Services for Business Owners

The success of most businesses is tied to the talent, passion and work ethics of key executives. Executive benefit packages can help you attract, motivate, and retain high-caliber employees and keep your company healthy and stable. We have expertise working with businesses around the country to assess, develop, and implement attractive executive benefits programs, such as: non-qualified plans, supplemental employee retirement plans, split dollar plans, and more.

In a small business, every employee matters. Benefits ensure your employees are dedicated to staying with and growing your business. Although a need for income leads candidates to apply, it is the benefits that motivate them to stay.  No office or business can run smoothly without the help of administrative staff, managers, assistants, etc.  This team is what keeps your clients satisfied, your schedule full, and revenue coming in the door.  We work with you to help you assess which benefits are best for your business and how to implement them according to your company goals.

Have you thought about selling or winding down your business at some point in the future?

Every business is unique. Transitioning your business will be a unique process as well. A properly designed succession plan will enhance your personal financial security, maintain harmony among your staff, and help realize the maximum value you are able to derive from your business. We work with successful businesses to refine and implement a succession strategy tailored to your business with the intention of maximizing the value you receive from your business. Successful succession planning allows owners to leave their business on their own terms and according to their own timeframe by preparing their company appropriately to be smoothly transferred to family members, key employees, an outside party, or even a charity.

Do you have an executive, vital employee, or team member who is critical to your business operating and running smoothly? Key person insurance is designed to indemnify your business against the loss of a key employee, whether through an illness, death, or disability, so that your business is equipped to continue operating with minimal impact. Proper key person coverage can protect your business against cash flow problems due to losses in sales, momentum, and available credit by helping to assure business continuity for you, your employees, customers, and creditors. In addition, it can be essential to efforts to recruit and develop a replacement for the key employee. We will work with you and your businesses to assess your situation and protect the continuity of your business operations.

Does your business have a buy-sell agreement that preserves and protects your ownership interest? Has it been reviewed in the past three years to make sure that it is still current with the evolution or growth your business has experienced over time, updates to local laws, and changes in the personal lives of any owners? Have you ensured that it is correctly funded? These are some of the common items we cover when working with businesses to make sure that we do not leave a “stone unturned.” Many cases of ownership transfer issues, such as the spouse of another owner inheriting a significant part of your business, for example, can be avoided with a properly positioned buy-sell agreement.

Simply put, a buy–sell agreement is a legally binding agreement between co-owners of a business that governs the situation if a co-owner dies, is disabled, or leaves the business. The details are important when making sure that these are properly crafted and funded. Doing so ensures a smooth transfer of ownership of the business, as well as stability and confidence amongst the owners. We will work with you to evaluate, implement, and fund a buy-sell agreement to protect your interests and the integrity of your business.

Do you wish to reduce current taxes and build a source of income for yourself in the future? Have you wondered how to retain key employees by incentivizing them to stay? Deferred compensation arrangements are popular tools used to defer income taxes for you or highly compensated employees, and by doing so, retain key talent. Examples of deferred compensation include pensions, retirement plans, and employee stock options, which, essentially,  are arrangements in which a portion of either your income or your employee’s income is paid out at a date in the future.

We can help you design a deferred compensation plan that can be used as a flexible way to attract and incentivize key employees or to benefit your personal financial and tax situation.