Selling More Than a Business with Scott Richardson (EP 22)

Speaker A: If you're an entrepreneur, you've taken big risks, created many jobs, and devoted yourself to your business. When it comes to building your succession and transition plan, who should be involved? What are the steps along the way? Welcome to Finish Big, the podcast with Mark Dorman, sponsored by Succession Plus, Inspired by the book Finish how, um, Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top by the noted entrepreneurial author Bo Burlingham. In this podcast, we share success stories along with our expertise and knowledge about what will probably be the largest financial transaction of your life. Now onto the show.

Speaker B: Hello, this is Mark Dorman, your host of the Finish Big podcast. And today I, uh, want to introduce a special guest, a gentleman by the name of Scott Richardson, formerly of Richardson Design and, uh, someone who I've considered to become a friend over the last three years and I hope he feels likewise. Uh, now, before we get to our interview with Scott, let me tell you a little bit about him. Uh, Scott is the founder of a thriving commercial design studio, the visionary of it. He created a platform where forward thinking design meets fearless branding and loyal client service. And he's a true partner to his clients. And boy, he has some good ones. Ladies and gentlemen, Scott champions their success and supports their goals with fresh, innovative environmental design solutions. He's built a growing studio based on a close knit relationships and by overseeing a consistent, streamlined, customer centric design process. Scott's design aesthetic is modern, tailored, simple. He is a classic, yet always up to the most current trends. Ultimately, Scott has an innate ability to transform a client's vision into an experience that makes a statement. Under Scott's leadership, the studio has grown exponentially. Earned notoriety from industry authorities for hallmark projects including Michael Simon's Mabel's Barbecue in Cleveland, as well as Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar. With features in restaurant development design and VMSD magazine, Scott has positioned the studio as a go to in the hospitality branding, development and design arena. Which is why he was named one of hospitality's design minds behind restaurant design. Most importantly, despite his success, he has an innate sense of humor that draws you in and he never takes himself too seriously. Scott delivers a rewarding studio experience to clients while nurturing dynamic careers and attracting top talent. And in fact, we'll get into that, give you some examples. Richardson Design has become a home for some of the region's best designers. Scott is awfully proud of what of that rather. And what. What's even more exciting is considering what projects could be next for the ambassador ambitious firm. As we record this student, uh, this show Today, which is October 8, 2026 on a Thursday afternoon. Scott recently exited Richardson Design and we're going to spend a lot of time on that. So Scott Richardson, my friend, welcome to the show. Thank you Mark. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you very very much. So let's uh, let's dive in, tell our audience, excuse me, how we met because it's a bit of a unique story and I think attributed a lot to this podcast in and of itself, correct? It is, yeah. So it's because of this podcast that we met. I, as I was exploring the journey of going down the road of exiting my company several years ago, um, I

Speaker C: actually journey really started self exploration about five years ago just looking for lots of different resources and trying to figure out the best path forward and just learning a lot about process that one needs to undertake when they've decided or thinking about exiting a company. And that led me, I'm a heavy podcast listener and I found your podcast and I was listening to it and lo and behold you mentioned something about being in the Northeast Ohio area and I was sort of like wow, I had no idea. And so I reached out to you can't remember how email or LinkedIn or something like that. And we made an introduction, met a few times and uh, started a multi year engagement to work through the process.

Speaker B: Yeah, that's

Speaker C: great,

Speaker B: that's great. So the fruits of our mutual labor. But I think it's important, important for the audience to know a little bit about your background. You're a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art. How long ago was that?

Speaker C: Boy? That was 1991.

Speaker B: Okay, so 1991. And what was your kind of career journey and what was the uh, the date of the origin of Richardson Design?

