Category: Company Wealth

What If I Want to Recruit a Key Employee?

by YOUR BUSINESS WORTH, posted in Company Wealth, Working On Your Business

The objectives of recruiting a key executive from the marketplace are to make your business more profitable, to grow the company and / or to bring talent to your business that does not currently exist. You must design incentive plans that achieve those goals.

You will always be a slave to your business unless you have capable management in place to run the business when you are not there. If you someday hope to sell your business to an outside buyer, you will need to have solid managers in place to get serious consideration from an outside buyer. As is the case with most companies, the management team could someday become your buyers. If you want to transfer your business to your children, you will need key employees in place to assist them with the transition.

In order to attract the right person to your company, you must offer them an incentive plan that rewards them for efforts that increase the value / profitability of your business.

You should pay a key employee for projects that they initiate. This could be an additional six percent or more of their base pay. When this key employee has a positive effect on the rest of the management team, pay them a bonus based upon that influence. This could be 10 – 20 percent of their base.

When hiring for key management, we find that most compensation packages combine base and incentives. Determine the incentive on the company’s growth once that employee joins you. Decide how much you are willing to pay the right employee and then back into that figure.

Continue reading “What If I Want to Recruit a Key Employee?” →

What If I Want to Take Care of Myself?

by YOUR BUSINESS WORTH, posted in Company Wealth, Executive Benefits, Tax Free Income, Working On Your Business

Business owners have experienced a well-publicized meltdown in traditional financing. Now they want to know how they can prevent themselves from being vulnerable again!

Become Your Own Bank

What if you set a goal today to accumulate money on your own? Shore up reserves for use in emergencies in your business, or for business opportunities, investments and personal retirement. You take care of your employees, your vendors and your customers. What if you think about taking care of yourself? Traditional savings vehicles are not as attractive as they were in the past. Many companies have eliminated pension plans. Those companies that haven’t are finding that, in many cases, the owner can’t put a substantial amount away for himself. Today’s business owner wants to accumulate money for the future’s “what ifs” without depending on outside financing sources.

Set up a SIP

The solution is a supplemental income plan, or SIP. If properly designed, a SIP accomplishes several things. The growth is tax-deferred. If accessed correctly, the gain is tax-free. There are no contribution rules and no required distributions. Moreover, there is a pre-retirement survivor benefit paid to the family in case of the death of the business owner, also tax-free. With the cash flow rigors of owning your business, putting money aside gets more difficult every day. Traditional methods no longer work or are no longer attractive. Safety is a greater concern now than in the past. Business owners want to control their own financial destinies without depending on credit lines, business loans and outside financing. What if, going forward, you finance your own business purchases? Every cent you pay in financing costs is lost forever. Eliminate these costs in the future and use your SIP for purchases, investments, opportunities and emergencies. The savings on financing goes back into your pocket. This is perhaps the best recession-era lesson for business owners to absorb today and to never forget in the future. Do not rely heavily on outside funding in the form of loans, vendor financing or even business credit cards.

Today’s business owner wants to accumulate money for the future’s “what ifs” without depending on outside financing sources.

Do It for You

Right now, business owners must take care of themselves because no one else is going to do this for them. Valley business owners constantly tell me they are tired of lying awake at night, staring at the bedroom ceiling and worrying about cash flow. A supplemental retirement plan is simple. It does not involve any administration or fees. There is no ERISA or IRS involvement. Where is the best place to invest as you bulk up your SIP? In the past, you had two choices. You had market-driven vehicles that we now realize can be a roller coaster ride or safe vehicles that yielded small or no returns. Here is a new option for you and your professional financial advisor to consider. Life insurance—a product that has been around for more than 200 years—may present the flexibility and growth you seek.

Continue reading “What If I Want to Take Care of Myself?” →

Passive Ownership! My Cake And Eat It Too!

by YOUR BUSINESS WORTH, posted in Company Wealth, Passive Ownership, Working On Your Business

 

One of the options a business owner has to exit their business is to use a Passive Ownership Method.  This allows the business owner to stick around and be involved with the business, but to step away in the daily running of the business.  When done correctly and with planning in advance the owner is fundamentally self-sustaining and does not have to head up the company.  The owner is there to overlook the financial part of the company, much like a mentor. Key people are the self-sustaining element.

Divulge the culture values; sharing the same values as you, and what formed your foundation.  By communicating with your employees what you did in all the areas of growing your business, they will feel a part of it and continue with the same traditions, habits, and ideas which became the business owner’s foundation of success.  This will build a good foundation which will allow the business owner to delegate more of the tasks to others, allowing a self-sustaining company, with a growing management team.  This is the framework that attracts investors to the company, knowing that the traditions and the culture can continue.

