Attention Women Entrepreneurs…

 Are You Protecting Your Business & Personal Assets Against Liability?

As a business owner, no doubt you’ve thought about your marketing and sales processes, you have customer support in place, and your operations manual is in order…but what about your financial model? 

Do you have health benefits in place to attract and keep quality employees? 

Are your personal assets creditor protected? 

How would your business continue if a key person became incapacitated?

You want to build a lifestyle that determines what your business looks like, not a business that dictates what your life looks like!

Whether your business is a sole proprietor, partnership, or corporation, as a female business owner you automatically face challenges.

·       Staying true to yourself despite society or industry expectations.

·       People assuming you are not the boss.

·       Competition for investment dollars.

·       Having the confidence to own your abilities.

·       Growing a support network of professionals.

·       Observing boundaries between business and personal life.

When I first met Linda, the owner of a city-wide janitorial company, she was apprehensive because her focus had been on growing her business and she knew she had neglected to address long-term planning issues.  But I could immediately sense her relief as she realized my strategy was one of no judgment and developing a consultative relationship.

Many of my clients are female business owners.  Linda soon learned that the strategies I recommended were just what she needed to get her and her business on track for profitably and protection.  It’s vital not only to grow assets but to protect them.

With my “can we give this process a name” process, I guided Linda through a gap analysis, discovering where her business and personal finances are today and exploring Linda’s hopes and dreams for the future.  Naturally this includes how she wishes to care for not only her family but her employees, too.

I created a flexible, step-by-step plan that gave Linda confidence in the coordination of her business and personal finances.

·       I was happy to learn that Linda had a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) in place, but because her bank had her investment in a high interest savings account, Carol actually recommended investing the funds in reputable mutual funds that were in line with Linda’s risk tolerance.

·       Linda had a will in place and up to date but decided she might want to rethink the executor that she had appointed since Carol shared with her recent changes to responsibilities. 

·       Carol calculated Linda’s retirement income need and Linda decided to increase her RRSP and TFSA contributions accordingly.

·       Seeing that segregated funds would be a better option for Linda’s RRSP account, I explained the advantages and disadvantages.

o   Maturity and death benefit guarantees

o   No fees payable at death

o   Faster payment to beneficiaries

o   Privacy

o   Creditor Protection

o   Higher Fee than Mutual Funds

·       Upon discussing the differences between sole proprietor and incorporation, I suggested it might be time for Linda to speak to her accountant and a lawyer about incorporating.  We talked about tax savings for corporations and investing within the corporation.

·       Currently Linda does not have health coverage and neither do most of her employees.  She would prefer not to use the traditional health benefit plans as she heard from other business owners they have to pay monthly and the premiums can jump based on usage.  So I suggested, based on her information, that if she incorporated, a health spending account might be ideal.  As the owner, she sets the yearly limits. It can be used for a wide range of medical benefits and the company only pays when the employees make a claim.

I continue to meet regularly with Linda, walking her through the ongoing process of reviewing her investments, answering questions, and making recommendations as her business grows. Linda has seen great results and relief about the financial stability for her future…and has since referred several colleagues from her networking circle for guidance and recommendations.

If you’re a woman entreprenuer looking for someone who understands what it takes to fill the gap in your financial model, contact me today at 519-461-0004 or carol@trickettfinancial.ca.  There is never any obligation.  One call could solidify your business finances and secure a sooner retirement.