154: Changing Lives Together: Father-Daughter Power in Nonprofit Business

Have you ever thought about starting a family business? Research has repeatedly shown that family businesses perform better than conventional businesses. If you have ever considered starting a for profit or nonprofit business with your dad but aren’t sure if your different approaches would work, this episode is for you!

Join hosts Nola Boea and Lori Vajda as they sit down with a remarkable father-daughter team who decided to start a nonprofit together in order to make a difference in their community. How was it to work alongside your parent? How do you handle conflicting viewpoints, leadership, and—most importantly—keeping your relationship intact? Learn the secrets to their business success as they share their motivational entrepreneurial journey with you, along with priceless insights and practical advice to help you launch your business venture with your dad.

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By the end of this episode, you’ll learn 

• How partnerships between fathers and daughters can drive success, whether you run a for-profit or a not-for-profit company
• A key component of successful family-run businesses is being driven by a common sense of purpose.
• Gain insights into the challenges faced by father-daughter teams and valuable tips for navigating them
• Hear how family partnerships are not only about the present but also about building a lasting legacy that can impact communities and society as a whole

Key points Lori and Nola are sharing in this episode:

(02:04:80) The numbers tell the story. Family firms across the board outperform traditional, non-family-run firms in key areas, including financially.

(06:59:70) The where, what, and how of an idea to launch a business together came about while in a U HAUL. It led to a conversation looking at what the future of our nation holds for my daughters.

(08:06:90) How do you choose a name for your business? For 'Buck', it needed to align with a purpose and passion to support leadership in youth

(14:11:40) The decision to start a nonprofit vs. a for profit organization is not easy and takes many factors into consideration. One factor stood out above the rest

(17:45:70) The key—the arguments or conversations—are really focused on the how and what's the best and most effective way. You have to have great respect for each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Resources

ACEs: Website
Buck Martinez: LinkedInKrissy Webb: LinkedIn

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Podcast Transcript

Transcript

[00:00:00] Nola: Agility, innovation, purposefulness. These pillars have time and again fueled the triumph of family businesses across the globe. Imagine these characteristics woven together in a one-of-a-kind nonprofit partnership between a father and a daughter. It's a combination that not only upholds the core characteristics of thriving family businesses, but also strengthens their ability to affect meaningful social change. Stay tuned, friend, as we hear from a remarkable father-daughter team that has successfully navigated a family-run enterprise and is here to share the power of collaboration, determination, and a shared sense of purpose. If you've ever considered starting a for profit or non-profit business with your dad, this episode is for you.

[00:00:42] Lori: Welcome to Sticky Brand Lab, where we bridge the gap between knowledge and action by providing you with helpful information, tips, and tools from entrepreneurs and other experts, so you can quickly and easily jumpstart your site business. We're your hosts. I'm Lori Vajda, and this is my co-host, Nola Boea. Hi, Nola. 

[00:01:01] Nola: Hey, Lori. 

[00:01:03] Lori: Nola, I recently read that worldwide only 8 percent of family business leaders are women. 

[00:01:11] Nola: Huh, really? 

[00:01:12] Lori: And do you know which continents have the highest proportion of female family run businesses? 

[00:01:18] Nola: Well, there's so many street side marketplaces worldwide and a lot of those vendors are women. So, I'm just going to take a stab and guess, I don't know, India? 

[00:01:28] Lori: You lose. No, it's actually Europe and Central Asia 

[00:01:35] Nola: and not the U S at all. That's interesting.

[00:01:37] Lori: No, I thought that same thing. Yet, despite the fact that North America has the lowest proportion of businesses owned and operated by women, according to recent data, it's still an increase over previous years. 

[00:01:52] Nola: That's good news. 

[00:01:53] Lori: That is good news, but it's not the only impact. Globally, I found these statistics: that the majority of the world's wealth is created by family-owned businesses. Family firms across the board outperform traditional non-family-run firms.

[00:02:12] Nola: That's interesting. 

[00:02:13] Lori: If you think that's interesting, check out what the stats say for the U. S. There are 5. 5 million family businesses in the United States. And family businesses contribute 57 percent of the GDP and employ 63 percent of the workforce. 

[00:02:33] Nola: I would never have guessed that.

