Is keeping a business strictly within the family--to the exclusion of everyone else on the planet who could run it effectively--ever defensible?
Chappall Gage makes a decent case for why it just might be.
Chap is CEO of Susan Gage, a very successful catering company in Washington, DC with more than $25 million in annual sales.
Twenty-five years ago, he took over the business that still has his mom’s name. But it’s not clear if his kids will succeed him. In this conversation, you hear him grappling with the idea of whether they should succeed him. And he definitely does not want family money or unfair expectations to ruin their lives.
Episode Guide
1:28 Chap and Lionel marvel at one of the most ethical people they know
4:47 Catering can be bigger and a lot more complicated than you might think
6:34 The early days of the business
13:30 His mom's company starts to reach scale
15:29 Running a business when your mom's your boss
18:41 "We want people to come work for us for life."
22:12 Why Chap had to fire some of his customers
24:45 "Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a jet ski. And I dare you to be unhappy on a jet ski."
25:56 Surviving the pandemic
28:12 The prospect of passing the business down to the next generation. "If you're gonna be a Gage at my company, you have to be the hardest-working person there."
