CFP, ChFC, AEP, CLU
I started doing this work about 17 years ago. When I began I was basically providing personal financial advice for families—helping them protect their incomes in case of death or disability, save for their retirement and the education of their children. And while this work was satisfying and important, I noticed that my best entrepreneurial clients wanted and needed more. The planning we were doing helped lay a critical foundation but it was incomplete. My clients were not planning as fully for themselves as they had planned for their businesses. They knew that there were still too many unanswered questions:
“How, when and to whom am I going to sell my business; can the business successfully create financial independence and leave a legacy for my family?”
“What if government regulation or disruptive innovation impacts my business; how financially prepared am I for the next Great Recession?”
“How do I attract the best and brightest to help me realize my strategic vision; how do I align my employees and key talent with my strategic vision?”
“Am I doing everything I can to minimize the impact of taxes; do I need to provide better benefits?”
With these questions unanswered my clients were anxious about the future, prone to losing key talent, and, in some cases, unable to transition away from their businesses. I decided I wanted to learn more and invest in my own capabilities in order to address these and other critical challenges. I went back to school, so to speak, and accrued a number of credentials, including the CFP® certification and AEP ® designation and achieved the title Estate and Business Planning Specialist. This allowed me to comprehensively address the issues of today’s entrepreneurs and C-suite executives. As a result, I’m now doing focused work nationally, not only for my clients, but also for other advisors’ clients, ensuring that they have a solid financial foundation, and are empowered to confidently and deliberately plan for their businesses’ success.
