Succession/Exit Planning

Creative Imprint Systems

Make sure your business will survive – and thrive — without you.
Rick Santos, the founder of a successful, high-volume screen printing business, Creative Imprint Systems, was nearing retirement age. He just didn’t know it yet.

He loved coming to work every day, even after 33 years. The company’s automated screen-printing system was turning out 10,000 garments a week. Customers raved about their new custom-embroidery services. A major expansion in 1990 had transformed the business into a one-stop source for imprinted apparel and sportswear, embroidery, industrial screen-printing, awards, promotional products, and corporate incentives. Rick’s sons, Ron and Jeff, were content working alongside the company’s 32 employees, some who have been part of the operation for three decades.

It wasn’t until Rick and his wife were finalizing their estate plan that it suddenly dawned on them: Who would take over the business? Heaven forbid something should happen to them. They hadn’t given a thought to succession planning.

On the recommendation of their attorney, Rick came to Decision Associates for some advice. Over the next year-and-a-half we talked with family members and employees, helping them shape a plan that would turn over more of the management responsibility to Rick’s sons. Family dynamics can be a thorny issue, but most every challenge can be resolved through open communication and objective analysis. As the process unfolded, Rick recognized he needed to have faith in his sons’ decision-making; his sons understood they needed to step up to the plate.

With a written succession plan in place, the business is better prepared for the future. Ron and Jeff are thoroughly engaged in the strategic planning, working with employees on process improvements and creative new product ideas. They tell us they appreciate our holding their feet to the fire on target dates and deliverables. That’s because they know we have their best interests at heart, whether it’s their family or their business.

Rick and his wife consider themselves blessed. Now that their sons have assumed more responsibility, they’re free to take off for Florida on a moment’s notice or disappear into the wilds for a long-awaited hunting and fishing vacation.

Rick comes into work most every day and continues to play a vital role in the business, though he personally handles orders from 50 clients instead of the usual 300. He says he’s serving as a safety net while his sons learn the ropes. Not everyone has that luxury.

Deist Industries

Buying the Family Business
When Matt Wilson of Deist Industries (Bucks Fabricating™, Switch-N-Go™ and AmeriDeck™) decided that the time was right to purchase the business from his father-in-law, he turned to Decision Associates for help in constructing a proposal. Matt wanted to own the business in full and not be obligated to the family – a smart move for a young entrepreneur who wants to make it on his own.

The purchase was a challenge for the whole family. Dale, his father-in-law who founded the company had grown it significantly over 17 years, and as with all owners, found it hard to give up the lifestyle of being the decision maker. He had taught Matt well and now he was ready to take over the helm. Taking over the business, while maintaining a good relationship with the family, was the goal. After all, there were many holidays and birthdays yet to celebrate together!

Matt worked with Decision Associates to decide how the purchase should be construed, drafted the appropriate papers and met with his Advisory team: his banker, attorney and accountant. After several meetings and re-drafts of documents, the deal was finally made. Matt is now the owner at Deist Industries and is excited to be working with his team as their leader.

Throughout the process, Decision Associates worked with Matt so that he had a fair offer to his family, and worked as a coordinator with all of the parties involved. As Matt commented, “The team at Decision Associates has great experience from a wide variety of industries that can be leveraged to help your business get through a particular challenge or project. The perspective and experience that Decision Associates was able to provide was invaluable to me during my first business acquisition.”

During this time, Deist Industries also lost an important employee. Matt was pleased that “Decision Associates was able to provide us with a person that worked well with our team and was very outcome focused.” Decision Associates is pleased with the outcome and knows that Deist Industries will prosper under Matt’s leadership.

Finish Thompson, Inc.

Focus on what you do best and go the distance
David Bowes, former president and CEO of Finish Thompson, Inc., logged 30,000 miles in preparation for the 20 marathons he completed before his unexpected death while battling cancer in 2007. The Decision Associates team always admired his focus, and his persistence, in reaching personal health and business goals.

David knew there could be no shortcuts if you want to be the best at what you do. You want to be the leader in corrosive fluid transfer while using innovative research and development techniques? You want to engineer and manufacture specialized pumps that are the best in the world? You want to remain profitable for five decades without having a single layoff? Then you’d better make sure every step you take leads you in that direction. He was always thinking long-term.

Today, Decision Associates has the privilege of working with David’s son, Casey Bowes, who worked as the company’s director of international sales, and later as manager of all sales and marketing, before assuming the position of president and CEO at Finish Thompson. During the strategic planning process led by Decision Associates that began in 2004, Casey’s Dad began offering him positions of increasing responsibility — not just to test his mettle, but also to immerse his son in the company operations and culture.

Now Casey is learning from other respected mentors within Finish Thompson, many who’ve been with the company for more than 30 years. He’s also looking for ideas and best practices from colleagues outside the company. A participant in one of Decision Associates’ PEER groups, Casey has a new group of confidants with whom he feels comfortable discussing everything from cash flow and cost-cutting, to human resources and marketing. The group meets monthly to bounce ideas around.

How are things going? Read the company’s newsletter this month, and you’ll see that Casey has a lot to say about the number … zero.

Today, zero represents the number of Finish Thompson employees that have been laid off, the number of regular hours worked per week that Finish

Thompson has reduced, and the percentage of wages and salaries that have been cut at Finish Thompson in 2009. In talking to others in our industry and outside our industry, this is not the norm. Zero is a number Finish Thompson should be very proud of.

In a competitive market and challenging economy where the finish line keeps moving, Casey’s father would likely be cheering from the sidelines.

Say we sell Coca Cola®, Casey says to a member of his PEER group, flipping the tab on an ice-cold drink, In the past, we would have decided to grow sales by adding Dr. Pepper®. But our work with Decision Associates has shown us that, no, you’re going to grow by making your Coke® even better. So we’ve taken our pumps, and instead of adding a model or two to try to grow sales, we’ve gone back to our most popular models, and made them better, and that has, no doubt, made our sales go up and made us more competitive in the long run.