Too often, successful women business owners “fly solo” for many years, making their own financial decisions while facing ever-increasing challenges to grow the business. Often, a turning point in their businesses, careers, or lives triggers a wake-up call that reminds them to step back and reassess.
For Wendy Goldstein, founder, owner and CEO of Costume Specialists, Inc. (based in Columbus, Ohio), the turning point was not a single event but rather a mosaic of many: lifestyle and career changes, a professional business women’s network, compelling financial needs, and fortunate timing.
With some guidance from her financial professional, Wendy was able to focus on her personal planning while also making financial adjustments for her growing business. This is her story.
Personal Needs Move to the Top of the List
Costume Specialist, Inc. employs creative artists who design, fabricate, and stitch human-sized “walk-about costumes” for well-known corporate mascots. Each costume takes 60-80 hours of artistic effort to produce and can cost corporate clients up to $5,000 in labor and materials. Starting the business on a shoestring in 1982, Wendy has steadily expanded it to 47 employees who produce hundreds of costumes per year, most of them painstakingly created by hand. Another side of the business manages an inventory of costumes including shipping, billing, renting, cleaning and repairs.
But even as Wendy attained her 25th year of continuous business success in 2007, she still had not addressed her own personal financial needs. “Taking care of myself never was the highest priority on my list,” she admits.
Then, her children graduated from college and high school at about the same time her ex-husband passed away. “I guess my life change came when I finally said to myself: ‘Okay, you’re 54 years old. What about you, Wendy? What do you need?’ I realized that I might want to retire in another ten years, and that was not very far away.”
Open to Guidance
It was at a NAWBO-Columbus chapter roundtable meeting that Wendy met Andrea Nameche, a financial professional with Columbus Financial Group, a comprehensive financial services firm committed to helping business owners enhance long-term financial success. Wendy is the current NAWBO-Columbus chapter President and a regular member of the roundtable where Andrea was invited to be a guest speaker.
When Andrea facilitated a meeting on comprehensive financial services, Wendy liked the emphasis Columbus Financial Group placed on the need to obtain financial knowledge and education before making important decisions. As Wendy recalls: “Andrea and I became acquainted through the NAWBO chapter and we stayed acquainted. But for some time, we didn’t do any business together because I wasn’t ready. I knew that when financial services moved to the top of my list, Andrea was the person I would call.”
Says Andrea: “Wendy is like many other women business owners in that she puts her heart and soul into her business, but she had not taken much time to focus on herself and what she wanted from her business. That’s what I helped her accept as a priority.”
Shaping a Plan
When Wendy and Andrea began working together, their initial goal was to add order and simplicity to Wendy’s financial life – and clear the way to addressing bigger challenges involved in leading and growing her business.
The first step was to reorganize Wendy’s insurance portfolio, including car and homeowner’s. Their goal was to ensure that Wendy had the proper protection for her current situation, and they worked together with a property and casualty agent and disability income insurance company to coordinate insurance policies and benefits.
Then, Andrea turned to the task of helping Wendy prepare a succession plan for her business. As Wendy recalls: “Andrea explained that an owner can leave a business in three ways – retirement, death or disability – and you can plan for all three. This process helped me realize that regardless of what may happen to me, I want my business to go on. I hadn’t focused on that question before.”
Andrea then began a process that may continue for some time and will involve: increasing Wendy’s life insurance protection, so that she will have an estate apart from the business; choosing one or more potential successor owners or managers over time; and developing legal agreements (such as a “buy-sell”) to formalize the business succession plan. These steps also will help Wendy adjust her life insurance protection and succession planning for future business growth.
Peace of Mind
In Andrea’s view, the most valuable benefit that Wendy has gained from their work together is a greater understanding and appreciation for financial services as a process, not a product. “Before we started working together, Wendy didn’t know how to assure that her own financial goals would be met. When she finally felt comfortable talking to me about it, we decided to create planning that would be flexible, so she can change her mind. She can retire in 10 years, if she wants, or she can go on working until age 95. Whatever path she chooses will be possible because of the planning we have done now.”
Andrea adds, “As a business owner, it’s important to occasionally take a step back and look at your personal and business financial situation. You have to make sure all aspects of your life and business are coordinated so that when you are ready to leave the company, you can do so with peace of mind.”
Andrea helped Wendy, the costume designer, go back to the drawing board and design a future that focused on her personal needs as well as her business. As a result, a successful business may continue to profit for a long time to come!
John “Jake” Akoury, MBA, CLTC, AAMS, and John G. Balzer, JD, CLTC, RFC, are Registered Representatives of Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS), 140 Kendrick Street, Needham, MA , 02494. Securities products and services offered through PAS. Financial Representative, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian. The Bulfinch Group is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. Life insurance offered through The Bulfinch Group Insurance Agency, LLC, an affiliate of The Bulfinch Group, LLC. The Bulfinch Group, LLC, is not licensed to sell insurance. PAS and the representative do not provide legal advice or services.
The Bulfinch Group
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JAkoury@bulfinchgroup.com
JGBalzer@bulfinchgroup.com
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