisors who are committed to excellence will have certifications or designations stating they have developed a specialized skill set to serve business owners. A great example is the Accredited Wealth Management Advisor designation provided by the College for Financial Planning. The Top Advisors who hold Wealth Management designations have taken the time to develop trusted relationships with a team of professionals to guide you through a smooth sales process for your business. Ultimately, your exit strategy is best executed when you aim to achieve your definition of financial independence.

 

Obtain Annual or Frequent Business Valuations

With your definition of financial independence firmly defined and your exit strategy in place, you’re ready to build your business to achieve your dreams. The value of your business is constantly changing based on recent sales and the economy. Having your business valued on a regular basis will make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to sell and realize your dream. Once the valuation process returns your definition of financial independence, don’t hesitate to seize it!

 

Don’t Freak Out!

Does planning your exit strategy leave you feeling overwhelmed?  Let me take it from here.  I can help you achieve your financial goals and in developing an effective exit strategy. Don’t put it off. The time is now!  Let’s meet!

 

Schedule your complimentary consultation with Chance today!

Before investing money, every person and business should do three things.

First, create a fully funded emergency savings account. This means having 3-5 months of expenses saved up. When calculating this amount, be sure to include your medical and auto insurance deductibles! Starting with these good financial habits – like saving – will build into your success of increasing your wealth.  

Next, you should be contributing about 10-15% to a retirement account (this can include employee matching contributions, which is nice right?!) and, lastly, you should not be paying interest on credit card debt. With this foundation in place, you’re ready to start investing and increasing your overall wealth.

[Insert high fives and clapping here. I’m doing it with you.]

I’m here to help you on your journey to build wealth. Here’s how.  

How to Invest Money to Build Wealth in 4 Simple Steps

• Step 1: Define Your Risk Tolerance

Investing is often an exercise in being honest with yourself. One of the biggest mistakes I see individuals make is thinking that they love the prospect of taking tons of risk with the hope of great returns. Then, the economy takes a downturn and their account goes deep into red territory. Feeling defeated, they sell their assets at rock bottom prices and realize a significant loss. There are plenty of risk tolerance quizzes out there. Take a few, and be truthful to yourself if you’re prepared to watch your investments rise and fall with the market.

 

• Step 2: Define A Crystal-Clear Goal

With your risk tolerance clearly defined, now you need to set a clear goal for your investing decisions. Ask yourself these questions: What are you building your wealth to? Is it something material like a house or boat? What is the cost of that? Are you building for an income stream? By setting a clear goal, you set the foundation on which you can make decisions regarding what assets to buy and when to sell.

 

• Step 3:  Choose an Asset Allocation

Asset Allocation simply means choosing what percentage of stocks, bonds, real estate and other securities will make up your portfolio. Historically, stocks have averaged an annual return of 8-11%, but can carry the most volatility. Ramping up or reducing your exposure to stocks is a great place to start when picking your asset allocation.

 

• Step 4:  Select Securities

With everything clearly defined, you’re now ready to pick and choose the securities to fill your portfolio. Stocks can be purchased individually or in baskets such as ETFs and Mutual Funds. The same goes for bonds and real estate. I encourage you to take the time to study and research each stock and fund you purchase. I spend an average of about 100-200 hours of reading and wait several years before I will purchase an individual stock I have just learned about. Evaluating a fund involves careful analysis of the entire fund portfolio, including the managers who oversee that fund.

 

Try this — I recommend first making a practice portfolio. Find the securities that you would purchase and follow them throughout the year. Keep track of how much you would’ve invested and what you would’ve gained or lost. This is a good way to gauge how you did over the year without any real risk. I know you want to know how to invest money, but if you’re wary, this is a great way to start.

Before you jump head on into investing, make sure you have these 4 simple steps on how to invest money in your pocket. Mastering your money can come down to establishing and executing just these 4 smart habits.  

