Atlanta, GA – Thursday, October 19, 2017 – Atlanta Magazine has announced its 2017 “Five Star Atlanta Wealth Manager” award and eleven of JOYN’s financial advisors earned this prominent distinction – just 13% of applicants. Collectively, the behavioral wealth management firm’s 2017 recipients represent 78% of the advisory team and offer 152 total years of experience as financial advisors with the firm.

JOYN’s eleven “Five Star Atlanta Wealth Manager” winners

• David Geller, CFP®, CEO & Co-Founder
• Marc Lewyn, CEO of Strategic Liquidity Services for Business Owners
• Charlie Gray, CFP®, Vice President & Senior Financial Advisor
• Suzanne Durbin, ChFC®, Vice President & Senior Financial Advisor
• Craig Belisle, ChFC®, Vice President & Senior Financial Advisor
• John Ellard, CLU®, Senior Financial Advisor
• Brian Frey, CFP®, Financial Advisor
• Lara O’Leary, Financial Advisor
• Cindy Wilson, CFP®, Financial Advisor
• Jason Eagle, CFP®, RICP®, Financial Advisor
• Jordan Hutchison, IMCA®, Financial Advisor

JOYN’s eleven “Five Star Atlanta Wealth Manager” recipients

Finding the right wealth manager can be “daunting”

According to Atlanta Magazine, “Whether it is managing your assets with a wealth manager, finding your way through the ever-changing landscape of tax law, sorting out your estate and succession planning or picking the right life insurance, finding the right wealth manager or team who suits your needs can be a daunting task … This is a great place to start!”

Criteria for Top Wealth Manager Award

Five Star Professional uses a comprehensive vetting and research process. Consideration for the top wealth manager award is based on 10 objective criteria, including one and five-year client retention rate, number of client households served, and education and professional designations, among others. 2,378 Atlanta wealth managers were considered for the award and only 13% of candidates (301) were named 2017 Five Star Wealth Managers.

JOYN & Behavioral Wealth Management

JOYN is Atlanta’s only Behavioral Wealth Management firm. Established in 1991, the company is a leading registered investment advisory (RIA) firm with $1.34 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2017. Believed to be the first Behavioral Wealth Management firm in the U.S., JOYN has invested 12 years building expertise in behavioral economics, finance & science, then applying that expertise to wealth management and human decision-making. The firm’s goal is to help clients make better decisions and use their wealth to create more meaningful, joyful lives.

• Meet our “Top Financial Advisors” and the rest of the team
• Learn about Five Star Professional

Picture this: Bernard is loving the smooth drive to the firm’s annual gala in his brand new BMW 7-series, a car he’s craved for years. But his pride vanishes as his buddy Ethan pulls up in a new $150k Tesla S P100D. “With Ludicrous mode!” Ethan crows as they head inside.

In a flash, Bernard’s excitement melts: Someone else (and Ethan!) has something better (and Ludicrous!).

This abrupt change—from contentment to discouragement in six seconds flat—is so common that scientists have a name for it: “RELATIVE DEPRIVATION.”

RELATIVE DEPRIVATION IS A PROBLEM OF PERCEPTION, NOT REALITY.

Compared to most Americans, many of us are drowning in material riches. Look at our homes, clothing, travel itineraries, toys ….

Yet despite our undeniably high standard of living, it’s easy to feel poor next to people with more, and that affects us in surprising ways.

So Ethan has a tech-loaded supercar. So what? Well, Bernard fumed all night. Left unchecked, relative deprivation can drive behaviors that don’t serve us personally, professionally and financially.

COMPARING OUR WEALTH TO OTHERS IS NATURAL, BUT A GAME WE CAN NEVER WIN

Somebody will always have more. If not Ethan, then your old college roommate who made millions as a venture capitalist. Or Jeff Bezos, or even Bill Gates.

Asking “Do I have more than my neighbor?” helps us undervalue our own good fortune and ourselves. (Bernard loved his BMW until he saw Ethan’s Tesla.) Whatever we buy or do, it just can’t fill that gap.

That’s no way to live.

FAKE NUMBERS AND FINANCIAL PLANNING

Yet many people do. Relative deprivation is a common and natural problem we see too often. When clients join us, they often tell us how much money and what return they need. Here are actual pronouncements we’ve heard in meetings:

I need $10 million before I retire.”
“I need $50k a month to live.”
“I need a 10% annual rate of return.