[00:02:34] Lori: I know. But here, when you put it into numbers, that means that family-owned businesses employ 98 million people. And in addition to that, they are responsible for 78 percent of all new job creations. 

[00:02:51] Nola: Wow. 

[00:02:52] Lori: But there's one major advantage that family businesses have over non-family ones. Family run companies believe they have a distinct competitive value that produces more than just financial success. Matter of fact, according to Family Enterprise USA, over 90 percent of family businesses believe their long-term investment philosophy, dedication to clients and partners, and their community involvement, are what set them apart from traditional non-family-run businesses.

[00:03:24] Nola: That makes a lot of sense. And in fact, Price Waterhouse Coopers, they conducted a Global Family Business Survey, which said that one of the key attributes that gives successful family businesses competitive edge is trust. 

[00:03:38] Lori: I can see where that would be a real advantage.

[00:03:42] Nola: Yeah, that makes sense, right. And I believe that our guests today know a lot about that. After all, they've been running a successful nonprofit since 2013. So, I'm going to introduce you to Krissy Webb. She is on a mission to empower our youth in her capacity as the cofounder and Executive Director of Student ACES, a not-for-profit organization focused on nurturing and developing young individuals with character, honor, and integrity, Krissy's influence has been both profound and enduring. As a dedicated and driving force, she's guided more than 50,000 high school student athletes, instilling them with values that transcend the classroom and the sports field. When she's not at the helm of ACES, Krissy leads by example as a wife and mother of two daughters and as a head coach of the 12U ACES Elite Travel Softball Team. A fierce advocate for youth, Krissy shares her passion and guidance both on and off the field.

[00:04:39] Lori: And now I would like to introduce you to her father and business partner. JL "Buck" Martinez is a multitalented individual whose impact reaches far and wide. With seven published books to his credit, he is not only an accomplished author, but also a respected adjunct professor at Kaiser University and a captivating motivational speaker. With his dual roles as president of ACE Leadership Group and cofounder and President of Student ACES, he's committed to empowering individuals to reach their highest potential. 

Beyond these roles, Buck's Influence extends as a life coach and executive coach, guiding a diverse range of individuals from corporate executives to professional athletes in their pursuit of personal and professional excellence.

His impressive background includes executive leadership positions at Florida Power and Light Company, as well as significant clean energy projects. Yet his passion and commitment extend even further. Alongside his wife, Sylvia, Buck is a devoted father to three children and a proud grandparent to four cherished grandchildren.

Welcome Krissy and Buck! 

[00:05:51] Krissy: Thank you. Thank you for having us. 

[00:05:52] Nola: It's really good to have you with us. We've anticipated this since around Father's Day when we first asked about this opportunity. Why don't you tell us and our listeners what your lives, your family, and your work were like before the two of you decided to form ACES?

[00:06:09] Krissy: Before ACES, our lives in 2008 or 9. I was approached by Florida Power Light, the company that my Father was working for, and was asked to spearhead an initiative that they had called Citizens for Clean Energy. So I was working with a lot of business leaders in the clean energy space. And we started working together at that point. And I was trying to get renewable energy legislation passed in the state of Florida. Did I know that FPL is one of our biggest supporters and very good friends of ours, but I didn't really know a lot about energy, but I felt the need to get involved in education initiatives. So that's where the organization started to go. Then I got pregnant with twins. We were driving into U Haul and we started talking about what's after FPL for my dad. And so that's our history and starting to work together and then where we are today. 

[00:06:58] Lori: Can you tell us, how did the idea to start your entrepreneurial journey come about? 

[00:07:03] Buck: That's a continuation of Krissy's story, so I'm going to let her stay in the U Haul and keep talking. That was her. 

[00:07:09] Krissy: The conversation was, what does the future of our country look like for my daughters and who's going to run the country? And what tools are they providing to our youth to prepare them to lead this country and inspire those role models? Today, kids are forced to select a sport or pick a sport at an early age. When I grew up, I played every sport. I played basketball, softball, you name it. I loved every sport. My middle sister played college tennis. My youngest sister was a competitive cheerleader. Sports was always part of my life growing up as one of the oldest of three girls. And being around like-minded people, friends of my parents that saw those values and those tools that every student athlete needs. Those tools were taught to us as long as I can remember from an early age. So, when we started to hear that those values, so when we talk about trust and we talk about respect, weren't being taught as much as in the high schools, that became a passion, a mission, what transpired from that conversation in the U Haul.

