We recently connected with Sean Moran and have shared our conversation below.

Sean, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?

I was fortunate to start my career in corporate tax. As someone with an accounting degree, I got to work in large Fortune 500 companies to learn great structured environment where I was able to learn from great people with fantastic backgrounds.

After a 15 year career in tax, including Big 4 public accounting and getting my masters degree, I was able to purchase a retail franchise. I was able to apply my accounting and tax expertise in that business. This allowed me to transition to becoming a financial advisor, because there is so much overlap with my financial education as well as build on my experience as a small business owner. I am now living my dream.

Sean, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As a financial advisor with an accounting and tax background, I believe I’m uniquely qualified to serve small business owners. In addition to the typical asset managment and personal financial planning, I can also help businesses owners use their business in a tax efficient manner to provide financial benefits for themselves, their employees and their families.

I believe it is important for everyone to have access to a financial advisor who can advise them on everything from budgeting, college planning, saving for a home, planning for retirement and reaching any financial goal they have.

I also beleive it’s important to demonstrate value before people hire me as their advisor, so I will share ideas with you whether you work with me or not. Most decide they do want to, however.

We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.

I owned a Wireless Zone Franchise store for 6 years. It is important to do you due diligence when acquiring a business and make sure a franchise model is right for you. Understand how much of your money the franchisor will be taking and what they provide.

It is also important to make sure you continue to create value in your company no matter how long you own it. You want to know how much it is worth, so that you price it right when you sell the business. Don’t assume the amount you want is too much, understand what the purchaser is willing to pay and don’t negotiate lower if you believe they will pay your asking price.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

When you are starting up, it’s often difficult to get funding, so it’s important to make sure you have 6 months to a year of expenses set aside to draw on in case things don’t go as planned. Many people I know took out home equity loans when they purchased their businesses. I took out an SBA loan. In hindsight, I probably would have chosen a home equity loan or refinace when rates were lower because there are a lot of fees associated with SBA loans and you are still responsible as the cosigner of the business. I didn’t see the benefits of the SBA loan other than if I wasn’t eligible to borrow elsewhere. It is an option however for many.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.redbarnfinancial.com/
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