Goals Setting

Defining and communicating personal goals and aligning them with the future of the business.

A husband and wife team put their heart and soul into a business and it was finally growing fast – too fast! The business was consuming their life and they felt they could not go forward alone any longer. They went looking for a business coach – and found The Business Therapist®.

Challenge

The lives of the owners were being consumed by their growing business. The business value was building nicely but the owners’ personal wealth outside the business was minimal. The husband and wife team were starting to think about succession planning and retirement but realized they didn’t have the time or knowledge to move forward.

Solution

We started with a half day offsite session with the owners to gain clarity on their personal goals. Once we understood where they wanted to go personally, we then worked on achieving clarity of the vision and strategy for the business that was aligned with their personal goals.

We helped the owners move past a barrier which was in the way of preparing their personal wills.

We involved their accountant and created a structure to move cash out of the operating business with the tax minimized. The owners had a trusting relationship with their accountant and we helped implement a strategy for him to be more proactive with future business planning.

Our next move was to engage the next level of management in the business. The management needed to step up and take more responsibility so the business owners could free themselves..

Results

Once the owners were able to communicate their vision and strategy clearly to the key employees, these employees were also able to determine if the business’s future was aligned with their own personal goals. All except one stepped up to support the vision and take on more leadership responsibilities. Although losing one key employee was painful, it was a mutually beneficial activity for all.

We helped the husband and wife team get their financial affairs in order and created a program to “stash the cash” outside of their business to grow their personal wealth.

It was very rewarding for us to help this husband and wife team achieve clarity of direction, get their key people engaged and focused and allow the owners to start enjoying a life outside of the business.

Lessons

Defining and communicating personal goals and aligning them with the future of the business benefits everyone. The owners now enjoy more freedom from the business and are able to move forward with a new phase in their lives — either selling the business or transitioning it to the next generation.

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