Speaker C: So I, I graduated in 1991. I have two uh, degrees, two degrees in interior design and industrial design with a minor in graphic design. And uh, upon graduation I started working in Columbus Ohio for a company called Fitch and Fitch is ah, an international design agency, um, London owned or London based company and I was working in their North American headquarters in Columbus, uh, working on lots of projects in my early career for companies I worked on the very first caribou coffee concept and did some work for the uh, Olympics and for Mazda of America and 711 and working in the sort of designing environments for uh, brand experience for brands. And then about three years later. So that was in Columbus Ohio which is a great place. My kids live there but was born and raised in Cleveland and I had recently uh, gotten married and we kind of wanted to be in Cleveland, my wife Jill and I. And so I wanted to live, come back to Cleveland. But there were no design firms in Cleveland that I really wanted to work for. So I just said, what the

Speaker B: heck, let me start my own.

Speaker C: Yeah, let me start my own. And that was in 1994. So I was at the time I was only, what was that? Uh, 27 years old, something like that. And I didn't know what I didn't know. Uh, I'm an art school kid. Um, my mom's an artist, my dad's a musician, my sister's a musician. Um, so I came, sort of came out of this artsy family with no real business acumen. So I tell people all the time, had it been 10 years later and I overfought it, I might not have done that. But when you're 27 and a little bit cocky, you just decide what the, what the heck, let's do it.

Speaker B: So yeah, yeah, I tell my kids, it's interesting, just a pauser. I tell my kids at four of them. But you really can't make a lot of mistakes before you're 35, right? If you're gonna try something, go ahead. But because once you have, you've got, I think believe two lovely daughters. Your lovely wife with your lovely wife Jill. Uh, once you have kids and you know, you become kind of quote a grown up, those entrepreneurial decisions can be a lot tougher.

Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. And so, yeah, I was young and dumb, I guess, and broke. So I had nothing to lose. And so, so I decided to move back to Cleveland and I started just consulting out of a bedroom in my home. And, and actually I was, I consulted back to that company in Columbus for another five or seven years after that, which was, was great. Sort of just as a freelance consultant while I was picking up other clients here and there and uh, just, just slowly through networking and, and uh, it's a, it's design is a very tight knit industry or very small industry. So you know, you would, I would meet someone and work with them and they would jump to another firm and next thing you know you're doing work at that firm. And, and, and so for about 10 years I was just a freelance consultant. And then

Speaker B: m.

Speaker C: I got. Like you said, I had two young children.

Speaker B: Were you renting space at this time? Were you just working out of the house?

Speaker C: I, I worked out of the house for a year or two, I suppose. And then I got a little studio space down in uh, Tremont in Cleveland. Tree.

Speaker B: Yeah. Beautiful neighborhood.

Speaker C: And met uh, Some people along the way. And then I became really good friends with an architect and we started doing work together and it just sort of kept evolving and the clients kept getting bigger and then there got to a point where I had young, young children and uh, when you're a solopreneur and you're the only one that's billable, right. You know, if you're not working, you're not making money. And so I decided I need to start to build a firm, right? Not not be just a freelance, uh, consultant to actually build a firm, hire some people so that, you know, in business terms you can kind of be making money while you're sleeping. Right? Sure. Other people are generating the business or doing the work so you can be out generating more business. And that was an early business lesson for me and just took off from there.

Speaker B: And that was uh. So that kind of timeline you start. How long were you a solopreneur? How long before, you know, you started to build a team and well also want to. How long before you met your successor, Christy Oldham, before she joined the team? Because I know she brought a lot of firepower as well. Correct?

Speaker C: Yeah, she did. So I don't. Let me get all my, let me get square the dates around in my head, but

Speaker B: roughly

Speaker C: I uh, think it was about 10, about 10 years I was on my own. So then I started to hire people and I was also teaching part time back at the Cleveland Institute of Art. So I would bring students in as, as co ops and interns and I hired a few students that came out of the school. So because you know, when you're a teacher you can sort of cherry pick the cream of the crop if you will.

Speaker B: Sure, sure.

