How We Serve Law Firm Owners as Chief Wealth Counsel

As a law firm owner, your aspirations extend beyond the courtroom – you envision a thriving practice that not only represents the pinnacle of legal expertise but is also a beacon of business success. At Wurz Financial Services, we understand that the journey to financial prosperity can be as complex as the cases you handle. Let’s explore how our tailored financial strategies can bring your goals to fruition.

Business Expansion — Your Firm, Elevated

The path to a successful business sale is hard work, and for law firms, this reality is even more pronounced. Statistically, less than 30% of all startups reach the point of sale; for law firms, the uphill climb is steeper still. And many businesses that do make it to sale are only able to do so by greatly discounting their value. We recognize your ultimate goal isn’t just to sell; it’s to sell without compromising your firm’s worth or your financial legacy.

Our commitment at Wurz Financial Services is to be the catalyst for your firm’s growth. Your business is your most valuable asset. By concentrating on enhancing your enterprise value, we can make the biggest impact in your net worth and financial future. Our goal is to ensure that your practice doesn’t just flourish — it thrives independently. A firm that can run without you, is truly is a truly valuable accomplishment. This autonomy means you have the freedom to expand further, enjoy more of life, or attract a buyer on your terms, obtaining maximum value for your hard work and a high enough sale price that could be life changing.

Profit Maximization — Transform Revenue into Wealth

Revenue generation is a testament to your firm’s success, but what about building real, lasting wealth? The sage financial habits that lead to long-term prosperity aren’t often innate — they’re usually cultivated. We’re here to plant those seeds of financial acumen and support you in developing a wealth mindset.

Our approach to bolstering your profits centers around two pivotal strategies: tax minimization and astute cash flow management. With a vast majority of CPAs and advisors not engaging in proactive planning, businesses often overpay on taxes, unknowingly eroding their profits. A study by Forbes suggested that as many as 93% of small business owners may be overpaying on their taxes. Our tax year-round tax planning is designed to put hard-earned money back into your firm, empowering you with increased financial agility and peace of mind.

As a busy law firm owner, it is easy to lose track of where your money is going. Our cash flow management services are designed to help you make better decisions about your money. We work with you to develop a comprehensive understanding of your financial position, and then use that information to create a plan that will help you achieve your goals. By proactively managing cash flow, we can help you avoid costly mistakes and ensure that every dollar is working hard for you.

Wealth Growth — Your Money at Work, While You Relax

Warren Buffett’s said it best: “If you don’t learn to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” The crux of wealth accumulation lies in cultivating income streams that don’t solely rely on billable hours. Wealth growth is about building a portfolio of assets that generate income, such as real estate, stocks and bonds. It’s also about creating passive income streams that don’t require your active involvement, which may include real estate or other business ventures.

We will help you create a comprehensive investment plan. This could include helping you diversify into alternative investments such as private equity or real estate, and because we operate on a flat fee subscription basis, there are no conflicts of interest in our recommendations.

At Wurz Financial Services, we’re dedicated to helping you construct a portfolio that fosters passive income and investment growth. Imagine a reality where your wealth multiplies, independent of your direct involvement — a future where financial comfort and security are not merely goals, but tangible outcomes.

Your Trusted Financial Partner

Navigating the financial landscape of law firm ownership requires a guide who is highly qualified. At Wurz Financial Services, we are that guide. Our holistic service model goes above and beyond the traditional model of financial advisors. As financial planners who exclusively serve law firm owners, we provide a dynamic and all-inclusive wealth counsel partnership tailored to the needs of law firm owners like you. Your vision, enhanced by our financial expertise, paves the way for a future of abundance and fulfillment.

Embrace the opportunity to transform your practice and your destiny. Together, let’s expand your business, maximize your profits, and grow your wealth. Contact us, and take the first step on your journey towards a resilient, affluent future for you, your family, and your law firm.

Schedule Your Introductory Call Now

If you resonate with our unique approach to financial planning for law firm owners, take action today. Schedule your introductory call below.

Join us in our mission to transform your financial pressures into financial freedom. With our firm as Chief Wealth Counsel by your side, the possibilities for growth and peace of mind are boundless.