[00:08:06] Lori: So how did the name ACES come about and can you tell us about the program and services that you offer? 

[00:08:14] Buck: We looked at a lot of different models. I remember in college, we had a scholar athlete award and I always remembered the grind of being a collegiate athlete. So we always wanted to make sure that we emphasized the student athlete. As a matter of fact, we never call the kids athletes, we say student athletes. There was a focus on academia, education, but we always felt that kids in our program, if you truly want to be in the leadership capacity, you need to give back, which is really part of our model. So that triggered the whole community aspect. So it was athletics, education, and community. So then we changed the words around. So ACE became that acronym that really stood for all three components of what we were really trying to get at, which is that well rounded leader that understands that their first priority is academics. They're also an athlete in the collegiate or high school ranks in this case. But then they also had to give back to the community. That was a big deal for us. 

[00:09:09] Lori: Where do your kids come from?

[00:09:11] Krissy: We started with a pilot program in 2013. We took eight students from four schools, so there was 32 student athletes, four girls, four boys, from each of the pilot schools. And then we said, we want to make sure that this is going to work. We brought guest speakers in, we defined our core values. The pilot program was a big success. That became our flagship program as our staple program.

 next week is our first flagship class of this school year. Just to give you an idea, we have 78 high school student athletes from 13 different schools, three girls, three boys, all different sports are represented and it's a 20-hour course throughout the school year. The kids are excused from school and it's a full day of leadership and character.

We have things being taught like grit or the g.o.a.t. or the will to win, work ethic, respect, trust, all those things that encompass what a champion, which we recently changed our mission statement, champion, each letter stands for one of our core values. The really cool thing about that program is that there's student athletes from all different private schools, public schools, different parts of the community. So they get to work together and they may be competing against each other on the field. But here, they're working together to problem solve and to learn from one another and to really discuss those different values and leadership skills that will lead generations. What makes us special is that in talking to the students and observing, we would see what they were talking about, what their needs were, and then we would listen to them and apply what they were telling us their needs were. It ended up matching research, but it didn't drive our programs or creation of our programs.

So, then after flagship program was started, then we found a need for Captain Summits. the students would say to us, I'm the captain of my team and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. So, then we started Captain Summit. That is approximately 250 high school student athletes together, all captains of their teams in one setting and talking about the roles and responsibilities of a captain. That program is offered in Palm Beach County, Broward and Miami Dade. 

So workshops, gives us the opportunity to help teams if they have an issue with attitude or if there's team chemistry issues, then we're able to work directly with that team to find the gaps. We've done significant amount of workshops throughout South Florida. We've worked closely with FHSAA, which is Florida High School Athletic Association. My dad has been the keynote speaker for four years in a row now, which is really cool because he presents to their student leaders. So there's leaders from each different area of the state that come together once a year over the summer to really lay the groundwork for the future of athletics in the state of Florida for high schools' student athletes.

Those are our core programs. Then we have, in 2019, Bank of America called us and said, hey, we have this bank building in Bellglade. We were doing work out there for about a year and a half. And Bank of America said, hey, do you want our bank building on Main Street? We were like, okay. Um, so we spent a lot of time talking to the students on what that could look like. Because the only program that we were offering out there at the time was the flagship program. We brought student athletes from different part of the Glades region together. And so we hit the ground running with that. And now we have a fully operating program out in Belle Glade that's open every single day. It's our only physical location. We have five full time staff members, one part time. Students come from all the different schools in the Glades region. And we offer services like academic advising and career prep and college readiness and health and wellness, mental health. So it's all different kinds of programs within that. That's the only program that we have that every single day it's available to the students. It's amazing to see how far the programs have come.

[00:12:52] Lori: Yeah, it's fascinating. Do you keep track of the students after they complete their time in your program? Do you know what outcomes have come as a result of being involved in ACEs? 

[00:13:05] Krissy: Our programs at the Student ACES Center are monitored differently. We require report cards, ongoing, long-term evaluations, check ins, and we do surveys based on how they feel, which is qualitative versus quantitative. You know, do you feel like you're in a safe, stable, nurturing environment? 95 percent say yes. Do you feel as though you're getting mentoring support? 91 percent say yes. 85 percent either keep their grade GPA or increase their GPA. We track things like that. With the flagship program, we just brought on an evaluator. She's amazing. We launched a database and we will be tracking the students, which will eventually become our alumni program. And that came from our strategic plan with our board of directors, who are amazing, and said, there's a lot of good stuff here that we can really showcase, and we want to know. So we invested in data collection. 