Yet with probing (“Can you tell me how you arrived at that number?”), we often find that those numbers were pulled from the ether. And typically, distorted perceptions drive those declarations. Often, what humans perceive as need is our natural human desire to feel equal to (or better yet, better than) friends and neighbors. And to be blunt, sometimes that “need” is an itch to flaunt our superior investment returns on the golf course.

So you aim high. So what?

YOU’RE STEALING FROM YOURSELF

If we think we need $10 million but only have $5 million, we may imagine we’re always behind. Even if a conservative projection shows we’ll likely never need more than $3 million, we may worry we’re downgrading our expectations.

Plus: Jockeying for MORE takes time and energy you could spend on things that are more important to you. We see it all the time: people are compelled to chase the next great deal. Or they toil longer/harder at dismal jobs to earn money they don’t need. Side effects like sleepless nights and unhappy, anxious days can sour these strategies even further.

Doesn’t your life have enough stress already? Don’t let relative deprivation rob your most valuable resource: YOUR TIME.

JOYN uses cognitive tools and behavioral science expertise that can help you neutralize those negative feelings, change your perception and feel more confident. (We apply tools/expertise with our clients for exactly that reason.) With that confidence, you can worry less and enjoy life more.

But feelings aside, it also can hurt you financially.

ARTIFICIAL TARGETS CAUSE US TO TAKE UNNECESSARY RISKS

Realize it or not, our emotions can make our brains blind to risk.

In the relentless pursuit of MORE, people often take outsized risks chasing bigger returns. But risk—especially unnecessary risk—is one of the greatest obstacles to achieving the rate of return you truly need. Big risks can plunk your portfolio in the water hazard and permanently impair your financial future.

WE THINK THERE’S A BETTER WAY.

Figure out what you really need. With our clients, we start with a meaningful discussion about how they live now and what they plan to do in retirement.

Then build cash flow projections based on those answers. Since there are abundant variables, we recommend consulting a trusted pro—one who can build a custom, flexible model that incorporates your lifestyle now and later. (And don’t forget future contributions and expenses.) In addition, plan beyond the basics; your model should include things you want to buy (vacation property?) and do (cover grad school?).

Naturally, the model must incorporate your time horizon, risk tolerance, market variability, taxes, and other factors. Then, since experience never perfectly matches projections, you should repeat the process every few years. (We do all the above, BTW.)

Compare what you need to what you have now. For most clients, the reveal often comes with surprises.

1. This reality-based analysis typically confirms they don’t need as much as they thought to live the way they want. But there’s often even better news.
2. Many clients are also amazed to learn they’ve already hit their true “Magic Number.” And if they aren’t there yet, many are relieved to know they’re on track, often with margin to spare. (FYI, there’s no magic involved—just solid financial modeling!)

Imagine your elation when you realize you’ve done it: amassed the wealth to live the life you want.

CONCLUSION

Changing natural human behavior takes time and effort, but we’ve seen clients and friends make enormous progress toward cherished goals with proper help.

It starts by understanding what’s going on inside that big brain of yours, then a meticulous analysis to determine your REAL “magic number.” From there, we create a financial plan and investment portfolio—one rooted in reality, which creates confidence.

Remember: Your net worth doesn’t measure your self-worth. Wealth is just a tool to create the meaningful, joyful life you’ve worked so hard to achieve. Once you truly believe it, you win.

LIKE THIS ARTICLE?

We publish different types of content every 4-6 weeks – you can subscribe here.

We’ve watched the news from Texas over the last week with heavy hearts. The damage from Hurricane Harvey, torrential rains, and unprecedented flooding is almost incomprehensible. Hurricane Harvey has caused significant upheaval for many individuals, families and communities in its path. The damage is likely to be long lasting and in some cases life-changing. JOYN team members are helping family and friends and donating to local and national charities to help our neighbors in Texas and Louisiana.

But as heartbreaking as the images from Houston and other areas are, we believe the market impact from this devastating storm will be much more transitory and smaller in scale than a storm of this size might suggest. You may have concerns about how this storm might affect your investments.

AFFECTED INVESTMENT FIRMS SUCCESSFULLY ACTIVATE THEIR DISASTER PLANS

We’re happy to report that all of the investment firms in the path of Hurricane Harvey have avoided the worst of the devastation. No lives have been lost, but many of their businesses did suffer material damage from the storm.

