I’m Mick Maierle, founder of Maierle Consultants, Inc., a financial services firm headquartered in Bozeman, Montana. I’m also an associate of BMI Consulting, click here for more information about BMI.

My associates and I collectively have over 100 years experience in designing wealth accumulation, wealth succession and wealth preservation strategies for senior executives and major shareholders of successful, growing companies. As a business owner, you have spent years building your wealth. And yet when it comes time to transfer or sell your company, you may experience the most heavily taxed transaction that exists in our tax code. One of the best ways to help protect the business’s cash flow from a double tax is to create un-funded obligations to the owner from the business long before the actual transfer.

We also recognize that the most valuable assets of the company are the employees. Motivating and keeping key employees is critical, whether the client sells to an outside party, or sells to an insider. Many investment bankers believe that the single most important factor, other than increasing cash flow, is increasing the business value through the existence of a stable, motivated management team that will remain in the business after the owner exits. Maierle Consultants has experienced unique consulting projects in the area of incentive compensation. A developing trend in American businesses is the focus on incentive and performance measuring systems and the tying of compensation to individual, or group performance. We help create employee incentive plans that reward and retain the brightest and best employees. We identify how key people can take some of the risks, share some of the rewards and help create an owner-employee partnering culture within their companies.

We also help our clients diversify their estate so they are not so dependent upon their business for their future income and life style. Since there is normally no “market” for private company stock, shareholders liquidity and estate problems often remain unresolved until a crisis occurs. Then, the company must somehow “find” the money to solve the problem. The solution can then become critical. We can assist you in developing a plan that will help resolve exit and liquidity issues while building toward a secure future for you, your employees, and your company. Exit planning for business owners must start with knowing your exit goals and objectives. Otherwise, failure is most likely inevitable.

Please don’t hesitate to call us or our references to learn more about how we can assist you in developing a plan.