4 Things to Consider Before Selling Your Business

4 Things to Consider Before Selling Your Business

by BusinessLife Changes

Have you been thinking about selling your business? There are some things you should determine first before you make any decisions, or you could risk selling for the wrong reasons or the wrong price, which can jeopardize your future wealth and security. Here are four things to consider before deciding to sell your business.

Is the Timing Right?

Timing is essential when you plan to sell your business. To determine if the timing is right, you need to look at the current state of your business and the overall market.  For one, you want to sell at the top of your game, not when your business is on the decline. When you’re profitable, not only will you become more valuable to a buyer but you will also have the power to set yourself up for financial freedom. Market timing is also important. If the market has been declining, you should likely wait until things begin taking a turn to sell.

Is My Business Valuable?

Buyers are not going to be interested in a business that has decent revenue but zero profits. If you’ve pumped your company full of tax write-offs or are highly leveraged, you will likely appear less profitable to a potential purchaser. Before you decide to sell, make sure you take these factors into consideration and spend time structuring your business to be more attractive to buyers.

Do I Have a Tax Strategy?

By the time most business owners decide to sell, it’s far too late to implement a tax strategy. Without one, you could end up paying hefty taxes to exit your business. To avoid any tax repercussions and maximize your sale proceeds, it’s best to set up a well-thought-out tax strategy ahead of selling your property.

Are There Alternatives to Selling?

If you’re not sure whether selling is right for you, or if you’re feeling pressured to sell because of poor performance, you should evaluate your other options first before selling. You may be able to leverage some of your capital, pass on ownership through employee stock options, sell as an asset and retain ownership, or take on silent investors. Regardless, it’s wise to talk to an advisor who can help you make a better-informed decision that is right for you.

At The Beacon Group at Assante Financial Management Ltd., we provide practical solutions designed to help you make smart choices about your business to gain wealth and prosperity now and into the future. Contact us today if you’d like some advice on your unique situation.

Our Tactics for Finding a Better Work Life Balance

Our Tactics for Finding a Better Work/Life Balance

by Inner HealthLife ChangesLifestylePhysical Health

With technology making employees accessible 24 hours a day now, striking a healthy work-life balance can seem next to impossible to achieve. This, combined with the compounding stress of a rising cost of living, an exacerbated competitive job market, and the occasional 50 hour work week, can create some damaging effects on your well-being. Finding balance in life will differ for everyone. The key is to determine how you can find your balance, even when it seems impossible. After all, your happiness and health depend on this! To help you master this balancing act, here are a few of our tactics for finding a better work/life balance.

Learn To Unplug

Sure, technology makes your life more convenient, but it also consumes much of your time, while creating a standard where you’re always expected to be accessible. If you’re always accessible, it doesn’t leave much time for enjoying those precious moments in life, like your child’s soccer game. Start by disciplining yourself to unplug and switch off electronics when your work day is done. If you need to stipulate this to your clients and co-workers, then do it. Having quality time with your friends and family and being able to kick back and enjoy life is important. Otherwise, what’s the point of working so hard?

Prioritize Self Care

The reality is we make time for things that we prioritize. If you’re struggling to find a better work-life balance, it may be time to reassess your priorities. While you’re doing this, make sure to add exercise and mediation towards the top of your list. Exercise not only keeps you fit and feeling great, but it also helps to reduce stress. It releases endorphins which literally make you feel good. In addition to exercise, meditation or yoga are very beneficial practices that help calm the body and mind. Spending a few minutes every day focusing on your own self-care is well worth it.

Stop Trying to Juggle It All

Many business owners and overachievers can quickly get sucked into habits of perfectionism. As you wade through life, there can be many obstacles, changes and unforeseen events that can occur where this idea can get abruptly tossed out the window. Trying to juggle everything with strict standards for yourself can become a severe recipe for burn out. By learning to delegate tasks, you can lessen your responsibilities and create more time and space for life.

Ask Someone to Help

It’s okay to ask for help. The reality is, even though it’s easy to read about ways to strike a better balance, it’s always harder to implement. So, ask someone close to you for help! Having people who care for you and support you through these efforts is how you’re going to succeed in accomplishing them.

