63 | Josh Sanders - How to Pass Down a Business Without Forcing Your Kids cover art

63 | Josh Sanders - How to Pass Down a Business Without Forcing Your Kids

63 | Josh Sanders - How to Pass Down a Business Without Forcing Your Kids

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If this was useful, the letter goes further: one short insider note each week on what I'm seeing in live deals right now. It's free, it's two minutes, and replies come straight to me. Join at thejmichael.com/letter.How do you keep a business alive for 100 years without losing what made it great?Josh Sanders is the fourth generation to lead Sea Breeze, the beverage company his great-grandfather started in 1925, delivering seltzer door to door in New Jersey. Today it makes syrups and runs beverage programs for restaurants and bars across New York and New Jersey. The products changed completely. The values never did.Josh and Michael get into why so many family businesses fall apart by the third generation, how Sea Breeze keeps reinventing itself without losing its identity, and the three-word creed behind every decision: be consistent, be ethical, be nice. Josh also opens up on succession with his own teenagers and why independence beats any short-term win.If you are building something you hope outlives you, this one is a blueprint for protecting what matters while changing everything else. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights02:13 The one thing that never changed in 100 years, even as everything else did03:45 From backbreaking seltzer deliveries to a full manufacturing floor08:41 Where the three-word family creed came from, and why it still runs the company09:03 Why the third generation usually breaks the family business, from a banker who sees it firsthand12:39 How to grow a company without the scope creep that sinks it14:12 The service habit Josh and Michael both say wins customers for life15:25 The expensive promise Sea Breeze keeps 365 days a year, even on Christmas17:17 How a 100-year-old company survived 2020 when its main customers shut down19:14 Why staying independent beats chasing the next quarterly number21:09 How to prepare your kids to take over without forcing it on them24:47 The million-dollar question: the small decision that changed Josh’s whole lifeMentioned ResourcesSea BreezeBoscoTJX stores (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods)Six Sigma Green BeltAbout the GuestJosh Sanders is the president of Sea Breeze and the fourth generation of his family to lead the company. Founded in 1925 by his great-grandfather Barnett Sanders, Sea Breeze began as a door-to-door seltzer delivery business in New Jersey and grew into a full beverage program partner, manufacturing syrups and servicing dispensing equipment for restaurants, bars, clubs, and healthcare facilities across New York and New Jersey. Josh joined the business at 26 and has led alongside his father, the company’s chairman, for more than 20 years.🔗 LinkedIn | WebsiteContact Seabreeze: 1-800-SEABREEZE (800-732-2733), or syrups.com.Important LinksFeel Fully Alive: The 5 Dimensions of Vitality gives you the framework to thrive. Get your copy here.Stay Ahead in Business: Michael shares strategies to boost your financial decisions. Read his latest blog.Grow Your Wealth: Book a call with DBD Investment Bank.Going Beyond the Deal is an original podcast brought to you by J. Michael Fischer Jr. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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