Before we invest with any investment manager, we make sure the managers we hire have a plan in place for natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey that could interrupt their work. We assess their operational due diligence and disaster plan. Business continuity planning (BCP) allows for the continuation of critical elements of business during extreme events such as hurricanes, power outages, terrorism or other material events.

We’re pleased to reassure you that all of the investment firms we use in the affected area have activated their BCP and have reported back that they’re conducting “business as usual.” This continuity helps ensure the safe management of capital for clients whose assets are invested with firms located in the affected region.

HARVEY TEMPORARILY CLOSES LOCAL OIL & GAS REFINERIES

Houston is a major oil refinery hub. A total of 2.5 million barrels of refining capacity was taken offline in advance of the storm; flooding has halted the production of 300–500 thousand barrels at Eagle Ford; and major ports including the Houston Ship Channel and the Port of Corpus Christi were closed due to the storm limiting exports and imports.

While Hurricane Harvey may cause higher prices for certain products and/or reduced earnings for affected companies, we believe these issues are likely short lived and should not affect the markets over the long-term.

MUNICIPAL BOND MARKETS LIKELY TO WEATHER THE STORM

While Harvey has had a significant impact on many communities, the market’s reaction to bond prices has been fairly muted. Two factors buoy our confidence in the municipal markets. First, Texas carries a ‘AAA’ rating from both S&P and Moody’s. Second, according to Bloomberg, over the last 75 years, no natural disaster has led to the default of a municipal bond. We believe it’s unlikely Texas will be an exception to this precedent.

DONATIONS TO HURRICANE HARVEY VICTIMS

If you’re moved to make a substantial contribution to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey—or indeed, any significant charitable donation—we can help you do so in the most tax-advantageous way possible. Please speak with your advisor to learn more about your options.

A REMINDER ABOUT WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT

Events like Hurricane Harvey help put things in perspective. As we watch those suffering and pray for the families who lost loved ones, we’re reminded what’s most important and how much we have to be grateful for—the safety of our family and pets, a dry home, a working car, our own bed, and the security of our investments. Recovery may take time, but we believe people and the markets are resilient.

If you have any questions, please contact your investment advisor.

Atlanta, GA – Tuesday, September 5, 2017 — It happens every day: a parent or spouse falls or gets sick. What begins as a routine hospital visit quickly turns into something far more serious and daunting: a diagnosis that requires medical care, a move from the family home, and care from professional and/or family caregivers. Providing that care can be tremendously expensive and stressful—and even create significant health issues for caregivers. Yet, due to our reluctance to talk about death and dying—much less plan for it—and a perfect storm of demographic trends, society has little help to offer those struggling with these issues.

Over the next 25 years, aging boomers and longer lifespans will double the population of Americans aged 65 years or older. By 2050, the U.S. population of seniors will swell to 80 million, 20% of the total population. With 10,000 boomers retiring each day, skyrocketing medical costs, and a projected mushrooming of Alzheimer’s and dementia that create greater health risks for caregivers, Atlantans must plan ahead for their loved ones and themselves.

“Seasons of Care,” a new workshop launching in Atlanta on September 13, seeks to help current and future caregivers, seniors, and families prepare and learn how a topic laden with fear and dread can become a far more positive, loving time. A sudden health crisis shouldn’t mean financial ruin and family turmoil. There is a better way.

JOYN, Atlanta’s Behavioral Wealth Management firm, developed this workshop after realizing that the meager existing research, information and caregiver support fails to address numerous issues. “Seasons of Care” uses a multi-faceted framework that focuses on the financial, relational, personal, and logistical challenges caregivers and families face. Caring for an elderly parent or spouse can drain family finances OR be planned for in advance. Caregiver challenges can damage family relationships OR strengthen family ties for generations. Caregiving can be a time of great stress, fear and regret OR it can be a time of love, compassion and respect.

The workshop is led by Susan Davis, whose personal caregiver journey will resonate with families struggling with these issues. Participants will receive a “caregiver toolkit” full of resources, to-do lists, priorities, tips, and other materials to help navigate pressing issues and questions. JOYN dedicated two years to creating and curating these valuable resources for Atlanta.

To learn more about the workshop, visit Seasons of Care.

To schedule interviews with JOYN, contact lynnharrismedcalf@gmail.com.

ABOUT JOYN

Established in 1991, JOYN is a leading registered investment advisory (RIA) firm in Atlanta with $1.17 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2016. The first Behavioral Wealth Management firm in the U.S., JOYN has invested 15 years building expertise in behavioral science and applying it to wealth management and human decision-making. The firm’s goal is to help clients make better decisions and use their wealth to create more meaningful, joyful lives.