Using the Longer Days to Build a Better You

Using the Longer Days to Build a Better You

by Life ChangesLifestylePhysical Health

Becoming a better person doesn’t mean reinventing yourself altogether. Change happens gradually by focusing on altering one habit at a time. After all, it’s our habits that define who we are and what we do each and every day. With the longer days upon us, there’s no better time than now to utilize those extra hours of daylight to focus on building your strengths and getting your life in the shape you’d like it to be. Let us show you how you can use the longer days to create a better you and achieve your goals for future prosperity.

Focusing On Your Goals

Now’s the time to dig deep and reflect on your values, wants, and goals. Utilize the extra daytime hours to understand where you are today in your life and where you want to be in the future.

Adjusting to Life Changes

A sudden life change or surprise circumstance can significantly impact your life. Use this time to reflect on recent life changes that may be causing you and your family emotional and/or financial burdens. Taking the right steps now to address the situation can get you back on track and help you to reduce any future impacts that may arise.

Get Active

Having an active lifestyle might be the single most important part of living a balanced, healthy lifestyle. When it boils down to it, we will forever be living within our bodies, and our bodies need constant movement in order to function the way they ought to. Whether you choose to take a brisk walk every evening, go to the gym three nights a week, or run for 30 minutes every couple days, it will benefit every aspect of your life!

Practise Your Creativity

There seems to be a common misconception about creativity that you are either born a creative person or are not. We couldn’t disagree with this more! While it’s true that some people are naturally more creative than others, that doesn’t mean the rest of us are doomed! Being exceptionally creative is an acquired skill, just like being an active listener or being a great writer.

Just like any other skill you might learn, you need to practise continually in order to improve! Learn to think out of the box, approach problems from new angles, and don’t give up trying! You’re more creative than you think – you just need to work at it.

Try Something New

Trying new things, whether they are more related to your personal or professional life, can be daunting either way. As we continue to grow up, we get used to who we already are and what we are good and bad at, but we pigeonhole ourselves be doing so. Trying to develop new hobbies, skills, or learn about new things that interest you is a necessary part of bettering yourself as a person. You shouldn’t ever stop learning – no matter what you’re learning about!

What are You Missing in Your Life?

What are You Missing in Your Life?

by Life ChangesLifestyle

Feel like there’s something missing in your life? Chances are it could be something that you could solve somewhat easily. If you don’t really know what you need in order to make yourself feel fulfilled, then how are you supposed to achieve happiness? The answer is by being open and willing to explore new things about yourself. By being open to change, you get to learn and discover more about your personal values, your potential, and what you need in your life in order to feel fulfilled.

Here we offer some simple ways to achieve this and gain a greater understanding of what might be missing in your life.

Learn What You Truly Want and Desire

So often we get caught up in comparing ourselves and our accomplishments – or lack thereof – with others. But by doing this, you automatically set yourself up for failure by provoking feelings of failure and self-doubt. When self-doubt is dominating a good portion of your everyday thoughts, how can you expect to explore your actual potential? You must learn to acknowledge your own individual needs and accomplishments without comparing them to others.

Maybe having more time and energy is more important than achieving a high-paying, stressful career. If you’re trying to fool yourself into doing something that really isn’t in line with your values and wishes, then you can bet you’ll end up feeling like there’s something missing, even with a fancy, successful career. Ask yourself more questions to determine what you truly want and then start to listen to yourself!

Be Open to Change

You can’t expect to achieve a different feeling and result if you’re not trying something different. Exploring a different approach and being open to change is crucial for really learning more about what’s truly important to you. If you don’t like something once you try it, then whatever! That’s the whole point of trying new things – discovering what you do and don’t like, or what does and doesn’t work for you. When you find something you don’t like, your narrowing down your identity for yourself, which will make it easier for you to change yourself for the better.

Determine What Your Values are

Everyone has a core set of values that dictate a lot about how we live out our lives, but many of us are unaware of the specific values that we live by. And the reality is that often, the values we hone in on can contradict each other and end up preventing us from achieving a level of happiness and fulfillment that we want. For example, if one of your major values is freedom and another is intimacy, you can see how these two would present some challenges and conflicting results. Being unclear about your values is what often leads to feelings of unfulfillment. So whether it’s love, success, security, intimacy, freedom, or good health, get to know what your hierarchy of values is by writing them out and adjusting them as necessary. Values guide most of our decisions, so if you’re unaware of yours or if you have conflicting ones, they could be preventing you from leading the life you truly desire.

