Join NABR in partnership with Corp! Magazine for our CEO & Executive Thought Leadership Series, where Jennifer Kluge sits down with C-Suite Leaders to get their insight and expertise.
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00:00:00:00 - 00:00:31:03
Jennifer
Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of CEO and Executive Thought Leadership. I am your host, Jennifer Kluge, and today we have a special guest, Mary Star. Mary has been part of the Star Group, serving as owner and executive for over 40 years. The star Group was acquired by Aqua Sure in 2020 after 36 years. And now Mary four years later is retiring.
00:00:31:05 - 00:00:35:05
Jennifer
And it's a pleasure to have you on the show. Mary, welcome.
00:00:35:07 - 00:00:42:00
Mary
Well, thank you, Jennifer. It is an honor and a pleasure to be here. And I appreciate the fact that you are hosting me today.
00:00:42:03 - 00:01:13:11
Jennifer
You know, we were joking a while back that, you know, this is the finish line, the what everybody wants at the end of a really good business run as as a business owner is to be able to sell, have something of value to sell. I'm sure there was a lot complicated with that and a lot of details, and I don't think everyone understands the depth of the process of that and the journey of setting yourself up for a successful sale.
00:01:13:13 - 00:01:38:05
Jennifer
And then all of the emotional responses to that as well. So I'm so grateful that you're on this program. We usually talk about starting a business or growing a business. This is a very unique opportunity for us to talk about the finish line. So walk us through the journey. The process of the sale and your transition to retirement.
00:01:38:07 - 00:02:07:15
Mary
Absolutely. And yes, it was definitely a process. Jennifer. Yes. Well, I will tell you that our goal had always been to perpetuate internally and to stay independent. And I had worked with a consultant from Marsh. Barry had been working with this consultant since 2000. And he had always prepped us, saying it takes a good ten years to perpetuate internally.
00:02:07:17 - 00:02:33:18
Mary
And it was about 2019 that we realized this internal perpetuation was not going to work out in the best interests of all. We realized things were not where they needed to be. So we sat down with our leadership team, owners of this, our group, or my husband Tim, and I and leadership team included exact VP and the president, who was actually my son.
00:02:33:20 - 00:02:57:21
Mary
So we talked to them about where we were at, this potential change of direction, and they were all on board and said, hey, let's just go forward. Let's see what the options are. So it was 2020. Again, with the help of our consultant that we began reviewing prospective buyers. We started with 12. We willed it down to five.
00:02:58:01 - 00:03:25:20
Mary
And we began the interview process. Unfortunately, at this time, Covid had taken over the world. So we had to navigate this process virtually, completely, virtually. And it was basically business on the top, yoga pants on the bottom, out of my dining room for a couple months. But prior to starting this process, one thing that I established were what I called my our non-negotiable goals.
00:03:25:22 - 00:04:05:13
Mary
And this is what we looked at needing from a chosen partner. And I would recommend anybody going through this process to do this for us. We had six non-negotiables, and they included protecting our team, protecting our culture, the ability to have autonomy, the ability to collaborate. The Sybil ity of the buyer and then the actual offer. And when we finish these interviews, keeping a close eye on these six non-negotiables, one buyer rose to the top and appeared to be the only one that met all of the criteria.
00:04:05:15 - 00:04:28:03
Mary
And that was that pressure. When you go through this purchase, price uses a look back generally of 2 to 3 years, and the price is a multiple of your bottom line or your EBITDA. So if you're looking to sell, you definitely want to make sure your financials are in order. And we worked with the Arkansas Sultanate to make proper adjustments to that bottom line.
00:04:28:05 - 00:04:40:13
Mary
And again, that was a couple months process. But once we chose our buyer, that is when the real work started. The list of disclosure items needed was a bit overwhelming, but with the help of our.
00:04:40:13 - 00:04:43:16
Jennifer
Coaches was a very how it how big was the packet?
00:04:43:16 - 00:05:06:12
Mary
A 20 pages. And you know, I initially thought and every time you dug into one, you know, there was a thread of others. So it was really it was a process. And I will be forever thankful for the consulting team that worked with us, because that made all the difference in the world. And we made it through. That's great.
00:05:06:12 - 00:05:38:20
Mary
But what they did offer and it it's common in our industry is what's called a three year earnout bonus. And this is based on growth, retention and profit. So me personally, I was committed to stay through that three year process in order to maximize the earnout dollars. And what we had done at Star is we are committed to pay all of those dollars, any dollars, as part of that earnout bonus, which was above and beyond the actual offer.
