Running a business creates financial decisions on two levels. Choices about cash flow, employee benefits, retirement plans, investments, risk management, taxes, and succession can affect both the business and your personal financial future.

I help business owners and self-employed professionals bring those decisions together. We start by clarifying what matters to you, identifying the decisions that deserve attention, and coordinating the appropriate professionals. Then I align the investment strategy and retirement-plan work with the plan.

Connect the Business With Your Personal Financial Plan

A business decision rarely stays inside the business. A change in compensation can affect taxes and savings. A retirement plan can affect employees, company cash flow, and the owner’s personal goals. A succession decision can change investment, insurance, estate-planning, and family priorities.

Coordinated planning helps you evaluate those connections before acting. Depending on your needs, the planning process may address:

• Personal and business goals, including the priorities that need attention now and those that can wait
• Business and personal cash flow, liquidity, and savings decisions
• Workplace retirement plans and owner contribution strategies
• Personal and business investments and risk-management considerations
• Tax and estate-planning considerations coordinated with the appropriate professionals
• Succession, continuity, or exit priorities and their effect on the owner’s financial plan
• What Coordination Can Help You Do
• See how a business decision may affect your personal financial goals
• Compare options and understand the tradeoffs before making a commitment
• Identify gaps, overlapping responsibilities, and decisions that have been postponed
• Keep your advisor, accountant, attorney, plan providers, and other specialists working from the same set of priorities
• Create clear next steps and review them as the business and your personal circumstances change

Workplace Retirement Plans

A workplace retirement plan can support employees and advance the owner’s goals, but the design should reflect the company’s cash flow, workforce, contribution objectives, and administrative capacity. I help business owners evaluate an existing plan or consider a new one, then coordinate the work with the plan’s service providers.

Plan Design and Provider Coordination

• Compare plan types and design features, including 401(k), Safe Harbor and QACA designs, profit sharing, SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), Cash Balance or Defined Benefit plans, and 403(b) plans for eligible organizations
• Coordinate with the third-party administrator, recordkeeper, payroll provider, and tax professional
• Review features such as Roth contributions, automatic enrollment, automatic escalation, eligibility, vesting, and employer contributions
• Help organize responsibilities related to testing, participant notices, distributions, and Form 5500 support with the appropriate providers
• Investment Oversight and Employee Support
• Develop or review an Investment Policy Statement and a documented investment-review process
• Evaluate the investment menu, qualified default investment alternative, capital-preservation choices, fees, and service providers
• Coordinate fee benchmarking, provider reviews, and requests for proposals when appropriate
• Provide employee enrollment support, education, and access to individual guidance when included in the service arrangement
• Provide fiduciary investment support in a 3(21) or 3(38) capacity when available and defined in the applicable service agreement

Plan Features Worth Considering

Roth contributions. Some workplace, SIMPLE, and SEP arrangements may offer Roth contributions, giving eligible participants another way to manage the timing of taxes. Availability depends on the plan document and provider.

Automatic enrollment and escalation. These features may improve participation and help employees increase savings over time. The plan’s administrator and legal or tax professionals should confirm current requirements and available exceptions.

Safe Harbor design. A Safe Harbor 401(k) may reduce or eliminate certain annual nondiscrimination testing requirements when the plan satisfies the applicable contribution, notice, and vesting rules.

Planning Options for the Self-Employed

Self-employed professionals and owner-only businesses often have several ways to save for retirement. The right structure depends on income, desired contribution level, employee status, funding consistency, tax considerations, and the amount of administration you are willing to manage.

I help compare the options, model the effect on cash flow, and coordinate implementation with the plan provider and tax professional.

A Team-Based Process

I remain your primary point of contact and help keep the work organized. Partnered CFP® professionals can support financial-plan analysis and review. We can also work with your existing accountant, attorney, payroll provider, third-party administrator, recordkeeper, insurance professional, or benefits specialist. If you need a specialist, we can help connect you with independent professionals in our network, and you decide whom to engage.

Tax preparation, legal services, plan administration, actuarial work, and insurance services are provided independently by the professional or firm engaged for that work. I coordinate those recommendations with the financial plan but do not personally prepare tax returns or practice law.

How We Work Together

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you only work with business owners who are preparing to retire or sell the business

No. I work with business owners at different stages, including those building the business, managing employee benefits, improving an existing retirement plan, accumulating personal wealth, or considering a future transition. Retirement may be one goal, but it does not have to be the immediate focus.

Can you review an existing company retirement plan

Yes. The review may include plan design, participation, investments, fees, service providers, employee education, and the owner’s objectives. I can then help identify practical improvements and coordinate follow-up with the plan’s providers.

What if I am self-employed and have no employees

We can compare options such as a Solo 401(k), SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA where applicable, or a Cash Balance or Defined Benefit plan. The comparison should consider income, contribution goals, cash-flow flexibility, administrative requirements, and tax guidance from your tax professional.

Can you work with my current accountant attorney and plan providers

Yes. If you already have professionals you trust, I can coordinate with them. If a specialist is missing, we can help introduce you to an independent professional in our network, and you decide whom to engage.

Do you provide tax or legal services

I incorporate tax and estate-planning considerations into the financial-planning process, but tax preparation and legal services are provided independently by the professionals you engage. My role is to coordinate their recommendations with the financial plan so the pieces remain connected.

Can employees receive education or individual guidance

Employee education, enrollment support, and individual guidance may be included depending on the plan’s service arrangement. The goal is to help participants understand the plan and make informed decisions about participation and investments.

Start With a Conversation

Whether you are reviewing an existing retirement plan, considering a new one, or trying to connect your business decisions with your personal financial goals, the first step is identifying what matters most and what deserves attention next.