Finding out what’s missing in your life can be achieved by getting to know yourself better. Let go of comparisons, be open to change and new opportunities, learn what your values are, and start to really listen to yourself. It’s all for a better, more satisfied you!

Decluttering After the Holidays

Decluttering After the Holidays

by Life ChangesLifestyle

After all of the gift-giving and festive parties have passed, the holidays can end up taking a toll on the state of your home. With the new year just around the corner, there’s no better time than now to get rid of the excess junk and start with a fresh, clean, organized home. When you take on the task of decluttering after the holidays, use these tips to help you stay committed to your goal to get back to being organized.

Get One, Toss Two

This is a simple and helpful habit to get into – when you receive an item that you already have, you toss two (or donate) in return. When you’re organizing your holiday gifts that you’ve received, start to put this habit into action. For example, if you’ve received a DVD, add two old ones to the “out” pile. The same goes for just about anything – clothing, kitchenware, makeup, kids’ toys, and so forth.

Pay It Forward

When you’re sifting through your items, don’t forget to pay it forward and donate. Create a pile or have a bag on hand to place items to drop off at a local charity so you can pay it forward and provide others with items that you no longer need.

Take on One Room at a Time

The best way to declutter after the holidays is to take on one room at a time. That way you can avoid feeling overwhelmed, which can force you to toss in the towel and give up before you’ve really started. Chip away at your home by only focusing on individual rooms at one time, starting from the top and working your way down to the basement.

Have a Designated Area to Store Items for “Out”

As you move along throughout your home, create an area – either in the corner of each room or maybe just a corner of your basement – where you can place and organize items that are marked for out. This helps keep the decluttering process organized and easier for you to see the progress that you’ve made.

Toss What Hasn’t Been Used in the Past Year

To help you determine what to keep and what to toss, ask yourself each time what you have and have not used over the past year or so. If the answer is a definite no then the item should definitely be placed in the “toss” pile, if there’s no sentimental value attached to it.

Getting organized and clearing out the excess junk is not only great for your home, but it’s also an effective way to help clear out any mental clutter as well.  Get started with your decluttering project to help you stay focused and committed to having a clean, fresh home this coming year.

Surrounding Yourself with Positive People

Surrounding Yourself with Positive People

by Life ChangesLifestyle

Having the right kind of people in your life can make an enormous difference for influencing the quality of your life. It’s important to choose those whom you hold dear carefully, as they help foster your environment, your experiences, and even your emotions. If you find that the people in your life are holding you down with negative emotions and tendencies, then it may be time to declutter your social circle in order to make room for more positive influences.

By surrounding yourself with positive people, it can make a lasting impact on your life in some of these simple and essential ways.

 

Absorb More Positive Energy

We often absorb other people’s energy through their direct mood and attitudes. When we take in their stress, anger or negative emotions, we can easily end up emitting that energy back onto others. Wouldn’t you prefer to be attracting and sending out positive energy to the people around you? Of course you would! And you can easily achieve this by simply spending more time surrounding yourself every day with optimistic people that have happy and positive energy to share.

 

Mirror Healthy Goals

We become a lot like those who we spend the most time with – mirroring their goals and ambitions. For instance, if you surround yourself with healthy, active people or those with positive outlooks on life, you can’t help but feel influenced by their energy to engage and share a value in leading a healthier lifestyle as well. So instead of surrounding yourself with negative and self-destructive people, find others you admire and can look up to in order to help improve and enrich your life.

 

Get Rid Of Negativity

Negativity can affect every aspect of your life – from your relationships to your work, to your overall wellbeing. No-one wants to be around a person that is always complaining or putting others down. You can quickly rid your life of any negativity that exists by making the decision to no longer accept it in your life.

 

Foster Growth

When you have more renewed energy from the positive vibes around you, there is more time and energy to foster growth in your life. Those who don’t waste time complaining and instead focus on how to be productive and solve problems for the greater good, can help uplift your spirits and get you motivated to take on life in a new and improved direction.

 

Move Forward

When you are feeling negative, it’s easy to enter into a slump by dwelling on past experiences and emotions that serve no purpose in your future. By surrounding yourself with more positive people, you can begin to move forward in your life and learn to alter your thought patterns to focus on creating a positive future.  When you begin to do this, you get to enjoy a renewed sense of motivation, energy, and excitement for what’s to come.