00:05:38:22 - 00:06:04:03
Mary
We committed to pay that to our team. We felt they are the ones that got us to this finish line. They we needed them to be with us as we made this transition. So we I made that that decision and I stayed to the end. And then I stayed on another 14 months beyond that. And what happened then is our pressure began to transition to what they call regional platforms.
00:06:04:05 - 00:06:29:13
Mary
And I assisted with this. But as part of that, everything that I did began to move to a different department within Act, for sure. So I made the decision. It was time to step away, and I stepped away gradually. I went part time October of this past year, and then I went full time January 1st. So about six weeks ago was my full time retirement.
00:06:29:15 - 00:06:43:12
Mary
And I would recommend that. I mean, if you can, that gradual process, especially for someone who's been in the business for 40 years, it helped me through that transition and it helped our team through the transition.
00:06:43:14 - 00:07:05:23
Jennifer
So our non-negotiables I hear this a lot from executives and business owners that sell their business. Two of them was to protect your team and protect your culture. That's very, very hard to do in an acquisition or a sale. Looking back at it, how do you think those two non-negotiables have played out after the sale?
00:07:06:00 - 00:07:22:24
Mary
I think they played out well for the first four years, and then during this transition to regional platforms, it became a bit muddled and so unfortunately did not end up as strong as it started.
00:07:23:01 - 00:07:45:14
Jennifer
Right. And that's normal because what will happen is the buying company, once their culture and their norms and their company rituals to be part of the experience and having that one, one brand, so to speak, or one experience for their team members, that's that's very normal. And in fact, how you described it is a lot better than what I hear out there.
00:07:45:14 - 00:07:48:24
Jennifer
Usually that happens right away.
00:07:49:01 - 00:07:56:02
Mary
Yes. Many times on day one, many of the alternatives we looked at that, you know, they told you upfront it happened on day one.
00:07:56:04 - 00:08:09:19
Jennifer
Yeah. Looking back at the whole experience, the the work that goes into preparing for sale, the audit, so to speak, of financials and clients and what have you. Is there anything you would have done differently or.
00:08:09:19 - 00:08:34:14
Mary
Not done differently? When I, when I look back, maybe realize the amount of inevitable change, but I don't think there's anything I could have done differently that would have prevented that. So going through the process, no, there's really nothing that jumps out. Definitely tips I can share beyond this, but nothing that I would really have done differently.
00:08:34:16 - 00:08:54:14
Jennifer
Yeah, well, I know you. You well enough to, Mary, that I know that you're an attention to detail person. So this was probably right in your wheelhouse of of getting everything just right to make it the best decision. And I would guess that that was your secret sauce in the process is sweating the details.
00:08:54:16 - 00:09:18:15
Mary
Absolutely. Yes. I am a very detailed person. You know, it's knowing your financials in advance because they are going to be gone through with a fine tooth comb. And if you can, finding a consultant that you click with, it has the same values. We worked so well together. They were the ones that got us through the the daunting process.
00:09:18:15 - 00:09:44:14
Mary
And one other thing I will say in going through this process, you know, we were able to get the leadership team on board in advance. That was huge. And then once we made the decision, we began to communicate with our team, you know, letting them know, introducing them to the partner, why you did this anticipated changes. Because what I found is generally what they come up with on their own is much worse than reality.
00:09:44:16 - 00:09:53:10
Mary
So I've learned over time to stay in front of it. And so we were very, very transparent with our communication.
00:09:53:12 - 00:10:19:13
Jennifer
And that's a great reminder for everyone listening here. If you don't give the narrative with whatever narrative your team creates is a lot worse than what it really is. So always get ahead on communications on things like this. Yeah, absolutely. So let's let's share a little bit. And that was a really thorough. And I think you did a business side of it.
00:10:19:13 - 00:10:52:24
Jennifer
And you did an amazing job. And it's the way to do it. And that's textbook executed. So let's let's just talk about you as a human because you're leading you're leading the company. You're going through this process. It makes you busy. It's makes you very busy to get through this process and then retirement is upon you. So what is the impact of retirement on you as a human, and how can you help others prepare for that transition?