I hear it frequently from folks who’ve sold their companies: “Just a few years ago I was somebody,” they say. “I owned a successful business. People took their orders from me. I was known in my community and respected in my industry.”

“Then I sold the business,” the story continues. “It was supposed to be a dream come true. Sure, I’m financially secure….” You know what comes next, but last week, I heard a new punchline:

But who am I today? Just some guy in line at Starbucks. No one knows me, no one cares what I think. Is this what it was all for?

“And do I want a latte or a cappuccino today? Decisions, decisions….”

Ouch. The fact is that, for many entrepreneurs, the transition to life after the sale can be challenging. After all, you spend decades, perhaps your entire adult life, building your business. Then, one day, you’ve sold the company and you’re starting all over.

According to a white paper written by the Columbia Business School, “While the sale of a company can mark a significant success for an entrepreneur, the reality of selling a venture often represents a loss of identity and community.  Entrepreneurs may go through several stages of recognizing and coping with this loss, and this process can sometimes take years.”

BEYOND THE DOLLAR SIGNS

It doesn’t have to happen this way. But to be ready for this next step, you first need to know what actually makes people happy. And I’ll give you a hint: it’s not money.

Sure, everyone wants to be comfortable, and everyone wants stability and security, a few nice things. But studies repeatedly show that accruing more wealth (beyond basic necessities, of course) does not correlate to greater happiness.

What CAN make us happy?

1. Having A Purpose: It might be changing the world, or it might be taking care of your kids or grand kids, but either way, you need a mission.
2. Connecting With People: Meaningful relationships are essential. Humans are a social species. Relationships bring us joy, meaning and purpose.
3. Having “Flow” Experiences Every Day: By “flow,” I mean the feeling we get when we’re “in the moment” and “in the zone.” Athletes talk about it a lot, but we all experience “flow” when we do something challenging that we’re really good at. Time flies, we’re at one with our actions. It’s a great feeling.

It’s quite likely that running your business used to meet a lot of those needs—people to connect with, a purpose to fulfill, and a feeling of “flow” every day. As the Columbia Business School study put it, “For many entrepreneurs who have invested a vast amount of financial and emotional capital in their business, the experience of selling and moving on may involve a loss of identity and purpose, despite the financial security that usually accompanies the sale.”

If you’ve sold your company, those opportunities might be gone for you. How will you find them?

This is why so many people start another business late in life or even try to buy back the business they sold. It did a lot more for them than simply pay the bills.

So How Can You Avoid Ending Up Feeling Last In Line? Think through the non-financial changes you’re in for at least as carefully as you deconstruct every line of the deal. What do you want your life to be about, and how can you make sure that happens? Start thinking about what’s next well before your morning is missing the things that previously brought you meaning.

SALES COME IN MANY SIZES

Plus: As they begin to think about selling their company, many business owners don’t realize that “selling” isn’t one-size-fits-all.

Investment bankers may not share this secret because it can make their jobs harder. But the reality is that there are various ways to ease off on your responsibilities and get some liquidity out of the business without selling it outright. It’s your company, after all. More importantly, it’s your life, and only you can decide what’s right for you and your family. Your lawyer and banker are there to make it happen for you.

And for those who’ve already sold their business and are feeling like all they are is the third person in line at Starbucks, remember: you’ve been here before. It just didn’t bother you then. So the problem isn’t being in line; it’s deciding what to do next and getting to it. And that’s a problem you can solve.

Note:

You can also engage an outside third party (like my team at JOYN) to help you work through these questions so the deal pros don’t have to. It’s never too late to start a conversation, especially because there are ways to generate liquidity long before you start thinking of a sale. Learn about our Strategic Liquidity Services or RSVP for our November 10 breakfast for Atlanta business owners. Here are some benefits in 60 seconds:

RELATED ARTICLE:

“You’re Not Just A Deal”

We often say our industry is broken, and a recent meeting with industry insiders offered a stark example: the financial services industry’s attitude toward “outflows.”

Outflows is the industry’s term for losing assets under management (AUM), and they transpire in one of two ways:

1. Clients leave the firm and take their portfolio with them.
2. Clients withdraw money from their portfolio.

Financial services firms generally take a dim view of outflows because it affects their bottom line. When clients withdraw money from their portfolios, it lowers the firm’s AUM and reduces advisor income. When it comes to outflows, we think traditional wealth managers have confused their clients’ best interests with their own.