Surrounding yourself with positive people is more important than you may realize. The people that you see and interact with the most are the people who end up influencing your thoughts, your habits, your focus and essentially, your quality of life. Remember to always choose wisely; if you have people surrounding you who are bringing you down with negativity on a constant basis, it might be time to filter them out to make room for more positive influences instead.

Woman sleeping in her bed

How to Improve Sleep Hygiene

by Inner HealthLife ChangesLifestylePhysical Health

Obtaining a healthy and restful night’s sleep on a regular basis helps to improve productivity and overall quality of life. However, many of us simply fall into bed when it is convenient or don’t implement lifestyle adjustments that allow for a healthier night’s rest. Here are some ways you can improve your sleep hygiene and feel more refreshed each morning.

Avoiding Stimulants, Fats, and Sugars Prior to Bedtime

That last cup of coffee or nightcap can disrupt the effectiveness of your sleep cycle, particularly during the second half of the night when your body begins to process alcohol, caffeine, and sugars. Cutting them and fats, spices, and carbonated beverages out of your evening ritual can help to enhance overall sleep hygiene, and it doesn’t hurt to make it a rule to brush your teeth a little earlier so as to avoid temptation.

Put the Phone Down

The light emitted by your smartphone’s screen can cause for a horrid night’s rest fraught with discomfort and irritability if you’re not careful. Laying in bed and scrolling through social media news feeds until you pass out is going to do you no favours in regards to a restful sleep and refreshed body — in fact, it can sap your energy even more quickly and cause you to get up n the wrong side of the bed in the morning. If you absolutely must check that final email before bed, however, enable your phone’s blue light filter to minimize eyestrain and better simulate natural lighting.

Limit Daytime Nap Length

As we get older, we fall into the habit of taking catnaps to compensate for inadequate nighttime sleep. However, sleeping for hours during the day can wreak havoc on our internal clock and mood, making it more difficult to properly sleep at regular hours. Naps are all well and good, but set an alarm and limit them to half an hour long. In fact, naps of 30 minutes or less can help to boost alertness, overall mood, mental stimulation, and even performance. Don’t waste the potential of a nap by lying down for half the day.

Regular Exercise

While it should be embraced by middle-aged people either way for various physical and health benefits, practicing regular exercise helps to promote high quality sleep. Even as little of ten minutes of aerobic exercises — such as a walk or bike ride — can make a major difference. Bear in mind that this should be approached in moderation, however, as working out strenuously close to bedtime will have negative effects on your sleep cycle. The overall effects of regular exercise vary from person to person, so try different approaches and activities to see what works best and helps you sleep most comfortably.

Good sleep hygiene promotes good mental and physical health. Feel less drained in the morning by encouraging a healthy night’s rest, and you’ll be refreshed and comfortable every morning, ready to handle each day.

Adjusting to retirement

Adjusting to Retirement

by AgingLife Changes

Preparing for your retirement takes years of planning and wise investing. It seems as if retirement has been the resounding theme of your financial planning life and when the time comes to put your plan into motion, there can be mixed feelings about it. Not everyone is counting down the days until they retire. Some people dream of days with no commitments or responsibilities, while others thrive in a fast-paced, demanding environment and never want to slow down. Retirement is a time in life met by everyone in their own way. Here are five points to consider when adjusting to retired life.   

Keep Your Mind Busy

A lifetime of having a daily task list and deadlines is a lot to give up. Although retirement is your reward for putting in a lifetime of work, it’s easy for your mind to become overwhelmed with the silence. It’s important to keep yourself and your mind busy once retirement living sets in. Consider doing some small projects to stimulate your mind, or to finally tackle your bucket list of books to read. Just be sure to keep your mind occupied and avoid sitting idle for too long.

Manage Your Spending Appropriately

Since your income picture will have changed with retirement, it’s important to manage your spending to ensure you have enough retirement money to last you the remainder of your life. A discussion with your financial advisor will help to guide your spending habits and make sure your savings and retirement income allow you to live life to its fullest.

Consider Downsizing

If you are retired, there might be more travel in your future which means your big family home might be empty for long periods of time. It might be a good plan to consider downsizing your house to a smaller home, whether that be condo or a bungalow. There will be less maintenance as well as the extra money generated from the sale of your home, and the layout will be more convenient for your lifestyle in your golden years.

Be Aware of Your Portfolio Growth to Predict Financial Future

Now that you are retired you will need to pay closer attention to your portfolio growth to help predict your future spending. The growth of your retirement fund is not something you may have monitored in the past, but now that you are living off of it, knowledge of its growth can help you predict your financial future.

