Are you protected?

This year has been one of many changes for us.  We launched our new brand, we have focused on improving and documenting our systems and processes for a better client experience, and we have reviewed all of our vendor relationships. 

Every change was in the question of how do we move closer to excellence?  In our vendor relationships, I wanted to work with people who were excited about who we were as a company and who we knew had our back.

That is how we see our role with our clients – we’ve got their back.  We are here to support them so they are free to focus on what they do best.

One of the areas that I see a lot of us, myself included, not stop to review enough is the area of liability protection.  What I mean by that is, do we have the correct entity structures not just for maximum tax savings but more importantly for liability protection.  This is a piece of financial management that is often overlooked.

I hear from people “well I have insurance for that.”  And it is true that most people who are coming after you will stop at the insurance because it is the easiest path to cash for them.  However, there is always that one person and what I find is there are more vulnerabilities, more ways for them to come at us than we know.

So how does this corporate veil really work?

Now I am not an attorney so I will share with you my understanding (please do not take this as legal advice).  It is intended to keep the lines of accountability clean.   For example, when you serve on a board, were you aware that if someone were to come after the board they also have the right to come after all those who are governing it personally?  Now today most boards carry insurance for this AND how are you structured personally to contain what is open for attack.

As business owners, most of us know to put our business in an entity so it is very clear people are doing business with our company and not us personally.  Besides letting people know you are serious about being in business this step of professionalism is important for our own thinking as well.  The bottom line is, you want to control everything and own nothing.

If this is an area of your financial picture that is confusing for you, give us a call.  Knowing what structures to have when, and for what reason, is truly a piece of financial management and we are here to serve you.