Passing the Torch: How family businesses transcend generations.

Succession is an important part of any family business. After all, people don’t live forever. But a successful business can leave a legacy benefiting families and their communities for generations. It’s the matter of transference that can be one of the most difficult issues for business owners.

Should a business stay in the family, or be sold to someone else? When and how should one pass on their company to the next generation? Several families in Southeast Missouri have experience when it comes to passing the torch in business, and there are professionals who can provide guidance.

Helping out with big decisions

Clayton Hahs, the Cape Girardeau-based principal and wealth management advisor for The Hahs Group, helps clients pass their businesses to the next generation.

“We wanted [clients to avoid wondering] in the future who's going to be managing their money or helping them with claims,” Hahs told B Magazine. “We have to anticipate the future needs of clients and then make sure we’re providing that service before it’s needed.”

In situations where a family has several members of a generation to transfer ownership to, Hahs helps his clients value an estate and account for equitable distribution. Insurance provides the capital to equal shares between siblings, for example. Keeping ownership fair and equitable is a major duty of the job.

“We usually take a team approach with our firm, an estate planning attorney and an accountant.” Hahs said.

When transitioning ownership, it’s important to ensure a solid workflow of services and personnel so clients feel the same degree of care.

“If it’s a successful business, then brand integrity and legacy have a certain inherent value to it. You want to make sure the second generation appreciates what that is,” he added.

Recognizing culture is another important aspect for business owners to consider. The expectation one generation creates has to be upheld by the next.

“In businesses that aren’t inventory-heavy, if they’re services … client retention is the key because that’s the revenue,” Hahs said.

He used a hypothetical dentist’s office as an example.

“If the business transfers from one generation to the next and all the patients walk out the door because they were tied to the father, there is no business.”

Clayton Hahs knows this from experience. He’s a third-generation member of his own family’s practice. His grandfather, M. Luther Hahs, started working with Northwestern Mutual in 1949. He opened The Hahs Group five years later. His nephew T. Ronald Hahs and his son David Hahs — Clayton Hahs’ father — joined the family practice in 1964 and 1972, respectively. Clayton joined in 2008.

The company has transitioned into a family generational planning firm over the last decade or so. The Hahs Group helps clients determine what method of transfer is best for them: whether to sell to a larger company, transfer ownership before an owner’s death, or wait until death for a business to change hands.

“Oftentimes there is a desire for the shares to remain in the first generation until death because there are some tax benefits for transferring at time of death as opposed to while you’re living,” Hahs explained.

Any transition strategy requires plenty of foresight. Business owners need to think about what is right for them and for their families. Hahs said people may not have thought about what they want their business to be like when they’re gone, but it is important to have such a plan.

Five generations, one bakery

Hoeckele Bakery and Deli in Perryville, Missouri is one example of keeping businesses in the family. Over the last 87 years, five generations of Hoeckeles have worked there.

The bakery got its start and name with the Hoeckele brothers: Paul Hoeckele Sr. and Joseph Hoeckele.

The brothers honed their skills at Wagner Bakery, a Jackson staple at the time, and then opened their eponymous bakery in Perryville in May 1937. Paul Hoeckele Sr.’s son, Paul Hoeckele Jr., joined his father at the bakery after his uncle suffered a stroke. His sons Joseph Hoeckele and Paul Hoeckele III, along with their wives Yvette and Angie Hoeckele, started working there in the 1980s and today oversee the bakery’s operations.

However, after decades of service, both couples are retiring. Angie and Paul III will hang up their pâtissier’s aprons at the end of the year, while Joseph and Yvette will do the same at the end of 2025.

“We’ve been doing this for close to 40 years and it was a lot of hard work, a lot of hours spent at the business, and we decided it was time to retire,” Angie said.

When they leave, Angie and Paul III’s son Eli Hoeckele, and Joseph and Yvette’s daughter Leslie Esselman will take over the family business. All their children worked at the bakery when they were younger, but Eli and Leslie are the ones interested in continuing the family legacy.

“We’ve spent a lot of time in the office going over the bookwork, how to pay the bills, the advertising part of it, the donation part of it. Anything back office, we’ve spent several hours every week doing that stuff,” Angie said.

Leslie works alongside Angie daily and will take over as head decorator once she retires. Eli will become the new front store manager. Angie said her son and niece are ready for the challenge of running the family business.

“I would want the business to continue to thrive and grow. I would like to see them be able to retain employees. Obviously, everybody wants a business that's going to make money, and I think they have a game plan,” she said.

They will not be alone in this endeavor. Leslie’s husband and son, along with two of Angie’s grandsons, will also work at the bakery, bringing the total to five generations of the same family at the same location. The family is still in the process of getting the legal documentation completed, but Angie said the process is going smoothly.

She added the bakery could never have made it to where it is today without the support of its customers and employees.

“I always say, if you have a quality product and you believe in it, and you can sell it for a reasonable price, you can make a living. I think kindness, friendliness and sincerity, it really goes a long way,” Angie said.

From one family to another

Not all family businesses end up being owned by the same family. Such is the case with S&W Cabinets in Chaffee, Missouri.

The company, one of Chaffee’s oldest businesses, began in 1954 with the father-and-son-in-law duo of Gregory Westrich and Marcus Seyer, hence the S&W name. At the start, they would build houses from the ground up, but contractors later hired them to build cabinets for the homes they were building, and so the company refocused on cabinetry.

Marcus Seyer’s sons Richard, Steve and Rodger eventually followed in their father and grandfathers’ footsteps with S&W. Rodger Seyer ran the bulk of the business, but his daughters had their own careers and chose not to take over the business.

Enter the Enderles, husband and wife Cody and Mackenzie. Mackenzie Enderle is a third-generation contractor; her family owns Mace Construction in Jackson. Her grandfather took her to home shows when she was a child and she met Rodger Seyer at one of them. When she grew up, Enderle joined her family construction business, as did her husband after they got married. Around 2022, when Rodger Seyer was looking to spin off part of his business, he found the Enderles the perfect people to take over. They aren’t related by blood or marriage, but they do have similar business backgrounds.

“They want the business for another 70 years. They want to keep the S&W name and they want to keep the legacy going. They want to run it basically how my family has been running it for the last 70 years,” he said.

The Seyers spun off the residential cabinetry portion of their business into a new company, S&W Custom Cabinets. It’s a completely independent business, with a new logo and separate staff. Rodger retained S&W Cabinets, Inc. as a strictly commercial cabinetry company.

“The actual production of the kitchen cabinetry will stay pretty much identical. There will be a little bit of shifting but what was here is going to stay here. It will be built the same way and nothing is changing,” Rodger said.

Mackenzie said the conversation happened naturally, starting around 2022. Working with a commercial lender at Montgomery Bank, the families completed the transaction. S&W Custom Cabinets launched on Thursday, Sept. 5.

“We have young children and we were interested in having a family business, so I just said to him, when you’re ready to sell, let us know,” Mackenzie said.

She and her husband hope their own children become interested in taking over the business one day and the Enderles are already planning for the future. They aim to launch a showroom in Cape Girardeau and host showcase events at their Chaffee showroom. The couple and their employees will help clients with lighting, landscaping, furniture layout, floor and wall coverings and more.

“I was very comfortable with them coming on board. That was one of the reasons I pulled the trigger now instead of waiting three years or four years. It was a very good fit, and I felt very comfortable with their plan,” Rodger said.

Selling a business can be tricky to navigate, especially if a family's livelihood depends on it. But in Southeast Missouri, many are navigating the difficulties that come with switching hands. With numerous resources available, families can choose whichever option they feel most comfortable with in securing their companies for future generations.