Franchise Funding: Guidant Financial

Statistics show that small business and franchise owners who use Rollovers as Business Startups (ROBS) arrangements to fund their ventures are 63% more likely to succeed.

Why are they so successful? Because they buy their business in cash and don't tie their credit or other personal assets to the transaction. Because they don't have to jeopardize their home or pay high interest costs. Because they start out with more capital to spend on hiring the best employees, advertising and equipment, therefore building a tremendous foundation from the get-go.

Since their founding in 2003, Guidant Financial, has emerged as an industry leader in self-directed IRAs and innovative small business financing. Here are several questions they suggest asking of any ROBS provider when using their services or referring a client, and the answers you will receive when asking them:

1. Have you ever had a plan disqualified or paid taxes or penalties on behalf
   of a client?
   We at Guidant have not. Our plans withstand scrutiny.
2. Do you provide in-house 401(k) recordkeeping services?
   We at Guidant do. In fact, we have over 30 individuals dedicated to the “back end.”  Most errors occur after the initial formation of the business.
3. Do you stand behind your program and will you put that in writing?
   We at Guidant provide Plan Protection to our clients. We will stand behind our work, our clients and your referrals, and bear 100% of the cost to do so.
4. Do you have an in-house legal team?
   Not one attorney, one professional or one resource. A team. Our team at Guidant has the largest legal team in this industry working under one roof. [Clients] can work with us knowing that our team of tax professionals and ERISA experts (including a former ERISA Investigator for the US Department of Labor) provide comprehensive support to them as a client.
5. Do you reciprocate referrals?
   At Guidant, we do. Our web properties generate more than 3,000 leads each month. While some companies rely exclusively on you – we work with you to close deals with your candidates quickly and send call-verified, qualified referrals back to those who support us.
6. Does your company have sufficient experience?
   At Guidant, we’ve helped more than 6,000 people in all 50 states invest more than two billion dollars through ROBS, and that amount keeps growing.
7. Is your company the recognized industry leader?
   At Guidant, we’ve been honored by many industry and civic organizations for our leadership, innovative business and philanthropic efforts. We were recognized as a Small Business of the Year by the US Chamber of Commerce, ranked on the prestigious Inc 500 list, and the SBA said our founders were the best in the country.