We think that’s dead wrong.

Of course, if I were feeling generous and being completely honest, I’d point out that traditional advisors might discourage outflows for other reasons:

• Withdrawals shrink portfolios. In this case, advisors may care more about portfolio value (the bigger, the better) than their clients’ best interests—which is improper; or maybe
• They’re unsure how much their clients can afford to spend. Those advisors are either incompetent or have insufficient faith in their models—either of which is bad.

Our opinion: The only appropriate reason for an advisor to discourage outflows is if the withdrawal would not be in their clients’ best interests.

WE REJECT OUR INDUSTRY’S ATTITUDE TOWARD OUTFLOWS

We regularly meet with experts from our custodians (the companies that hold our clients’ money) to discuss how JOYN compares to its competitors and to share ideas about operational efficiency and growing our AUM.

Outflows were the first topic the experts brought up—specifically, the second kind (clients who withdraw money from their portfolios, not clients who leave the firm). They told us we had a problem: JOYN’s outflows were essentially DOUBLE the industry average. Naturally, they were eager to share ideas about how we could lower our client withdrawals.

My response: “Thanks, but we’re not interested.”

The experts looked surprised. “No, no, you don’t understand,” they insisted. “We can help you figure out how to hold on to more client funds by having your clients pull out less money.”

”Actually, YOU don’t understand,” I replied, then explained why.

Financial advisors are fiduciaries who have a duty to put their clients’ interests first. Never in my 25 years of practice has any client ever told me they wanted to grow their portfolio so we could earn more fees. They’re not interested—nor should they be!

We believe that keeping client outflows to a minimum – encouraging clients to withdraw LESS just so we could earn MORE – would violate our duty to put our clients’ interests ahead of our own. Of course, we also know it’s our duty to speak up if excessive spending would put a client at risk. The point being is that clients’ best interests must come first.

The experts and I didn’t manage to see eye to eye that day, but we agreed to skip their presentation on outflows. And I realized that our meeting highlighted a big difference between Behavioral Wealth Management and traditional wealth management. But that’s only part of the story.

SPENDING CAN BE SCARY

People assign all sorts of meaning to money. Many people view their money as a sign of success, security, freedom, even a way to keep score. But those definitions confound the purpose of money.

For example: If we believe money represents security or freedom, then spending money (or heaven forbid, losing some) makes us feel less secure or free. Yet, logically, we know that argument isn’t true. For instance, if you spent $3,500 on a security system, you’d be more secure, not less.

Humans don’t make financial decisions with perfect logic. When we have strong beliefs that money represents things like security and success, we’re likely to hoard our money instead of using it to make our lives better.

And that’s a shame—because that’s what it’s for.

We understand that our clients earn, grow and protect their wealth so they can USE it to build meaningful, joyful lives – not so they can point proudly to big numbers in their ever-growing portfolios.

OUTFLOWS: A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

JOYN looks at outflows from the clients’ perspective. If the purpose of wealth is to build a better life, then the duty of a wealth manager should be to help clients use their wealth to do just that. That’s how we see our role, and that philosophy is baked into our Behavioral Wealth Management discipline.

The industry views outflows from the advisors’ perspective. To them, keeping outflows to a minimum is a symbol of success because withdrawals decrease client portfolios as well as firm assets and income. Client desires don’t factor into the equation.

That’s one of the many reasons we say the industry is broken.

IT’S YOUR MONEY – ENJOY IT

Money is a tool to help you fulfill your wishes, goals and dreams. So you—not your advisor—should be the one who decides how and when to spend your money.

Want to use your money for the trip of a lifetime? Give a large donation to a charity that’s close to your heart? Pay for your grandchildren’s college?

Chances are we’ll say what other advisors might not: GO AHEAD. As long as your financial decisions align with your life goals and don’t expose you and your family to undue risk, there’s no reason to hold back. It’s your money. ENJOY IT.

Are you exhausted? Working grueling hours but not loving it? Spending more but enjoying life less? Eager to try something new, but worried about making your monthly nut (or hitting your massive retirement goal)?

Here’s a radical idea. This summer, treat yourself to a “spending sabbatical.”

Why, you might ask? After all, you work hard, often under challenging circumstances. Haven’t you earned the right to splurge and have fun this summer?

