Top 3 Reasons To Consider Adding Business Planning To Your Financial Advising Practice

As of 2022, there were 31 million entrepreneurs in the U.S. which is about 16% of the adult workforce, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. However, about 55% of adults have started a business at some point in their lives, and 26% have started two or more businesses.

Where would those 55% of adults be today if they had help in planning and problem solving for their business?

Here at Consolidated Planning, we understand that as a financial advisor you are always looking for ways to do and be more. Our resources and planning philosophy in place help you do just that, all while building a thriving practice that focuses on maximizing the impact for your clients.

One way to expand your practice is through business planning. We’ll take a look at what makes business owners such great clients, how to provide solutions for their problems, and ultimately if you have a market of business owners to approach in further building out your practice.

 

Why Are Business Owners Great Financial Advising Clients?

Typically being a business owner is more than a full-time job and with that poses unique challenges for business owners.

So, you might be wondering, how can these challenges fit into your career as a financial advisor?

REASON #1 BUSINESS OWNERS HAVE MORE RESPONSIBILITIES

More responsibilities.

Equals more problems.

Equals more problem solving.

A general rule of thumb is that people who are responsible for others in life make some of the best clients. Business owners are a perfect example of this. 

Why is that? 

Aside from having their own families to consider, business owners also have their employees and their families to think about.

That weight of responsibility can keep business owners up at night.

But the good news is, you can help solve this.

Business owners need someone to help solve the issues that keep them up at night and that someone is one trusted financial advisor. Unlike a regular planning client, there is always something that needs solving for a business owner, including:

• Keeping their best people
• Ensuring their business will be okay if something happens to them
• Ensuring their family will be okay if something happens to them
• Preparation to sell their business
• How to minimize the rate of income taxes
• Estate planning

With so much to manage, business owners might not have the unique ability or the time to adequately solve these problems. What they do have is the resources, specifically more money, to solve these problems.

 

REASON #2 BUSINESS OWNERS CAN FEEL SILOED

If your goal is to build a consultative, not transactional practice, you will act as your client’s one trusted financial advisor.

Getting to the point of being a trusted advisor to a business owner in particular can take an extended amount of time.

Business owners oftentimes struggle with feeling siloed, like they can’t openly talk with others about what they need in their future. This can be true for various reasons:

• They want to ensure they present a certain image
• They want to maintain a certain level of control over their business

While very valid reasons, your unique ability as a financial advisor is building relationships and conveying complex information in a simple way.

These are two things business owners need from you to help ensure the financial success of their business.

Simply selling products won’t solve anything here. And frankly, leading with products almost never solves the root of a client’s needs.

But, delivering long-lasting and meaningful solutions with specific attention to a business owner’s needs and goals will. These solutions can help ease their worries and address any issues the future may bring to their business.

Speaking of the future, that is where business owners spend a lot of time and energy.

 

REASON #3 BUSINESS OWNERS ARE FUTURE-BASED

We’re willing to bet that at some point you’ve worked with clients who were short sighted when it came to the future of their financial wellness.

Depending on the planning philosophy at your firm, this can make it tough to adequately plan for a client’s financial outlook beyond the here and now.

While the here and now is an important place to be, true planning means looking to the future and assessing two things:

• What is an ideal financial picture
• What is an unacceptable financial picture

The thing about business owners is they are always future-based. Unless they are experiencing turmoil in the short-term, their eyes are fixed at what’s ahead. Even beyond your typical planning client.

Just as you’re always wanting more in your financial advising career, business owners are constantly trying to gauge where they want to be next – for their business, their families, and their employees.

True planning lies in the future and while that can be a frustrating place to be, it’s essential for the longevity of a business owner’s livelihood. And you can meet them there.

 

Getting Started With Business Planning

Meeting them there doesn’t mean you will have all of the tools to solve these problems. Planning for businesses and business owners is a multidisciplinary sport and no one person is expected to know how to do it all.

Rather than learning how to navigate the business markets alone, advisors at Consolidated Planning utilize The Business Owner Strategic Solutions (BOSS) team. These individuals have a collective knowledge of all things related to business owners and their success.

Not knowing the nuances involved with planning for business owners doesn’t mean you have to limit your growth and income potential when it comes to entering the business markets. 

Before determining if business planning is right for your practice, it’s ideal to take inventory of your current business relationships, including:

• Who they are
• Industry of business
• Size of business
• Number of employees
• What we think the first problem might be

 

Expanding Your Practice Through Business Planning

Because business owners make such great clients, adding business planning to your financial advising practice might be the next normal progression in your career.

Or it may not.

Depending on your markets, and center of influence, there might not be enough business owners within your network. However, not knowing business owners and being afraid to start the conversation are two different things.

As a financial advisor, you can provide an objective perspective and help business owners make informed decisions based on facts and data, rather than emotionally driven decisions.

If you want to help business owners make strategic financial decisions, Consolidated Planning might be the firm to help you navigate planning for business owners, and beyond.

Reach out to our team of recruiters to learn about more ways to build a thriving practice.

 

 

 

2023-153920 Exp. 4/2025