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exit strategy

Financial Planning

15 July 2021
Glenn Perkins
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Categories: Analysis and strategies, Asset Management and protection, Exit Strategy, finances, Retirement and estate planning

Financial planner and wealth advisor Stephen Grochol of SGC Financial Services presented at the Executive Forum Silicon Valley in 2021 about all major six areas of financial planning: Current financial position, retirement planning, insurance protection planning, investment planning, estate planning and tax planning. 

To put all pieces together AND to accomplish one’s retirement goals, these steps need to be taken:

  1. Identifying goals
  2. Gathering data
  3. Analysis and planning
  4. Develop solutions
  5. Implement strategies
  6. Review (quarterly)

Current financial situation

“You don’t know where you are going if you don’t know where you are…” said Mr. Grochol.  Whether an individual or a couple, the first place to start is a current year’s balance sheet that breaks down assets and liabilities, as well as percentage for asset types such as cash, taxable investments, qualified retirement, life insurance and real estate. This first step is to:

  • Determine current income and expenses
  • Determine current and projected net worth
  • Establish an emergency fund

Retirement planning

To prepare for retirement, you need to 

  • Estimate retirement income and expenses
  • Determine retirement savings needs
  • Determine how to distribute your retirement funds

To determine if an individual or a couple have enough funds for retirement, projections will be made for possible retirement preferences such as 

  • When you can retire: early, late, or on time
  • Spending levels during retirement
  • Risk analysis for various market conditions
  • Remaining assets for your estate

Insurance planning

The purpose of insurance planning is for

  • Providing for your family in the event of death
  • Protecting your income in the event of disability

For most of the aging retirees, long term care costs can be significant without adequate long term care insurance. In the event of disability, not only will there be substantial draining of wealth, but there is also the opportunity cost as the lost investment growth on the money used for paying for care from income or from existing investments. It is important to do the following planning long before retirement:

  • Longer term care insurance planning
  • Life insurance effect on protection planning and estate transfer
  • Long term disability
  • Health insurance
  • Liability insurance

Investment planning

One important way of wealth accumulation is through investment, which requires one to 

  • Assess your risk tolerance
  • Design an asset allocation strategy
  • Evaluate investment strategies
  • Fund college education or a home purchase

Asset allocation depends on each person’s risk tolerance. Mr. Grochol presented this question for members of the Executive Forum to determine their own risk tolerance:

Which of the following statements would best describe your reaction if the value of your portfolio were to suddenly decline by 15%?

  1. I would be very concerned because I can’t accept fluctuations in the value of my portfolio.
  2. If the amount of income I receive was unaffected, it wouldn’t bother me. 
  3. Although I invest for long-term growth, even a temporary decline would concern me.
  4. Although I invest for long-term growth, I would accept temporary fluctuations due to market influences.

Estate Planning

The purpose of estate planning is to:

  • Transfer your estate according to your wishes
  • Minimize estate taxes and expenses
  • Fund estate taxes

To avoid costly and prolonged probate, these documents need to be prepared in advance of one’s death:

  • Trust
  • Last Will and Testament
  • Power of Attorney
  • Health Care Directive
  • Charitable Remainder Trust

Tax planning

  • Project federal income taxes
  • Evaluate tax-minimizing strategies
  • Investigate tax-favored investments

With every financial decision and recommendation in a financial plan, tax planning needs to be strongly considered in all areas and at every phase.

Please email Stephen Grochol at stephen.grochol@sgc-financial.co, or call: (650) 227-0380

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At Executive Forums Silicon Valley, selected business owners and leaders work together to gain clarity, insight and accountability to ignite their leadership engines, grow their businesses and improve their lives. If you are interested in learning more about Business Owner Advisory Boards, Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), Stages of Growth, Value Builder System or becoming a member at Executive Forum Silicon Valley, please contact Glenn Perkins gperkins@executiveforums.com or call 408-901-0321. For more information visit http://www.execforumssv.com/.

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Justification for Your Next Vacation

23 July 2020
Glenn Perkins
No comments
Categories: Accountability, Exit Strategy, Insight, Leadership, Process & Procedures, system, Team Building

Perhaps the best way to succeed in your business, is to work yourself out of your business.

The better your company runs on autopilot, the more valuable it will be when you’re ready to sell or transition. 

A recent survey by The Value Builder Score found companies that would perform well without their owner for a period of three months are 50 percent more likely to get an offer to be acquired when compared to more owner-dependent businesses. 

Let your vacation be a detective

There is no better justification for taking a blissful, uninterrupted holiday than to see how your company performs in your absence. To gauge your company’s ability to handle your absence, start by taking a vacation. Leave your computer at home and switch off your mobile. Upon your return, you’ll probably discover that your employees got resourceful and found answers to a lot of the questions they would have asked you if you had been in the building or on the end of an email or telephone call. That’s a good thing and a sign you should start planning an even longer vacation.

You’ll also likely come back to an inbox full of issues that need your personal attention. Instead of busily finding answers to each problem in a frenzied attempt to clean up your inbox, slow down and look at each issue through the lens of a possible problem with your people, systems or authorizations. 

People – start with your people and answer the following questions:

  • Why did this issue or problem end up on my desk?
  • Who else is qualified to answer this question?
  • Why did the organization not contact and consult that person?
  • If nobody is qualified, who can be trained for the future?

In my many years of leading and working with companies, growing the capability of the team is the most important role of the leader. 

Systems – next, look at your systems and procedures: 

  • Could the issue have been dealt with if you had a system or a set of rules in place?
  • Whose department or area should be accountable for developing that system?
  • Can this issue be solved with system automation to remove the human element? 

The best systems are hardwired and do not require human interpretation; but if you’re not able to lock down a technical fix, then at least give employees a set of rules to follow in the future.

Authorizations – You may be a bottleneck in your own company if you’re trying to control all the spending too much. 

  • Did the employees know what to do but did not have any means of paying for the fix?
  • Can you put in customer service rules with financial limits of authority?

You might empower (and encourage) an employee to spend a specific amount with a specific supplier each month without coming to you first for authorizing every payment.  Or you might give an employee an annual budget, an amount they can spend without seeking your approval. 

Let your vacation strengthen your company

Given the fires that may need to be extinguished after the fact, taking a holiday may seem more of a hassle than it’s worth. But don’t be fooled – if you transform the aftermath of a vacation into systems and training that allow employees to act on their own, you’ll find the vacation is worth what you paid for it many times over. Your company will increase in value as it becomes less dependent on you personally. 

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At Executive Forums Silicon Valley, selected business owners and leaders work together to gain clarity, insight and accountability to ignite their leadership engines, grow their businesses and improve their lives. If you are interested in learning more about Business Owner Advisory Boards, Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), Stages of Growth, Value Builder System or becoming a member at Executive Forum Silicon Valley, please contact gperkins@executiveforums.com or call 408-901-0321. For more information visit http://www.execforumssv.com/.

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