A Life Well Planned - Episode 2: Brewing Success

In the latest episode of "A Life Well Planned," we rejoin Josh and Megan as they venture into the world of entrepreneurship, aiming to fulfill their dream of opening a coffee business. With guidance from their trusted Raymond James advisor, Andy, they navigate the challenges of securing financing, setting up their business, and making crucial financial decisions as their family grows. The episode also explores the importance of estate planning, charitable giving, and staying financially secure during uncertain times. Join us on this exciting journey as Josh and Megan take the leap into a new chapter of their lives, all while sipping on a hot cup of ambition. Tune in to "A Life Well Planned" for expert financial advice and inspiring family stories, available on your favourite podcast platform.

  

 

Transcript

Theme music

Narrator: Looking to pass down some of your hard earned wealth? Just beginning to invest and looking to provide the best life possible for you and your family, but don’t know where to start? Are you looking to create a road map to your retirement? Then you’re in the right place. Welcome to “A Life Well Planned,” the Raymond James podcast that follows a family just like yours as they plan out a smart and savvy path to a prosperous future.

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Narrator: In the last episode, we met Josh: and Megan: , two newly weds who came into an unexpected windfall of money after Megan: ’s grandmother passed away. Knowing they want to invest in their future but unsure where to start, the couple met with Andy: , a Raymond James advisor who has since been helping plan their finances so they could comfortably start a family and maybe even pursue opening a coffee business. As the family has grown, so has Andy: . He’s now on his way to achieve his Associate Portfolio Manager designation. Now, we join them in the year 2005. The couple has purchased their first home, they’ve given birth to a little girl named Charlotte, and have another baby on the way. As happy as they are, Josh: is feeling restless for the next chapter...

Static of channels changing.

Newscaster: The War in Afghanistan continues -

Newscaster 2: Prime Minister Paul Martin begins a nine-day trip to Asia in Indonesia today, surveying the aftermath of last year’s Indian Ocean tsunami damage. Martin will also travel to Sri Lanka, India, Japan, and China.

Newscaster 3: 190 nations gathered for the Montreal Climate Change Conference today, hoping to secure promises to curb the release of greenhouse gasses and prevent the dire consequences of global warming --

Newscaster 3: Today, Opposition Leader Stephen Harper moved a motion of no confidence in the government of Paul Martin.

INT. Josh and Megan's home

Megan: just don’t understand why we need to do this now. We’re still paying off our mortgage. Our hands are full with --

A baby SCREAMS.

Megan: With her, and another on the way!

Josh: Look, Meg, I get it. We have a lot on our plate but if we don’t do this now, when are we going to? We’re in our mid-30s, our clocks are ticking. That place on West 4th where the toy store used to be is for rent. It would be perfect.

Megan: That’s because the toy store closed because there was no foot traffic over there.

Josh: There’s not now, but this neighborhood is changing, fast. The toy store wasn’t selling delicious coffee made by a young, cool husband and wife!

Megan: So what do we do, quit our jobs? I just got promoted to Principal.

Josh: You wouldn’t have to quit your job. I know it would take a lot of time, so I’ll quit my job. I hate it anyway. I feel like I’m wasting away over there. It wouldn’t be long before we’re turning a profit. A year at most. This is both our dream, right?

Megan:... It is. Yes.

The baby CRIES again.

Josh: It never ends!

She cried louder.

Megan: I think we should see Andy.

Josh:  Yeah. Andy always has the answers. I love that guy.

INT. Andy's office

We hear a door open.

Andy: If it isn’t my favorite clients!

Josh: You say that to all your clients.

Andy: Come on in, have a seat. Well, my goodness, are we expecting another little one?

Megan: Oh, yes. Why stop, you know? Wow, Andy, you look great. Have you been working out?

Andy: Thanks! Yeah, I have actually. Just getting into some new habits, nothing crazy.

Josh: What do you do? Cardio, strength training?

Andy: A little of both, you know.

Josh: How many reps do you usually do?

