Still, no financial planner is ever going to be able to tell you what you want out of life or for that matter what can help you sleep at night. That's up to you. Planner David Lewis, who seems to enjoy his role as a sometime heretic, likes to tweak his colleagues with this question: What if Michael Dell had consulted a financial planner back when he was starting his company? The message for entrepreneurs is clear. You need to save, you need to plan, and you need to be you, too.
Kenneth Klee is a financial writer.
Making It Automatic
Who: Mike Maddock, 37
What: A principal at Maddock Douglas Inc., a marketing-communications firm in Elmhurst, Ill.
Personal: Married, one child. No longer rides motorcycles.
Investing style: Recognizing his overly optimistic attitude toward money, he started a regular savings program as soon as the company turned a small profit. Now he's building up a nest egg by means of his company's 401(k) plan and some additional investments in no-load mutual funds that he selects himself.
Looking ahead: Maddock hopes someday to sell the business to the people who helped build it.
Quote: "My wife's a dedicated saver. I was wired to make and spend."
Man With a Plan
Who: Rob Chewning, 33
What: Owner of Southern Woods, a flooring and decorating company in suburban Atlanta.
Personal: Married, three kids. Worked two jobs while getting Southern Woods going; saved money by skipping cable TV.
Investing style: After dabbling in on-line investing, Chewning began working with Cambridge Southern Financial Advisors on a comprehensive plan. Now he's building a portfolio of diversified index funds and bonds, with real estate a major component. Chewning is personally financing Southern Woods' new headquarters in Barrow County; he'll receive rental income from his company and other tenants.
Looking ahead: He hopes to retire in 15 to 20 years but doesn't intend to sell the business.
Quote: "My wife, Kyrie, sees the big picture quicker. She's the one who'll say, 'OK, let's sink another $300,000 in the building and have some rental income."
One Big Bet
Who: Tao Miller, 33
What: Owner of Body & Soul Cosmetics, a three-year-old luxury-cosmetics company based in Honolulu.
Personal: Married, no kids. His parents chose his unusual first name in Tibet, where they were married.
Investing style: What investments? Miller puts every nickel he can into his cash-hungry company.
Looking ahead: For Miller, Body & Soul is his financial future. His goal is to build it up to $5 million to $10 million in sales (2002 sales will be around $3.1 million) and then sell out to a major cosmetics company. (Several buyers have already come calling.) He expects to put about half his proceeds in a "very conservative" retirement account and use the rest for real estate and to fund a new venture of some kind.
Quote: "I've been through a lot, and it always worked out. I'm young enough that I can still screw up a few more times."
Resources: Where to Start Getting Investment Help
You have money to manage but also a business to run. A large swath of the financial-services industry is eager to help with the former while you concentrate on the latter. Key questions to ask financial planners: What are they good at -- and how do they get paid?
Financial planners come in several varieties. One kind (visit napfa.org) works strictly for fees, usually a small percentage fee based on the assets managed for you. A larger group (find it at fpanet.org) mixes in commission income from insurance or other products.
Stockbrokers (who may also be financial planners) have traditionally targeted business owners. Most still make their money on commissions, though some (notably at Merrill Lynch, which now calls its brokers financial advisers) are moving toward a fee-based system, the better to align their interests with customers'. Merrill's Business Financial Services unit ( businesscenter.ml.com) provides financing for small businesses and offers personal financial services for business owners.
Money managers offer posh services to the wealthiest entrepreneurs; the minimum account size at Massachusetts-based David L. Babson & Co. ( dlbabson.com), for example, is $2 million. New York City-based Bernstein ( bernstein.com) is known for objective research. Neuberger Berman ( nb.com), also based in New York City, pitches a concept dubbed the "completion portfolio," in which entrepreneurs compensate for overconcentration in their own business by investing in other industries and asset types.
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