Of course you have. But here’s what you may not realize: Your spending habits can complicate your efforts to create more meaning and joy in your life.

A spending sabbatical may sound like torture or a pointless exercise. But it’s not. It’s an opportunity to make more thoughtful, deliberate choices about how YOU want to spend YOUR money.

If you have the gumption to give it a go, it’s an experiment that just might change everything for you and your family. Creating a little financial breathing room gives you the freedom to think about what you REALLY want and choose what’s truly meaningful.

By summer’s end, you could discover that you can be happy spending less. Instead of feeling deprived, you may feel empowered and relieved. That burdensome monthly nut you felt powerless to change … well, you just may prove that you CAN change it. That’s liberating.

Best of all, a spending sabbatical just might give you something you didn’t think you’d have again: hope. And maybe you could hop off the crazy train and do something else.

SO WHAT SPENDING HABITS COULD YOU TRY CUTTING?

Here’s a list to get you thinking—no doubt you’ll come up with more:

• Buy less stuff. Wait to upgrade your car, golf clubs, wardrobe, and toys. Put off the new boat, summer home, or other major purchase until your sabbatical ends.
• Trim your entertainment budget. Dine out less often and try less expensive restaurants; be selective with that wine list. And instead of buying VIP tickets to the summer’s hot events, invite friends over for a cookout.
• Seek out new travel experiences. Choose less expensive destinations, hotels, and flights. Consider staying with the old college friends you’ve longed to see.
• Cut the household staff. Have your housekeeper, gardener, and other “employees” come less often.
• Reduce all those monthly subscription costs. Switch to a less expensive cable package and stop paying for anything you’re not using – Sirius, gym memberships, golf privileges, plane share. If you find you’re not getting up to the mountain house anymore, maybe it’s time to let that go, too.
• Make spending less a family mission. Invite your kids to pitch in, too – have them mow the lawn or tackle a house project this summer.

YOUR EXPERIENCE WILL HAVE STAGES

A spending sabbatical takes commitment, and your trial is likely to go through fits, starts, and phases.

1. You’re going to miss some things you really enjoy. You may even feel loss or grief. Don’t worry—that feeling is temporary. New habits take practice and time.
2. You’ll realize you don’t miss many of the things you gave up. You’ll also discover there are some things you really don’t want to do without, and that’s OK.
3. You may experience an aha moment. “Maybe I don’t need all this stuff—maybe my family and I CAN be happy with less.” That’s when things get really exciting.
4. You discover you have CHOICES! Where you once felt stuck, you’ll suddenly see new possibilities and maybe even feel giddy. You can consider jobs or business opportunities that you’d love to do, but pay less. Imagine the joy of discovering that you really DO have alternatives:

Wow, I really can afford to take a year off! And when I come back I don’t have to keep working as an attorney, grinding out 2,400+ billable hours a year or keep up the crushing pace of working full-time. I could start my own business! Become a teacher or work for a nonprofit! Or write a book! Or open a B&B or antique store!

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

When we make different choices, the changes ripple across all areas of our lives.

TIME. If you do choose to leave your high-pressure, 60-hour/week job for a less stressful 40-hour job, you’ll have more time, a luxury you likely haven’t enjoyed for a long time:

• I’m taking better care of my health. I sleep 8 hours a night and still have time to work out!
• My spouse and I have reconnected now that I’m home before dark. And I’m more present when we’re together because I’m not obsessing over work.
• I have time to be with my kids, visit my parents, and go out with friends.
• With less work stress, I feel healthier and happier. I’m enjoying work and proud to be modeling a balanced life for my children.
• I have time for the things I want to do: drawing, painting, even art classes.

RELATIONSHIPS. Guess what else? Because you’re able to spend more time with family and friends, you also might improve your relationships. And once you have a life outside of work, you might even become more FUN. After all, you’ll be less stressed and have something to talk about besides work!

A year from now, you could see someone who’s still stuck in a high-pressure job and say, “Oh, you poor sap! I used to be one of you!”

SPEND LESS. ENJOY LIFE MORE.

Throughout your life, you’ve dreamed wistfully about doing other things. But you pushed those ideas aside because you couldn’t earn enough doing them. You’ve spent years working long hours at a job that leaves you feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and exhausted, and monthly spending needs that leave you feeling hopeless and stuck.

Spend less and enjoy your life more. That’s a radical concept, one our money-centric culture doesn’t cultivate. But it doesn’t have to be just a pipedream. A spending sabbatical might just help you realize that you really CAN afford to pursue your dreams.