Andy: ...Well it depends. Because there’s so much conflicting advice out there on how many reps, how many sets, how much cardio you should do, blah, blah, blah, so I don’t even bother.

Megan: You look very lean. Very toned.

Andy: ... Well, thanks. So what brings you in today?

Josh: We’re ready, Andy. We’re ready to start that coffee business.

Andy: Oh, yeah? Well, okay then.

Josh: So what do we do?

Andy: Well, where to begin... First off, and I’m sure you’ve had these conversations but just so we’re all on the same page, are you planning on both working?

Megan: I’ll be working still, we think.

Josh: We’re still ironing out the details.

Andy: Hmm, okay, okay. And you’re still Vice-Principal at the school?

Megan: I actually just took over as Principal.

Andy: Hey, how about that! Congratulations!

Megan: Thank you so much.

Josh: It came with a big raise so we’ll be good.

Andy: Well that’s great. And you feel confident you can live off of one income? Yes.

Megan: We think so?

Andy: Alright, well, I’m going to jump in here and maybe recommend against that. A lot of people make the mistake of starting a business without a salary. I would highly recommend getting all your financing in order before quitting a job. What Bill always told me to ask people is, “Is your nut covered?” Are you going to be able to pay your bills without feeling like your struggling while that business isn’t pulling in money yet. 

Josh: Yet.

Andy: Of course we hope it will. But my role is to make sure you’re well protected for the future. So, taking a look at the big picture and the goals we’ve set, you’re doing very well. You’re getting good dividend income, you've got some good creative growth on your equity positions as well. We're minimizing risk by keeping a wedge in cash and some fixed income. Across all your portfolios things are growing at a healthy rate. You’re taking advantage of all the different types of investment income. All in all, you're getting paid to be there. So this is good.

Josh: Well that’s good to hear!

Andy: The economy’s doing well right now, housing market’s booming... Do you have any idea how much the up front costs are going to be?

Josh: I think we can start with $100,000 to open the shop. Then once we get cooking we want to roast and sell our own beans.

Andy: Ambitious.

Josh: I think we can turn a profit in a year, tops.

Andy: I think a year might be a little soon. People often spend 20% more than they initially anticipate when starting a business. And situations change all the time. If we want to start looking for external financing, we can consider debt financing, and you can negotiate that with your local bank. The good thing about debt financing is the interest cost you pay for the debt is deductible against any income that that you earn in the business. So it’s a way of self-funding using the bank’s money. You’ll be co-owners?

Josh: Yes.

Andy: Cool. If you’re getting bank financing and Megan is listed as a 50% owner, even if you don’t run the day-to-day operations, you can get access to some really great programs out there that provide funding for women led businesses. Off the top of my head, the BC Women’s Enterprise Center is a non-profit that does great work. I’ve got a friend over there, let me reach out and get some more info for you.

Megan: That’d be great.

Andy: We’ll have to get you set up with a lawyer to help get you get incorporated, probably an accountant, too. I know some really great lawyers and accountants I could introduce you to.

Josh: Andy with the connections over here. How are we doing with the Grandma Rose inheritance?

Andy: It’s certainly grown. You have some income there you could maybe use so you don’t have to sell off any investments.

Megan: How much?

Andy: I think you could take out $50,000 and feel comfortable that you still have enough put away and growing.

Josh: Well, great!

Andy: Now look, my job is to make sure you make the most amount of money with the least amount of risk, and starting a small business is risky.

Megan: We know there’s a good amount of risk involved.

Andy: If success to you looks like owning a coffee business, then that’s what success is for me as your advisor. So, is this your personal picture of success?

Josh: Andy, do you know how many flavinoids are in a cup of coffee?

Megan: Here come the flavinoids.

Andy: Over one thousand.

Josh: Over one -- Wait, how did you know that?

Andy: I told you, I like coffee.

Josh: Okay, so you get then what a complex and beautiful beverage this is. The possibilities are endless.