So flagship, we see those students more than once. But when you have like a captain summit or a workshop, you may not see those students more than that one time. Each program is different in that capacity of interval, amount of material they're receiving. And so we have to look at all of that when we're tracking programs.

[00:14:11] Lori: Was there a reason that the two of you decided to go nonprofit versus for profit?

[00:14:17] Buck: Originally , we wanted to have a model that never charged a kid for participating in a program because we felt very strong that, in my case, for example, I was blessed to have parents that modeled the way so I was exposed to character and leadership and we obviously I try to do that my wife with our kids, but I felt that every kid should be exposed to that model. That's the model. And with all the broken homes and all the stuff going on, a lot of kids aren't exposed to that. So we felt that the last thing we wanted to do was charge kids that really couldn't afford that opportunity. So we started it as a commitment that we would never charge a kid to be in a program. And we've kept that for 10 years now we've been very successful in the sense that Krissy has done an amazing job of changing the model from corporate donations, individual donations, to grants. And as the program has gotten visibility and as the program has gotten successes, now we have the track record to be able to have that. But that commitment has been with us, has been part of our DNA, that every kid would get the opportunity, either through the workshops, captain's summits , the flagship, and never have to come out-of-pocket for it. That's something we hope we can keep going for a long time. 

We were always trying to find the kid that had the heart and then also the kid that... could go either way. So with the right training, with the right mentoring, we would be able to have a kid that could change their course in life as opposed to not having that opportunity. As we've evolved many different times, we're constantly learning. But now with this young lady, Amber, I think we're starting to get the data that hopefully will allow us to continue to monitor successes. Everything we try to do is preparing these kids for that long-term effect of called life and winning in life, not just through their high school years.

[00:16:03] Nola: That's great. Switching gears just a little, we would like to explore the business aspects of running a family-founded nonprofit. Get that emphasis on family. Because clearly you chose not to follow that sage advice that you should never go into business with a friend or family member. Right? So, you talked about how you were on a drive and you started conceptualizing this, but what inspired each of you to do this together as a father daughter team?

[00:16:33] Buck: For me, it's a no brainer. We've always been very close, and Krissy's that one person that, if you're going to go to battle with, you're going to go to battle with her. And she's also got the passion and the drive to basically take something from an idea. So we put the idea, but then she can take it and make it through her execution and her relentless drive to study it, model it, understand it. So for me, it was pretty easy because early on, after 30 plus years in the corporate world, I had zero desire to be involved in the administration and the meetings and all that kind of stuff. My passion was I want to be with the kids. I want to teach. I want to spend my time giving back to the kids. I want to spend my time being able to help as many kids as I can in life. With her amazing acumen for business and with her acumen for learning the whole nonprofit world, it became a fairly easy team, because I sure as hell didn't want to do what she was doing. That's, that's for sure. Nor am I good at it. So I was like, it was very easy, right? So, I stay out of her business. I mean, that doesn't mean we don't have passionate conversations or discussions. Because we're both passionate about the same thing, is helping as many kids as we can to be successful. The key, the arguments or conversations are really how. And what's the best and most effective way, right? But to me, it's fairly simple. I go in the backseat and let her drive. It's pretty, uh, it works fairly well. 

[00:18:00] Nola: I mean, you've got two types of relationships here going on. There's a father-daughter, and then you're co-leaders. How do those combine, or do they? How does one translate into the other?

[00:18:09] Krissy: For me, I had the best childhood that anybody could have. I have two parents that were involved. All of my friends were at my house. Every sport that I played, it was always our house. And I truly felt that every kid should grow up having that experience. That there's somebody that cares about them, that's a role model, right? And so I pride myself in trying to provide that for my daughter's friends and to be that place that's a safe place where the kids can come and always know that they're welcome. And that's what I had. 