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Sound overwhelming? Not as well-versed in the world of finance as you’d like to be? Let me help you achieve your financial goals! Getting started working with me is as easy as requesting to meet.  Let’s meet!

Schedule your complimentary consultation with Chance today!

 

Unfortunately, for many of us, retirement is one of those things we procrastinate on. We start our careers in our 20s and think, “I won’t be retiring for 30 or 40 years, I have plenty of time before I need to worry about that.” But the reality is, the sooner you start working on a retirement plan, the better.

By the time you’re in your 30s, you’ve likely set up a decent financial foundation for yourself.

• You’re no longer making an entry-level salary
• You’re hopefully done with or completing your student loan payments
• You may have made some substantial contributions to a 401k or IRA
• You’ve probably set aside some savings for emergencies

If you’re not quite there yet, don’t worry! Now is the time to start making strides toward setting yourself up for a financially stable future. Below are just a few things you can do to start working on your retirement plan in your 30s.

Saving

Yeah, I know, this sounds like a no brainer. But I’m talking about some serious saving. Before now, if you haven’t been contributing to your 401k, it’s time to start. If you can afford it, make the maximum annual contribution – in 2017, that’s $18,000.

If that sounds like too big a number, it’s okay to start smaller. Aim to put 10-15% of your income into your 401k. And don’t forget to consider raises – when you get a raise, bump the savings percentage up a bit instead of spending your new wealth. Your future retired self will thank you.

Imagine Your Ideal Retirement

Right now, retirement is this far off thing in the distance that mainly sounds like an endless vacation. But I want you to think about what you actually want to do in retirement. It’s the only way to make sure you’re setting up the best retirement plan for you.

Do you envision traveling all over the world? Vacationing in a second home? While those options sound like a lovely way to spend your retirement, they’re also expensive ways to spend your retirement. Envisioning how you’ll spend your retirement years will give you a better idea of how much you’ll need to save. This way, you can develop the appropriate retirement plan to help you reach those financial goals.

Evaluate Your Benefits

A good retirement plan is balanced, which means it isn’t exclusively focused on saving. Ensure you’re maximizing employer benefits such as disability insurance, life insurance, health insurance, Flex Spending Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, and your 401k.

If you’re not being offered these things through a work benefits package, consider buying your own policies, or opening your own accounts. You’ll want to be prepared if an unexpected tragedy occurs. This way, you, your spouse, and your family won’t be completely financially derailed.

It’s never too early to start thinking about retirement. It may seem like far away now, but the years will go by quickly! Starting your retirement plan in your 30s will help to ensure you can enjoy a happy, stress-free retirement.

Need help developing a retirement plan that works for you and your life? As a CRPC® designee, I specialize in helping people plan for retirement. Let me help you prepare for the future you want.

Do you ever find yourself in a conversation where someone is discussing IRAs or annuities and you’re just nodding along because you aren’t 100% sure what those terms mean? Or maybe you know what they are, you just don’t understand the context in which the person is talking about them? You’re definitely not alone.

Financial literacy is one of those things we all know we need, but not many of us actually sit down and take the time to work on it. And unfortunately the information we learned in Econ 101 didn’t last as long as we had hoped.

But understanding money and finance is well worth your time. It’s a huge asset to know how to manage your money and be able to understand your financial situation. There’s power in knowledge.

If you’re determined to improve your financial literacy, this is your first step in doing so and that’s something great to acknowledge! So let’s get to it!

If you’re ready to start making progress toward improving your financial literacy, use these 4 tips as a jumping off point to expand your knowledge of the financial world.

Set Your Goals

The first step in finding the information you want to know is to establish your financial goals. You’ve made a conscious decision to improve your financial literacy, and I’m willing to bet something in your current financial situation has inspired that. Maybe you’re considering buying a house and want to know more about budgeting for your investment or the mortgage payments you’ll potentially take on. Or maybe you’re getting a head start on saving for retirement!

