How to leave a legacy
Business owners: you can leave a perpetual mark
For successful entrepreneurs and individuals, leaving behind a legacy that will survive them can be a sought-after goal. But what legacy means exactly can differ vastly from one person to another. It could start with the person’s values, exploration of past goals and history, and then graduate to building what they envision for the future.
Whether the goal is business continuity, philanthropic efforts, or passing on important values and community impact, leaving a legacy behind can take on many forms at many scales.
“It’s not something that fits into a square box; every individual is going to be different and have unique objectives,” said Haleh Alexander, the new regional vice president at National Bank Private Banking 1859 in Vancouver.
Setting your goals
“The idea of legacy is extensive but it can be as narrow and specific as the individual wants it to be,” Alexander said.
There are many examples of business owners who have worked hard to build their business, their brand, and their legacy throughout the years. From a young aspiring lawyer building a law firm
and unique identity within a local community, to a restaurateur looking to expand their love for
fine dining and cuisine to multiple communities, legacy goals may be different for each of these successful entrepreneurs.
“With a lot of traction, transmitting your values can be transformed in a legacy,” Alexander said. “For example, sharing the importance of respect, kindness, and hard work with your children or with your employees, to help them continue your mission/business goals, is extremely important; especially
in these challenging times.”
For individuals with extensive philanthropic work, their legacy could be to see their work continued and built upon in the generations to come. These individuals often have investment portfolios built on a particular set of values as well, and so the values in their legacy plan are often mirrored by their overall wealth management plan.
Planning is the key
“Entrepreneurs work extremely hard building what’s important to them and proper planning protects what they’ve crafted and the values by which they lived,” Alexander said. “They take pride in their work and so in order to preserve that and build upon it, it takes planning.”
A plan allows successors and everyone else involved in the continuity of a business, values, or philanthropic undertakings to respect and honour what’s been done. It helps the client make sure their wishes are communicated and understood by the right people.
In addition to ensuring an individual’s work is honoured and continued, the value of having a legacy plan in place is the peace of mind it provides.
Finding the right successor
Whenever legacy planning is discussed, the natural reaction is for people to assume a legacy is being passed on to an individual’s children, but that is not always the case.
“It’s impossible to generalize because there are people with children who don’t want to pass their business on to them, potentially because they are not involved in it. There are also people without children who have key individuals in their lives or philanthropic organizations they want to be the beneficiaries,” Alexander said. “Everything is case by case, customization is key.”
Talking with experts
For advisors, helping clients obtain that clarity through legacy planning entails becoming true partners by developing a deep appreciation of their goals and aspirations.
“The most important thing to do as an advisor is to start building an understanding of their clients’ values, their story, what makes them tick, and what brought them to this point in their life,” Alexander said. “Sometimes it’s like peeling the layers of an onion but the truth is deepening the client relationship goes hand in hand with legacy planning; ultimately the advisor should be there for their clients and provide tailored services to help them achieve their legacy planning goals.”
Prior to her new role as regional vice president, Alexander had been with National Bank for over three years as director & senior private banker. Her Family Enterprise advisor designation has allowed her to have rich dialogue and a unique approach with clients. She has over 30 years in the industry, including eleven years as a private banker.
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With a lot of traction, transmitting your values can be transformed in a legacy