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Transcript:

Darren Wurz [00:00:00]:
Are you ready to turn the key to unlock the door to financial prosperity without sacrificing another minute away from what truly matters? Welcome to the Lawyer millionaire podcast, where we deliver financial planning insights for ambitious law firm owners so you can enjoy more time, more abundance, and less stress, even if you’re still growing your law practice. Okay, imagine a world where your financial complexities are not just managed, but mastered, allowing you to forge ahead with confidence in expanding your business and securing passive income. That’s what we’re going to talk about today. For many law firm owners, the dream of financial clarity and prosperity seems just out of reach, perhaps obscured by a fog of time constraints and diverse financial challenges. But what if I told you that clarity, growth, and peace of mind are not only possible, but within your grasp? Stay tuned.

Darren Wurz [00:00:52]:
Hey, friend. Darren Wurz here. And I’m so happy that you’re here today with me because today I have something really special for, for you.

Darren Wurz [00:01:17]:
Today I’m going to share with you exactly what we do in our work with law firm owners like yourself. So if you’ve been listening for a while and wondering perhaps, what exactly do they do? Is it business? Is it personal? What is it? If you’ve been wondering that, well, today is your chance, we’re going to tell you. I’m going to tell you exactly what we offer and what we do for folks. So to put it in a nutshell, if I could describe it in a few words, we basically serve law firm owners as their chief wealth counsel. The folks we work with are folks just like yourself. They’re highly motivated law firm owners. And these could be small law firms or larger firms, you know, anywhere from solos to, you know, 20 plus attorneys. But it’s the owners owners themselves who need help managing complicated finances.

Darren Wurz [00:02:14]:
And, you know, it’s been a journey for me because I didn’t always work with law firm owners. But having worked with law firm owners for several years and been very involved in the legal community, I’ve learned some things. And I’ve learned what are some of the key areas that law firm owners like yourself typically want. And let me know if these resonate with you. Really. There’s three main things that I find in my conversations with law firm owners that they’re looking for. And perhaps you’re looking for the same things. Clarity in your finances.

Darren Wurz [00:02:49]:
Number one, as an owner of a business, as an owner of a law firm, your finances get complex. You’ve got personal things, you’ve got business things, and managing the interplay of those can be difficult. And often, as your wealth expands, as your net worth expands, you may get involved in other business ventures and real estate and all kinds of things. And it’s very easy for your finances to quickly become a bit complicated. And that can be difficult. It can be mentally straining to have to deal with all these different things. So a lot of times I find that law firm owners want clarity. They want to get things clear.

Darren Wurz [00:03:31]:
Number two is business expansion. That’s a hallmark of the folks that I work with. They want to grow their businesses. And if you’re listening to this podcast, I imagine that you probably want to grow your business as well. You know, that’s why you’re perhaps listening to shows like this, to get advice on how you can expand your practice. And third, passive income. Are you looking for passive income? A lot of my clients, that’s what they want. They want to grow their business.

Darren Wurz [00:03:59]:
They want to build passive income so that they can step out of working so hard. And perhaps that’s you. Well, there’s three things also that are very challenging for law firm owners, I find, number one, of course, is simply the demands on your time. You’re running a business. You are, you have client demands, you have employee demands, you have so many things, and you’re just very, very busy. The second would be that financial complexity that I just mentioned. But you know, even beyond all that, the third thing I find is that law firm owners are not getting good quality advice. Let me give you an example.

Darren Wurz [00:04:44]:
90% of CPA’s and financial advisors do not offer any proactive tax planning. And that’s a shame, because tax planning is so critical and it’s so integral to the financial planning process. But that’s what I find, and in my conversations with folks, I find huge, glaring mistakes because they’re just not getting the sophisticated level of advice that they truly need. Well, here at Wurz Financial Services, we focus on meeting these particular needs. We have a great team with lots of experience. We’ve worked with law firm owners for many, many years. But more importantly, we have a very unique way of working with folks like yourself. The way we do financial planning is unlike what financial advisors do, who charge a percentage of your portfolio.

