Houston wealth management adviser shares strategies for starting a successful business

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Here's what this wealth management adviser wants you to know before you start your business. Photo via Getty Images

May is Small Business Appreciation month and as a Houstonian, small business owner and wealth management advisor, I understand firsthand the questions, considerations and challenges involved with navigating the nuanced world of small business ventures.

In 2005, I started RSF Wealth Management with my business partner. RSF Wealth Management is a Houston-based firm of Northwestern Mutual focused on comprehensive, collaborative and educational financial planning.

Understanding that every startup is different, I believe there are a few key strategies to keep in mind when starting a business.

1. Create a comprehensive business plan

Any lucrative, viable business has to start with a good plan that outlines what you will need to grow revenue and thrive long-term. Creating this strategic business outline will serve as a roadmap for your beginning years as well as a marketing tool when finding investors. The business plan should highlight what your outlook is for the next five years, how you will leverage your product to make profit, and how much money you will need to achieve and maintain financial success—no matter what scenario may come your way.

2. Establish a solid financial foundation

As most startup businesses take up to five years to turn over profit, it is important to receive funding or set aside extra cash, even if it’s a small amount. My advice to small business owners is to make sure you have at least six months to a years’ worth of liquidity before starting a business venture. Emergency savings funds and other cash reserves can help to cover the operational and overhead costs to startups. If you don’t have enough in your personal savings or cash reserves, there are loan options for small businesses, including the paycheck protection program loan, economic injury disaster loan, traditional SBA 7(A) loan and SBA express bridge loan.

3. Verify everything is documented

Documenting everything is crucial when building the foundation of your business for both legal and tax purposes. Not only will this help if something goes wrong with your business, but it will also keep formal structure between you and your business partner. All startups should complete a buy-sell agreement, which details how your partners’ share will be obtained by the remaining partners in case of their death or leave. I also recommend filing a morality clause contract, which requires all employees to comply to behavioral standards during the life of their contract.

4. Review your insurance and tax options

Small business owners should be regularly reviewing their tax and insurance options to ensure they are updated to reflect changing business needs. For instance, the SECURE Act 2.0 tax credit is a new incentive designed to make it easy and affordable for small businesses to offer employer-sponsored retirement plans. The new legislation allows increased tax credits to small businesses to encourage plan sponsorship and improve retirement readiness.

Additionally, business insurance for startups can help cover costs associated with property damage or liability claims. For example, disability overhead expense insurance provides your business with money to pay for everyday operational expenses in the event you’re unable to work due to an illness or injury. Generally, if you provide coverage for employees and cover the premium, you will be able to deduct those costs as a business expense.

Despite the difficulties of making the jump from employee to entrepreneur, 5 million new businesses were created in 2022 according to a study by the US Census Bureau. New businesses are being created every day and with the excitement of starting a new business also comes the complexities and challenges associated with a new business venture.

Financial advisors and industry experts can help you create a plan, understand what loan option is right for you and how much you will need to have in cash reserves to ensure you can securely and stably run your new business. No matter the size or operation of your business, financial advisors can help document your finances and connect you with the right attorney or accountant to set you up for long-term success.

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Keith Rollins is a wealth management advisor with Northwestern Mutual and a founding partner of RSF Wealth Management.

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Intuitive Machines strikes $49.3M deal to expand lunar communications network

space deal

Houston-based Intuitive Machines is bulking up its space-to-ground data network with the acquisition of United Kingdom-based Goonhilly Earth Station and its U.S. arm, COMSAT.

The $49.3 million cash-and-stock deal would add 44 antennas to Intuitive Machines’ network. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter.

Intuitive Machines, a space infrastructure and services company, designs, builds, and operates spacecraft and data networks for lunar and deep-space missions. Goonhilly operates a satellite Earth station in Cornwall, England.

Intuitive Machines says Goonhilly’s and COMSAT’s civil, commercial, and government customers will complement its current customer base and broaden its reach into related sectors.

“Customers have been clear that they want a single, integrated, and resilient solution for their communications and [position, navigation, and timing] needs as they accelerate missions at an unprecedented pace,” Steve Altemus, co‑founder and CEO of Intuitive Machines, said in a news release.

