Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Business Forward. I'm Joe Reyes and today we're talking about how smart decisions and clear numbers can drive real business growth. You're watching now Media Television.
Welcome to Business Forward. I'm Joseph Reyes. On this show, we spend a lot of time talking about the financial systems that help businesses grow. Things like tax planning, accounting, cash flow, profitability, and the decisions owners make with the resources that they have.
But behind every financial decision is something deeper. What are you building? Who are you building it for?
What values are shaping the way you use money and lead people, take risk and define success.
My guest today is Chris Nudo, an attorney, pastor and purpose driven leader whose work brings together legal insight, financial stewardship, personal responsibility, faith and legacy. Building Crips helps people think beyond short term results and ask whether their daily decisions are aligned with the life and impact they actually want to create.
Hey Chris. Welcome to Business Forward.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: Thank you. Joseph. How are you?
[00:01:13] Speaker A: I'm great. Good to have you here. Long time no see.
Chris. When business owners hear the word stewardship, this is your domain. What do you think that should mean in practical business terms?
[00:01:28] Speaker B: What a great question, Joe. So stewardship is one of those things that I believe emanates from one's personal decision.
And when one has the conviction of, of being able to give back. And you know, stewardship can mean money, which it often is translated into, but it also could be services or just kindness in the way we treat people altogether can be stewardship. And so it really emanates from a very personal view. When somebody has those convictions of giving back, treating people well, or even financially giving back, it flows through into the their business. And that's really when those two things come together, that's really where financial stewardship and business work well.
[00:02:26] Speaker A: So if I'm hearing you, it's not just about cash. I mean, there's a deeper train of thought that one has to enter in to live life. Right.
Is the question that becomes how do personal values influence financial decisions? Even when owners believe that they're making purely rational business choices. But in reality, there's more going on than that, right?
[00:02:53] Speaker B: Absolutely. You know, a business owner is just a regular person. And what you know, whether you're an officer of that business or whether you're the owner of that business, you, you come into work and you go home. And when you're at home, your personal finances that you manage are probably going to be very similar to the way you manage the finances of your business.
And so when you take a person in a holistic approach and you look at them. And, and you see the way they treat their personal finances, you can pretty much translate that into the way they treat their business finances. And you know, Joe, it, it goes vice versa also.
So when we talk about money, somebody has to value money, and they value it both at the business level and at the personal level. So when you tie this back to values and stewardship, it all comes down to the appreciation of how they got it, where it came from. And many people, honestly, with good conviction, whether it would be biblical conviction, whether it would be good stewardship, whether it would be just well taught in finances, all of that really translates into the value proposition and how they treat money.
[00:04:12] Speaker A: Yeah. And money is a thing, right? I mean, and I always like to tell people, you know, let's value people over things instead of things over people, you know, so your personality, your life comes into full play when you're building a business, especially with a lot of the stress that comes with that. Where do you see business owners create problems, though, because they separate financial success from character, responsibility, relationships.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: You know, this is where really, Joe, the sin of pride comes in. Because, you know, one gets very prideful in the success they have.
They develop status. When people try start treating them like a big shot, they, they start.
I've heard the term people start believing their own press, meaning when people give them accolades, they think they're wonderful. And this is where the danger comes in. That success, that came from hard work, it came from discipline in many instances. It's my belief that all success first stems from the Lord's blessings. And so one must really put the proper guardrails in place to understand that you are nothing more than part of your business. You are not your business. You. You are a tool, no more than your assistant, no more than your computer. And it's the culmination of all of that together. When working in harmony, that builds the success that generates the money that is giving the fame and fortune. So being one, being very, I think humble is a good word because in the humility of a person, they understand that it took the entire engine to generate their success. And it's never just the success of one person,
[00:06:15] Speaker A: right? It's people at the end of the day, right?
The economy, you know, you hear it said, is the economy stupid, right? But what's it really about the economy that fuels people, right? And like I said earlier, you know, the problem with a lot of business owners, especially because we get focused on financial success and production and moving things forward, and we all know that cash is the lifeblood of business.
But at the end of the day, character is a purely human trait. Animals don't have character.
Right.
And you're, you're a pastor, so this is your domain, this is your world. Right.
You're a lawyer also.
But in your, as a pastor, you know, you, I assume you're teaching people about character, responsibility, relationships, harming others.
Have you ever seen people like take a hit, if you will, and get, you know, lose money because they had to do the right thing?