Try Something New!

Retirement can be a time to discover a new passion that you didn’t have time to discover before. Take advantage of a free schedule and do something that you really want to do. Maybe join a dance class, learn pottery or even Tai Chi. Learn to speak Spanish, take up painting, sign up for spin classes, or volunteer with a cause close to your heart. Try something new and challenge your mind and body.

Retirement can be a time of rest and relaxation and personal discovery. Before you plan to retire, book an appointment to meet with your financial advisor to discuss your portfolio and ensure that your financial needs will be met in retirement.

Should you downsize?

Should you downsize?

by Financial PlanningLife Changes

Once your children go off to college or move out to start their own adult lives, even a modest house can feel like a sprawling estate. If you find yourself in the situation where you have an empty nest and are wondering what your next steps should be, talk to an advisor at The Beacon Group of Assante Financial Management Ltd. and assess if it’s time to turn your empty nest into your retirement fund.

Emotional Attachment & Nostalgia

There are many driving factors involved in the sale of a house. One leading factor is emotion. For some, the house may have more sentimental value than monetary value. Perhaps it was always the house where Christmas was held every year, or maybe even a family property passed down through the generations. Emotional attachment is possibly one of the most difficult hurdles to jump when it comes to the sale of a house.

Financial Considerations

There are also financial considerations to be made. Ask yourself: why are you selling? Is it to generate a large lump sum of money for your future estate beneficiaries to inherit? If this is your thinking, a financial advisor at The Beacon Group of Assante Financial Management Ltd. will be able to tell you if it’s the right time to sell or if the house is better left unsold to become part of your future estate as a sizable asset. This is a great way to pass tax-free money to your children, but you need to be mindful of probate tax. A financial advisor at The Beacon Group of Assante Financial Management Ltd. can help you decide what is best.

Maintenance

Another motivating factor that may influence your decision to sell is the upkeep. Having a large family home for only two adults is not always the most logical. An attractive option for many is to downsize to a low-maintenance, luxury condo that is more compatible with a more mature lifestyle.

Travel

If your retirement plans include plenty of world travel, then having an empty house may not be the best option for you. Selling your house and downsizing to either a smaller house or a condo will make leaving for long and frequent vacations much easier as there is less concern that something will go wrong while you are away. Travel may also be easier to accomplish with a large lump sum of money from the sale of your house.

Retirement looks different for each person. Don’t hesitate to contact the Beacon Group of Assante Financial Management Ltd. and begin discussions about the future of your family home.

Understanding the Financial Repercussions of Life Events

Understanding the Financial Repercussions of Life Events

by FinancialFinancial PlanningLife Changes

Whether you are facing a job loss or going through a lengthy divorce, these huge changes don’t just affect you personally, they also have a major impact on your finances. If you are lucky, you will have enough time to discuss and prepare for these life-changing events by putting together a financial plan. Unfortunately, these types of life changes tend to happen right out of the blue. Either way, it is important to be certain you are prepared to deal with any potential scenario. We have provided a few tips on how to keep your personal finances intact through a number of trying life events:

Job Termination

In the unfortunate event where your company deems your position expendable, what should you do? You will have a decent severance package to get you through the next few months, but you’ll need to find gainful employment quickly. If you happen to land a new job quickly, you can invest the money from your severance or use it to pay down debt. You could even use it to help kick-start a business venture you’ve been thinking about. You’ll land on your feet quick enough, but sitting at home with a few weeks’ worth of severance on your hands can help you re-evaluate your career and your life aspirations.

Separation and Divorce

Divorce not only involves personal consequences, but financial ones as well, especially if you have children together. You will need to update your will and your beneficiaries on any savings plans or life insurance you may have. If you need to start providing child support, you could need term life and disability insurance to protect those future payments. If you eventually re-marry, you may need to create a spousal trust so that your new spouse will have income while still leaving some inheritance for all of your children.

Taking care of a special-needs child

Caring for a child with special needs will require a lot of time and attention. Parents need to be devoted to their child’s development and health every step of the way. This situation also has financial repercussions. You might want to open a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) to ensure your child’s financial security. You may also establish a trust fund in their name.

When you experience a life change, contact The Beacon Group of Assante Financial Management Ltd. and they will help adapt your financial plans to fit the changes in your life.