If your family operates a farm and the next generation wants to stay in the business while non-farming siblings see the land’s value and potential windfalls, this episode is essential. Dave walks through a practical, step-by-step approach to aligning family priorities, building a sustainable economic model for the operation, and designing a succession plan that preserves the farm across generations without tearing the family apart.

You’ll learn:

• How to map out the family dynamic and understand what each member values beyond money
• How to build a transparent, data-driven financial model that shows gross profit, cash flow, and the impact of different rent and price scenarios
• Methods for balancing farming commitment with fair treatment of non-farming heirs
• Estate planning tools that protect liquidity and minimize unnecessary land sales
• Timing and practical steps to start planning now, so you maintain options and avoid costly decisions later

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a practical blueprint you can adapt to your family’s unique history and goals, plus actionable steps to begin conversations, create consensus, and implement a plan that keeps the legacy alive—without sacrificing family harmony.

Connect with us:

• Dave Nabity on Facebook
• Dave Nabity on LinkedIn
• Nabity Business Advisors

At Nabity Business Advisors, we help business owners handle the “big picture” issues so they can stay focused on building for the future. Learn more at Nabity.com.

What does it actually cost to feed the world and who is bearing that risk?

Most people drive past fields without a second thought. But behind every pivot irrigator and tractor cab is a business owner managing millions in equipment debt, unpredictable weather, volatile commodity markets, and a global supply chain that makes American farmers their own worst competitors.

In this episode, Dave sits down with Cale Carlson, a fourth generation irrigated farmer from central Nebraska, to pull back the curtain on modern agriculture. Cale breaks down the real economics of farming, from the $100,000 price tag on a single irrigation pivot to the brutal reality that only two out of ten years are genuinely profitable. He shares how technology, soil stewardship, and smart risk management keep the operation alive, and why South American competition is quietly reshaping American agriculture.

But this conversation goes beyond business. Cale opens up about the emotional weight of farming alone, the family tensions that arise when farm assets get passed down unevenly, and the faith and family relationships that keep him anchored when the numbers do not add up. If you have ever wondered what it takes financially, physically, and spiritually to keep a century old family farm running, this episode is for you.

Key takeaways:

• Equipment costs run into the millions, and only 2 out of 10 farming years are truly prosperous while 2 out of 10 are financially devastating.
• American farmers face stiff global competition, particularly from Brazil and Argentina, which have lower costs, fewer regulations, and more land to expand.
• Soil health and responsible chemical use are top priorities for serious farmers because the land has to last for future generations.
• Family farm succession planning is critical, and unresolved estate plans are one of the most common sources of family conflict after a parent's death.
• Strong support systems including family, faith, and community are essential for managing the psychological stress of farming.
• Social media has become a valuable tool for farmers to share market information, connect with peers worldwide, and even build additional income streams.

Connect with us:

• Cale Carlson on LinkedIn
• Dave Nabity on Facebook
• Dave Nabity on LinkedIn
• Nabity Business Advisors

At Nabity Business Advisors, we help business owners handle the “big picture” issues so they can stay focused on building for the future. Learn more at Nabity.com.

What do you do when your best people help build the company… but the shares stay in the family?

Every successful family business runs into this tension at some point. Your leadership team drives growth, carries responsibility, and attracts attention from competitors. They deserve a path to build wealth alongside the company. At the same time, handing out equity can fracture ownership or complicate succession.

That tension led to one of the more clever tools in executive compensation: phantom stock.

In this episode, Dave walks through how phantom stock plans allow key employees to participate in the growth of a company without receiving actual shares. The structure mirrors the value of the business, ties rewards to performance, and creates a long-term incentive for leaders to stay and help build something bigger.

Key takeaways:

• Phantom stock rewards key leaders without giving up ownership.

• Phantom shares track the company’s value.

• Payouts happen at retirement, sale, or other liquidity events.

• Performance benchmarks can determine share awards.

