There is something that happens to business owners every September.
The pace changes.
The phones are still ringing, the business is still moving, and there are still three months left in the year, but suddenly, December doesn’t seem quite so far away.
That’s when the questions start.
How much are we going to owe in taxes? What can we buy before the end of the year? Should we make another investment? What should we do before December 31st?
Those are good questions. But after nearly three decades of working with business owners, I’ve learned that the most important questions usually aren’t the ones people ask first.
The better question is this: What have you built this year, and is it still protected the way you think it is?
Your business probably doesn’t look exactly the way it did twelve months ago. Maybe you’ve grown. Maybe you’ve hired people, purchased equipment, acquired property, added another business, or accumulated more wealth. Maybe your children are older. Maybe your priorities have changed.
Yet many business owners are still operating under the same structure and plan they created years ago.
That’s where problems begin.
We tend to think of business structures, asset protection and estate plans as things we create once and then put away in a drawer. But life doesn’t work that way. Businesses change, families change, wealth changes, risks change.
Your plan should change with them.
Consider what would happen if you couldn’t walk into your office tomorrow.
Who would know what to do?
Who has authority to make decisions? Who knows what the business owns? Who understands the accounts, contracts and obligations? What happens to your ownership interest? And does your estate plan actually coordinate with the way your business and assets are structured?
Most business owners have never really thought through those questions.
They’ve been too busy building the business. And that’s understandable. Building something takes focus. But eventually, there comes a point when protecting what you’ve built becomes just as important as building it.
That’s why I believe the fourth quarter should be about more than taxes.
Taxes matter. But so do lawsuits. So does estate planning. So does succession. So does making sure the wealth you’ve created actually makes it to the people you intended to receive it.
At Controllers, Ltd., we often say that we solve the three things that keep successful people up at night: taxes, lawsuits and estate planning.
Those three issues are connected.
The decisions you make about your business structure can affect your taxes. The way you own your assets can affect your protection. The way you structure your business and estate can determine what happens to everything you’ve spent years building.
You don’t have to wait until something goes wrong to discover that the pieces don’t fit together. September is a good time to stop, take a breath, and look at the bigger picture. Before the year ends, ask yourself a simple question: If everything I’ve worked for continues to grow, is my plan growing with it?
If the answer isn’t an immediate yes, you may have some work to do before the calendar turns to another year. Because building wealth is only half the job. The other half is making sure what you’ve built can survive you.
Take the Next Step
If you haven’t reviewed your business structure, asset protection strategy and estate plan this year, don’t wait until December to find out something needs to change.
Call Controllers, Ltd. or schedule a complimentary consultation with our team. We’ll sit down with you, look at where you are today, identify potential gaps, and help you determine what should be addressed before the year comes to a close.
You worked too hard to build your business and your wealth to leave the future to chance.
Let’s make sure what you’ve built is positioned to protect you, your family, and the legacy you’re creating.