Have you encountered that a lot in your, in your work as a pastor, as a lawyer and a business person?
[00:07:37] Speaker B: You know what, that, that is an excellent question, Joe. And that I would say is the most difficult thing for most people to really accept is. And you know what? I'm no different.
I've been put in those compromised positions personally where I have to make the right decision, is the right decision to continue down the path, which is probably not the right path, but the reward at the end of the tunnel is a financial payoff or is it taking the less popular route, which may even cost me money or if it doesn't cost me, I'm certainly not going to earn what the potential would be.
And those kind of character issues we all struggle with and we all run into. And you know, I do have the opportunity to guide my, my practice, my teaching, my following is really, I like to believe that more is caught than taught.
So I like to lead by example.
And you know what, Joe? In all transparency, I'm sometimes the example not to follow because I'm not perfect.
And that's a teaching moment in and of itself. I've had plenty of those times in my life. But then honestly, walking forward with humility and trying to maintain a high level of integrity often guides the right path. And again, the more I can do that and the more people follow me, hopefully the better results are come.
[00:09:19] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, we're all fallen human beings, right?
I can't help but think about the worst case scenario where you're a business owner and you have a large client that a big income producing client for you and they put you into a compromising position and you know that if you do the right thing, they're going to do the wrong thing and leave you and put you into a crunch and maybe you have to go home to a spouse and break some bad news to them. I mean, have you ever seen or dealt with a situation like that? I know it's a kind of extreme, but I gotta believe that it happens. And what's your experience been something it's
[00:09:58] Speaker B: not, it's not, you know what it happened. It really comes with age. Right. You know, so I just turned, I'm, I'm just right on the precipice of that 60 year old mark in life. And you know, the younger version of Chris Nudo really struggled with, oh, you know, if I don't, if I, if I lose that client by taking the higher road, that's really going to impact, you know, my ability to put groceries on the table. The older version of me really has more seasoning and you know, with age and so I know that by doing the right thing and if the client leaves me, I at least know I stood for the character and integrity and the kind of person I want to be remembered by.
So today, making those decisions are very easy.
Not so much if you're chasing the dollar.
[00:10:56] Speaker A: Yeah. And you know, I'm a believer just like you are. And I would just say that you may make the right decision and lose the client, but you don't know what the good lord is going to have for you right around the Ben and deliver even better client.
So real quick, if an entrepreneur has never clearly defined what success means beyond revenue, what questions should they ask themselves? First,
[00:11:20] Speaker B: they really should ask themselves, why am I doing this business?
You know, what is my purpose and who do I want to be? When they can define that, then they should move forward.
[00:11:32] Speaker A: Cool. Thank you for that quick answer. All right. The numbers matter, but they're not the whole story. Financial clarity becomes more powerful when the owner understands what the business is meant to support, protect and create. After the break, we'll look at stewardship from a risk and planning perspective and how entrepreneurs can protect what they are building and make decisions before a crisis forces the issue. We'll be right back.
We'll be right back with more insights, tools and real talk to help you grow your business.
This is Business Forward on non Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Joe Reyes and you're watching Business Forward on NOW Media Television. Let's get back into it.
Welcome back. This is Forward. Stay connected to this show and every NOW Media TV favorite live or on demand, anytime you like. Download the free non media TV app on Roku or iOS and unlock non stop bilingual programming in English and in Spanish. Are you on the move? Catch the podcast version at Namdia tv. From business and news to lifestyle, culture and beyond, NOW Media TV is streaming around the clock and ready whenever you are.
All right. Welcome back to Business Forward. I'm Joseph Reyes and I'm here With Chris Nudo. Before the break, we talked about the values behind financial decisions. Now I want to move into something every business owner eventually faces, and that's risk.
The best time to think about protection, succession agreements and contingency planning is usually before the pressure arrives. Chris not only brings a legal mindset to this conversation, but also a stewardship mindset. Focus on protecting people, responsibilities and future options rather than waiting until a problem becomes expensive or irreversible.
So Chris, why do so many business owners postpone legal financial succession planning until something goes wrong?
[00:13:38] Speaker B: Well, that's, that's an easy one. And that's because none of us want to believe a number of things in life. Number one, we don't want to believe that anything bad's ever going to happen. Number two, we want to believe that we're never going to die. Number three, we're going to think that the sun shines every day when and that's just the mindset of a business owner and an entrepreneur. And those are all good traits. They make the business owner the success they are in the field that they are.
