If you’re a trades entrepreneur you know how it goes. Most of your time, energy, and money are all tied up in one thing: the business. And that makes total sense. You built it from the ground up. It provides for your family. It takes care of your team. In a lot of ways, it is your identity. But the challenge we see over and over is that for most business owners (that we meet), 80 to 90 percent of their net worth sits inside the business.  And the “retirement plan” usually sounds like this: “One day, I’ll sell —…

For most entrepreneurs, the hardest part about money isn’t the numbers, it’s the coordination. Most business owners deal with money every single day. They’re managing cash flow, paying bills, taking care of payroll. They've got this.  But when it comes to the bigger questions, like “What should I actually do with my money?” and “How do I make the right choices out of all the options out there?”, that’s where it gets intimidating.  And when people get intimidated, they often end up doing nothing. What we see all the time is: business owners have a collection of strategies, not a…

Most trades entrepreneurs we meet didn’t start their company thinking about ‘seven steps of wealth’, acquisitions or big exits. They wanted to do great work, take care of their people, and make a living doing something they were proud of. But as the business grows, so do the stakes. At first, everything depends on that single engine: if the business thrives, you thrive.  But if it slows down, everything else slows down too. How to get out of that cycle isn’t always clear. The advice you often find at this stage of life and business is generic, with advisors pushing…

Selling your business is one of those moments that hits you all at once. For years, everything you owned — your time, your sweat, your money — was tied up in the company. Then one day, it all changes with a single wire hitting your account. It’s exciting, sure. But it’s also a little unnerving. Because for most business owners, this is the first time you’ve had to manage that much cash personally, without the business as the safety net. And that’s what the Transition Phase of the BuiltWealth™ Ladder is all about: slowing down, catching your breath, and turning that one big…