As a business owner, it's crucial to regularly assess and improve various aspects of your business to ensure its long-term success and protect your assets. But most entrepreneurs struggle to find the time to review their systems and most don’t know where to even start or what to do with the information they find when putting their company under the magnifying glass.

That's where the 20-point LIFT Business Assessment comes in. After you take it, I’ll take you and your business through a LIFT Business Breakthrough Session to walk you through a detailed survey of your business systems, plans, and structures so we can consider whether those systems are supporting or hurting your business goals and objectives.

The LIFT Business Assessment guides our discussion by looking at your Legal, Insurance, Financial and Tax foundations -- both from a place of whether you understand the systems and whether you have implemented them --and supporting you to get in the know every aspect of your business within the Legal, Insurance, Financial, and Tax structures that your company depends on. By taking the Assessment and then going through the Audit together, you account for all of the pieces needed to make your business work. I then help your company address gaps in your LIFT foundations that at best may be getting in the way of your business’s performance and at worst pose a real liability to your company.

In this blog, we will briefly explore the key areas covered by the LIFT Business Assessment and the Audit and why they are so important. After reading this blog, I invite you to take the 20-point LIFT Assessment - a quick quiz that tests the confidence you can have in your LIFT systems.

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum."

One of the foundational aspects of any business is its legal structure. This includes whether you're operating as a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or LLC. The choice of legal structure can significantly impact your business's liability, taxes, and even your ability to raise capital. Using the LIFT Business Audit will help me evaluate whether your current legal structure aligns with your business goals and provides the necessary protection.

Clear and comprehensive agreements are essential for any business. These agreements can include contracts with suppliers, clients, employees, and partners. They serve as the foundation for your business relationships, establish expectations, and help prevent disputes down the road. If we find that your business’s legal agreements are lacking or don’t exist at all, I’ll work with you to create, execute, and monitor your strong agreements that protect your business interests instead of leaving them vulnerable.

Your team is the lifeblood of your business, and assessing the health and satisfaction of your employees and contractors is vital. Equally important is knowing whether your team members’ employment statuses are categorized in the right way and that your payroll systems are set up properly and at a rate that keeps the best talent on your team.

If the Audit finds that the plan in place for your team members is half-baked, I can assist you in establishing strong employment contracts, and employee handbooks, and make sure your company is in compliance with labor laws.

Planning for the future is essential, and this includes planning for the future of your business. Whether you plan to pass it on to a family member, sell it, or wind it down, a solid business succession plan is crucial. My LIFT Business Audit will assess your current succession plan or help you take the first step toward establishing one if you don't have one in place.

Insurance is your safety net in times of crisis. It's important to evaluate your business insurance policies to ensure they adequately protect your business and assets. Do you have the right types of insurance and the right amount of coverage? Having the right insurance can mean the difference between your business surviving a disaster or facing financial ruin.

Effective financial management is crucial for business success. Using the LIFT Business Audit, I’ll assess your financial systems and processes to ensure they are efficient and compliant with accounting standards and tax regulations. If you don’t have a working system for your financial statements, budget, and cash flow management, you’re doing your business and yourself a disservice.

Taxes are a significant expense for businesses, and strategic tax planning can lead to substantial savings. During the LIFT Business Audit, we’ll review your current tax strategies and identify opportunities for tax optimization, such as entity structure, deductions, tax credits, and incentives.

Keeping all of your business systems updated, efficient, and compliant is a challenge for any entrepreneur. That’s why I use the LIFT Business Assessment and Audit as a powerful tool to support you to evaluate and improve the legal, insurance, financial and tax parts of your business. From legal structures and agreements to team management, business succession, insurance, financial systems, and tax strategies, each component plays a vital role in your business's overall health and success.

By understanding how your business is currently performing in these areas, you can make informed decisions for your business that protect it from financial liability and allow it to grow into your vision. As your LIFTed Business Advisor, I am here to support you every step of the way.

If you’re ready to test your confidence in your own business structures, please email me to receive the free 20-Point LIFT Assessment. This five-minute assessment will give you a starting point to recognize where your systems may need improvement. If you aren’t 100% confident that your Legal, Insurance, Financial, and Tax systems are set up in the best way, contact me today to schedule a full LIFT Business Breakthrough Session and LIFT Business Audit to get started on the path to a more secure and prosperous business.

This article is a service of a Personal Family Lawyer®. We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for businesses and can help you make the wisest choices with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer a LIFT Business Breakthrough Session™, which includes a review of all the legal, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Call us today to schedule.

The content is sourced from Personal Family Lawyer® for use by Personal Family Lawyer® firms, a source believed to be providing accurate information. This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal, or investment advice. If you are seeking legal advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own separate from this educational material.

We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for business owners and can help you make the wisest choices on how to deal with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer you a LIFT Your Life And Business Planning Session, which includes a review of all the legal, insurance, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Schedule online today.