However, unfortunately, the sunshine does not come out every day.
And so what we need to do is really take a very humbling look at things like asset protection. Do we have the proper entities in place like a limited liability company or a corporation, if we have a partner or partners in the business, co owners, you know, do we have proper buy sell agreements? Do we have proper operating agreements? Do we have the tools in place so that when this wonderful marriage that came together between business owners that created this wonderful business becomes a divorce?
Are the terms already defined and then with succession planning, Listen, nobody likes to think that their little baby is going to have to go on and be run by somebody else someday. But succession takes, you know, five to seven years to properly execute. And most business owners are just living by the day to day, week to week, month to month. And they don't want to have to take the time to really forecast five to seven years in advance.
And I would say the last thing, and you know, this just a testimony to the profession I'm in, is lawyers are expensive and you know, the business owner would have to carve out a substantial pool of money to get these things done. And oftentimes it's much easier just to stick your head in the sand.
[00:15:48] Speaker A: Wow, that's a lot.
This is something near and dear to my heart because I advise business owners and all the time and partnerships, they're hard, aren't they? A lot of partnerships just don't Survive, do they?
[00:16:05] Speaker B: The other. The reality is that relationships at some point fail.
And that's just, that's just the way it is. And you know, I, when I have people come into my office or starting their business and I have to be the bad guy in the room and I have to say, I know you guys are in love, you know, in a business sense, and that everything is wonderful, but I'm going to be the bearer of bad news. There's going to come a time where you don't like his or her work ethic. Somebody's taking more time off than the other one. One's bearing more of the workload than the other one. One has had more financial success than the other one because of productivity or sales. And there's going be fractures in this relationship. And we need to today define how those fractures and, or divorce and, or dissolutions are going to be defined because it's much easier and much cheaper to do it at the onset than it is to have, you know, lengthy litigation while you tear one another apart.
[00:17:18] Speaker A: Yeah. And, and here's a scenario for you that I always bring up to people who go into a partnership.
Two partners married and they don't have succession planning ISIL agreements you brought up, and one partner dies, what happens?
[00:17:39] Speaker B: Yeah, and you know, here's, here's what people don't consider.
So if George and Larry open, you know, Acme widgets and you know, George and Larry aren't thinking about Larry's wife Susan and George's wife Leslie, and they're, what they're not considering is if George and, or Larry dies, do their respective wives automatically have input into the business? Take that one generation further.
Say, say they have children and the children inherit the interest of George or Larry when they pass. You know, what happens when you have now an entirely new family that has entered the business from an ownership standpoint, you know, Larry only signed up to be George's partner. He didn't sign up to be partners with his kids or his wife.
[00:18:42] Speaker A: And they could be very bad partners and have no, no knowledge of business and run it through the ground. So the solution to that, and this is an important topic that's near and dear to my heart, so what is the solution and the fix to make sure that upon the death of a partner, the surviving partner maintains control and it doesn't have to become a disaster.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: Listen, it all comes down to the documentation, right? And there's many ways to solve this problem. You could. Well, let's just list a few. Right. We could have cross purpose Purchase agreements, it's a fancy term between partners where if a partner dies, the other partner purchases them out. And you fund that cross purchase agreement in many ways. One way that used to be very popular was through life insurance. But there's many ways to do it.
You know, if you're a limited liability company, which tends to be the flavor of choice for most businesses today, you know, you're gonna craft testamentary powers into your operating agreement or you're going to ensure that both parties have their estate plans done and their living trust plan, their living trust done. That speak to specifically the ownership in the business so that upon the death of a partner, that interest stays in the business or with the existing partner and the family of the deceased partner gets the economic benefit of that ownership, but doesn't come in and become a working decision making part of the business.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: So in this conversation about business risk, right.
Most business owners think about the risk to the business and they're overlooking the risk to their families.
And what you just said is the solution to managing that risk, right?
[00:20:42] Speaker B: That's right. Listen, risk takes on many, many, many flavors, you know, and most of it is an insurable risk, meaning we can buy insurance to protect against the bad stuff that happens. However, with ownership outside of life insurance, these kind of risks are done with documents, documents created by lawyers, things such as operating agreements, cross purchase agreements, by sale agreements.
Again, the tenor of all of these documents is to minimize the risk in the event that the partners go different ways, either by either a separation in the relationship or, or death.