Darren Wurz [00:05:39]:
They charge their fee, they travel the world. You hear from them once or twice a year. Meanwhile, your portfolio is growing. But you’re always perhaps wondering about what are those additional services that I could be receiving? What am I missing out on in terms of wealth management that could be really expanding my business and expanding my wealth and getting me to those next levels that I would like to get to? And the sad reality is that this type of very bland financial planning, and when most financial advisors say financial planning, really what they mean, the reality is just the first two weeks. For the first two weeks, they do financial planning. They give you a financial plan, so to speak, but after that, you hardly hear from them. And, you know, typically folks are paying $10,000 a year for this kind of very bland service on a million dollar portfolio. The average fee in the industry is 1%.

Darren Wurz [00:06:41]:
That’s $10,000 a year. Boy, those are two very expensive meetings to have in one year. Well, here at Wurz Financial Services, we do things very differently. First, let me tell you what we do. There are three key areas that we focus on. The first is wealth growth. How can you grow that wealth? That’s integral. Every financial planner is focused on that.

Darren Wurz [00:07:08]:
We have a unique way of thinking about that. The second is profit maximization, and I’ll explain exactly what that is. And third, and finally, you know, probably most importantly to a lot of folks listening today, perhaps to you, is business expansion. And I think that’s one thing that really sets us apart. So let’s talk about wealth growth. Well, you may be familiar with Warren Buffet, hopefully. He said once that if you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die. Wow, that’s powerful.

Darren Wurz [00:07:42]:
And, you know, the only way to build real wealth is to find a way to have your money make money for you, basically to make money while you sleep. You know, most, most lawyers, attorneys, you are familiar with the billable hour, right? And for many lawyers, that is the way to make money, right? The billable hour. We maximize our billable hours. We maximize the rate that we’re charging for our billable hours. Here’s the problem, though. You still have a limited number of hours, there’s still a ceiling to which that billable rate can go. And so you’re limited. Even as a law firm owner, you’re dependent on the billable hours of others, or perhaps contingency fees.

Darren Wurz [00:08:29]:
And that’s a whole nother story. But the idea is you need to grow some passive income. And, you know, studies show that 71% of attorneys suffer from anxiety. Perhaps you do, too. You know, the legal field, the legal profession, is a high stress profession. It is not one for the faint of heart. And so it’s no wonder that a lot of attorneys, a lot of law firm owners want to find a way to get out of the day to day work and into something different where they can achieve that passive income and still perhaps use their law degree, but not be so stressed about it. So with wealth growth, we focus on helping you cultivate those passive income streams and it’s not limited to just stocks and bonds, but we take a holistic view of your entire portfolio.

Darren Wurz [00:09:25]:
That could be real estate, it could be business ventures, it could be alternative investments, thinking about how we can design and create that passive income strategy for you. And, of course, investment growth as well, making sure that your investments are really performing the way they should. So that’s wealth growth. The second area that we focus on is profit maximization. And when we think about profit, you know, there are business profits, there are personal profits, but what is profitability? Profit is what is often, you know, mistakenly. We think, you know, if you’re familiar with the profit first method, then what I’m about to say could be heresy. But, you know, historically, traditionally, profit is what is left over after those expenses and after taxes. So we want to maximize your business profits.

Darren Wurz [00:10:15]:
But we also, more importantly for our work, we want to, as your Chief Wealth Counselor, maximize your personal profits. You may have a CPA, but according to Forbes, and based on what I see, 93% of small business owners are overpaying on their taxes. And let me just tell you a little story here. I recently worked with a client. I have a new client I’m working with. And one of the areas that he wanted to start with was tax planning, because, in his words, his CPA wasn’t doing what he needed him to do. So we took a look at his business tax, his taxes. We combed back through the last few years, and we looked at 2022.

Darren Wurz [00:11:01]:
And what was interesting is we saw that in 2022, based on his financials, based on his tax return, he would have been eligible for a qualified business income deduction. QBI. QBI deduction. He didn’t take it. Now, if you’re familiar with the QBI deduction, it’s a 20% deduction of your business income. And that is quite significant. So, and we talked, we got some information back from the CPA as to why. And he said that based on his industry, he didn’t qualify for the QBI.

Darren Wurz [00:11:40]:
Well, that’s incorrect. There are certain industries where the phase out is immediate once you reach certain income thresholds. He was well below the income threshold. He qualified for the QBI, and yet he hadn’t taken it. And for him, that would have been a nearly $20,000 deduction missed. That’s money on the table. And we saw all kinds of other problems going on. Here’s the thing, right? Tax planning needs to be a year round, proactive thing.