Speaker C: I met Christie about 20 years ago and she. I was sharing space with an architect in Ohio City at the time and she was an interior designer for that architecture firm. And uh, she was at a point where she was getting ready to have a family and she sort of stepped away from design for a little bit and was sort of doing the freelance route while she was raising her young children. And I started just hiring her part time to work on projects with me. And it just sort of took off from there. And then, you know, we worked together, you know, for the last 20 years I would say. And.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker C: Then she became a partner in 2017 and elevated her up over the course of time, up leading up to 2017 when she became sort of the COO and the head of operations of the, of the company. And. And uh, uh, at that time I Sort of, you know, was starting to think around about you know, succession and what that might look like and

Speaker B: that's so unusual. We, we've had hundreds of guests on this show and we've worked with over a hundred businesses and you know it's really sometimes us that have to get the people starting, get the business owner like what are you going to do with your business? And you know, you can't work forever and what's your plan? And you've always been so, kind of had uh, so much forethought into, you know, a building a business that is not only scalable, having people work for you when you, when you're sleeping, so to speak, but then at a very young age thinking well what is my succession plan going to be? Did you, were you able to quickly identify Christie to be an individual that would have the capabilities to be your successor?

Speaker C: Yeah, I think pretty quickly. I mean Chris. Well let me, let me step back one second. I, you know, like I said, I'm an art school kid. I had no, no business acumen whatsoever. And I think a really pivotal part of my career is I joined a ah, group called Entrepreneurs Organization. And I joined that probably 15 years ago or something like that. And that started to give me a lot of uh, the knowledge base that I needed that was not only uh, to build a better business but to build a better person within that business and uh, really start to identify these things. So that came first and then yeah, I think Christy and I have always sort of complemented each other in terms of my weaknesses were her strengths and vice versa. And so, and there was a, there's a tremendous mutual respect and understanding between us and we learned a lot through eo like you can't do everything. You have to identify, you know, be very sort of self aware to identify where your weaknesses are and find someone and plug them in and then put them in, put them in the position to do those things that you don't do very well, but then let them run.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Trust them to

Speaker B: do it.

Speaker C: Trust them to do it. Absolutely. And so starting uh, that's when I knew in about 2017 that she was the right person to become my number two. And uh, really hand a lot over in terms of the operations of the company and you know, you just have to be uh. I, I found at first I had to really push myself to not interfere and get in the way if I thought there was a, maybe a decision she was making I didn't agree with, which usually turned out to be the right decision anyway.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: So, yeah, I mean, uh, we were lucky to find each other and, and which ultimately led to. Now she's the owner, uh, of the company.

Speaker B: Yeah. That's great. That's great. And I want to get to that. But before we do, um, and that. Appreciate that background. That was tremendous, tremendous information.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: And hats off to you. So, uh, as we sit here this afternoon, I mean you have now exited. You are quote unquote, retired somewhat in a consulting capacity, searching for maybe the next, the next big thing, if you will. How large was your team? You know, as of this, the time of the show? How large is the, is the Richardson design team in total?

Speaker C: We would fluctuate between, you know, I think full time. We had 15 people, uh, when I, when I left and, and then always, you know, you're bringing in. We had a very strong co op program. So you're always rotating students in and things like that. But 15 strong. And that was a mix of interior designers and graphic designers.

Speaker B: Mhm. And explain to. Without getting into any financial details, that's always one of our promises to our guests. But it was a good, good size professional services firm. And the niche that you served was, was really fascinating to me. I mean you, when we met each other, you said, well, who are some of your customers? You. And I don't want to, you know, get going to any specific names, but you got into designing stadiums and particularly kind of the, the restaurant, the club kind of vibe, if you will it, maybe the Brown stadium, hypothetically, or Columbus Crew or something like that. Can you, can you share a little bit about that? Hi, this is Mark Dorman. Sorry for the interruption. I know you're listening to the Finish Big podcast and I'm excited to have you here. If in the event you have any questions, please head over to www.succession.plus backslash us and where you can find out how to reach me. I'd love to hear from you. And now back to the show.

Speaker C: Yeah, so like I said, the core of the business, we always said in sort of the big, uh, sort of the mission statement on the wall was that we create the places where people want to be.

