Business owners and entrepreneurs
Why might financial advice be applicable to you?
We’re entrepreneurs ourselves, so we fully appreciate the constraints you’ll be facing in terms of income, capital and – above all – time. We therefore totally understand if your first thought is “all my capital is tied up in the business, I earn a nominal salary, and I barely have a second to brush my teeth, let alone plan for the future”. After all, this is precisely how we all used to think. But bear with us a second…
Tax planning
Just to give you some context, have a think about how much personal financial planning you have actually carried out around your business. For example:
Have you considered the significant tax savings you could make by purchasing health or life insurance for your family through the business rather than independently?
Do you have at least a rough idea of the extent of the tax reliefs that may arise if you use the company to start funding your pension?
Have you considered the benefits and drawbacks of selling some of your shareholding to release a little capital now, taking dividends over salary, or leaving as much capital as possible in the business?
You’ll find the numbers staggering. You’ll wonder why more people don’t take financial advice, given the savings and reliefs available. But as you’ve probably already understood, this is precisely our point. People just don’t realise. And its firms like us who are to blame for failing to educate people on the benefits. For failing to offer fee structures that democratise financial advice. Until now.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice, trust advice or will writing services.
Business protection
On a slightly separate note, many of the founders and entrepreneurs we work with haven’t had the time to create an in-depth succession plan for their businesses, or even to draft a will setting out what should happen to their shareholdings – and their businesses more generally – should they pass away or become incapacitated.
Now, would you want any existing business partners to suddenly find themselves in business with your family members (or would you want to find yourself suddenly in business with a business partner’s family members)? Alternatively, what if a key director suddenly passes away? Could your business continue to thrive in the short-term without the revenues and relationships they brought to the table? These are very real scenarios that can (and regularly do) arise, and they can have disastrous consequences when entrepreneurs “put off” this kind of planning.
We can take the load off your shoulders. We can help you with all the above and open up a whole host of other possibilities, all the while fully tailoring our guidance specifically to your personal and professional circumstances. For example, we can arrange “key person” insurance to cover the detrimental financial impact of a director or key manager passing away or becoming incapacitated, and shareholder protection policies to ensure that your business will have the funds required to buy back the shares of deceased shareholders, should the need arise.
Exiting your business
Many entrepreneurs struggle to identify the right time to sell. After all, you’re not just financially invested, but physically and emotionally invested. Moreover, even if you feel that now is the right time, how much would you want (or need!) to set you up for the future? In other words:
If or when you do eventually exit your business, you’ll need to know how to structure the sale as tax-efficiently as possible. We can be on hand to advise throughout the entire sale process, making sure the arrangements make sense for you.
Post-sale, you’ll hopefully find yourself with a significant amount of capital and your next steps will then be key to your future financial security. If, by this stage, we already understand your goals and the lifestyle you intend to lead, we’ll already be perfectly placed to present you with the options you have available.