Edward Jones - Financial Advisor: Blair Lukan

06/06/2026

Last week's blowout U.S. payroll report underlined the improvement in the U.S. labour market this year, with hiring accelerating and broadening across sectors, signaling a more durable foundation for growth. Canadian employment data were also surprisingly strong, reversing some of the weakness in hiring this year.

How did the markets perform this week? Get the highlights and the latest economic news.

06/04/2026

Download your checklist: https://lukanblair.blueripplegroup.org/exit-planning-guide

If your business exit is 5 years away, you’re in the most important planning window.

Because the highest-impact strategies, especially around tax, take time.

Years, not months.

Things like:

• Structuring shares properly for LCGE
• Setting up and seasoning a family trust
• Improving valuation multiples
• Reducing owner dependency
• Building a tax-efficient wealth transfer plan

These aren’t quick fixes. They’re long-term decisions that compound over time.

So when someone says, “I’ll deal with that closer to the sale,” they’re limiting their options.

If you’re even thinking about a business exit within the next 5 years, this guide will help you prioritize what to do now.

06/01/2026

Happy Pride Month! 🌈

This June, we celebrate love, authenticity, and the courage it takes to live as your true self.

Pride is about visibility, acceptance, and progress. It's about creating spaces where everyone feels safe to plan for the life they envision, whether that's marriage, family planning, retirement, or legacy building.

05/30/2026

Do people stay in their business for too long?
It depends, and the answer is often more personal than it sounds.

I will use myself as an example. I genuinely love what I do. When I am in the office for twelve or thirteen hours, it does not feel that long for me. The question I must ask is not whether I enjoy it, but what that pace means for the people I care about. That perspective shapes how I think about my own exit and timing.

I also see another reason people stay longer than they intend to. Sometimes it is because they believe no one else can do what they do. In many cases, that is true, but only because the business has never been positioned to function without them. When exit planning is used as a business strategy, responsibilities can be shared and leadership can be developed over time.

Staying longer is not always a problem. Staying by default can be.
When you think about your future, what is actually influencing the timing of your exit?

If you want to explore that question in a thoughtful way, feel free to reach out and start the conversation.

05/30/2026

Markets closed last week hopeful that a U.S.–Iran peace deal will finally help unwind the shock to global energy markets seen this year, with equities hitting new record highs and bonds rebounding.

How did the markets perform this week? Get the highlights and the latest economic news.

05/29/2026

A successful exit is about more than the sale price.
That number matters, but it is rarely the whole story.

When I think about what makes an exit work well, two things come to mind:

Control during the transition. The period after a sale can be more disruptive than people expect. Aligning expectations around timing, rules, and ongoing involvement can make a meaningful difference in how that transition feels.

Personal readiness. Without a clear sense of purpose or a vision for the next chapter, even a financially strong exit can feel hollow. Studies consistently show that many people regret selling within a year, not because of the deal itself, but because they were not prepared for what life would look like afterward.

A good exit plan considers both the business mechanics and the human side of the decision. Thinking through how you want to spend your time and what gives that next phase meaning is just as important as negotiating terms.

When you picture life after business, what stands out to you most?
If you want to talk through what a well-rounded exit could look like, feel free to reach out and start the conversation.

05/28/2026

Want to be ready before the exit becomes urgent?

Download the Business Owner’s Exit Readiness Guide here: https://lukanblair.blueripplegroup.org/exit-planning-guide

Most business exits don’t happen exactly when planned.

Health changes.
Market shifts.
Unexpected offers come in.

And suddenly, a “someday” decision becomes a “right now” one.

The problem is that if the groundwork isn’t already in place, your options are limited.

You may not have time to:

• Restructure shares for tax efficiency
• Qualify for LCGE
• Clean up financials
• Strengthen leadership
• Optimize valuation drivers

Good business exit planning isn’t about predicting the exact date.

It’s about being ready when the opportunity (or necessity) shows up.

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝟬–5 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁 (𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱), 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://lukanblair.blueripplegroup.org/exit-planning-guide

05/28/2026

One of the most common questions about Old Age Security (OAS) is when to start taking it. The standard age is 65, but you can delay until age 70. Each choice affects how much you receive.

Starting at 65 means you begin receiving income earlier. But if you delay, your monthly payments increase by 0.6% for each month you wait, up to a maximum 36% increase at age 70.

So which option is right for you? It depends on several factors unique to your situation. Your current tax rate matters. If you're still working or have other significant income, delaying might make sense. Your total income matters too, because OAS is subject to a clawback if your income exceeds certain thresholds.

If you're approaching 65 and wondering when to start your OAS, reach out. I can help you evaluate your options based on your personal circumstances.

You asked – we answered! Here are the top 10 questions about Old Age Security (OAS)

05/27/2026

When someone tells me they are not ready to exit, my first step is never to push them toward a decision.
It is simply to start a conversation.

I would like to begin with what I call a discovery meeting. It is unstructured by design. Just a pad of paper, a pen, and time to ask questions that help define what “ready” actually means. How will you know when you are ready? If you had the option to exit tomorrow, would you want to? What would life look like the day after?

Those questions tend to uncover more than numbers alone ever could. Over time, I have found that readiness usually rests on three connected areas:

Your personal plan

Your personal financial plan

Your business plan

That personal side often carries the deepest questions. When the business no longer fills every day, how do you want to spend your time? What does the meaningful next chapter look like? Discovery helps define that picture, even if exiting is still years away.

When you say you are not ready yet, what do you think you are waiting for?
If you want to explore that question in a thoughtful way, feel free to reach out and start the conversation.

05/26/2026

Six months after you’ve sold the business, it’s a Monday morning.

What does your life look like?

It’s a simple question, but not an easy one. And it’s one most business owners have never truly sat with long enough to feel.

This is where things begin to unravel.

The missteps that follow an exit are rarely about the deal itself. They tend to come from what was left unexamined. Identity, purpose, community… the parts of life that were once shaped by the business suddenly feel less certain. The transaction closes, and only then does the weight of that question arrive.

The role of a thoughtful exit plan is not just to secure a strong outcome on paper. It is to ensure you have already stepped, in some meaningful way, into what comes next before anything is signed.

It’s worth noting that only 20 to 30% of businesses that go to market actually sell. Many that don’t sell fall short not because of the numbers, but because readiness extends beyond financials.

If an exit is somewhere on your horizon, the more important question is not just what you are building toward, but what you are stepping into.

Have you given that enough thought?

Read more on the state of business owners readiness here: https://exit-planning-institute.org/state-of-owner-readiness #:~:text=WHAT%20IS%20THE%20STATE%20OF,wealth%20or%20ensure%20economic%20continuity.