Whatever your goals are, keep them in mind as you begin your financial education. We live in a world with an abundance of resources, which is both an advantage and disadvantage. Information overload is a real thing, and you don’t want to overwhelm yourself. Start out by searching for information relevant to your specific goals.

Read

Like I said, we live in a world with a wealth of information, so you have a lot of options to begin your search. There are books, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet, of course, that can all help you expand your financial literacy.

Publications like Forbes and Barron’s can offer a lot of insight into everything from investing and trading to money management. And there are so many books on finance you’ll be sure to find one that has exactly what you want to know.

Listen

I understand if you don’t feel you have the time to sit down and read, not many of us do. But there’s a fantastic solution for that: radio and podcasts! Make the most of your morning commute, or your time cooking in the kitchen, to improve your financial literacy with an informative financial podcast or radio show

Some great shows to listen to are:

•  The Dave Ramsey Show

•  The Clark Howard Show

•  Freakonomics Radio

•  Listen, Money Matters

Have Conversations

Money and finance are some of the things many consider taboo for conversation, but I think they’re important things to talk about – especially with your spouse! A great way to learn about finance and improve your financial literacy is to get a good handle on your own financial situation. Make a point to sit down with your spouse once a month or so just to discuss your current situation, your spending and saving, and if you’re making progress towards your overall goals.

Financial literacy can make a huge impact on your ability to manage your money and improve your financial situation. I hope you find these tips helpful and that you make great strides in improving your financial knowledge and current situation.

If you find working on your finances a daunting task, maybe it’s time to enlist some help! Schedule a complimentary financial planning session with me and we can talk about your current situation, your goals, and what you can do to reach them!

Ahh, retirement. No more work, freedom to do what we please which may mean days filled with travel for some or golfing for others. Perhaps spending more time with loved ones and grandchildren now that you have more free time.

Sounds nice, doesn’t it? When it comes to planning for retirement we often fixate on the financial logistics. But so many people spend the majority of their time focusing on allotting enough money to retire, that we haven’t given much thought at all to what to actually do once we’ve retired.

It may not sound like deciding how you’re going to enjoy your time upon retirement would require a lot of planning, but it’s more than you’d think. Most of us plan on playing it by ear, and doing whatever we want whenever we feel like it once we finally retire. Even though that kind of freedom sounds nice, this doesn’t necessarily guarantee a great retirement.

I want to make sure you have the best retirement you can, so here are my 3 top tips to a happy retirement.

PLAN: Like I said, whether you’re single or married, many of us default to the “play it by ear” philosophy when we think about retirement. We say we’ll figure it out when we get there, as long as the finances are figured out. But planning will help you live a happy retirement.

Don’t make this mistake. There are expenses that come with this new lifestyle, that you didn’t necessarily have while you were working – and you need to plan for them. Consider:

•  Prices of different housing options

•  Travel

•  Health insurance

•  New hobbies

Waiting until right before you retire to consider  these expenses can be a real headache. But planning ahead and getting your ducks in a row beforehand will help you enjoy every minute of retirement. And that’s what we want! You deserve it.

STAY ENGAGED: All too often people retire from their career and plan to sit at home and do nothing in general. This is fun for a few months until the “vacation” is over and boredom sets in.

In Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Work Week, he discusses taking mini-retirements throughout your life as opposed to waiting to fully retire. While not all of us have the freedom to do this, much of his advice still applies to retirement. In his book he says, “The question you should be asking isn’t, “What do I want?” or “What are my goals?” but “What would excite me?””

What excites you? Is it contributing to your community? Traveling the world? Learning? Find something that ignites a fire for you, and do that!

I often encourage people who are considering retirement to switch to part-time before they fully retire so they can ease into the retirement lifestyle. This will give you time to identify and plan activities to stay engaged and focused so you can enjoy a happy retirement.

