Business Planning in LA for Women and Couples Navigating a Major Professional Transition
Serving clients locally & nationwide
For Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, and Executives Facing Decisions That Change the Financial Picture
"We're thinking about selling the business — how do we make sure we get this right?"
For many of the women and couples I work with, the business or career is the largest financial asset they have — and the decisions around it are among the highest-stakes they'll ever make. A business sale, a significant equity event, a career transition to a different compensation structure, or a move into independent consulting all carry financial implications that extend well beyond the transaction itself.
I help business owners, executives, and high earners think through the financial dimensions of major professional decisions — connecting the career or business event to retirement planning, investment strategy, tax coordination, and estate planning so nothing is optimized in isolation. The goal is to make sure a significant professional transition strengthens the broader financial plan rather than creating gaps in it.
What This Planning Actually Addresses
Planning a Business Sale or Exit
A business exit is one of the most complex financial events a client can navigate — with implications for taxes, retirement funding, investment strategy, and estate planning that need to be thought through well in advance of any transaction. Business exit planning helps you understand what a sale means for your full financial picture, what structure makes the most sense, and what needs to be in place before you go to market.
Equity Compensation at a Critical Inflection Point
RSUs, stock options, and carried interest all create significant financial decisions around timing, tax treatment, and concentration risk. When an equity event coincides with a career transition — a promotion, a departure, or a company sale — the complexity compounds. Planning ahead of those events, rather than reacting to them, is where the most value is created.
Evaluating a Career Transition With Real Financial Stakes
A move to a new company, a shift to independent consulting, or a step back from full-time work all change the income, benefits, and equity picture in ways that ripple through the rest of the financial plan. Career transition planning models what changes, what it costs, and what needs to be adjusted — before the decision is made.
Business Owner Retirement and Succession
For business owners, retirement planning is inseparable from business planning. Whether the exit is a sale, a transfer to a partner or family member, or a wind-down, the financial plan needs to account for how — and when — the business converts to personal wealth. Succession planning starts earlier than most owners expect.
How to Think About Priorities Based on Where You Are
If a Business Exit Is 3–5 Years Out
This is the highest-leverage planning window. Tax structure, ownership documentation, retirement account strategy, and estate alignment all benefit from being addressed well ahead of a transaction — when there's still time to make meaningful changes.
If an Equity Event or Career Transition Is Imminent
The priority shifts to understanding the immediate financial implications — tax withholding, concentration risk, cash flow changes, and benefit gaps — and making sure the transition doesn't create unintended consequences in the broader financial plan.
If You're Already Post-Transaction
A business sale or significant equity event creates its own set of planning needs — how proceeds are invested, how the tax liability is managed, and how the financial plan is restructured now that the income and asset picture has fundamentally changed.
Not sure where you stand?
What Gets Overlooked More Than It Should
- Underestimating the tax impact of a business sale — particularly in California, where combined federal and state rates on a sale can be significant
- Not revisiting estate planning before a transaction that materially changes net worth
- Leaving equity compensation decisions to the last minute, when the planning window has closed
- Assuming a business exit will fully fund retirement without modeling the actual numbers
- Not accounting for the loss of employer-sponsored benefits — health insurance, disability coverage, retirement plan contributions — in a career transition
- Treating a major professional transition as a career decision rather than a financial one
Career & Business Planning Decisions I Help With
- Business exit and sale planning — financial preparation, tax structure coordination, timing
- Equity compensation strategy — RSUs, stock options, carried interest, ESPP
- Career transition financial modeling — income changes, benefit gaps, equity implications
- Business owner retirement planning and succession coordination
- Post-exit investment strategy and proceeds allocation
- Coordination between business value and personal retirement planning
- Tax strategy around business income, sale proceeds, and equity events
- Estate & legacy planning alignment ahead of a significant transaction
- Independent contractor and self-employment financial structure
- Key person and buy-sell agreement coordination with insurance and legal advisors
What to Expect From Start to Finish
We begin by understanding the professional transition you're navigating — the timeline, the structure, and what's already been decided versus what's still in play. From there, I map the financial implications across every relevant dimension: taxes, retirement, investment strategy, cash flow, and estate planning.
For business owners approaching an exit, this often means working through a multi-year planning horizon — identifying what needs to be in place before a transaction, what decisions should be made in a specific sequence, and how the proceeds will be integrated into a long-term financial plan after the sale closes.
For executives and high earners navigating equity or career decisions, the focus is on understanding the full financial picture of each path before committing — so the decision is made with complete information rather than incomplete assumptions.
Business and career decisions are evaluated alongside your
investment strategy,
retirement timeline,
tax situation, and
estate plan — because a major professional transition that isn't connected to the rest of the financial plan is one of the most common sources of avoidable gaps I see.
How We Can Work Together on Career & Business Planning
Ongoing Planning – A long-term planning relationship where career and business decisions are integrated into your full financial plan — continuously updated as professional circumstances, income, and equity evolve.
Project-Based Planning – A focused engagement for a specific professional decision — a business exit, an equity event, a career transition — with a clear financial framework and next steps built around that decision.
Common Questions About Business Planning
When should I start planning for a business exit?
Earlier than most owners expect — ideally three to five years before a target transaction date. The decisions that have the most impact on after-tax proceeds and retirement readiness are ones that need time to implement. A business exit that's planned well in advance looks very different from one that's reactive.
How does a business sale affect my retirement plan?
Significantly — and in ways that aren't always obvious until the numbers are modeled. Proceeds from a sale change the asset base, the tax picture, and the income structure of retirement all at once. A retirement plan that was built around ongoing business income needs to be fundamentally restructured around a lump-sum exit.
What are the tax implications of selling a business in California?
California taxes capital gains as ordinary income, which means the combined federal and state tax rate on a business sale can be substantial. The structure of the transaction — asset sale versus stock sale, installment arrangements, charitable giving strategies — all affect the outcome. Tax strategy coordinated well ahead of a sale is one of the highest-value planning opportunities available to business owners.
How do you help with equity compensation decisions?
Equity decisions — when to exercise options, how to handle RSU vesting around a departure, how to manage concentration risk — all have tax and investment implications that need to be evaluated together. I help you understand the full picture of each decision before you make it, coordinated with your broader investment strategy and tax situation.
What if I'm considering going independent or starting a business?
The financial implications of moving from employment to self-employment are significant — income structure, benefit replacement, retirement account options, and tax obligations all change. Planning ahead of that transition, rather than after, gives you a clear picture of what it actually costs and what needs to be in place before you make the move.
Can you help if I'm not in Los Angeles?
Yes. I'm based in Los Angeles but work with clients across California and nationwide, virtually. California-specific tax considerations — particularly around business sales and equity compensation — are a meaningful part of the work for CA-based clients.