• Planning helps manage the future payout liability.

Connect with us:

• Dave Nabity on Facebook
• Dave Nabity on LinkedIn
• Nabity Business Advisors

At Nabity Business Advisors, we help business owners handle the “big picture” issues so they can stay focused on building for the future. Learn more at Nabity.com.

You can build a serious company, stack real wealth, and still get tripped up by basic legal structure.

Dave sits down with Zach Petersen of Dvorak Law Group to walk through the mistakes they keep seeing in high-net-worth estate plans. Rental properties with no LLC protection. Revocable trusts that were never funded. Valuations that won’t survive an audit. Gifting strategies that quietly invite a 40 percent estate tax problem.

If you own a business and your estate is north of eight figures, this conversation hits close to home.

Key takeaways:

• A trust that isn’t funded still sends your family through probate.
• An LLC only protects you if you actually operate like an LLC.
• A weak valuation invites a very strong IRS response.
• An intentionally defective grantor trust can reduce your estate year after year when structured correctly.
• The way you pass wealth shapes the character of the next generation.

Connect with us:

• Zach Petersen on LinkedIn
• Dave Nabity on Facebook
• Dave Nabity on LinkedIn
• Nabity Business Advisors

At Nabity Business Advisors, we help business owners handle the “big picture” issues so they can stay focused on building for the future. Learn more at Nabity.com.

Running a family business comes with pride, pressure, and a whole lot of emotion. When parents try to show love by treating every child the same inside the company, the results can stack up into resentment, dysfunction, and eventually full-blown family fallout.

In this episode, Dave walks through a painfully familiar scenario using a fictional family business and shows how good intentions around fairness, payroll, and ownership can unravel everything once mom and dad step away. The lesson is simple but uncomfortable: business fundamentals have to come first, or the legacy you worked decades to build won’t survive the next generation.

Key takeaways:

• Why equal ownership often creates unequal outcomes
• The hidden resentment that builds when compensation isn’t tied to performance
• How non-working owners can pressure a business into selling
• The damage entitlement does to culture, morale, and family relationships
• Clear rules for who should work in the business and who shouldn’t
• Practical ways to fix the structure when it’s already gone sideways

Connect with us:

• Dave Nabity on Facebook
• Dave Nabity on LinkedIn
• Nabity Business Advisors

At Nabity Business Advisors, we help business owners handle the “big picture” issues so they can stay focused on building for the future. Learn more at Nabity.com.

When a founder steps away from a family business, the real question usually isn’t who takes over. It’s whether the buyout itself can carry everyone where they need to go. Retirement income, company cash flow, taxes, and human behavior all start pulling on the same rope, and if the math is off, someone feels it fast. Usually the kids. Sometimes the parents. Occasionally both.

In this episode, Dave Nabity walks through the mechanics behind a family business buyout and why “good intentions” don’t survive bad modeling. From valuation decisions to installment payments and catastrophe planning, this is a practical chalk talk on how to structure a transition that supports the seller’s retirement without putting the next generation in a financial chokehold.

Key topics covered

• How valuation decisions shape everything that follows
• Balancing seller retirement needs with buyer cash flow reality
• Stock sales vs. asset sales and the tax tradeoffs on both sides
• Modeling pre- and post-sale cash flow before anything gets signed
• Why many retirements fall off a cliff around year eleven
• Protecting the plan with leadership readiness and catastrophe planning

Connect with us:

• Dave Nabity on Facebook
• Dave Nabity on LinkedIn
• Nabity Business Advisors

At Nabity Business Advisors, we help business owners handle the “big picture” issues so they can stay focused on building for the future. Learn more at Nabity.com.

Doug Morris is a CPA who lives in the weeds so you don’t have to, and he joins Dave to talk through the “One Big Beautiful Bill” in plain English, with the kind of examples business owners actually care about. They get into what stayed in place from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, why the estate tax exemption jumping to $15M per spouse changes planning conversations, and how quickly things can get expensive when a business makes up most of the estate.