TRAVEL EARLY: We all have our idea of a dream vacation. Whether it’s a cruise through the Caribbean, a tour through Europe, or hiking Machu Picchu, I advise you to take your dream vacation early on in retirement.

Our health is not guaranteed. So take the opportunity to travel while you can, and put off activities you can do when you’re older for a later time. Take that trip you’ve always dreamed about to avoid regret.

I’m not saying you need to have all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed at this moment in time, but it definitely requires a little thought ahead of time to ensure you have a happy retirement. Don’t solely focus on the finances, focus on what you’ll do too!

Let’s Plan Your Happy Retirement Together

Are you saving for retirement? Need a little guidance? Let’s meet! I’m a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠, which means I’m certified to help you through all stages of the retirement planning process. Let me guide you to your happy retirement.

When I started Pacific Landfall, I didn’t want to be just another one of the 300,000+ financial planners in the United States. I set my sights much higher than this.

I wanted to do more than simply help individuals make smart investments, I wanted to be able to make a difference in the lives of my clients.

That’s exactly why I began studying to become a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠ professional, and have now received my official certification.

How a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠ Certification Sets Pacific Landfall Apart

Many financial advisors are just that – financial advisors. While that can be more than enough for some people, there are specific clients that want to know their advisors are further qualified. Financial advisors have the ability to specialize in specific facets of financial planning instead of just possessing the general knowledge of finance.

Advisors who make the commitment to improve their professional growth through earning a professional designation convey to people the level of expertise that is required to practice in the financial services industry. Unfortunately, many advisors choose not to pursue and achieve these professional designations.

That’s where the CRPC® designation comes in. As of early April, I became a CRPC® designee, which is truly another way of saying a ‘retirement expert’. Earning this designation states that I have made a significant commitment to my career by achieving this designation.

As a CRPC® designee, I specialize in helping individuals successfully prepare themselves for retirement. In order to obtain this designation, I dedicated 150 hours to studying the entire retirement planning process and passed an exam for certification. I’ve also committed to continued learning to ensure I’m staying up to date on the latest in retirement planning so I can offer my clients the best possible advice.

I can offer you knowledgeable advice on issues such as planning for health care, asset management, social security, maximizing sources of retirement income, beneficiary designations, income tax considerations, estate planning, and more. I can also help you determine the best time to retire or assist you in expanding on the plans you’ve already made.

It’s vital to know your financial advisor and understand what their specialties are. You deserve to be confident that the person helping you manage your money and plan your future is qualified to meet your needs.

I want to help you figure out what you can do today that will ensure a secure tomorrow. If you’re starting to plan for retirement, plan it with me.

Let’s meet! Contact me today to get started.

Owning your own business comes with many wonderful perks. You’re guaranteed to love your boss, you take on the risk but you get to reap the rewards, and most important to many entrepreneurs, you get to do what you want to do.

But, some business owners are so focused on the present state of their business, that they completely forget to consider their future. And not just any part of their future, I’m talking about the foundation in which their future happiness and survival depend. I’m talking about retirement planning.

As a business owner, are you foregoing saving for retirement?

It’s not uncommon for business owners to forego saving for retirement. Many choose to put the money they’d ordinarily save back into their business. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t have any money for retirement. Selling your business can certainly make up for not saving. Business owners just need to keep in mind that the sale of their business will very likely be the largest contribution to their retirement fund. Which puts a lot of pressure on selling your business.

When it comes to retirement planning, planning ahead is key – especially if you’re banking on the sale of your business carrying you through retirement.

If this is the situation you’re currently in, consider these three questions.

 

• Why should I sell my business?
• When should I sell my business?
• What will I do after I sell my business?

 

If you don’t have the answers quite yet, I’ll give you a jumping off point.

You should sell your business to achieve wealth and freedom while you’re still young enough to enjoy it.

