IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities. Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies & family owned businesses. The following blog has been provided by Justin Maxwell of Big Life Financial (https://biglifefinancial.com/)
What If You Could Keep $1.6M More After Selling Your Business?
Most business owners preparing for an exit make a costly assumption: that high-level tax and wealth strategies—”family office” strategies—are only for billionaires. Because of that belief, they approach their exit with a fragmented team, a few generalist advisors, and no cohesive plan to turn the sale of their business into a long-term wealth engine.
That assumption could cost them millions.
Here’s the truth: without a coordinated strategy, even the best advisors can cancel each other out. It’s like building a house where the architect, electrician, and plumber never speak. The wiring works, the pipes function, but the lights don’t turn on because the systems were never aligned.
The Problem: Fragmented Advice and Underperformance
A $10M business sale typically triggers a long-term capital gains tax bill of around 28.35%: 20% federal, 3.8% net investment income tax, and up to 9.9% state tax (e.g., Oregon). That’s $2.83M in taxes without planning.
Most owners assume their CPA, attorney, or wealth advisor will “handle it.” But these professionals often operate in silos. The CPA knows about Opportunity Zones but won’t recommend one without a vetted investment. The attorney can draft trusts but won’t suggest when to trigger them. The financial advisor may default to mutual funds because they lack access to alternatives.
The result? No one acts. Valuable strategies go unused. And the owner pays full freight.
The Shift: From Business Owner to Family Office CEO
The transformation starts with one belief: no one cares about your money more than you do.
That belief forces a mindset shift:
- You take extreme ownership of your outcomes.
- You curate a team: tax strategist, estate planner, alternative-focused RIA, charitable
planning expert.
- You demand coordination, ensuring every strategy aligns to your vision.
Here’s how that plays out in real life.
The Case Study: Turning $10M Into $25M+ with Coordination
A client faced a $10M exit. With no planning, their projected tax bill was $2.83 million – leaving $7.16M in usable cash.
Instead, we helped them think like a family office: assemble the right experts early, coordinate every move, and build a strategy that aligned with their long-term goals. Before this shift, they felt overwhelmed—like they were about to lose control of everything they had built. But with clarity and the right team, they stepped into the role of a true wealth architect.
This is for educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Please consult licensed professionals before making any decisions.
Strategy Execution
- Opportunity Zone Investment: $2.5M allocated into a vetted QOZ fund. This deferred taxes on that portion and set up future appreciation to be tax-free.
- Alternative Income Strategy: $2.5M invested in tax-efficient, income-producing private assets (e.g., structured debt, energy royalties etc.). These provided immediate cash flow and appreciation
- Private Family Foundation: A $1M charitable gift generated a tax deduction, reducing taxable income and supporting causes they cared about.
The Result
- Coordinated plan brought the tax bill down to ~ $1.2 million.
- Tax savings: $1.63 million compared to status quo.
- Usable cash preserved and reinvested: $8.8M, up from $7.165M.
- That additional $1.6M—plus the $5M placed into long-term tax-smart strategies – is projected to generate $25M+ in income and appreciation over 20 years (based on past results; past performance does not predict future outcomes. These projections were made with care but are for educational purposes only and not intended to predict specific results).
The owner didn’t just save money. They almost walked away from $1.6M in tax savings – and missed the chance to turn $5M into $25M. But they didn’t. They stepped in, took control, and unlocked the next chapter of wealth-building—without the drag of taxes and misalignment.
Why This Worked: Coordination, Not Complexity
None of the tools used are exotic. What made them powerful was alignment:
- The CPA ensured compliance and timing.
- The RIA sourced investments that matched strategy and suitability.
- The attorney built the estate structures.
- The owner led the vision.
You can’t outsource vision. You must drive it.
The Takeaway: Build It, Lead It, Own It
It’s not too late. Whether you’re years out from a sale or already deep in negotiations, you can still implement strategies that align your wealth with your goals.
You have the power to build your own family office model—one that coordinates your advisors, stacks strategies, and keeps more of what you’ve earned. This isn’t just about tax. It’s about reclaiming your role as the architect of your legacy. No one is coming to do this for you. You can do it—on your terms, with your values, and for your future. Be willing to take that next step. Be willing to protect your legacy.
Your money matters. You worked for it. Now it’s time to keep more of it – strategically, intentionally, and with purpose.
If you have questions relating to the content of this article, Justin Maxwell would welcome inquiries. Justin can be reached at (801) 882-1377 and justinm@biglifefinancial.com.
IBA, the Pacific Northwest’s premier business brokerage firm since 1975, is available as an information resource to the media, business brokerage, mergers & acquisitions, and real estate communities on subjects relevant to the purchase & sale of privately held companies and family owned businesses. IBA is recognized as one of the best business brokerage firms in the nation based on its long track record of successfully negotiating “win-win” business sale transactions in environments of full disclosure employing “best practices”.