Customized strategies for business owners and entrepreneurs

Business Owner Services

Owning your own business offers many rewards but also involves some of the most complex issues that individuals or families will face in their lifetime.

• How will I transition my business?
• Are there family members who wish to carry on the business?
• What would happen to the business if I died or became disabled today?
• How do I attract and retain good employees?
• What benefit plans should I offer employees?
• Which retirement plan offers employees the greatest flexibility, while also benefiting myself and other key employees?
• How and when should I sell my business?
• When should a business broker be retained?
• What is the most tax-efficient way to sell my business?
• What does my retirement picture look like?
• Will I need all the proceeds from a sale to fund my retirement, or can I invest in other ventures?

These are just a few of the issues facing business owners that I have the experience to assist with.

Succession Planning 
As a business owner it is imperative that you develop a clear and precise plan for transitioning from active owner to being retired. It is equally important to know what will happen with your life's work if you die prematurely or become disabled. Simply put, succession planning helps provide for the orderly continuation of a business entity!

Investment Banking 
We have experts in our Investment Banking division who can assist business owners in acquiring another business, leveraged buy-outs, recapitalization, structuring corporate debt, IPO, venture capital, and mergers and acquisitions.

Retirement Plans 
Which plan is right for my business? Is my current plan still the best alternative? As a Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist, I explore each option available for each individual case before making a recommendation. I also work with the owner's tax advisor to assure that he or she is up to speed on which plan is chosen and why it is appropriate for our mutual client. Looking beyond the 401(k), I assist and explore Profit Sharing Plans, Safe Harbor Plans, Simple IRAs, Deferred Compensation Plans, Defined Benefit Plans, 419(i) Welfare Benefit Plans and 412(i) Plans.

Estate Planning 
In most cases ownership of a closely held business will represent the single largest asset of a business owner's estate. So no plan is complete until this asset is protected and preserved for its heirs. Without planning, huge portions of estates are often sacrificed to taxes. The law requires that these taxes be paid in cash, usually within nine months after death. Since a closely held business for the most part is illiquid, heirs may have to hold a fire sale in order to raise cash to pay the estate taxes. There are many strategies and techniques that I am able to explore with the owner and his attorney. If the owner does not currently have an estate planning attorney, I am also able to assist him or her with finding a competent professional.

Services Include

• Retirement Plans
• Personalized Wealth & Investment Management for Business Owners
• Risk Management
• Banking & Lending Solutions¹
• Insurance & Annuities²
• Estate Planning
• Charitable Giving
• Cash Management

¹ Lending Services provided by Raymond James Bank, member FDIC, affiliated with Raymond James Financial Services and Raymond James & Associates, Inc. Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., and your Raymond James Financial Advisor do not solicit or offer residential mortgage products and are unable to accept any residential mortgage loan applications or to offer or negotiate terms of any such loan. You will be put into contact with a Raymond James Bank employee for your residential mortgage needs.

² Insurance and annuities offered through Raymond James Insurance Group. Raymond James & Associates, Inc., and Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. are affiliated with Raymond James Insurance Group.

Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax advice. You should discuss any tax matters with the appropriate professional.