Jim Schell sold to trusted employees and Russ Seeley sold to one of his sons.

Topic for Discussion: Why did both of these sales turn out to be so positive for everyone?

Answer: In Jim Schell's case, he had gone off and started another business, so the one that he sold had already successfully been running without his day-to-day involvement. This turned out to be a practice run for the two employees who bought him out. They had proven to themselves and to Jim that they had what it takes to make the company even more successful.

Jim priced the company fairly and set it up for them to pay him out over ten years which made the payments low for the new owners. They were so motivated to get rid of debt and they were so good at running the business, they were able to pay him off in three years! Today the company is three times larger than it was when Jim sold.

Russ Seeley was smart not to give his business to Matt because even though Matt was working at Quality Bending, there were two other children to consider. By selling the business to Matt, the other children could not complain that Matt received inheritance that should have partially come to them.

You heard Russ say that Matt was ready to take over. He had learned the ropes as Russ gradually ceded responsibilities at a pace that gave Matt plenty of time to master the necessary leadership skills. In addition to training Matt, Russ also was brilliant to advise Matt to hire his own representation so that both the buyer and the seller had professionals crafting the document that outlined the agreement.

We know of at least one other situation where the second generation simply accepted a deal offered by their father and that deal turned out not to be in the best interests of the sons. Too bad. It's hard to imagine a father not wanting the best for his children but then again, that's the lesson taught in the book of Daniel. All men (and women) have clay feet.

You think about it: Who surrounds you now? Who knows the business inside out? Who might want to learn the business inside and out?