Improve cash flow; By increasing cash flow, you create options and markets to buy your business.  For the outside investor, they see a cash flow that will continue without the owner, for the inside buyer, they have the cash flow to purchase the business owner out and complete the purchase of the business over time.  For the passive owner, a good cash flow allows the business to sustain itself, as you enjoy the role of a passive owner; taking out a good salary, paying the key people good salaries, and enjoying life by being a passive owner.  So, how do you create and improve cash flow.  The best way is move cash flow up to the front of the line as a priority.  Having cash flow meetings weekly with your management team will help you with the ideas you need to either increase cash flow through sales, or through expenses attrition. In any event by putting this topic in the front and getting feedback from your management team regularly, you will be able to come up with great ideas to increase cash flow and profits.  Continue reading “Passive Ownership! My Cake And Eat It Too!” →

Exiting Your Business- What You Need To Know and Do!

by YOUR BUSINESS WORTH, posted in Company Wealth, Working On Your Business

    In my last newsletter I discussed the three exit strategies business owners can use when they decide to sell their business.   As a review they are; outside sale, inside transition sale, and passive ownership.  Of course there is the liquidation sale which happens when there is no future planning. Liquidate and see what you can get, however I do not consider this an exit strategy.

So what does a blueprint for exiting your business look like?

First:  You must influence your personal company culture. Employees need to know the values and principles you have formed over the years of your business life so they understand the mission.  What needs to be communicated is how you started the company and how you built it up.  The values behind all that effort needs to be communicated to your employees, vendors, and anyone who will listen, especially potential purchasers of your business. By doing so you will gradually build a strong culture in your own organization that will remain in place whether you’re planning on being absent for a long period of time, or just a short period.     A healthy culture makes your company more attractive to buyers and sets the course for more options such as inside sale, or passive ownership.

Continue reading “Exiting Your Business- What You Need To Know and Do!” →

Is Your Wealth Stuck In Your Business?

by YOUR BUSINESS WORTH, posted in Buy and Sell Agreements, Company Wealth, Working On Your Business

It is very common for business owners to think they can sell their business when they are ready to retire.  In many cases business owners need this wealth to have security in their retirement.   However, they may be miscalculating and be very shocked when the time comes to turn their business into cash.

Transition is inevitable in the life of a business owner.  Someday they will exit their business for one reason or another.  Death, disability, or retirement are the main reasons for an exit, however, there are other reasons why an exit may be needed (Death, disability, divorce, bankruptcy, voluntary leaving, retirement, and non-voluntary leaving).

The major questions to ask

  • What if you don’t want to run a business any longer and you want out?
  •  What if you died, or became disabled?
  •  What if you lost your key person or your key group?
  •  What if you can increase cash flow?

A recent Business Owner Succession Planning Survey (FPA/CNBC) released in 2015, said 78% of small-business owners said they plan to sell their businesses to fund their retirement.  Well over 70% of small business owners do not have any transition, or exit plans.  Even if they have a plan, in most cases it is not concrete and for many reasons will not provide the results they think it will.

Many business owners have the intention to cash out at retirement.  In the urgency to turn business assets into cash many small business owners take back notes to help fund the sale of their business. They are mortgaging their financial security and future based on the continuation of the business which they just sold.  This is one of the many miscalculations in their retirement projections.

Continue reading “Is Your Wealth Stuck In Your Business?” →

The “What If’s”of a Business Owner’s Life!

by YOUR BUSINESS WORTH, posted in Company Wealth, Working On Your Business

The Four Life Changes Of A Business Owner

What is it that you think about the most as a business owner?   Chances are they are one of four things:

  • What if I don’t want to stay in business and I want to drop out?
  • What if I get sick, disabled, or die?
  • What if my key person (s) decides to leave me?
  • What if I can’t increase and improve my cash flow (life blood of the business)?

Besides running the day to day of the business, and the stress that goes with this, the four items listed above are probably the biggest stressful thoughts business owners have.   Let’s break them down.

Continue reading “The “What If’s”of a Business Owner’s Life!” →

Your Business Worth

by YOUR BUSINESS WORTH, posted in Company Wealth

What is your business really worth?  If you don’t know this figure, don’t feel too bad, many business owners don’t know their real worth!

Why is knowing your worth important?  Think of it this way.

If you were to invest in the stock market, wouldn’t you want to know the current value of the company you are investing in, and the potential of it’s growth?

Business owners put time, money, and in most cases, most of their wealth in their business.  At some point you will want the wealth in your business.  It may because you want out of the business, you retire, you die, or a number of other triggers.

This blog is dedicated to sharing ideas about growing your business while putting you in the position of extracting your wealth…

Enjoy…

 

Tom Perrone