[00:21:29] Speaker A: So from your perspective, these are important conversations that owners should have early once they start the business, not as things go on, but early. Ownership, responsibility, family continuity. And have these conversations with your family because it affects everybody upon death or even an accident, for instance. So excellent points. That's great information.
I hope our listeners are taking this to heart.
Another question, how can entrepreneurs think about risk without becoming so cautious that they stop taking calculated risks for growth?
[00:22:06] Speaker B: Great question.
So first of all, most entrepreneurs are always going to lean towards taking greater risk than less risk, right?
Most, you know, the definition of entrepreneurial ship really is a risk taker by nature, but the balance really needs to be struck. And that's where having proper advisory teams are important.
You know, Joe, you know, I know that you are an excellent business strategist and cpa. Having somebody like yourself on the team is invaluable. Who's watching the books and checking the monthly cash flow and balance sheets and, and you know, income statements. Having a lawyer on staff who's ensuring that your vendor agreements and your terms and conditions are solid and things of that nature, you know, and then there's other advisors that you can have in your corner, even a potential financial planner. When you have a good team that surrounds you of professionals, it allows you to express the direction you want to go in and the risk you want to take. And it allows for valuable input. And so if I'm a business owner, I want to make sure I've rounded out my team and that so I can bounce off these ideas with them and take appropriate risk with good return.
[00:23:39] Speaker A: Excellent. Excellent. Okay, great. Well, planning is not pessimism.
It's one of the ways leaders honor the people, commitments and assets they have worked so hard to build.
We're going to take a break. Next we'll be talking about leadership and integrity and what happens when the financially attractive decision is not necessarily the right decision for the organization or the customer or the long term reputation of the business. We'll be right back.
We'll be right back with more insights, tools and real talk to help you grow your business.
This is Business Forward on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Joe Reyes and you're watching Business Forward on NOW Media Television. Let's get back into it.
Welcome back to Business Forward.
We've been talking about stewardship and protecting what a business is building.
But some of the hardest decisions leaders make cannot be solved by spreadsheets alone.
There are moments when the short term financial answer conflicts with reputation, relationships, values or the way a leader treats people.
Those moments reveal the operating principles behind the business.
So, Chris, how should a leader approach a decision when the most profitable option and the most values aligned option appear to be different?
[00:25:03] Speaker B: So I'd like to tell you that this is a really easy question to answer, but it's not. Because we all know every viewer that's watching knows that instinctively every business owner wants to take the option that will generate the greatest result for their business. Whether that would be reputationally, whether that would be economic.
They're all going to lean in that direction. By the way, I'm no different. I would, you know that that sweet case comes in, that big corporate matter comes in and you know, the first things that light up is, you know, oh, the bank account will be full if I can take this case on.
So when, when put in this predicament, one must really get back to their character, who they are, how they define themselves, what purpose do they serve, who are they internally? I always like to say that, you know, integrity is really about what you do and the decisions you make even when people aren't looking. And that smacks me right upside the head because I'm not sure that I always will make the right decision when nobody's looking. I'd like to think I would. But the reality is that one must take an introspective look at themselves, and they need to really have the conviction that, you know, I am the person who, by the way, my wife would like me to be, my kids want me to be, my family thinks that I am. And that person holds themselves out with a tremendous amount of humility and humility and integrity to make the right decision and not just be attracted to the next flashy thing that comes forward.
That's a very difficult question, Joe. But the reality of it is it's a very personal decision that one must wrestle through. And at the end, our viewers know what the right decision is. They just need to get there by really looking at who they are.
[00:27:25] Speaker A: Yeah, it's so easy to talk ourselves into something. We really want money. And then we start to rationalize, well, you know, what that person is doing, that client is doing, that's their business. It's not my business.
I'm here to just do law. I'm just here to do accounting and tax and, you know, maybe this, that client is a totally unethical slime ball, if you will.
And what do you do with that? So what does integrity look like in business when there's real money involved and there's pressure, opportunity on the line with human nature being as weak as it often is? I mean, how have you seen people deal with that and, and struggle? And I'm sure you've seen people come out on the right side and I guess on the wrong side.
[00:28:18] Speaker B: Yeah, I was just going to say that. Unfortunately, I've seen a lot of businesses fail by bad decision making by the owners and the people that work for the company. You know, I can think back to, you know, I'm dating myself now, but 2008, when the real estate market crashed and I had tremendous amount of clients that were leveraged beyond belief in real estate. And these guys were killing it.