So, when we talk about core values and we talk about opportunities, and we talk about all of these things, a lot of kids don't have that. And I didn't realize that till older. I thought everybody had that. I had grandparents that cared. I have my mom's, my cousin, everybody's been involved. And so to think that kids didn't have that, for me, that's why it was very clear to say there's nobody better to do this than my dad because I know how it makes a kid feel. I know how other kids feel. I know what that looks like down the road. 

That was easy and not to mention that my dad played very competitively in college and was deciding on whether or not to have the opportunity to go play professional baseball or raise a family, which I was just born. And decided to take the Florida Power and Light route because he didn't want our family to be traveling all over. And that was a decision that he and my mom made when I was a baby.

So talk about sacrifice, all those things that we teach the kids in our program, I know it inside out because I lived it. And the work ethic that my grandparents, both said they fled Cuba, that is just in us. And to see that some of these kids today don't see that, or don't, you know, everything is just easy. Like life is hard and things are hard. 

And when we talk about running the organization and bringing in funders and setting up meetings, there's things that I'm learning on a daily basis. And as you grow, you really find out that you may not be the best in every aspect of running an organization. Or now you have to do taxes. Now you have to have an auditor. It's a full business operation you know, we have 15 board of directors that are very high profile, respected leaders in the community and throughout the country.

So, to have that as a child growing up and then becoming a business woman, there is no better person to do that with, and not just because he's my dad; because he's it's the best at the work ethic, the drive, the wanting to give back to these kids. He's been doing that since I was born.

[00:20:31] Nola: That's wonderful. What a Testament. Right? So, you've have this great team. Sounds like you have great respect for each other's strengths and weaknesses. Have you ever had to pull together as a father-daughter leadership team and do something that led to exceptional results? 

[00:20:46] Buck: Well, I think the whole journey has been that pulling together. I mean, there's no way we could have done this individually or independently. I think during COVID, we got tested pretty significantly. When schools shut down, you're not allowed to go in schools, you're not allowed to do certain things. But we've constantly been exploring, expanding. We started in West Palm, we branched into Broward County, we branched into Miami So that is the so-called Tri-County South Florida, which is a beast. And it's been challenging, but as hard as that was, I think when we really had to pull together and challenge ourselves quite a bit was Belle Glade, because that was a real challenge. I mean, Belle Glade was foreign to both of us in the sense of understanding that community, understanding poverty, understanding adversity, having to understand what violence in a community means, and then going out there as two individuals that don't look the part, right, and having to basically say, trust us, right? Trust us, let us show you the way, and we're going to build something here special for these kids. And we've gone through a lot out there. We've had kids killed out there. We've had kids fail on us. We've had a lot of adversity, but we're standing strong. There's days where we question why the heck we're out there, but what will never change is our love for the kids. And we're going to try to continue to do the best we can for these kids. 

[00:22:08] Krissy: And we have an incredible team. Our COO was one of our students. Her name is Rebecca Warner. She does not like getting any kind of recognition. And she is incredible. And Jamie, I mean, we've put together this incredible team that really steers and guides a lot of, our weaknesses, my weaknesses as an executive director too, and enhances my strengths. So it's not a eight to six, I don't even know what at normal hours people work, but it's not a normal person working hours, it's a 24-hour job. 

[00:22:38] Lori: Can you tell us, how do you handle disagreements or conflicts that are bound to arise in any kind of business or professional setting, so the two of you can maintain that harmonious relationship? 

[00:22:52] Buck: Well, you do two things. One is you attack the problem. You don't attack the person. Right. And two is you remove yourself from the personal conversation and you go to the balcony. So you're in essence, observing your behaviors in this conversation.

But it's funny because the things we're passionate about and have these deep conversations, you have the same interest, right? The interest is the betterment of the kids and the betterment of the program. It's the how and how fast. I'm a big fan of bringing as many kids as we can, no matter what the subject matter, no matter what. If they need you, go out and do it. I have no problem getting in a car at one o'clock in the morning and driving out to this terrible place and doing the things we do. And it puts you or, the organization in an uncomfortable position sometimes. But when a kid's life is in danger, you do these things. And sometimes they're not the smartest things to do. 

And Krissy's job as executive director is make sure there's structure, there's discipline, there's rigor. She keeps me grounded in that area. And risk

[00:23:48] Lori: Can you tell us a little bit more about how you navigate that. For anybody who's listening, who might be thinking of going into business with a family member, whether it's for profit or not for profit, those personal dynamics that family members have can really, in some cases, interfere in the decision-making process that the organization has, because you have your own beliefs, you have your passions, and you are also guided by the values and the missions and the rules of your business. So how do you navigate that?

