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In this episode, host Natalie Kling speaks with the Kludt family—three generations behind Kludt Oil, a Northern California fuel delivery company that started with a small gas station and two trucks in 1962 and has grown into a trusted provider serving farms, ranches, and businesses across the region.

What makes this conversation powerful isn’t just the longevity—it’s how each generation has shaped the business in its own way. From a matriarch who built the financial systems by hand, to a second generation that bet everything on growth, to brothers now navigating leadership together in a volatile and evolving industry.

We talk about what it really looks like to grow up inside a family business, how roles evolve over time, and the constant tension between working in the business and working on it.

This is a story about legacy, adaptability, and the reality of running a business where family, employees, and customers are all deeply connected.

Why It Matters

Family businesses are the backbone of local economies—but sustaining them across generations is anything but simple.

This episode highlights the real challenges: succession, sibling dynamics, hiring the right people, and navigating industry disruption. It also reinforces something deeper—values, culture, and trust are often the true drivers of long-term success.

There’s a lot to learn here about stewardship, resilience, and building something that lasts. Not to mention how the family is dealing with an oil shortage/crisis at the time of the recording.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction & the Kludt Oil origin story
01:00 – From a small gas station to a growing fuel delivery business
03:00 – Early risks, reinvestment, and building infrastructure
07:00 – The matriarch behind the systems and profitability
10:00 – Growing up in the business across generations
16:00 – Expanding services and driving revenue growth
21:00 – Brother dynamics and leadership evolution
31:00 – Culture, employees, and treating people like family
35:00 – Industry volatility and fuel market challenges
43:00 – Working on vs in the business
50:00 – Hard work vs luck—and what really drives success

You can find more about Kludt Oil by visiting their website: https://kludtoil.com/

To learn more about the Capital Region Family Business Center visit our website HERE. To learn more about River City Bank and how they can benefit your family business, visit www.rivercitybank.com

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have.

Family businesses often begin with a simple goal: build something strong enough to support the family and pass it forward. But what happens when the next generation inherits not just the opportunity — but also the complexity that comes with it?

In this episode, Natalie Kling sits down with Keyston Smith, a third-generation leader of the Cilker family enterprise, to explore the journey of a Silicon Valley family business that began with orchards and evolved into a real estate investment company spanning generations.

The story begins with Keyston’s grandfather, William (Bill) Cilker Sr., who grew up during the Great Depression in what was once known as the “Valley of Heart’s Delight,” when Silicon Valley was still dominated by agriculture. Armed with a Stanford engineering education and a relentless work ethic, Bill began acquiring farmland and eventually transitioning into commercial real estate development.

Over time, that determination built a significant portfolio of agricultural and commercial properties.

But like many founder-led businesses, the real challenge came with succession.

Bill remained deeply involved in the company well into his 90s, maintaining tight control of the organization and leaving little room for the second generation to shape its strategic direction. When leadership and ownership finally transitioned, the next generation inherited a complex set of assets — but without a clear roadmap for the future.

Keyston shares candidly, from his perspective, how that transition created difficult conversations, complex asset distribution, and years of navigating family dynamics while working to preserve relationships.

Yet from those challenges came an opportunity.

After returning to the family company in 2013, Keyston began learning the business from the inside out and eventually stepped into leadership. With fresh perspective and experience outside the family firm, he began assembling a professional team, introducing governance structures, and asking an important question:

What does this business want to become next?

That reflection led to a powerful realization. For decades, the family had been managing and growing their own real estate assets with a long-term, generational mindset. What if that expertise could help other families do the same?

Today, the company is evolving into a real-estate focused multiple family office, helping families manage, grow, and steward their real estate wealth across generations.

It’s a powerful reminder that family businesses are not just about assets or balance sheets — they’re about relationships, values, and the willingness to evolve over time.

Find Cilker on line @ https://www.cilker.com/

To learn more about the Capital Region Family Business Center visit our website HERE. To learn more about River City Bank and how they can benefit your family business, visit www.rivercitybank.com

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have.

In this episode, I sit down with Adreana Alvarez, founder of Love Her Shop, and her son Adrian, founder of Eras Shorts—their story is the kind that reminds you why family businesses really are unique.

Adreana started with a problem every active mom recognizes: leggings that were overpriced, see-through, or constantly sliding down mid-workout. With encouragement (and engineering-minded problem-solving) from her husband, she built a better option—then built a movement around it. What began as pop-ups at gyms and farmers markets became an online explosion during COVID… and before she fully realized it, she’d sold over $1M out of her garage.

But this isn’t just a “quick growth” story. It’s a community-first story—rooted in her dad’s journey from a third-grade education to building restaurants that became gathering places, and carried forward through Adreana’s decision to create a brand that is high quality, affordable, and purpose-driven. The name Love Her came from a moment outside an ER that reframed everything: this business wasn’t just a brand—it was a mission to give back to women.

Then there’s Adrian—watching his mom print labels, pack orders, and make post office runs—and realizing, “If she can do it, I can learn it.” He takes what he learned in the warehouse and on sourcing trips and applies it to his own niche: affordable team shorts that help underfunded teams look and feel unified. And yes—he shares how Eras Shorts has been successful enough to help him pay for college while he still pursues broader business experience.

We also get real about what it’s like to work with family: the code-switching, the boundaries, the respect, the conflict, and the pride. Three generations deep, the common threads are clear: fearlessness, values, and the decision to put people at the center—without losing the business fundamentals.

You can find Love Her Shop on line by visiting the website, www.lovehershop.com

00:00 – The garage-to-growth moment
Orders explode overnight, and Adriana realizes the side hustle is turning into something real.

02:05 – Meet Adreana + Adrian: three generations of entrepreneurship
Introductions, family-business roots, and how entrepreneurship was “normal” in their household.

10:05 – The origin stories: restaurants → promo business → Coca-Cola lessons
Adriana’s dad builds community through restaurants, Adriana builds and sells her first business, then learns distribution and operations at Coca-Cola.

28:25 – The COVID pivot: severance gamble → online launch → $1M wake-up call
Bootstrapping the website, community activation, and the surprise discovery that sales crossed a million.

40:20 – Purpose + product: engineered leggings, accessible pricing, giving back
Stitching-as-contour, high-quality/low-price commitment, tariff transparency, and the “Love Her” mission moment.

54:10 – Eras Shorts + working with family: building a brand, boundaries, values
Adrian’s team-short niche, funding and growth, paying for college, and how they code-switch between family and business.

To learn more about the Capital Region Family Business Center visit our website HERE. To learn more about River City Bank and how they can benefit your family business, visit www.rivercitybank.com