Speaker B: Uh,

Speaker C: so that really defines the type of projects we undertook, which is restaurants, uh, retail stores, hotels, public spaces, you know, and any, you know, cultural attractions, things like that. And I'll give you a very quick backstory. We started working with Michael Simon, a, uh, renowned chef. Cleveland chef.

Speaker B: Yeah, nationally. Nationally renowned chef, right?

Speaker C: Yeah, nationally. Internationally based

Speaker B: in Cleveland. Yeah, yeah,

Speaker C: yeah. And he was looking for a new or a Design partner to sort of take him to the next level right around when he won Iron Chef. And I don't know the exact date of that, but

Speaker B: yeah, yeah,

Speaker C: it was probably close to 15, 15 years ago, something like that. And uh, sidebar had gone to the homecoming, uh, dance with his sister in law in high school, which

Speaker B: is weird.

Speaker C: Little small coincidence. You

Speaker B: promise not to kiss and tell Scott.

Speaker C: That's right, exactly. So we started working with Michael and you uh, know he was gaining popularity and he introduced us to the Cleveland Cavaliers uh, organization because they were going to put one of our concepts, the be spot, which was an old, it's now defunct uh, burger concept that Michael Simon had, uh, into the arena. And Michael is a gracious, loyal person.

Speaker B: Great burgers by the way. Yep.

Speaker C: Yeah, great burgers. I missed them tremendously.

Speaker B: But

Speaker C: he uh, said great, but uh, I want you to use my designer. And so I met Aramark, uh, which is the company that runs food and beverage or Rant. Yeah, for the, for the Cleveland Cavaliers. And we sort of were. Got in the right spot at the right time and so we had over a 15 year relationship or still have. Richardson still has over a 15 year relationship with Aramark. Designing any sort of fan experience spaces within a stadium that deal with food and beverage or arena.

Speaker B: Right. Or hockey arena, basketball. Right,

Speaker C: yeah. And cultural attractions, zoos, convention centers.

Speaker B: Wow.

Speaker C: Things like that. So everything from concession stands to clubs and suites and game. Any anything where the fan is interacting with food during their game day experience. So that took off from there and um, we just sort of started to uh, build a reputation in that vertical and just took off from there and worked with countless NFL Major League Baseball teams and NBA teams and later on some Premier Soccer, Premier League soccer teams over in Europe. So.

Speaker B: And last, last I was at your office, you were doing some work perhaps for La Liga over in Spain, correct?

Speaker C: Yeah, that's correct.

Speaker B: Yeah. That is such a cool. I, I uh, share that confidentially without mentioning names. But to think that some of the, I mean I think. Didn't you do Tottenham Hotspur or the new Everton Stadium or Everton.

Speaker C: Not Tottenham, Everton,

Speaker B: Everton and Liverpool. And I'm a huge uh, Premier League fan. But I mean these are some of the most brilliant design stadiums uh, in all of international football. So it's in being done, being done in a small. By a small team, but the dynamite team in Cleveland. So getting back to the whole kind of succession journey, when we first met and sat and we had coffee, you were really an open book. And we looked at I think one of the things that I take a lot of pride in, uh, my teammates are Chris Goble. Shout out to Chris. And my good friend Mike Ward as well is we are very collaborative in bringing and we compliment each other with different types of professionals. But I think one of the things that a good exit planning process brings out is shines the light into what your options are. Right, Because a lot of times your head's down, business owner's head so far down, or your creative type, whether it's manufacturing or interior design, you hear about things like multiples and private equity and who sold this and how did this go. But you were just kind of almost open to explain, uh, to me how this works, Mark, and, and what are our options here? Uh, I know you looked at some strategic options maybe to some, some bigger, uh, bigger organ, the larger global organizations. That was kind of primary. Uh, but maybe walk us through where your mind and really you're also, your emotions. I mean Jill, Jill was a huge, huge part of this process. Your wife, she served as a controller, if you will, at the agency. But you were very, very, very thoughtful, both of you. And what you wanted out of this, it wasn't necessarily, it was just a fair price. Right. I think that's, that's, that's reasonable. But you're a young man. I think you're not even 60. Correct.

Speaker C: Few more months.