They were, you know, they were borrowing money at 12, 15% because they were able to move the real estate so fast that, that they could even pay those kind of exorbitant loan rates.
But when the real estate stopped moving and the real estate market imploded, they were stuck. The entire business fell, folded. Their whole personal lives folded. And it was a sad thing to see. But when One gets moving too fast and doesn't keep the proper guardrails in place, these problems occur. Listen, I. You know, maybe I share too much. But I'll tell you what. In 2007, I went out and bought 11 condos thinking that, you know, this was the way everybody was doing it. I was watching my clients do it. I was like, how could you get hurt in real estate, man? It's the thing that always goes up and then, you know, and. And I couldn't afford 11 condos, but the bank showed me how I could afford 11 condos. And then 2008 comes, and my 11 condos are worth 30% of what I paid for them a year prior.
Only by the Lord's mercy and grace am I standing here today, Joe, to tell you that I got through that period. It had nothing to do with how great I was. It had. It had a lot to do with how stupid I was. And so I've watched many people make bad decisions based on greed and other financial, other sinful patterns that destroy their businesses.
[00:30:29] Speaker A: Well, that's an incredible story. And it happens more often than we know and care to admit.
That's a great story. So leaders create a culture, right, where they. Where they have employees.
People are watching them.
And what people are seeing is, you know, ethics and accountability on exhibit. At the end of the day, these issues, ethics and accountability, are they part of the performance of the business and the performance of the people themselves, or are they separate issues?
[00:31:03] Speaker B: No, no, they're totally not separate issues.
The culture of a business is driven from the top down.
Bottom line, I don't care what business you're in.
And I was taught by my father and other great mentors that the people who you work with are not beneath you.
They're all part of the engine that makes the business work. I never say that. You know, so. And so. You know, I can't even say. I can't even articulate it, because everybody I work with works with me, not for me. And I have 11 on my staff. And I build a culture where every single one of those people have worth and value and are part of my success. And my success is the success of the entire firm, which is built on their successes and what they do each day.
So in. In leadership, it starts with not raising oneself over others, but rather building a culture where everybody works together for and goal of what you're trying to achieve.
[00:32:26] Speaker A: Yeah. Not. Don't act like you walk on water because only one person ever did that, right?
[00:32:29] Speaker B: Only one.
[00:32:32] Speaker A: And so, and, and so A business owner has to build a decision making framework that keeps them grounded. Right. And so that they have something to lean on when that issue comes up, that urgency, that fear or that ambition starts driving the conversation.
Talk about, you know, your recommendations for setting yourself up for the straight and narrow, shall we say, in a business environment.
[00:33:01] Speaker B: So it really comes down to accountability in my mind.
When one is a lone wolf, you're left to temptation.
You're left to all the sins that surround that which would be greedy.
And success, Success, by the way, is not a sin. But often the way we treat success is sinful.
The way we elevate or lord over people, all of these things can be abated or removed or squashed if you have accountability.
And accountability can be, you know, a networking group that you're part of. Accountability can be a church group that you belong to that's really focused on business.
It be a peer group that you belong to with similar situated businesses of economic status and size in your community.
It could be other mentors or advisors that are in your area that, you know, you can share with. But good leaders always surround themselves with good accountability partners.
[00:34:14] Speaker A: Yeah. And leaders like that, that, you know, the integrity kind of oozes out of them a little bit.
So even bad clients or bad prospects get that sense. And they feel more, they probably will feel more comfortable working with you because they know that you're a straight arrow. You know, how, because how can you trust another cricket person if you're a crook? Right?
So having that, having that, that straight and narrow, having that accountability within yourself and people, people sense that in my own personal life, the way I operate my business in my life is if there's a mistake and there's a dispute.
You're a theologian. Right?
And I'm a theologian. So we have two theologians. What's an accountant once a lawyer? And my, my position is I'll take the hit. You know, it's not. If it's not going to drive me out of business, sure, I'll take a loss if we have a dispute because the scripture does say, treat others better than you treat your, love others. You know, like you love yourself and even love others more than you love yourself sometimes. So.
And I think people appreciate that and that's an attraction. And it just kind of oozes out, in my opinion. Have you seen that in your, in your life, in your work?