You should sell your business when you feel you’ve reached your definition of financial independence. And once it’s sold? You’re still the same person, just in a new chapter of life! Set new goals, stay focused and engaged and continue to live the life you love and so much deserve!

Who should you have on your ‘business selling’ team?

You shouldn’t be  solely responsible for the sale of your business. It is important to assemble an advisory team that can lead you through the nitty gritty of the sale. This will ensure you’re getting what your business is worth, and as a bonus they can help you with retirement planning! They’ll guide you through allocating those funds appropriately to get you through retirement.

It’s important to consider the expertise of who is on your team.

Establishing a relationship and friendship with a financial advisor that you trust, who specializes in working with and managing retirement funds for business owners will be critical when you plan on selling. A financial advisor that focuses on business owners will understand that the sale of your business is likely the biggest contribution to your retirement fund. Through experience and in establishing an excellent rapport, they will have an understanding of what exactly will make the most sense for you and your future, and they’ll be able to connect you with all of the individuals you need to support you through the sale of your business. These people include transaction attorneys, investment bankers and business brokers, CPAs, and existing banks.

If retirement planning hasn’t been at the forefront of your mind, that’s okay. As a business owner you’re juggling lots of responsibilities, and sometimes focusing on the present is priority. To make things easier, leave the retirement planning to me!

If you know you don’t have the time to dedicate to retirement planning now, but don’t want to regret that in the future, let’s meet! Our first meeting is a complimentary, no-risk ‘meet and greet’ to ensure you feel completely comfortable with continuing the conversation about your future!

Common sense tells us to keep a close eye on all things related to our money. Monitor your bank account to make sure no one is making fraudulent charges. Check your credit score so you know you’ll be able to make that big purchase when you need to. Evaluate your spending to ensure you’re sticking to your budget. And the list goes on.

But what if I were to tell you that the opposite was true when it comes to your investment portfolio? In this lesson of ‘Investing 101’ we advise people to rarely check their investment portfolio (though, keep in mind this can be different for everyone).

Reducing the Frequency of Portfolio Check-ins

Why shouldn’t you check your investment portfolio regularly? Checking less frequently will prevent you from making knee-jerk reactions that can affect your investment plan. If you went in there and saw you weren’t having a great quarter, would you be able to just sit back and not make changes? Probably not. In fact, it’s human nature and this concept has a name: loss aversion. Loss aversion is the idea that we hate losing so much that we make bad decisions in order to avoid feeling that way in the future.

But don’t worry, just because YOU shouldn’t check your portfolio as often doesn’t mean that no one should be keeping an eye on it for you. Your financial advisor should (and does if you’re working with Pacific Landfall) check it far more often than you. Financial advisors are able and trained to keep emotions in check, which helps us stick to the long term investment plan.

I understand it can be hard to avoid keeping an eye on something directly tied to your financial well-being, so here are a few investing 101 tips that will help.

1. Schedule portfolio checks. Mark dates on your calendar throughout the year, and only check it then. Creating a schedule will help you stay on track and avoid checking your portfolio impulsively, or too often. If you get in there and have questions or concerns, consult with your advisor before making changes.

2. Establish ground rules for changes. You and your advisor worked hard to develop a long-term investment plan that works for you, don’t ruin it by making changes willy nilly. Your investments should be goal-oriented, so you have to give them time to work. But sometimes change is necessary. Create ground rules for making changes to the portfolio so you can make changes when you really feel you need to. At Pacific Landfall, we create what’s called an Investment Policy Statement at the beginning of our advisor/client relationship that addresses grounds for changing asset allocation and other changes.

If you want peace of mind when it comes to your investments, it’s important to have a financial advisor that values communication and is willing to discuss your finances with you regularly.

If you haven’t heard from your advisor in awhile, it’s time to change that. At Pacific Landfall, we’re committed to checking in with you regularly and having in-person meetings once a quarter. If you like the sound of that, let’s meet! Schedule a complimentary call or in person meeting today.