Speaker B: Okay? Okay. Well. Not even 60. Yeah,

Speaker C: not even 60.

Speaker B: I, I got some good notes. But uh, so you know, why, why did you want to leave your business at a relatively young age compared to some other, that some others that want to dye their boots on? So that's one question. But going through that, give us your impressions of the process and you know what, what's some of the takeaways you took? Maybe some of the things that were done, you thought. Well, some of the things you what, Aha. Ah, moments you might have had, et cetera.

Speaker C: Mhm. Yeah. I'll start with your first, your first question. So like I said, I started this company very young. It's really the only thing I've ever done except for a couple of years at my very first job. And we all know entry level, your first job out of college is never your, your career path probably, right? That's m. That's your boot camp. And it's the only thing I've ever done. It was, was run this company and I knew I wanted to exit and I saw a lot of my, my peers or you know, my, my colleagues in the creative industries sort of get to a point where Their businesses just sort of stopped. They had, they had no plan to exit and, and they, they had no succession plan. They had no, you know, number two or they, they had, they, they had nothing in place. And so they sort of just one day decided to get rid of their employees and finish a few projects and close the doors. And I didn't, I didn't want to do that. I think that one of the things in hindsight now is, you know, I, uh, think it's really, really important or it was really, really important for me to understand when it's time to, when you've sort of kept where you think you can contribute and step away and let the next, next generation step in and take the ball and run with it. Is that something

Speaker B: you glean from eo, from business books or.

Speaker C: A little bit, Yeah. I have a, I have a couple, I have a lot of friends that are in some creative business, whether they're artists or designers or chefs or musicians, you know, and I gleaned a lot from them and, and I realized that I was really blessed and fortunate. And in hindsight, in hindsight, I guess I did a really good job of finding talent and cultivating that talent and retaining that talent. And I knew that there was, the time was right. I had, I had the desire to, to, to step away and you know, do something different in the, in the creative field. I had a number two who wanted to take over, who was ready to take over. Um, the timing was right, the, the, the dollars were right for, for what I wanted to, to do going forward and just all the stars aligned and I would, had I waited a couple more years, I might not get this shot again. So, so, so that's

Speaker B: a very, that's a very, that's a very important statement that oftentimes when the iron is hot, you have to strike. Right. Because sometimes the market will shift, interest rates could shift, the capital markets could shift. You know, if it's, if the private equity is an option or whatever. And you always have to have your business ready. And when we went through our process, it was getting the business ready. Right. Maximizing the value, determining the value.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: Protecting that value and then exploring your options. And I know we one time talked about a strategic buyer.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: I know you've got a friend that sold a private equity that, that turned out to be something he wasn't too happy with.

Speaker C: Yep.

Speaker B: So you probably, you probably had a, a couple of instances where you said, well, I don't, I know what I don't want to do. Right,

Speaker C: right.

Speaker B: And

Speaker C: I think a lot of that had to do with the team in place. You know, the, the minute I, I just decided that we had a re, we have a really strong culture and a really strong team and I wanted to see that continue, uh, with the people that were there and that really had ownership in, in the work and that culture. And I just felt like, uh, anytime you, you might, you know, be acquired by somebody, you're immediately falling into their culture or if, if you're selling to a private equity group. You know, I, I've just heard lots of horror stories, uh, you know, that, that the company just loses its identity, employees walk away. There's some, you know, some regrets on the, the seller's part. There's some animals, seller's remorse,

Speaker B: right? Yeah,

Speaker C: yeah, absolutely. And so that's why I, I thought that just a, uh, an internal sale, a succession plan, uh, was, was the best route for me to go. Even if I left some dollars on the table. Perhaps we never got down that path to really explore it. But the dollars weren't the most important thing for me. For me

Speaker B: being your advisor and uh, becoming friends. Uh, you always, you know, you always thought in my people, my people, my people in one of the things that we just to share with their audience, if you don't mind. And we put in some retention plans for your key people. Right. So that they would stay. Because in a service business like yours, the people are the product. Right?

Speaker C: Absolutely.