Kenn Herskind, executive chairman of Goonhilly, says the acquisition “will allow us to scale that capability globally and directly support the next era of lunar exploration. Together, we will be creating a commercial lunar communications network that is interoperable, resilient, and ready to support Artemis and international missions.”

Modular nuclear reactor co. NuScale Power moves into Houston market

New to Hou

The nuclear energy renaissance continues in Texas with an announcement by NuScale Power. The Oregon-based provider of proprietary and innovative advanced small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear technology announced in April it would be opening office space in Houston’s CityCentre.

“Opening this space in Houston underscores our commitment to meeting rising energy demand with safe, scalable nuclear technology,” John Hopkins, NuScale president and CEO, said in a news release. “This move expands our presence in a key market for partners, prospective customers, and stakeholders in addition to positioning us for the future as we focus on the near-term deployment of our industry-leading technology. Texas is leading the way in embracing advanced nuclear for grid resilience and industrial decarbonization, and we’re proud to expand our footprint and capabilities in this important region.”

Interest in nuclear power has been growing in recent years thanks to tensions with oil-rich nations, concerns about man-made climate change from fossil fuels, and the rapidly increasing power needs of data centers. Both Dow and Texas A&M University have announced expanded nuclear power projects in the last year, with an eye of changing the face of Texas’s energy industry through smaller, safer fission reactors.

Enter NuScale, founded in 2007 from technology developed at the University of Oregon. Their modular SMR technology generates 77 megawatts and is one of the only small modular reactors (SMR) to receive design approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). These advances have led to runaway success for NuScale, whose stock has risen by more than 1,670 percent since the start of 2024.

The new operations campus in CityCentre is expected to facilitate the movement, installation and coordination of NuScale technology into the various energy systems. Typically, SMRs are used for off-grid installations, desalination operations, mining facilities and similar areas that lack infrastructure. However, the modularity means that they can be easily deployed to a variety of areas.

It comes none too soon. ERCOT projects that Texas data centers alone will require 77,965 megawatts by 2030.

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This article first appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Pharma giant considers Houston for $1 billion manufacturing campus

in the works

Another pharmaceutical giant is considering Houston’s Generation Park for a manufacturing hub.

According to a recent filing with the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation (JETI) program, Bristol Myers Squibb Co. is considering the northeast Houston management district for a new $1 billion multi-modal pharmaceutical manufacturing campus.

If approved, the campus, known as Project Argonaut, could create 489 jobs in Texas by 2031. Jobs would include operations technicians, engineering roles, administrative and management roles, production specialists, maintenance support, and quality control/assurance. The company predicts annual average wages for these positions to be around $96,000, according to the filing.

The project currently includes the 600,000-square-foot facility, but according to the filing, Bristol Myers Squibb “envisions this site growing in scale and capability well beyond its opening configuration."

The Texas JETI program offers companies temporary school property tax limitations in exchange for major capital investment and job creation. E.R. Squibb & Sons LLC applied for a 10-year tax abatement agreement in the Sheldon Independent School District.

The agreement promises a $ 1 billion investment. Construction would begin in 2027 and wrap in 2029.

“The proposed project reflects [Bristol Myers Squibb Co.’s] enduring commitment to bringing innovative medicines to patients and ensuring the long-term supply reliability they depend on,” the filing says. “The proposed project is purpose-built to support and manufacture medicines spanning multiple therapeutic areas and modalities, positioning the site as a long-term launch and commercial campus for decades to come. These medicines will provide therapies to the [Bristol Myers Squibb Co.’s] patients located in markets both nationally and internationally.”

The Fortune 100 company is considering 16 other cities for the new manufacturing facility in the Central and Eastern markets in the U.S. According to the Houston Chronicle, Bristol Myers Squibb Co is still in the “evaluation process” for its potential manufacturing site.

Last fall, Eli Lilly and Co. selected Generation Park for its $6.5 billion manufacturing plant. More than 300 locations in the U.S. competed for the factory. Read more here.

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