NBTBA Meetup · July 2026
You’re building it to last. Someday you’ll leave it. Will it survive you?
Not another estate planning seminar. One night, two business owners, two very different endings — a hands-on look at the succession and estate planning choices that decide what your family, your employees, and your wealth actually inherit.
Appetizers, wine & beer provided · Limited to 40 seats
The premise
Two owners. The same success. Completely different endings.
You’ve poured years into building something real — a business with your name on it, employees who count on you, and value you’ve always assumed would be there when you need it. But here’s the question almost no owner stops to ask: what happens to all of it the day you’re no longer the one running it?
Join North Bay Trusted Business Advice for an interactive evening built around two business owners. Same industry. Same success. One plans ahead; the other keeps meaning to. Following a single story, we’ll watch both owners move through the moments that test every business — and see how two different sets of decisions lead to two very different endings.
This isn’t a lecture. At your table, you’ll weigh what happens to each owner at every turn, compare notes with other owners in the room, and get straight talk from three advisors who do this work every day.
Keeps meaning to get to it.
No current plan. The business runs on the owner’s presence — and everything their family inherits depends on a plan that was never made.
Plans while things are good.
Documents current. Successor identified. Value transferable. The same surprises hit — but the business, the family, and the employees are ready for them.
Same business. Same success. Different decisions. Which owner are you today?
The evening’s arc
We follow both owners through the three moments that test every business.
The exit no one saw coming
A health event. A disagreement. A sudden inability to work in the business. The plan — or the absence of one — decides everything that happens next.
“If something happened to you tomorrow, what would happen to the business?”
The exit they hoped for
Retirement, a sale, or handing it to the next generation. The difference between a payday and a disappointment comes down to one thing: transferable value.
“Is the business actually transferable — or is the owner still the business?”
The legacy left behind
Taxes, liquidity, fair-versus-equal, family harmony. What one family inherits with clarity, another inherits as conflict.
“Will your family inherit wealth and opportunity — or confusion and a mess?”
Straight talk from
An attorney, a CPA, and a wealth strategist walk into the room.
Jeff Stephens
Estate Planning Attorney GVM Law LLP
Jeff focuses on tax and succession planning for business owners and high-net-worth families, guiding owners of closely held businesses through trusts, entity structures, and multi-generational transfers. He brings the legal foundation: what actually protects a business when the owner is no longer there.
Carli Ortiz
CPA · AEP® · PFS™ · CGMA® Certified Public Accountant Linkenheimer CPAs & Advisors LLP
Carli advises business owners on the tax and planning decisions that preserve wealth and keep companies transferable. She co-created this event with one goal: make it anything but another estate planning seminar — the numbers behind the story, and what they mean for your family.
Josh Sterling
CLU® · AEP® · CEPA® · CLTC® Wealth Strategist Unified Advice
Josh helps business owners plan for the exits they choose — and the ones they don’t: succession, liquidity, insurance, and the strategies that turn a lifetime of work into a lasting legacy. He’ll facilitate the evening, tying the story to the real decisions owners face.
What you’ll leave with
You’ll walk out seeing your own business a little differently.
- A clear picture of what actually happens to your business, family, and wealth if you exited tomorrow — planned or not
- The right questions to ask your CPA, attorney, and advisor before it matters
- A read on whether your business is truly transferable — or whether it still depends entirely on you
- Practical ways planning protects business value, your employees, and family harmony
- A sense of where you stand today, and what to tackle first
Wednesday, July 29 · Windsor
The best time to plan was years ago.
The second-best time is July 29.
Appetizers, wine, and beer are on us. Bring a fellow owner — the table conversations are the point.
This event is educational and general in nature and is not legal, tax, accounting, or financial advice. Please consult your own advisors about your specific situation.
Registration
Save your seat — it takes 30 seconds.
One date, one time: tap the 4:30 PM slot, hit Select, and enter your details.