Anthony, 38
Digital Marketing Agency, CEO
Primary Goals
Stop overpaying in taxes, build a real compensation structure, understand his growth capacity, and start building wealth outside the business
The Situation
Anthony built his digital marketing agency from scratch. Over two years, revenue went from $1.5 million to $3 million — a 100% increase driven by strong client results and a growing team. By every business metric, he was winning. He was great at growing a company. The financial side was a different story.
He was operating as an S-Corp but had never properly structured his compensation. He was drawing a salary without any analysis behind it, which meant he was either overpaying payroll taxes, taking on IRS risk, or both. His tax bill at the end of every year felt higher than it should be, but he had no tax strategy in place — just a CPA filing the return after the fact.
The business was growing fast, and Anthony wanted to hire. But he had no cash flow model telling him whether he could actually afford to, or when. Every spending decision felt like a guess. On top of all that, nearly 100% of his net worth was tied up in the business itself — one company, one client base, one set of risks. Nothing outside of it.
The Approach
Anthony needed a financial infrastructure that matched the size of the company he'd built. The problem wasn't the business — it was that the financial systems around it hadn't kept pace with the growth.
We started with his S-Corp compensation structure. Getting the salary right as an S-Corp owner is one of the highest-leverage planning moves available — it affects payroll taxes, retirement contribution limits, and the QBI deduction. We introduced him to a new CPA and collaborated to run a full analysis, benchmarked against industry standards, and set a salary that was both defensible and optimized. From there we built a complete tax plan: maximizing retirement contributions through a Solo 401(k) with profit sharing, timing deductions strategically, and coordinating directly with his CPA so everyone was aligned.
We also built a cash flow model for both the business and personal side — mapping income, expenses, reserves, and distributions into a clear picture. That gave Anthony the answer he kept asking for: whether he could hire, and exactly when. We structured a clean account architecture across business and personal accounts so money was flowing to the right places automatically. Finally, we started systematically moving wealth outside the business — first through retirement accounts, then into a diversified taxable investment portfolio he owned personally.
Tax Strategy Overhaul: Moved from reactive to proactive planning. Retirement contributions, QBI deduction optimization, and strategic deduction timing identified significant savings that had been left on the table each year.
Hiring Decision Answered: Built a business cash flow model that gave him the confidence to bring on two new employees — knowing exactly what the business could support and when.
Account Architecture: Established a clean system of accounts — operating, tax reserve, distribution, and personal savings — so money moved purposefully instead of piling up in one place.
Wealth Built Outside the Business: Launched a Solo 401(k) with profit sharing and began funding a personal investment portfolio — diversifying his net worth for the first time beyond the four walls of his agency.
Hypothetical case studies are not representative of actual clients or client scenarios. Each situation will differ and future results cannot be guaranteed.
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