How I Work With Business Owners

 

Business owners rarely have just one financial problem.

A retirement decision may depend upon the value and transferability of the business. A succession decision may depend upon whether key employees remain. A disability may affect the owner's personal income, the operation of the company, and ultimately the value of the enterprise. A tax decision may improve one area while creating unintended consequences somewhere else.

 

That's why I don't begin with a product — or even with a predetermined planning solution.

 

I begin by determining which decisions need to be made.

 

Business & Financial Decision Architecture™

 

My work with business owners is centered on Business & Financial Decision Architecture™ — a structured approach to identifying important business and financial decisions, measuring their consequences, and helping owners determine which issues require action now, which require additional professional coordination, and which can appropriately be deferred.

 

The objective isn't to make every possible decision.

 

It's to make the right decisions, in the right order, with the right information.

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The Five Ways Out of a Business

 

Every business owner will eventually leave the business in one of five ways:

• Death

• Disability

• Retirement

• Voluntary Sale

• Bankruptcy or Divorce

 

Some are planned. Others aren't.

Each can affect the owner, the owner's family, employees, customers, creditors, business partners, and the value of the enterprise itself.

 

Rather than treating these possibilities as isolated planning topics, I help business owners examine how they interact.

 

That may include questions such as:

• What happens to the business if the owner dies or becomes disabled?

• Can the company continue operating without the owner's daily involvement?

• Can the owner retire at the desired level of after-tax cash flow without being forced to sell the business?

• What makes the business valuable and transferable to somebody else?

• Which employees or executives are critical to preserving enterprise value?

• How should ownership ultimately be retained, transferred, or sold?

• Where could taxes, debt, litigation, or other financial obligations create unnecessary pressure?

• Which risks should be retained, transferred, reduced, or addressed through better planning?

 

Not every business owner needs to address every issue at once.

 

The purpose is to determine which conversation needs to happen next.

A Structured Engagement — Not a Product Presentation

 

My consulting engagements are designed to separate analysis and decision-making from the sale of financial products.

 

Depending upon the circumstances, the process may include:

 

Discovery
Understanding the business, the owner, existing arrangements, objectives, and concerns.

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Analysis
Examining the owner's present position and identifying financial, operational, and transfer-related consequences.

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Findings & Consequences Review
Showing what the existing structure means before discussing what should change.

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Initial Decisions
Determining which areas should move forward, which require additional investigation or professional coordination, and which can be deferred.

​

Design & Implementation
Developing specific strategies only after the underlying decisions have been made.

 

Ongoing Maintenance
Reviewing planning as the business, ownership, laws, finances, and objectives change.

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Working With Your Existing Professionals

 

Comprehensive business planning frequently crosses professional boundaries.

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Attorneys address legal documents and agreements. CPAs and tax professionals address tax reporting and tax advice. Investment professionals address securities. Insurance professionals address risk-transfer strategies and insurance contracts.

My role is not to replace those professionals.

 

My role is to help identify the decisions that need to be made, provide analysis within the scope of my engagement, and coordinate with the appropriate professionals when their expertise is required.

 

Planning Should Begin With the Problem

 

Financial services often begin with a solution:

• A retirement plan.

• A life insurance policy.

• An investment account.

• A buy-sell agreement.

• An executive benefit program.

• An ESOP.

• A business sale.

Any of those may ultimately be appropriate.

 

But the existence of a solution doesn't establish that it solves the business owner's most important problem.

 

The problem comes first.

 

Then we determine the consequences of the present position.

 

Then the owner decides what needs to change.

 

Only then should specific strategies, professionals, and financial tools enter the conversation.

 

Where Do We Start?

 

We start with the business owner — not the product.

 

What are you trying to accomplish?

 

What have you already built?

 

What happens if nothing changes?

 

Which decisions are important today?

 

Which decisions can wait?

 

And which questions haven't been asked yet?

 

That's Business & Financial Decision Architecture™.

David Kinder
David H. Kinder, CLU®, ChFC®

Business & Financial Decision Architecture

See Clearly. Decide Confidently. Design Intentionally.

David Kinder Financial Consulting and Analysis Services
David Kinder Insurance and Financial Wealth Solutions