Speaker B: And so you got to keep that team. So we use things like stock appreciation rights or phantom equity. And then lo and behold, Christy, I shared with you about the SBA lending opportunity.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: And we've got a banker, we've had Tara Murphy on this, uh, on this show. Uh, and maybe you can just touch on that because that's ultimately kind of what, uh, what enabled the deal to come to fruition. Correct?

Speaker C: Yeah, we, yeah, we went. So once, once we identified, once I said, uh, I'm ready to exit and Christie said, I'm ready to buy.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Then we had to go down that, that whole path of

Speaker B: all we're missing. All we need now is the money. Right?

Speaker C: All we need is the money. Right, exactly. And we were, we started down a path where there was going to be some initial, uh, uh, monies that came to me. And there was also going to be some seller financing to Christie that, that I was going to do over. And I was looking at those numbers and like, wow, I will finance some of this. But that's, you know, it's going to take me to 70 years old before I get the full, realize the full amount. And so Christy really worked at that point. You know, we each sort of had our own representation. We kind of needed to get to that point. And she went down the route of SBA funding and, uh, we were working through a process where it was going to be a combination of SBA funding and some seller financing. And, and lo and behold, I, I guess our financials are really strong and the purchase price was great and, uh, the SBA funded the entire purchase price, so. And, and that was 75%. I owned 75% of the company. She was a 25% owner at that time, so. And, and she also brought her husband into the company or folded. He had a, or has a small independent sort of branding agency and she folded him into the company. And so the dollars all worked out fine and. Yeah, that's

Speaker B: great. That's great. We're running out of time here. Let me ask you two final questions. One, what's next for you now? I mean, you're a young guy. You're, uh, in terrific physical shape. I know you and Jill like to travel. You vacation in Mexico.

Speaker C: You've

Speaker B: got, uh, two daughters, uh, that are coming into adulthood. I mean, what do you see? Do you see yourself starting another business? Do you see yourself advising, maybe teaching some more?

Speaker C: Yeah, all of the above. I don't know about starting a business. You know, I. Starting a business in the traditional sense of having an office and having a staff and things like that. I, I've told people, you know, since, since I've exited and people say, you're retired. And I, and I'm sort of like, I don't know if I really like that term,

Speaker B: like that sound of that.

Speaker C: No, no, like you said, I think I'm too young to retire. But, but what I tell my, uh, my rebuttal to when someone says that is, well, I'm a creative, and you can't really ever retire from creativity. So I'm going to focus, uh, I'm working on some plans to do some other creative endeavors.

Speaker B: And you design houses. You've got a partner that does that, right? You guys work together to design some really incredible homes.

Speaker C: Yep. I'm still a 25% partner in another, uh, residential design build company. So what's

Speaker B: the name of that company? Give us a little plug here.

Speaker C: Yeah, it's called Modern Smart Homes.

Speaker B: Okay.

Speaker C: Located in Cleveland. And we, you know, they're all modern homes and, you know, high end homes, all custom designed, custom built. And so I Have a couple partners in that. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna continue down that road and probably, um, work on building that company up a little bit. And then I, uh, as part of the exit, there's a non compete, but Christy and I agreed to carve out a couple of legacy clients that I had worked with since the founding of Richardson Design. So we carve those out of my non compete and they're, they're great friends and long team, longtime collaborators. So I'm going to work with them a little bit. I'm going to do a little fine art, go back to some of my roots and.

Speaker B: Wow.

Speaker C: I'm, uh, working on some ideas and some, some fine art. I want to do that. Fine art that would be

Speaker B: commissioned or for sale or just for personal enjoyment.

Speaker C: Just for personal enjoyment. Who knows, maybe, maybe a gallery would like to show it if it works out. But, uh, no real plans on that. Just as a way to stay creative.

Speaker B: And what medium would you. Watercolor, oils? What do you do?

Speaker C: No, it'd be a combination of photography and drawing together.

Speaker B: Wow. Okay.

Speaker C: Working through some of that.

Speaker B: I'd be anxious to see that.

