Business Owner Articles

If you are like most entrepreneurs, you don’t expect the business you worked so hard to establish to falter when you are no longer here to run it. But sometimes, when business owners die without leaving wills or estate plans, the business must be liquidated to pay the tax liability, or the company collapses because family members have not been sufficiently prepared to take over operations. If you own a family business, you may want to consider taking steps now to help ensure this valuable asset will remain intact for your children, grandchildren, and others.

You’re an entrepreneur and you’re not looking back. You’ve opened your own business, whether alone or with partners, and you’ve achieved success. Now you’re thinking about retirement, not just for you, but also for your employees. Offering a retirement plan can help your business attract and retain employees, while making it easier for you to save for your own retirement. Here are some of the options available to business owners:

Would you hesitate to buy fire insurance for your lab or office building? Of course not. What about liability insurance in case someone slips on your steps? Same answer. But have you insured what could be your most valuable asset—your top employees? If not, you should consider "key-person" insurance.

Proprietorship. Partnership. S corporation. Limited liability company. C corporation. Which form is best for your new business? The decision can be difficult. Each business form offers you both advantages and disadvantages.

Whatever your motivation for selling your business, you’ll only get one chance to maximize the return on your years of hard work. Do it the right way and you could get the price you want and reduce the impact of capital gains and estate taxes. Do it the wrong way and you might end up with a hefty capital gains tax bill and estate planning headaches.

Alex and Brad, both in their mid-forties, had just celebrated the tenth anniversary of Consulting, Inc., their market consulting business. The next morning, before going to work, Brad suffered a heart attack while jogging and died later that day. Alex suddenly lost his long-time business associate. What's more, after the estate was settled, he found himself with a new co-owner – Brad's wife.