John Barnes, CFP® is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pendleton Street Business Advisors in Columbia, SC. With over 25 years of experience, he specializes in financial planning for business owners, assisting entrepreneurs in driving business value, improving cash flow, and strategically planning for successful exits.
John Barnes has been a guest in The Business Owner's Journey:
At Pendleton Street Business Advisors, John works with entrepreneurs the way an outsourced CFO would, focused on the largest asset most owners hold, which is the business itself. He co-founded the firm in 2013, leads it as CEO, and serves on its investment committee.
Much of his work comes down to a few recurring questions. What should an owner do with business profit: pay themselves, pay down debt, or reinvest for growth? What actually drives the value of the company? How do you make it easier to own and eventually sell?
As a Certified Financial Planner™ professional, he ties tax, cash flow, entity structure, and personal wealth into one connected plan, and he is often the advisor in the room when a client faces a make-or-break decision.
John's career began in 1999 at Wachovia Bank, where he spent about eight years moving into increasing levels of leadership. In 2007 he joined WHM Capital Advisors and rose to Chief Operating Officer, sitting close to the mechanics of how businesses are valued, bought, and sold. That vantage point shaped a conviction that follows him today: for most owners, the business is the biggest financial asset they have, and it rarely gets planned for like one.
The years at Wachovia and WHM taught him how capital, cash flow, and value drivers actually behave inside a company, and that is the lens he brings when an owner is weighing what to do with profit, how to grow, or when to sell.
In 2022, John was selected for the Palmetto Venture Fellowship Class of 2022 through Venture Carolina, a program that supports South Carolina's entrepreneurial community.
iHeartMedia Columbia featured him in its CEO's You Should Know series in November 2021, a profile of local business leaders.
He speaks and writes regularly on the financial realities of ownership. In June 2020 he presented Preparing Your Business for the Next Normal with the Columbia Chamber of Commerce.
Much of John's work centers on exit planning and preparing owners to eventually sell their business on their own terms. He teaches entrepreneurs how to reduce owner dependency, systematize operations, and build a company that runs without leaning entirely on the founder.
John works through the same questions on LinkedIn, where he writes about what drives business value, what owners should do with profit, and how to prepare a company for an eventual sale.
John Barnes is featured here on nickberry.info as part of a network of entrepreneurs and advisors focused on helping business owners build, grow, and successfully transition their companies. John has also been a guest on The Business Owner's Journey podcast in the episode: Why Tax Advice Is Not Financial Advice for Business Owner.
His work as an outsourced CFO and business owner financial advisor complements the conversations and resources shared across this site for founders navigating the financial side of ownership.
John is based in Columbia, South Carolina, where he has built his career and his firm within the local business community. His more than 25 years of experience reflect a steady evolution from traditional financial planning toward a specialized focus on the entrepreneur as both a business leader and an individual with a financial future to protect. He is, at his core, a partner to the people building companies.
Nick Berry is an American entrepreneur and business advisor, whose track record includes founding, leading, and advising award winning small businesses since 2002. He has built companies in multiple industries, hosts The Business Owner’s Journey podcast, and created the Business Alignment System™ framework that helps owner-operators scale without burning out.
After his most recent exit he founded Redesigned.Business to advise and coach to other entrepreneurs and business owners who are looking for a trusted (and proven) advisor.
Among peers, colleagues and clients, Nick has been referred to as 'The Anti-Guru', due to his pragmatic approach and principled leadership. He shares his thoughts, experience, and lessons learned each week in The Golden Thread newsletter.