Andy: I like your passion. Alright then. So we have some complexity here now, with respect to whether we're talking about your personal finances or your business finances. So that means the company itself we need to consider as its own entity. That means insurance plans and things like that for the company, but also how you're protected in the family. Because in the event of a catastrophic incident, we want to make sure that there's somebody there to A - run the company, that there's a salary to pay somebody for the company , because you don't want to put your family into personal sacrifice at the cost of the company.

Megan: Definitely not.

Andy: We should look at buy-sell agreements to protect the company. That’s one part. If you’re business owners with children you’ll need to speak with your family lawyer to set up the wills, consider the guardianship, visiting powers of attorney on one another.

Megan: Yes, we’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.

Andy: In BC there’s something called a Representation Agreement, which may be something you want to consider for the future. It’s not about your finances, it’s about your health care directive, and who can make decisions about your personal health needs if you're incapacitated. Also, if anything ever happened to you, the kids would be the owners of the business. So it would be a good idea to set up a trust just in case.

Josh: This is pretty heady stuff.

Andy: It’s a lot to think about for sure. But we’ll take it one step at a time. This is an ongoing conversation, but for now I’d say the most important thing is getting those wills done.

Megan: So we should probably find an Estate Plan attorney?

Andy: Exactly. And I have some I can refer you to as well. Again, one step at a time, and we’ll make sure everything suits your best interest.

Megan: Well, thanks so much, Andy. We’ve got a lot to think about.

Josh: This was really helpful.

Andy: Of course. And as always, I’m only a phone call away.

Megan: Hey, what’s this picture of here?

Andy: Oh, that’s just my family and I at our last tree planting.

Josh: You’re a tree planter?

Andy: I try to be! We’re really into the environment and sustainability so we plant trees for the Tree Planter Foundation every year.

Megan: That’s great.

Andy: Yeah, my whole family was in logging, I was the first person to go into finance so it’s my way of paying back a little bit. Charitable giving is highly underrated in my opinion. It let’s you choose who you give your money to on your taxes as well.

Megan: We’re really into helping the environment, too. How did you learn find out about this group?

Andy: It was actually through a great program Raymond James has called RJ Cares Month. It’s a month of volunteering, we give our staff one paid leave day a year, and they can choose which charity they want to volunteer with. So we have this one particular event, the Raymond James Canada Foundation I organized a tree planting day. We brought the whole family, had a fantastic time, and after we had that family experience, we went home and we talked about it. We thought this is something we should maybe we can get our clients involved with.

Megan: Well we would love to get involved sometime!

Andy: Great to hear! I’ll send you some info about it. And we can talk about your own charitable giving too, if you’d like.

Megan: Absolutely.

INT. Josh and Megan's car we hear the car running.

Josh: Look, if you’re not into this, I’m not trying to do something without you. We’re a team. If you don’t want to do this, just say so. She thinks it over.

Megan: I do want to. It’s just hard to give up such a steady income. Hearing him talk about having a woman led business was interesting... Where are we going?

Josh: I want to show you the space.

Megan: Right now? Josh: , it’s cold.

Ext. street

Car doors open and close. We hear light wind.

Josh: Look, there’s a new vintage store, there’s going to be a new grocery store soon. In five, ten years this whole neighborhood’s going to be booming.

Megan: ... It has potential.

Josh: I know you like your job, and you love those kids, but you used to be so gung-ho about starting a business like your grandparents.

Megan: It would be really nice to keep up that tradition. Are you ready to make the commitment?

Josh: Yes. But also, you know, I’m not gonna bet the farm on it. No matter what, we’ll be safe.

Megan: Well, as long as you don’t lose our imaginary farm... Let’s do it.

Josh: Are you sure?

Megan: Yes.

Josh: Let’s make Grandma Rose proud.

Megan: Coffee gave her panic attacks.

Josh: ... We’ll also sell tea. She liked tea.

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Narrator: Can Josh and Megan successfully build a coffee business while managing their family’s finances? How will the 2008 financial crisis affect them? How many trees will Andy: and his family plant? Find out here, on the next episode of “A Life-Well Planned,” the Raymond James podcast that helps you and your family plan for a prosperous tomorrow, wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

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