Key takeaways:

• Estate tax exemption changes and planning implications
• What business owners should know about the One Big Beautiful Bill
• Bonus depreciation and how it affects cash flow decisions
• Selling a business: stock deals vs asset deals
• Capital gains considerations at the federal and state level
• Where tax strategy quietly breaks down in succession planning

Connect with us:

• Douglas Morris on LinkedIn
• McFarlin and Brokke
• Dave Nabity on Facebook
• Dave Nabity on LinkedIn
• Nabity Business Advisors

At Nabity Business Advisors, we help business owners handle the “big picture” issues so they can stay focused on building for the future. Learn more at Nabity.com.

Some meetings remind you that true collaboration isn’t a myth after all, and then others make you wonder how certain professionals keep their licenses. Dave walks through both extremes in this episode, pulling back the curtain on what actually happens when CPAs, attorneys, advisors, and insurance agents gather around the table. From the rare moments when everyone shows up prepared and humble, to the far more common scenes where egos, sales pitches, and unread documents derail the entire plan, this episode shows you what a healthy advisory team looks like and how to spot a dysfunctional one before it costs your family time and money.

Key takeaways:

• What a truly collaborative advisory meeting looks and feels like
• How CPAs, attorneys, and advisors each contribute to strong planning
• Why unread prep work is a massive red flag
• The dangers of advisors who see collaboration as competition
• When insurance agents push products instead of planning
• Why “family office” often translates to “sell everything to everyone”
• How to build a team that gives you clear, decision-ready management information

Connect with us:

• Dave Nabity on Facebook
• Dave Nabity on LinkedIn
• Nabity Business Advisors

At Nabity Business Advisors, we help business owners handle the “big picture” issues so they can stay focused on building for the future. Learn more at Nabity.com.

Parents want their children to thrive, especially inside the family business, but sometimes the role they hope their child will grow into doesn’t match who that child actually is. In this episode, Dave shares the patterns he sees when families try to force the wrong fit, and how quickly that can strain both the company and the relationships that hold it together. He walks through temperament, wiring, strengths, and the stories behind tough decisions parents often face, all with a tone that keeps things grounded and human.

Key Topics

• Why parents often place children in roles that don’t match their wiring
• How DISC profiles reveal natural strengths and blind spots
• The danger of assigning CEO responsibilities to a support-oriented child
• What unequal skill sets mean for future equity decisions
• Ways to treat kids fairly without harming the business
• How outside guidance protects long-term family unity

Connect with us:

• Dave Nabity on Facebook
• Dave Nabity on LinkedIn
• Nabity Business Advisors

At Nabity Business Advisors, we help business owners handle the “big picture” issues so they can stay focused on building for the future. Learn more at Nabity.com.

Business owners reach a moment where paying someone else’s rent stops making sense and owning starts to look like a path to long-term wealth. 

Dave sits down with his son, Graham Nabity from CBRE, for a grounded, no-nonsense conversation about how business owners should think about buying, leasing, building, or expanding their space. They get into what the market looks like today, why industrial vacancies are basically nonexistent, and the factors that determine whether a purchase becomes an asset or a headache.

Key takeaways:

• When business owners should shift from leasing to owning
• How SBA loans actually work
• The industrial space shortage and zoning limitations
• What makes Class A vs Class B office properties different
• How lease renewals can make or break your occupancy
• Using real estate ownership as part of a retirement plan
• Depreciation, appreciation, and the tax perks of owning
• What to consider before buying land or building new

Connect with us:

• Graham Nabity on LinkedIn
• CBRE
• Dave Nabity on Facebook
• Dave Nabity on LinkedIn
• Nabity Business Advisors

At Nabity Business Advisors, we help business owners handle the “big picture” issues so they can stay focused on building for the future. Learn more at Nabity.com.