[00:35:29] Speaker B: Absolutely, absolutely. You know, the Bible is very clear that, you know, do unto others as, you know, treat people the way you want to be treated.
[00:35:43] Speaker A: Exactly. And that's not a New Testament teaching. That's an Old Testament teaching, by the way, that oozed into the New Testament. All right, Great, great conversation. Strong businesses are built through repeated decisions. Over time, those decisions become culture, reputation, trust, and ultimately part of the value of the enterprise itself. We're going to take a break. After the break, we'll close by talking about legacy, how owners can connect financial success, family, business continuity and meaningful impact into one long term picture. We'll be right back.
We'll be right back with more insights, tools and real talk to help you grow your business.
This is Business Forward on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Joe Reyes and you're watching Business Forward on NOW Media Television Vision. Let's get back into it.
Welcome back to Business Forward. Stay connected to this show and every NOW Media TV favorite live or on demand, anytime you like.
Download the free non media TV app on Roku or iOS and unlock non stop bilingual programming in English and in Spanish on the move. Catch the podcast version at NowMedia TV.
From business and news to lifestyle, culture and beyond, Non Media TV is streaming around the clock and it's ready whenever you are.
Welcome back to Business Forward. I'm Joe Reyes and we are closing today with Chris Nudo. We have talked about financial stewardship, risk and values based leadership. Now I want to bring those ideas together around legacy.
For many entrepreneurs, the business becomes one of the largest assets they will ever own.
But legacy is bigger than the valuation of the company.
It includes what happens to the business, how wealth is transferred or used, what the family understands, what employees experience, and what kind of impact continues after the founder is no longer making every decision.
So, Chris, when should a business owner begin thinking seriously about legacy succession?
Even if retirement is far away or an exit, it still feels far away.
When should they start this conversation in this thought process?
[00:38:03] Speaker B: You know, really the conversation and thought process for each of those items are slightly different.
Legacy is a much bigger topic than succession and retirement. But succession and retirement are subsets of legacy.
Legacy is the overarching concept of readiness. And that readiness is when you are no longer going to be able to be in your business. And all of us have numbered days. The problem is we don't know what the number of our days are. And that's the moment that we are no longer here, but we have died. And so one should start building their legacy from moment one. And that's defining all the things that are important to them. And it should start absolutely with family.
And when planning a legacy and Taking care of your family. I always say that that is the greatest love language one can ever bring because it is the thoughtlessness of themselves and more thoughtfulness of their family. And that all comes with the basic concepts, estate planning. And that's where in business the next level becomes succession planning. Like I said, succession is really a subset of legacy. And one should start thinking of succession planning from day one because that's where those documents that you and I talked about really hit the ground. Whether it would be your operating agreement, your buy sell agreement, just the creation documents of the entities that support your business.
But further, Joe, when we talk about succession planning and retirement, we need to remember that it is not an instant moment. If it's an instant moment because I had a heart attack or a stroke or I got in an accident and you don't even set the groundwork five to seven years in advance, then you're going to end up with some sort of immediate tragedy. And we always say in the estate planning world, you know, you don't know when you're going to die, but you know you're going to. And you know that you're not going to be able to work your business just like you know you're going to die. So treat your business like you would treat your family and hopefully you treat it as well as you do by getting the proper succession documents in place in a timely fashion. At a minimum five to seven years before you can even imagine that you're going to exit the business.
[00:40:44] Speaker A: Expand upon the why it takes five to seven years.
[00:40:46] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. So, you know, our minds are wired to think I can take my business, take it out of here and move it over to here. But the reality is that is not the way it works. What the Lord has packed in your brain with regard to management, people, systems, relationships, relationships internally, relationships externally, transition. Meaning if I don't do this work, who's going to do it? And if I'm putting my work on somebody else, who's going to do the work of the person that you just put your work on? And so. And are the people who you may know or may not know that will be taking over your business, have you set up your business in such a way that it doesn't completely rely upon you?
Because honestly, if most business owners step back, can they disappear for their from their business for six months? And that business runs the same way that it would if they were there? If the answer is no, then what you're doing seeing is that that business really relies on some form of that Owner. To be in the business, you need five to seven years to get all of these questions answered and to set up your business in such a way that you can disappear for six months, come back and that business is not only there, but it's where you left it or better.
