Common Questions
- What if I already have a financial advisor?
- Your services are very comprehensive. What if I have an issue that requires immediate attention? Can you help me at the point where I need help now?
- How are you compensated?
- Do you work with business owners outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth Area?
- What kind of businesses do you work with?
- What size businesses do you work with?
- How do you obtain most of your clients?
- Can I speak with any of your clients if I am considering becoming a client?
What if I already have a financial advisor? Can I still become a client?
Yes. We recognize that many business owners already have a relationship with a financial advisor. Some financial advisors prefer to do little or no planning, but are very knowledgeable about insurance and investment solutions. Some advisors are not permitted to prepare non-product related financial analysis for a fee. Or, they are not permitted to provide revised financial analysis which we will need as we continue to work with you. Others do have the capability to provide significant, up-front, in-depth analysis which we will need. Regardless, we will augment the services that your advisor provides and work with him or her at the level of his/her service-offering capabilities. If you do not have a relationship with a financial advisor, we have the capability to provide some important up-front personal financial analysis, and will introduce you to financial advisor(s) to help you achieve your goals.
Your services are very comprehensive. What if I have an issue that requires immediate attention? Can you help me at the point where I need help now?
Yes- we can and often do. We ask for your patience and assistance as we gather the information we need in order to give you our best advice.
How are you compensated?
We are compensated in a number of ways, depending on the service we are providing. We begin with basic data gathering to determine your current position and what needs to be done. In this phase we charge a contract fee for specific deliverables, so you know exactly what you are committing to pay and what the deliverables will be. Once we have a clear picture of your current situation and goals, we will quote a contract fee for specific deliverables, or, we can work on an hourly rate.
In some circumstances, and for some situations, we offer consulting for an hourly rate, even before we have gathered basic data. Please recognize that we will have to learn about your situation and gather information before we can offer any information or advice.
If you do not have a financial advisor to prepare a financial analysis or to design the optimum insurance and investment portfolio selection, we can introduce you to professionals to assist you in those areas. We might accept fees from them for assisting you and them with your needs, depending on the circumstances. If your goal is to leave your business through a third party sale, we are in a position to introduce you to experienced, successful mergers and acquisitions professionals. In fact, after we have worked with you to grow your business, it is important that we help you here in order to maximize the success of the work we have done together. If they are successful in getting your sale to closing, and we anticipate that they would be, we will share in their success fee.
In certain circumstances we would consider deferring a portion of our fees until your business is sold (if you plan to sell your business). In that event, we would be compensated at closing and would share in a previously negotiated portion of your sales proceeds.
Do you work with business owners outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth Area?
We currently accept clients throughout Texas and would consider working with clients outside of the state, depending on the circumstances.
What kind of businesses do you work with?
Our clients are in manufacturing, wholesale distribution, and business to business services. Generally, main street retail and restaurants would not benefit from our service offerings, unless the business owners were to recognize the need to create personal wealth outside of the business.
What size businesses do you work with?
Our best clients have a burning desire to create real personal wealth. That means that they view their business as an asset to be nurtured and grown just like any other asset on their balance sheet, rather than only a generator of income. Generally, our clients’ businesses have gross revenues of $5 to $50MM. However, we can and do sometimes work with clients whose revenues are lower or higher than those parameters.
How do you obtain most of your clients?
Joan is frequently an invited guest speaker. Several of our clients met us as a result of Joan’s speaking engagements. Others are referred by their attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors, mergers and acquisition professionals, business valuations professionals, other professionals, and business owners.
Can I speak with any of your clients if I am considering becoming a client?
Yes, some of our clients who are growing their businesses would be happy to speak with you about their experience with us. However, others are preparing to leave their businesses. Unfortunately they do not wish to reveal to anyone that they are planning for that event, so we must respect their need for confidentiality. Keep in mind that we would guard your need for confidentiality just as we do theirs.