Darren Wurz [00:12:10]:
And no one likes tax planning. It’s not sexy. Right there’s nothing sexy about tax planning, but here’s what it is. It’s profit maximization, because the more you can save on taxes, the more money you can have to put into your investments to grow your wealth. And so, you know, we find tax planning to be quite sexy because there are so many missed things that we find. The other part of profit maximization is cash flow optimization. Cash flow. You know, it’s so funny.

Darren Wurz [00:12:49]:
Nearly every law firm owner that I speak with has no idea what they’re spending personally. On a monthly basis. They may have a bookkeeper, they may have, you know, a CFO for their business, but when it comes to their personal finances, they have no clue how much they’re spending. And they know they’re making out a lot of money, and they know they’re spending a lot of money, but the problem is they don’t know where it’s going. And here’s the thing, folks, we spend money without realizing it sometimes. Sometimes we sign up for subscriptions and things, and then we completely forget that we signed up for those things. And so what happens is there’s a lot of waste and our cash flow is not being optimized. We’re spending things on, spending money on things we don’t need or maybe duplicating our spending, right? I had one client I worked with found out he was paying for some of these streaming services, like Netflix.

Darren Wurz [00:13:41]:
He was paying for them like three or four times because each member of his family had signed up for a plan. Like, wait a minute, wait. Now that’s a small fee, right? A small expense. But hey, let’s get everybody on one plan. Why not? And so things like that, cash flow, when you dig into cash flow, you find savings and you find profit, and we can maximize your profit and maximize your savings so that we can maximize your wealth. That’s what it’s all about. Okay, so wealth growth, profit maximization, and for us, profit maximization, we’re doing year round tax planning with you. We have tax planning software that we use.

Darren Wurz [00:14:22]:
We analyze your tax return. We meet with you throughout the year to see how things are going with your business, because your income is fluctuating, it’s going up and down, there’s all kinds things happening. We want to keep track of it. We want to adjust that tax plan throughout the year. And with cash flow, we hook you up with some tools to track and manage your cash flow, and we send you a periodic cash flow report. We’re constantly taking a look, seeing what’s going on with your cash flow and then giving you updates and then checking in on that and making sure we have a spending plan, a cash flow plan, and making savings a part of that. Okay, how about business expansion? Well, let’s talk about business expansion. Here’s an interesting statistic for you.

Darren Wurz [00:15:06]:
Only 30% of small businesses that are founded, that are started, that are created, actually end up getting sold. And that’s not just law firms, that’s small businesses in general. I would venture to say with law firms, it’s probably even lower. The modus operandi. The default mode, if you will, for law firms is just to slowly wrap up the cases and let the law firm die. And it’s so sad. You know why it’s so sad? Because when you build a business, you put your blood, sweat and tears, you put all kinds of sweat equity into creating that business, right? It’s not just the money, it’s the time. And if you don’t ever sell that business, you will never capitalize on the investment of your time.

Darren Wurz [00:16:02]:
And, you know, your business is an asset. It can be an asset. It can be a sellable asset that you use to fund your retirement. And so why not turn it into that? You know, law firms are difficult to sell. That’s the reality of it. And we have done a number of episodes on selling a law practice and succession planning. And I’m going to put all those links in the show notes. You can go back and you can listen to those succession planning episodes.

Darren Wurz [00:16:30]:
But with business planning, what we do is we help you think strategically about revenue growth, about scaling your practice, and about turning it into a sellable asset that you can use to fund your retirement, to fund your future goals, to fund the lifestyle that you want. Now, there’s some amazing tools that we use. We have an extensive onboarding process that we go through to really get all these tools set up for you. We have technology tools that we connect you with to track your finances. And then our job is to do all that for you and manage all that for you. Now, what does it look like to work with us? Well, basically, we’ve structured our fees so that it’s based on the size of your law firm. And we have four tiers tailored to the needs of law firms at different levels, from solo practices and small firms to owners of large practices. But the basic message is this.

