32
Years in Bozeman
$450M
Assets under management
9
People
"Selling the company is the easy part. The real job is making that money last the next forty years."
Selling a company you built over thirty years leaves you with a number that feels enormous and a hundred questions at once. Here is the order Great Buffalo Private Wealth works through with a business owner in your position.
Before anything else, Ellen Marsh works with your attorney and accountant to figure out what the sale actually owes, so the number you plan around is the real one.
We look at what supports your household now and through retirement, before a dollar goes anywhere else.
Once your own needs are covered, we set aside what you want the next generation to have for school.
If giving back matters to you, we build that into the plan rather than treating it as an afterthought.
This firm is not for people who want to trade the proceeds or chase whatever is hot. If that is what you are looking for, we are the wrong firm for you.
There is no single deadline. Most owners take a few weeks to catch their breath before moving money into any long-term plan. What matters more is having a clear picture of near-term needs, taxes owed, and goals before you commit funds. We usually walk through that timeline together before any dollar moves.
It depends on the debt and the rate attached to it. Some loans are worth paying down right away. Others are cheap enough that keeping the cash working for your family makes more sense. We look at each debt individually rather than assuming one answer fits every situation.
This depends on your age, your goals, and how the money is structured, not a single rule of thumb. We build a plan around your actual expenses and the years you expect to need income, then revisit it regularly as life and markets change.
Usually, yes. A business sale often triggers a tax bill that shows up later than the cash does. Ellen works with your accountant and attorney to estimate what is owed and set it aside, so the number you plan around is what is actually yours to use.
That is a common next step for owners who are not ready to fully retire. We talk through the risk to your family's overall plan before you commit new capital, so the rest of your life is not riding on one more venture.
No. Many owners come to us after the sale is done and the cash is parked. We start with where things stand today, sort out what needs attention first, and build a plan from there. There is no wrong time to start.
One of your advisors will call you personally to talk through where the money should go once the deal is done. You will hear back within one business day.
A real conversation, not a form that sits in a queue.
We work alongside your attorney and accountant, not around them.
Structuring the sale before it's signed matters more than after.
