There's an old saying that time is money.
As a business owner, that couldn't be more true. You get pulled one direction to put out a fire, only to be pulled back the opposite way as soon as you're done (if not before)...
But time is so much more than money.
Time is the only thing that we don't have enough of...
That is what true freedom is...
Making the most of every moment requires a plan. That's not to say you need to plan every moment of every day, but you do need a plan that affords you the flexibility to work when and where you want, to take the vacation you've always wanted, or even to just go to a recital or practice after work. That's true freedom. I know that's what I desire and I know that's what I want for each of my clients.
So How Do We Do That?
Taxes...
First We Need to Make the Most of Every Dollar Coming in the Door.
What's the value of a good tax strategy?
It may seem hard to answer but the reality is staring us in the face. In 2018, Amazon earned $11bn in profit and paid $0 in federal taxes… And not only that, they actually got a refund.
In 2019, same story but they had to pay a little more - 1.6%. And in 2020, they paid a huge amount - 9.4%!
If you're reading this, I bet you paid a higher percentage in taxes. And it's not like Amazon did anything wrong… They put a proactive strategy in place to take advantage of the tax code. The reality is that if you don't have a strategy in place then the following apply -
How much have you overspent on taxes in the last 5 years?
I have three core tax planning principles that inform my planning:
If you want to save TIME & MONEY, tax planning is step 1.
When was the last time someone called you with a proactive strategy to save you money on taxes?
Risk Mitigation
Business Owners Face Double the Risks of the Average Person
The larger your business grows, the more risks you face. And just like taxes, there may be risks that you are unaware of. You face the same risks that everyone else faces...
You also face risks that the average person does not...
They may not be fun to think about, but all of these issues must be taken care of before you can achieve financial freedom. What if you you're living the life you desire and one of the above happens? Your income may go down 20, 30, 50%...and then all of the planning you did doesn’t matter at all.
If you don’t have a plan that addresses the risks you may face…
You can’t truly be free.
Want 360° risk control?
Investment Planning
"What should I do with the money I make?"
Most business owners don't have enough time in their day to sit down and design the investment plan that works for them. It’s time-consuming and stressful, especially when you’re not sure you’re on the right track.
If Time is truly Money, then your investments should be a path to spending time doing what you love, not something you dread. As part of our financial planning process we help you determine the proper investment portfolio and review your assets to make sure they properly align with your goals.
Once we answer those questions, we manage your accounts thoughtfully utilizing the latest research available.
Our investment philosophy is guided by 4 Key Principles:
Timeframe based investing
Our first and most important principle is simple but can be taken for granted: Depending on when you need the money, or your timeframe, your money should be invested in different ways.
Let’s look at these two goals:
Should these be invested the same way?
We would say no. That’s because the stock market has been negative ~26% of the time over a 1 year time period but has never been negative over a 15+ year time period! Because of this, we would look at investing in a more conservative manner for the down payment, and a more aggressive manner for retirement.
It seems simple but step 1 towards a successful investment plan is to determine how much risk you can take towards your goals over the timeframe that you need the money.
Once you have the first step of your investment plan, the rest falls into place. If you’d like to learn more about timeframe based investing and the data behind it, check out the video above.
Was your investment portfolio designed with your goals in mind or did you build it as you go? Talk with an Advisor if you’d like a second set of eyes on it.
Are your investments optimized? Let's find out.
Financial planning for small business owners, by small business owners