[00:24:20] Buck: We talk a lot about three words, right? One is purpose, a second's passion and one's conviction. We recognize that we have the same purpose. The purpose is the betterment of the kids, the betterment of the program, the continued expansion of the services and products we offer, all that.

The passion is really taking that deep gut check and making sure that we are convicted in that, and we're going to make sure we do everything we can to make sure that, and there's no doubt that we both have the passion to do it. 

And the third one is conviction. As all the adversity, all the hurdles, the obstacles that get put in front of you, do you have the conviction to battle through it, around it, and do the things that you need to do to continue to navigate this program? And I think we're very aligned in that. If there are heated conversations, we're both very passionate about what we want to do, it's just how we're going to get there to do it.

And as far as the family aspects, for me it's fairly easy. I mean, there's a, uh, unconditional love that I have for my daughter, so that piece of it will never be altered and will never interfere with what we've got to do. So, I've backed off a lot. , I'm super confident with her running the show. And it allows me to free up to really do the things that I really enjoy is being out there teaching with kids as much as I can. 

[00:25:33] Lori: Can you share some of the valuable lessons that you've learned as a team, as a father-daughter team navigating ACEs and any obstacles and challenges that you might have incurred or gone through along the way?

[00:25:47] Buck: Well, I'll tell you, for us as a family, we brought in two kids at different points that were in very, I would say, challenging situations, right? One young man in a very troubled area, he had, I think, over 40 some people in his family shot or murdered and we took him in and he lived with us for a year and a half. And graduated college, played football in college and was kind of a family member and will always be a family member.

And the other one was a kid that was from the projects and he had been basically homeless in eighth grade, and he lived with us for a little longer than that, for probably two years. And he went off and got a degree in dental hygienist, and now he's doing very well in the business world.

For us, when you think you know a lot, I can tell you that they taught me a lot more than I could teach them in the sense that the things that these kids were exposed to early life and some of the adversity and having very difficult topics like death, like murder, impacting you and your family and having the ability to then say, my God, thank you, Lord, for being so generous and so kind to our family, that we've never had to be dealing with this. So, how do you not give back? When you begin to see what other kids are going through in life, you're like, Jiminy Crickets, how can I not take the time to offer up my time and my talent and treasures to be able to help as many people as we can?

So for us, it really pulled us together as a family when we were doing this, because we, you know, we were all in it together. I mean, we were going to live or die by this stuff and it's been a great ride, I mean.

[00:27:22] Nola: I'm not going to ask you how you maintain a healthy work life balance. I'm going to ask you how you maintain your sanity and your centeredness in all of this.

[00:27:31] Buck: We work out a lot. 

[00:27:33] Krissy: Box every morning. 

[00:27:35] Nola: Oh, you do? You box every morning?

[00:27:37] Krissy: Every morning. Becca, our COO, Jamie, who's hurt right now. The Three Amigos, we go every morning and we box and then we get to work. Really, it's called nine round and it's a 30-minute workout. It's very good. And you hit a lot of bags. So,

[00:27:51] Lori: and get out any frustrations.

[00:27:54] Nola: It sounds very healthy. 

[00:27:57] Krissy: And that is just whatever works for each individual person. For me, it's always been working out. It's always been my girls. Now, my girls, when this organization started, they were just born. And now, they're in sixth grade. So, they're at the age where they're not too far from the kids that we started serving. Their friends are now involved. Now I have some girls that play on our softball team from Belgrade and from Revere Beach and some of the areas that we're involved in. Which is comes full circle, right?

I mean, that's the whole idea is that these generations to come are learning as much as they can, and then living by those core values and changing other people's lives. So if we can do that by what we do, I mean, there's also a lot of things that people don't talk about, which is the heartbreak, right? You pour everything you got into kids. That took a while to That is probably the hardest lesson and you just have to be okay with giving as much tools and as much opportunity as you can, but you have to be careful you can't give, they have to do things for themselves too. One of the hardest lessons was when you can't understand why a kid makes a decision. But part of our organization, what we committed to, was never not answering a kid, even when they mess up. So that's our commitment to the kids is that no matter what they do, they always have a place they can turn.

