Life After The Family Business

A Story of Financial Success

There’s a feeling: You’re living the dream and you’ve got the cat by the tail. Which is awesome. Except you’re not totally sure where the cat is headed…

That was Sam and Gail.

Sam and Gail were in their 50’s and had spent 20 years building a successful, multi-million dollar business. Now they were ready to step back from their roles in the day-to-day family business and make room for more enjoyment in their lives. But how?

They worked with a business consultant to put a management team in place. Then they looked at their finances. They were confused – and a bit anxious.

Bringing All the Financial Pieces Together

Sam and Gail’s investments, insurance and mortgages were all managed separately. That’s the way it is with many people. However, without one plan that looked at how all the pieces fit together, they struggled to see a clear path to stepping away and letting someone else manage the impressive family business they’d built from scratch. Should they sell the business outright? If so, how much would they need to make it worthwhile? Without a comprehensive, big-picture view, the cat was clearly in charge.

When Sam and Gail started working with us at The Lifestyle Protector, we brought our unique approach and viewed their personal and professional finances together, all at once and in the same place. We reviewed their existing investments and insurance coverage so we knew what contributed to growth, what offered financial and lifestyle protection for them and for their future generations. We helped them fully leverage tax strategies both personally and professionally, and as they better understood their position and got clear on the options, they set new financial priorities.

In Control and On Track

Today Sam and Gail are confident, in control and on track to achieve both their investment and mortgage repayment goals. They also have a singular view of their finances that is updated regularly and managed by one, awesome person who they talk to regularly. They have managed a transition strategy for their family business: one that gives them more free time without compromising the business.

Oh yes: Sam and Gail are hugely enjoying their lives. And the cat now knows who’s boss.

Lynn worked hard to understand our overall picture. The overall plan she prepared for us was straightforward to understand and follow. She helped us feel at ease with the process – something we weren’t entirely sure of when we started.

We looked at selling the business to create the amount of money we’d need for retirement. But, with Lynn’s guidance, we decided that we would instead be able to annually transfer lump-sums of money from our operating company to the holding company to grow our personal assets to a sufficient level for us to choose to work or not and not have to sell the business. We also now know our target return required on our investments to sustain our lifestyle. We know the mortgage repayment priorities for our personal and investment properties. For the first time, we also understood why a whole life insurance policy made sense for our family and the amount we needed it to be to protect our assets for our kids and grandkids.

We’d recommend having Lynn on your team. She’ll help you get a good understanding of your personal financial affairs. She’ll help you implement what you need to implement to achieve your goals. And, she’ll stay in touch.

Sam and Gail

Tagged as: Success Stories