Choosing a financial advisor for your business matters more than most business owners realize when they start looking. A good one helps you protect key people, structure ownership transitions, manage compensation, and build personal wealth while the business is running. The wrong one costs you time, money, and opportunities you didn't know you were missing.
Start with credentials that match what you actually need. For business insurance planning, key person coverage, buy-sell agreements, and shareholder protection, a CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter) is the relevant designation. For broader financial and retirement planning, a CFP or QAFP sets the standard. An advisor with multiple designations who has worked specifically with business owners is worth seeking out.
Ask about their experience with businesses that look like yours. A solo contractor, a professional corporation, and a company with 50 employees have very different planning needs. Someone who can talk through how they've handled situations similar to yours, in plain language, is a good sign. Vague answers or immediate pivots to product brochures are not.
Understand how they get paid before you start. Some advisors earn commissions from the products they recommend. Others charge a flat or hourly fee that's independent of what you buy. Neither structure is automatically better, but you should know which one you're dealing with and be comfortable that their suggestions reflect your situation, not just what earns them the most.
Ask to see a sample financial plan for a business owner. A good one ties together the corporate and personal sides: your salary and dividend mix, the tax implications of both, how your corporate life insurance connects to your estate plan, and what a retirement transition could look like. If what they show you reads more like a product summary than a real analysis, keep looking.
Check references. Ask to speak with two or three current clients who run businesses. Find out whether the advisor reaches out proactively or waits to be called. Ask whether the advice has actually made a measurable difference. What you hear from their clients will tell you more than anything else.