Darren Wurz [00:17:28]:
The way that we have structured our fees is that it is a flat monthly fee, as it should be. You should know what you’re paying for. You should get a very specific list of services for your fee instead of this nebulous percentage of assets. And then, you know, who knows? I guess I’m getting some level of financial planning. No, with us, you pay a set fixed flat fee monthly and then you get a detailed list of specific services. At our most basic level, the foundational level, we go through an entire comprehensive planning process in a twelve month period. And then we have monthly planning projects that we do for you. Those could be tax planning, retirement planning, investment portfolio reviews, all kinds of things that we can do for you to make sure that you have an optimized plan first, a plan put in place, and then to make sure that we are working that plan and that that plan is, is being implemented.

Darren Wurz [00:18:34]:
Because, you know, a financial plan created and never implemented is basically worthless. Now, one of the pushbacks that I get from potential clients is, I don’t know if I’m quite ready for this yet. This sounds like a big time commitment. Sounds like a lot of work, right? Well, you know what? It’s really not that much time commitment at all. You know, we’re going to meet with you at our most basic level, that foundational tier. We have a quarterly meeting. We meet with you on a quarterly basis, but we are doing all the work. Sure, there’s going to be things that we need from you.

Darren Wurz [00:19:08]:
We’re going to reach out to you and say, hey, we need this or that, but those should take you only a few minutes. Meanwhile, we are your Chief Wealth Counsel behind the scenes. We’re your eyes and ears here to implement your plan, to put your plan in place and manage it for you. And the work is on us. And you know, there’s, it’s costly to delay. You may be familiar with the time value of money, right? You know, it’s, the biggest thing that you control in the stock market is time. The earlier you start investing, the more time your money has to compound and grow. The same thing happens with financial planning because you know what? There are potential mistakes happening right now with your taxes.

Darren Wurz [00:19:59]:
There are potential things that we could be finding with your cash flow, with your investments, things that could be put in place now that could be saving you money, that could be building you more money. And so it is costly to delay. The other thing is there will never be a perfect time. Let’s be real, and here’s a reality check for all of us, right? If you struggle to save money at $200,000 a year income, you’re going to struggle to save money at $500,000 a year income. Everyone thinks that if they just make more money if I just get to x, if I just get to y, then I’ll be in a place to really take these things seriously and to really do some serious financial planning. The problem is, once we get to that place, the goal post just keeps moving. And so my encouragement to you today would be to get started today. As we wrap up this little episode here, I want you to think critically about the importance of beginning.

Darren Wurz [00:21:03]:
Now, whether you use us for your financial planning or somebody else, or just do it on your own, it’s important to start today thinking very seriously about these things. But I want you to know also that what we offer here at Wurz Financial Services really transcends the traditional boundaries of financial planning. Our approach is meticulously designed to address your unique needs, providing value that is rare in the industry. Let me tell you, and you know what? It’s not just about managing your portfolio. It’s about understanding the heartbeat of your business and making sure that your personal financial strategy speaks to that and is aligned to that, and is designed not just, you know, with your personal life in mind, but also your business in mind as well. You know, this distinct approach is the cornerstone of what we do and why we do it. It’s deeply ingrained in every piece of advice we give, every strategy that we develop and every success story that we are a part of. The powerful thing about what we do is that it pays for itself through the money that I can try to save you through tax planning, through cash flow management, or the money that we can try to make for you through wealth growth and business expansion.

Darren Wurz [00:22:32]:
Our goal is that the value we provide far exceeds the cost of our services. Our commitment is to a higher level of service, much more than a traditional financial advisor. And understanding isn’t that isn’t just a part of our business model. It’s a reflection of my personal mission. And my mission is to ensure that every law firm owner has the opportunity to see their ambitions realized. I want to make sure that your ambitions are realized. If today’s insights, if what I shared with you today resonates with you, I encourage you to take the next step. Go ahead and schedule an introductory call with me and I’ll be happy to dive into these concepts more with you, talk with you about your personal circumstances and how we can create a financial strategy that is designed just for you.

Darren Wurz [00:23:28]:
Go down to the show notes, there’s a link there. Introductory call click on that introductory call and go ahead and schedule a call with me and let’s chat. Let’s talk about where you are, where you want to be, and how we can help you get there. Well, this has been the Lawyer Millionaire podcast. I’m your host, Darren Wurz, here to help you navigate your financial complexities so you can focus on growing your practice and living the life that you dream of. Keep forging ahead, and remember, as my dad always told me, you’re a winner. Thank you so much for being here with me today. I’m already looking forward to our next time together.