[00:42:23] Speaker A: So five to seven years is not a legal thing. It's no process. There's. Gotcha. Okay, because I was concerned, but I have a trust, I have two trusts. And, and you know, even before my business, you know, started to grow it, I've always been heavy into life insurance, disability insurance, everything that could possibly go wrong. I'm trying to find a plug for that in the insurance world. But it does get expensive, right? So.
[00:42:48] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:42:49] Speaker A: How does, how does a business owner then just starting out maybe be strapped for cash? What do you recommend that a business owner do to have at least a base in case while he's building out or she's building out a business that the family is protected. Any recommendations there?
[00:43:06] Speaker B: Absolutely. So, you know, first of all, you, you hit the nail on the head, Joe.
Life insurance is a great tool and term life insurance tends to be very cheap. Now it's not a, it's not a great product for long term solutions, but it is a great product for short term solutions. So you take a business owner that's in their 20s or 30s who's strapped for cash and needs to build a security blanket for, not only for their business, but for their family and their loved ones going out and getting a million, $2 million in term life insurance with a 20 year level term is a great way to do things. I also advise those business owners that do that to get what's called a convertible rider. And a convertible rider is an addition to that life insurance policy that allows them to convert that life insurance into what we call permanent insurance.
Now, permanent insurance, I want you to think of the distinction between renting a home and buying a home. Term insurance is like renting a home where every month you pay money and you get to live in the home home.
Every month you pay money towards the premium you get the life insurance. When you buy a home, every month you pay money, but you get a little more ownership in that home till the point where you don't have to pay anymore and you own the home. That's what permanent insurance is. Now permanent life insurance is far more expensive. So that cash strapped owner, that's why they have to get the term insurance to start with, with. But if they get the convertible rider, as their business grows and they become more profitable and they have more money to spend, they now can convert parts of that policy into permanent insurance. The benefit of permanent insurance is this.
Your average business owner is going to work 40 to 50 years in their business.
Term insurance usually only goes out a maximum of 20 years and then you have to renew it after 20 and renew it again after. And what happens as we get older is insurance becomes more expensive.
If you do it the way I'm suggesting, you get the best of all worlds, you get the protections and you get the ability to get the permanent insurance later in life without the exorbitant cost of continuing to renew these term policies.
[00:45:41] Speaker A: Super, super good information.
Totally agree.
The lack of life insurance for a family for on a business owner or, you know, head of household with a high earning partner, that's one of the number one causes. That's one of the biggest causes for especially wives and children to wind up losing the home, going into poverty.
I always tell women especially get a good education, have a good skill set, make sure there's life insurance because if the husband somehow dies or something goes wrong, you're not going to, you're not in trouble. Otherwise, without proper planning, which is what you're talking about, you could be here for a rude surprise. And it's sad to see oftentimes if you can leave business owners with one principle for aligning money, leadership and purpose, what would it be?
[00:46:39] Speaker B: One principle. I, I would tell them to invest in yourself.
And what I mean by investing in yourself is. And I, and, and Joe, I know I'm preaching to the choir as I speak to you on this proper education and we're not just talking about school education.
There are, if you're in sales, get as much sales training as you can.
Personal growth is probably one of the most underlooked areas that people really should be investing in. And if you have a faith conviction, one should always chase after their faith. Joe, for you and I, it's the Christian faith and it's biblically based and we put our trust in Jesus and our understanding of our faith, faith and how our faith affects us, grows us and builds our character and who we are in our reliance upon our faith. And so if I was going to speak to one business owner, I'd say, you know what? Invest in yourself.
[00:47:48] Speaker A: Your biggest asset is your ability to earn, in my opinion. Thank you for that great information.
The strongest financial plan is not only about accumulation, it's about clarity.
Knowing what your resources are, what they're for, protecting what matters, and making decisions today that support the future you want to create. We had a great conversation about all these topics today. Thank you, Chris. Chris, for viewers who want to learn more about you and your work, where can they go?
[00:48:17] Speaker B: Just go to integritylaw.com and you can have all of the information you ever need to know more about us and get in contact with us.
[00:48:29] Speaker A: Okay, great. Chris, thank you for joining us and for reminding us that strong business decisions are not only technical, they are also personal, relational, and deeply connected to the values that guide the owner. For everyone watching, move your business forward by getting clear on both the numbers and the purpose behind them. Build the systems, protect the risk, make decisions with integrity, and create something that can serve people well beyond the next quarter.
I'm Joseph Reyes. Thank you for watching Business Forward on NOW Media TV.
