BUSINESS PLANNING
You know what it takes to build a successful business. It takes vision, preparedness, skills and desire — not to mention a focused dedication to achieving your goals. If your clients are like most business owners, they’ve worked hard and made many sacrifices to grow their business. That's why they should put just as much energy into protecting it as they did building it.
Most business owners spend the majority of their time working in their business instead of on their business. We will help advisors ensure that the business protection needs of their clients, that are critical to the long-term success of their business, are taken care of.
Business
Valuation
Business
Protection
Financial Management
Business Succession Planning
Succession Planning: A Blueprint for Your Clients' Future
At CFG Brokerage Network, we will support advisors to ensure the smooth transfer of their client’s business to its successors at retirement, death, or disability. It's all part of succession planning, which is based on a properly designed and funded buysell agreement. A buy-sell agreement can determine who takes over the business and at what value. Having a buy-sell plan in place can help eliminate potential conflicts among existing or future business partners. In most cases, it will also help ensure that continuing profits go to shareholders who are active in the business, rather than non-members or outside parties.
More importantly, upon the death of a shareholder, a buy-sell agreement makes certain that the shareholder's heirs receive a fair price for their interest. This also converts an illiquid interest into cash that can provide a stable income for surviving family members.
Let Us Help You Prepare Your Clients for Their Exit (even if it's years away ... )
To help ensure the viability of your client’s business and the financial freedom of their family for generations to come, let us show you appropriate design and funding alternatives for your client’s closely held business.
Business Valuation
At CFG Brokerage Network we work with advisors to help implement strategies that increase the overall value of their clients business.
The reality is most business owners don't know what their business is worth. That's because most business owners have never truly had their business valued*. Knowing what your clients business is worth is critical for proper business planning. For example, having an accurate business valuation can help eliminate conflict between a buyer and a seller (which may be two family members) when an owner wants to sell the business. It can help business owners better estimate their retirement nest-egg to more accordingly plan their retirement income strategy. And, it can prevent potential issues with the IRS when it comes time to pay estate taxes. Keep in mind that a proper business valuation is not a "rule of thumb," it's thoughtfully crafted by our team after thorough research and it's documented in writing.
Once a client has received a qualified business valuation, we will help you assist your client, a business owner, plan their future, develop a succession plan, and provide additional insight on the current position of their company.
Business Protection
CFG Brokerage Network will guide advisors in taking action with their clients to protect themselves and their business from the unexpected. Our team delivers options to protect their business against the loss of an owner, an essential employee, and other future uncertainties. Alongside the advisor, CFG Brokerage Network will help develop and implement these protection plans in order to help ensure that the success and vision of the business is not lost in the presence of unexpected events.
CFG Brokerage Network will assist advisors in the business protection process by:
Helping your clients protect their business from the unexpected death of key employees or owner(s).
Helping your clients protect their business if they become disabled
Helping protect their business from disability of key employees or owner(s)
As an advisor it is always important to be thinking about the NEXT STEPS:
Have Them Take Stock: Inventory the programs they already have implemented and determine a timeline to have them reviewed.
Review Personnel: Determine who their most valuable employees are. If those employees are critical to the success of their business, develop a strategy to make sure their business is protected in the event of death or disability.
Think Big Picture: Begin working with CFG Brokerage Network to outline your client's long-term personal and business financial goals. Planning for the unexpected is just as important as planning for your expected growth, diversification or even the sale of their business.
Financial Management
Financial management is as much about managing operational risks as it is about managing business objectives. Whether your clients' have a fresh start-up or well established enterprise, continued operational foresight that we can provide will ensure your clients' success and their roadmap for the future.
MassMutual does not provide accredited/certified business valuations. We can assist a client with an evaluation to assist in determining the funding needs of a buy/sell, but do not conduct a formal valuation. This needs to be conducted by an accredited valuation company/individual.