The Truth About Your Financial Advisor and Why You Should Pay Closer Attention
Most business owners, professionals, and retirees assume their financial advisor understands them. Business owners, professionals, and retirees are often knowledgeable, ask insightful questions, and make confident decisions. It is easy to assume the advisor across the table fully understands their situation. In reality, many do not. Traditional investment firms focus on asset accumulation, product distribution, […]
From Guesswork to Clarity: Why Every Owner Needs a Real Business Valuation
Imagine a parent watching their child race across a playground beaming with pride, seeing every unique spark, blind to scraped knees or clumsy stumbles. In their eyes, their child’s strengths always outshine any flaws. Business owners experience the same kind of closeness. Just as parents often see only the strengths of their own child and […]
Why Investors Need to Rethink Their Cash Allocation
Over the last few years, investors quietly made a big shift where they moved into cash. Money market funds grew rapidly and cash balances swelled. Today, more than eight trillion dollars sits in money market funds, with the vast majority without the intention to be deployed. At first glance, that looks responsible. We’re in a […]
Coast FIRE: The Freedom to Work Because You Want To — Not Because You Have To
There’s a point in your financial life, often in your 40s or 50s, when you start wondering:“Do I still need to push this hard… or have I already earned more freedom than I realize?” That moment is what Coast FIRE captures so beautifully. You don’t need to sell your business, retire early, or live off-grid.You […]
The Critical Medicare Planning Guide
How to Make Smart Enrollment, Coverage, and Tax Decisions — and Avoid Hidden Costs Most people spend decades planning for retirement — saving diligently, optimizing investments, and running projections — but overlook one of the biggest financial decisions they’ll ever make: how to handle Medicare. For many, Medicare is something you “just sign up for […]
Mega Backdoor Roth 401(k): Why “Maxing Out” Isn’t Really Maxing Out
Every January, the IRS updates retirement contribution limits. Every spring, high earners have the same conversation with their CPA: “You’ve maxed out your 401(k) contributions for the year. Congratulations.” But for business owners and executives, that’s rarely how it feels. Because “maxing out” in 2025 means an elective deferral of $23,500 (or $31,000 if you’re […]
Choosing the Right Advisors as a Business Owner: The Difference Between Confidence and Costly Mistakes
“We are a lonely people who are bad about talking about a very lonely topic: money.”— Meghaan Lurtz, PhD in Personal Financial Planning “Your work as advisors is critical—not just to business success, but for well-being.” If you’ve built a business, you know how to solve problems. You’ve figured out how to hire, fire, market, […]
The Best-Kept Tax Secret for Business Owners: What You Need to Know About Qualified Small Business Stock
You could sell your business and legally pay $0 in federal capital gains taxes on millions of dollars. Sounds too good to be true? It’s not. But it is complicated—and very few business owners understand how to actually take advantage of this powerful tax break. The strategy?Qualified Small Business Stock. If you’re building a company—especially […]
ESOPs: The Misunderstood Exit Strategy Every Business Owner Should Know
You’ve spent decades building your business—nurturing it through growing pains, taking risks, reinvesting every dollar, and turning it into something worth protecting. And now, the question lingers: “How do I eventually exit my business without losing control, paying unnecessary taxes, or selling to someone who doesn’t care about my legacy?” For many owners, the obvious […]
You Just Inherited an IRA — Now What?
A Business Owner’s Guide to Navigating Inherited IRAs and Roth IRAs with Strategy and Heart You’ve spent your life making decisions — big ones — under pressure. You’ve made payroll when things were tight, reinvested when others would’ve walked away, and carried the weight of your business and your family on your shoulders. But nothing […]