Speaker C: Like you said, we have Jill and I have a home down in the Baja in Mexico and I'd like to get involved in that community a little bit more, you know, and I, you know, last week I planted, replanted my front lawn, so there's time to do on a Tuesday. Right. So time to do that kind of stuff. And uh, yeah, so I'm, I'm really looking forward to, to what's next. But no, I'm not, I'm not sitting in the backyard all day just doing nothing. I'm going to stay very active and keep my mind going.

Speaker B: There's no surprise there if anyone knows you. Uh, Scott Richardson, one last question. What advice would you give to fellow business owners of any industry

Speaker C: around this subject? Yeah. With regard to

Speaker B: exit. Exit transition planning. I mean, if you said, hey, you know, let me tell you what I learned or something.

Speaker C: So I would say, first of all, you got to realize, you got to identify what you don't know and, and learn and get someone such as yourself to help guide you through that process. You know, uh, be a shepherd through that process, if you will, because, uh, it's critical. And I came into this, you know, thinking I knew everything and what the path was going to be. And with you and your team, I realized, no, I need a lot of help to get there. To me, I think people, uh, are critical in, in my world and they Always will be. And, and so try to. Well, I don't, I don't like to, you know, I don't like to should write people or tell them what they should do. But,

Speaker B: uh,

Speaker C: in my world, I think it's. It's hypercritical to take care of the people that have taken care of you and, and uh, make sure you're loyal to them and. Boy, I don't know. And, and don't be afraid, I guess.

Speaker B: Yeah. Interesting. That last comment or your second last comment. Take care of the people who took care of you along the way. Right.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: That is one of the seven elements highlighted in the finished big book. Uh, book by Bo Burlingham, my good friend, as one of the seven principal elements of a successful exit that you feel good that you took care of the people along the way. Right.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: Yeah. And yeah, one

Speaker C: of the

Speaker B: other ones that's unwritten is it's not always about the money. It's usually not about the money. Right. It's the legacy. And another theme. I just want to applaud you, but you, you, you touched on it there where you felt like you had taken the agency, Richardson Design to, you know, it, it's, it's the, uh, the. The largest, the highest heights that you could take it and it needed maybe a little bit more energy to re. Be able to realize that. Correct.

Speaker C: Yep. Yeah.

Speaker B: And, and step aside and, and. And let the next generation, uh, do its thing.

Speaker C: Yeah. I think, I think there's something to be said that, uh. I think I would advise people to try to put their ego aside and just, Just realize that there's a lot that goes into running a business beyond just the founder. And if you can identify that and uh, and be just sort of self awareness.

Speaker B: Yep.

Speaker C: Yourself and, and have empathy for others and really understand. You know, I, I think when. I think when you know the time or when. When the. You'll know when the time is right.

Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker C: Great.

Speaker B: Great. Ladies and gentlemen, our guest today has been my good friend Scott Richardson, the founder of Richardson Design in Cleveland, Ohio. Scott, I can't thank you enough. I really appreciate the opportunity and uh, I want. But I speak on behalf of Chris Goble and Mike Ward and Joe Kerrigan and the. The opportunity to work with you, Christian Jill, and to help you, shepherd you through this journey to use, uh, yours, Tim. And we will be keeping in touch, I'm sure, as our careers and our lives continue.

Speaker C: Yeah. Thank

Speaker B: you very much.

Speaker C: Thank you, Mark. Thank you for everything.

Speaker B: Yeah, thanks for being on the show until we meet again. Ladies and gentlemen, here's to Finishing Big. I'm, um, Mark Dorman. Have a great day.

Speaker A: Hope you enjoyed listening to Finish Big, the podcast with Mark Dorman, sponsored by Succession Plus. Don't forget to click the Follow button to be notified when new episodes become available. Visit our website at www.succession.pl or give us a call at 330-350-5410. The information covered and posted represents the views and opinions of the guests and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Succession Plan Plus. The content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional, tax or legal advice. Always seek the advice of your legal or tax professionals with any questions you may have regarding your specific situation.