Working Together in a Family-owned Business and a Family-founded Nonprofit with Denny and Kim Fuller

Denny and Kim Fuller are the former owners of Little Crow Foods, a food company established in 1903. Denny and Kim became the fourth-generation owners of Little Crow Foods after acquiring it in 1983 and managed its operations until the company's exit from the food industry in 2012. They have been volunteering their time and entrepreneurial skills to the Humanity and Hope United Foundation following the sale of Little Crow Foods. Founded by Denny and Kim's son, Riley Fuller, the Humanity and Hope United Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating sustainable change in underserved communities in Honduras. Denny and Kim join me today to share the lessons they've learned from managing Little Crow Foods for over 29 years. They discuss what it was like for Denny to transition from working in a large company to running a small, family-owned business like Little Crow Foods. They explain how they prepared to sell Little Crow Foods and what their life was like after exiting the business. They also highlight the importance of succession and exit planning and describe how the Humanity and Hope United Foundation has made an impact in the Honduran communities they serve. "Hope is the fuel for sustainable change." - Denny Fuller This week on The Owner's Corner: Denny and Kim's background and work with Little Crow FoodsLessons Denny learned from transitioning from a large to a smaller companyA brief history of Little Crow FoodsExternal challenges Denny and Kim had to overcome in the grocery industryCreating the first pancake mixesThe sale of Little Crow Foods in 2012The challenges and lessons Denny and Kim found in buying and running a family-owned businessDefining boundaries and running a family-owned business as a coupleTheir volunteer work for Humanity and Hope United FoundationThe impact of Humanity and Hope United Foundation's work in HondurasThe challenge of raising funds for a non-profitHow they transferred their entrepreneurship skills from Little Crow Foods to non-profit workThe beginning of the Humanity and Hope United Foundation Our Favorite Quotes: "When you're in the food industry you get a lot of challenges—from marketing to regulations." - Seth Whicker"Always have a plan in place. You hope you never have to use it, but if you do you'll know you've got one in place to protect you—especially when your wealth is wrapped around your business." - Seth Whicker"We had the rule that we wouldn't talk about business when we're at home. When we were at home, we were at home, and I'm glad we had that rule." - Kim Fuller Connect with Humanity and Hope United: Humanity and Hope UnitedHumanity and Hope United on LinkedIn About SYM Financial and The Owner's Corner Podcast The Owner's Corner is a show for business owners. In each episode, host and financial planner Seth Whicker sits down with business owners and the professionals that serve them to talk about what it takes to build a business. Our guests come from many industries and walks of life to share their biggest wins, mistakes made along the way, and their thinking about the all-important exit planning. Email Seth at [e-mail] with questions, comments, and to schedule a one-on-one conversation. Follow Seth on LinkedIn Follow SYM Financial on Facebook Subscribe here: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts TuneIn Amazon Music / Audible And, if you enjoy the show, please leave a review on iTunes to help others discover the podcast. Disclosure: The information contained in this message (including any attachments) is confidential and may be privileged. It is intended only for the recipient(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify SYM Financial Advisors ("SYM") immediately and destroy the material in its entirety. All communications requiring immediate attention or action, such as trade requests or other time sensitive matters should not be sent to SYM via email. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information may arrive later than intended, be intercepted, be corrupted, or contain viruses. This material is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any product. The opinions expressed herein are those of SYM and are subject to change without notice. To the extent that performance information is contained in this email, past performance is not indicative of future results. SYM is an independent registered investment adviser. More information about SYM including our investment strategies, fees and objectives can be found in our Form ADV Part 2, which is available upon request.