Oh! Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. He’s a – financial planner?

We’ve all endured the effects of the pandemic, which has made planning even more unpredictable than “normal,” if there ever was such a state. Decisions that, under “normal” circumstances, seemed big and scary now seem enormous and petrifying. Planning for a significant life change might now feel impossible.

Wouldn’t it be a relief to know someone who describes his work as “providing peace of mind, clarity, and answering the ‘what if’ questions?” This is how my friend Jon Moore of EP Wealth Advisors describes helping people accumulate, preserve, and protect wealth.

Have you struggled to evaluate the long-term impact of a big decision? For example, have you agonized over whether to sell real estate? Whether to sell your business? Invest in a friend’s venture? And once you’ve endured this pain and made a decision, then what? More agonizing over how it might affect your wealth or your retirement!

Jon and his team use their processes and state-of-the-art tools to help clients painlessly and logically consider and make these kinds of decisions. They start with a “discovery” meeting to discuss the client’s the big questions and the client’s finances, assets, goals, hopes, and dreams. Jon’s team uses the answers and their tools to process simulations. They discuss these simulations with the client in a follow-up meeting held for the sole purpose of asking if the relationship is a good fit for the client. It’s only after everyone agrees that the fit is a good one that Jon asks the client to do the paperwork and Jon’s team begins the deep dive process that will result in the client’s financial plan.

The deep dive helps the client consider and answer difficult questions like:

• If I used some liquid assets to pay off my mortgage, what would that look like?
• Can I handle the consequences of investing in this venture if it completely fails?
• What’s the most powerful use of my money right now?

Jon discusses with his business owner clients their business’ purpose, and the response he frequently hears is “to grow the business.” Nothing wrong with that because that’s what a business owner is supposed to do, right? But when Jon asks the client what goal growing their business will serve, most clients can’t state a goal. To help clients identify and give substance to their goals, Jon looks for clues in the ways the client spends their time, the things they enjoy, and the people and things about which they’re passionate. Discussing these clues with the client often leads to a discussion about hopes and dreams. Many clients are reluctant to engage in this kind of discussion. However, Jon encourages an open and honest discussion about the client’s hopes and dreams, sharing his philosophy, “Your job is to dream. My job is to help make your dream a reality.”

What does turning the dream into reality look like? Jon described helping a client who wanted to retire ten years earlier than the target date in his existing financial plan. This business owner confided to Jon that he felt completely stressed out and didn’t think he could continue running his business for one more day – much less for ten more years. Jon and his team helped the client identify, consider, and analyze lots of alternatives to the existing plan, and by helping the client conceive and consider new ideas Jon helped the client retire immediately. Without Jon’s help, the client may never have considered selling his house and business and living in comfortable retirement in another country (one with a warm, tropical climate).

The runway available for most client’s financial plans to take flight is much longer. In another, more typical example of how Jon and his team help their clients, the client historically dedicated all her assets to her business. This practice led to a second mortgage on the client’s house, loads of other debt, and no liquid assets of any kind – not even a savings account. Working with Jon’s team, this client changed their behavior, which meant drawing money out of the business to eliminate debt and accumulate liquid assets. With her new financial plan that Jon’s team helped create, this client could realistically plan to sell her business after only two years because the proceeds of the sale that she would need to fund her retirement dreams were only half of those targeted in the old financial plan. Jon shared that this client cried when she could see a realistic, feasible path forward to her retirement dreams.

Jon joked (even though he is as nice as any person you’ll ever meet) that he’s been told, “You’re not happy unless someone in your office is crying.” The client’s emotional reactions are a sign of the very personal burdens they carry that, in some cases, they have not shared with even their spouse or family. The outward expression of these burdens and the emotion a client feels by being presented with a realistic path to relief from these burdens is very cathartic. Peace of mind, clarity, and answers to “what if” questions is a powerful approach to financial planning.

Jon stresses the importance of keeping personal finances in order. Don’t allow the confusing workings of the up and down stock market or other investment alternatives prevent you from building wealth. If you own a business, focusing on building personal wealth will make the process of exiting your business easier. You’ll have more options available if you’re not under pressure to attract a high sales price to fund your retirement plans. On the other side of that coin, knowing that a complete business failure, say from a once-in-a-lifetime event like a pandemic, won’t wipe out your retirement plans is also a pleasant by-product.

Jon’s planning takes the client’s entire wealth picture into account, including debt, real estate, business assets, retirement accounts, life insurance, and everything else the client might own, inherit, or owe. However, Jon’s fee is based only on the liquid assets directly under his firm’s management.

When it comes to engaging a professional like himself, Jon suggests looking for competence, experience, shared values, and mutual trust. Even though “EP Wealth Advisors” is the #1 Google result for the search terms “financial planning for small businesses,” most of Jon’s clients are introduced by personal referral.

Jon shared that he is passionate about helping small business owners who are growing their businesses or getting ready to sell and clients who are great at accumulating wealth and assets but who might not know the best ways to invest or spend them. These clients typically are asking, “Have I hit my number?” and “Do I have enough to live comfortably and provide for my family?”

If you think getting to know Jon might help with your personal wealth journey your business, please reach out to me. I’d be honored to connect you.