[00:29:06] Buck: You know, what's interesting too, is when we started, Krissy was just a new parent, right? She just had the babies and now those girls are 11. So she's been able to apply a lot of the ACE teachings and stuff, not only to her daughters, but also to like the ACEs kids, right? The ACE Elite team, which are the young ladies that are playing softball now. So that's going to be the next generation of ACE leaders. It was really cool to see. For me as the grandkids, you're able to see different generations begin to adapt and adopt these principles. So it's really pretty neat to see all this come full circle.

[00:29:42] Lori: It becomes a legacy. It's a family legacy business. 

[00:29:47] Buck: Yeah.

[00:29:47] Nola: What are some of the unique advantages that you believe a father-daughter team in general brings to the table in the general business world ?

[00:29:56] Buck: I think continuity. When you are built out of the same clay, right? So you've got the same DNA and you believe in the same principles, you don't lose a beat. So, as I age out of this, Krissy takes over, then there's no lost steps. And then she'll be able to pass this on to either her daughters and or her nephews. 

[00:30:17] Krissy: For me, the answer is pretty simple. It's trust. Everybody fails. But it's a lot better when the person or people that you're around have no judgment and they're there to pick you up and encourage you or build your strengths. So for me, it's simple. It's trust. And I am very, very much built just like my dad. I mean, there's, I am wired the same. Everybody will tell you that. So that's the benefit. If it makes sense. If it's hard, then it's not worth it. If it's easy and it's just fluid and it comes natural, then jump in. But if it's hard at any time in the beginning, jump out. That would be my advice. The hard conversations, yes, but that only means that you're growing and getting stronger as an organization because you didn't have those conversations and everybody has to, and that's part of growth.

[00:31:02] Lori: That's a great observation. What does living a vibrant life mean to you?

[00:31:08] Krissy: For me, a vibrant life is happy. I mean, it's waking up every morning and saying, okay, I have a purpose and this is my goal every day. And it's, any challenge or adversity that comes, you know that you're just going to handle it the best way you can, and you can only control what you can control, but you can control it with a good attitude and a positive outlook on things. And that's something that you have to remind yourself all the time. I mean, I honestly feel like I am in high school. Um, I just feel like everything that's presented to you in life is an opportunity. And if you look at it through that lens, then I think that leads to a vibrant life.

[00:31:41] Lori: That's wonderful. 

[00:31:42] Buck: So for me, vibrant life is really just optimizing every aspect of your life. That means from the minute you get up, you have a purpose that's a lot bigger than yourself. it's about not cheating the individuals that you have a chance to value their life every day. Whether it's the kid, whether it's your wife, whether it's your family, whatever it is that you're going to put your mind into, put your mind, soul and passion into. And that way, at the end of the day, you should be exhausted. But if you smile a lot and you maybe cry a lot, then you know you've got a full life. That to me is basically the exhaustion that comes from living that vibrant life. 

[00:32:19] Lori: That's beautiful. Yeah. Thank you, Krissy and Buck for being our guests. We're sure your experience along with your real-world tips and suggestions will inspire more families to explore starting a for profit or not-for-profit , together, as well as help them navigate the challenges and benefits of working with family members. But before you go, how can listeners get in touch with you? Where should they go if they want to learn more about you, ACEs and the great work that you're doing in the community? 

[00:32:47] Krissy: I would highly recommend that everybody that's in the business space, find us on LinkedIn under Student ACES. We have a lot of information that's being pumped out regularly. And we're in the process of redoing our website. Right now it's StudentACESforLeadership.com. And that will be changing our domain soon. So the best place to see everything is on LinkedIn. 

[00:33:08] Buck: Yeah. what Krissy said is great. And I'm on LinkedIn too, personally, as well as a student ACES. So, that's where they can find me. 

[00:33:14] Nola: We'll be sure to put those LinkedIn links in our show notes. And listener, we hope the ideas and thoughts shared here today have sparked your interest, curiosity, and willingness to start a family-owned business, maybe with your own dad, so you can become a first-time entrepreneur in the second half of your vibrant life.

If you found the information we've shared helpful and want more tools, tips, and inspiration delivered to your inbox, sign up for News You Can Use over on our website, StickyBrandLab.com. And remember, small steps, big effects.

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