Thirty-five years ago, Roland Spongberg started a restaurant company with one El Pollo Loco in Long Beach, CA. Today, WKS Restaurant Company employs 12,000 employees across 375 restaurants in 19 states operating Denny’s, El Pollo Loco, Krispy Kreme, and Wendy’s. From a pure family perspective, with six children, Roland initially [...]
Roland Spongberg became interested in succession planning after a car dealer friend shared difficulties he was experiencing with his siblings. With no desire to cash out, and a father of six kids, with some working in the business and some not, Roland began thinking about the future and opportunities he [...]
Developing strategies for growth are essential to succession, especially in Century Automotive Group’s case, where four kids are interested in the business within the third generation. As Tracy shares in our discussion, the succession process created a forum to determine: Strategic Plan for the next five years Organizational structure and [...]
The car business is synonymous with “family business.” Some of you work with family today. Some have a high possibility of the family entering the business in the future. Some of you are working with loyal, long-term employees that you consider family. At its best, a family business is a beautiful combination of communication [...]
A family business is such a wonderful opportunity. However, many 2nd, and 3rd generation business owners screw it up. And as Tracy shared, she and her husband did not want to be the generation to screw it up. With the third generation entering the business, Tracy and her husband felt [...]
Century Automotive Group is thriving across three generations. Love and commitment to nurturing family relationships have been vital ingredients for their success. From Tracy’s integration into the business as the second generation, and now the third generation actively working in the business; they live by there is no business gain [...]
The past 18-24 months will go down in the history books of auto retailing. For most dealers, business has been terrific, in some of the most upside-down times ever seen. Before thinking you have to either Get Big or Sell Out, invest time into getting informed. Lean on your advisors to evaluate your current [...]
Succession planning has never been more important for dealers. Profits are high, demand for stores is high, and the cost to compete is getting higher. Having the proper plan in place ensures you are able to navigate times like these Automotive News recently featured David Ciambella, in “Buy-Sell Q&A: Dealership Succession Planning" alongside Alan [...]
When times are going well, recruiting, and retaining talent is challenging. When times are going great amidst a pandemic, it has become downright almost impossible. Business owners are facing talent shortages like never. The competition is across industries, local and state borders. The transition to flexible and remote work environments are enticing workers to [...]
Dealers are seeing record profits in spite of a global pandemic and limited inventories. This has many dealers wondering if they should be building the portfolio by buying more stores or taking advantage of the market and selling to get top dollar, and others are wondering what will happen if they just stay in [...]