In the thick of tax season, JOYN’s Marc Lewyn, CEO of Strategic Liquidity Services, is sharing valuable insights on tax shelters for high net worth clients. In this April 2017 Financial Planning article (and this one from JOYN’s archive), he discusses one attractive opportunity: conservation easements.

For taxpayers with large properties, conservation easements allow them to generate big federal tax deductions by converting all or a portion of it into a land trust. This approach has other benefits to the taxpayer as well:

1. Reducing the tax burden on the property; and
2. Protecting the property from future development so it can be enjoyed for generations to come.

Marc explains, “Easements have become the coin of the realm, so to speak. Having familiarity with the potential benefits and the risks allows advisers to provide a valuable filter for clients.”

According to the article, “The total number of acres in the U.S. under easements overseen by land trusts at the end of 2015 was almost 16.8 million, more than double the acreage under easement a decade earlier, according to the Land Trust Alliance. At the end of 2005, the total nationally was 6,113,108.”

To find out more about converting land into a trust and other tax saving opportunities, please feel free to email Marc directly or contact JOYN here.

You spend decades building a successful business. When the time is right, you sell the business and retire (or at least take a nice, relaxing break). Sounds like a solid plan, right?

Unfortunately, the reality doesn’t always turn out so happily. According to a 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of entrepreneurs who sold their businesses, 75% were unhappy with their decision a year later. And only 5% were satisfied with the proceeds from the sale.

Why are so many business owners unhappy after selling? A big reason is that your goal in the sale is very different from the goal of people whose job it is to help you conduct it — the investment banker, the lawyer, the CPA.

Your goal: To conclude an important chapter of your life and set yourself (and your family) up for everything that comes next.

Their goal: To do the deal efficiently, period. Thinking about your deeper satisfaction in the years that follow? Not their job. Heck, it may not even be their responsibility to get you the best price—that may be too much time & work. They want to reach a reasonable financial outcome and move on – preferably as quickly as possible. You talk in terms of security and family; their vernacular is “deal flow.”

In other words, for you, selling your business is the deal of a lifetime. For them, it’s the deal of the week.

It’s not just a business, it’s your life’s work – and your life

Here’s the deal: you’re not just a deal. You’re a living, breathing human being. To be happy, you need a lot more than just the big pile of money your investment banker promises you. You need a sense of purpose, activities that engage you, and a community of people you care about and who care about you. If you’re like most entrepreneurs, the business you run fulfills a lot of those needs. So selling your business can create a big vacuum in your life. It’s that sucking sound many business owners secretly fear most.

Selling your business is a business decision, but it’s also an extremely personal one. If you approach it only as a deal, you’re leaving out the personal variables in the equation. And aligning all those personal variables can make all the difference in how you feel about the deal down the line.

Selling your business outright may be the right option for you. But then again, it may not. Maybe you’d be happier staying involved in the business in a flexible way. But try telling that to some investment bankers and watch the blood drain from their faces. That only makes their job harder, since it makes the deal more complicated.

Build a liquidity plan that suits your taste

But the truth is that there are as many ways to generate liquidity as there are flavors of ice cream. But average deal professionals probably won’t (or can’t) point out the tasty alternatives to chocolate or vanilla. Most of them approach your deal in a one-dimensional way.

So before you take action, open up the conversation and ask big questions.

• If you were to look back in three years, what has to have happened for you to feel great about the progress you’ve made?
• How do you want to make a difference?
• Where do you want to be?
• How do you want to spend your time?

These questions – and the answers that only you can give – could lead you toward new flavor combinations that give you more satisfaction than you imagined possible. And they won’t make your stomach churn with regret a year later.

The easiest way (for them) to do the deal and the best way (for you) to do the deal are rarely one and the same. You are the only person who can live your life (your CPA isn’t going to live it for you). So it’s up to you to make sure that the deal that’s crafted works not just on the balance sheet, but for you – in every way possible.

Your lawyer and banker may not leap for joy at the prospect, but trust me, they’ll deal with it. After all, dealing is what they do best, right?

—–

One Last Note:
You can also engage an outside third party (like my team at JOYN) to help you work through these questions so the deal pros don’t have to. It’s never too late to start a conversation, especially because there are ways to generate liquidity long before you start thinking of a sale. Learn about our Strategic Liquidity Services or RSVP for our November 10 breakfast for Atlanta business owners.