00:10:53:02 - 00:11:17:24
Mary
Well, yes, this was a huge step for me, Jennifer, because I wasn't necessarily ready to step away. But I knew the timing was right, and I had watched so many business owners hang on way too long, and I made a promise a very long time ago that I would not get in the way of progress. So. But yes, this has been a huge step.
00:11:18:01 - 00:11:43:03
Mary
The first in in the beginning I couldn't even say the word retire and I meant joking. I would just say every word but retire. My name had been on the building. My name is on the the business. It was my identity for 40 years. So this was this was a huge process. My biggest concern was not having that sense of purpose.
00:11:43:05 - 00:12:08:12
Mary
And so I didn't want to leave anything to chance. I started thinking about a date. I started communicate a date. I started talking about it out loud. I started to get comfortable saying the word retire. I met with a leadership coach and maybe some may think this is excessive, but I actually read eight books on preparing for the next chapter.
00:12:08:12 - 00:12:31:09
Mary
I wasn't going to leave it to chance. And one that really stood out for me was rewire Don't Retire by Sadler and Myers. And then I began to think about, you know, what are my bucket list items and what do I want to accomplish in this next chapter? And I switched to really looking at it as an opportunity to create a brand new chapter.
00:12:31:11 - 00:13:00:13
Mary
And I'm a big one for mantras. And my mantra became, this is not happening to me. This is happening for me at the exact perfect time. So now I can honestly say I'm embracing the next chapter with an open mind, considering my options, chipping away at my bucket list items. And in all honesty, I'm so busy right now I don't even know how it would fit my previous work into my daily schedule.
00:13:00:15 - 00:13:02:08
Mary
So how's that for a sense of purpose?
00:13:02:09 - 00:13:29:02
Jennifer
That is fantastic. And this is why we're having you on on the show, Mary, is to show people the right way to do these types of transitions. And and it's not only a business transition, it's a life transition. And there are so many successful, executives out there that they identify themselves as the business, their names on the door, your names on your building.
00:13:29:04 - 00:13:45:15
Jennifer
You know, it's very personal and passionate. And that's what drove the success for so many years. Can we ask a little bit about what what some of the bucket list items are for you and how you're attacking those?
00:13:45:17 - 00:14:08:14
Mary
Sure. Actually, at some of my I'm a very physically active person. I do. I'll start with that. The the upcoming things first. I do hot yoga. So in about a week I am going on a yoga retreat in its place off the coast of Mexico that you can only get to with a 45 minute boat ride.
00:14:08:16 - 00:14:39:06
Mary
So that will be my first item. And then in May, I'm a big hiker biker. I am actually doing the Camino in Spain, so it's a pilgrimage in northern Spain, where we walk for two weeks and it's about 105 miles. A very spiritual journey. So I am doing both of those. A couple other, in my background was in social work, and I have this passion to give back.
00:14:39:06 - 00:15:11:07
Mary
So I'm considering a couple podcasts and I'm doing some work on that. I'm looking at doing some volunteer work in a local correctional institution, helping the grieving of of inmates there. And then, you know, just spending time and staying in the present. I mean, I was going 100 miles an hour for so long that I am just really trying to stay present, reconnecting with family and friends.
00:15:11:13 - 00:15:26:04
Mary
I have one grandchild, old, but being cautious not to quickly overcommit on things because I think that's part of my personality. So right now I would say I'm chipping away and things are going well.
00:15:26:06 - 00:15:56:11
Jennifer
Thanks, Jennifer. Yeah, I heard another piece of advice to to add to what you're saying and what a fun adventure that is in front of you. It's so exciting. I think we're all living vicariously through your adventure. But I heard not to do, not to commit to any organization or nonprofit or anything for six months. And I also heard that all of once people know that you're retired, all of these opportunities land, and sometimes it can be overwhelming.
00:15:56:13 - 00:16:13:19
Jennifer
Nonprofit boards, for profit boards, volunteer organizations, all of a sudden they hear that you're available and all of a sudden all the stuff consulting comes out of the woodworks. But it sounds like you you are ahead of any of that. So congratulations.
00:16:13:21 - 00:16:28:10
Mary
Great, great advice. And by the time I get back from the Camino, it will be June 1st. So it will be approaching six months. And I did commit exactly what you said, Jennifer, just before any serious commitments, I will wait until that time.
00:16:28:12 - 00:17:01:08
Jennifer
Well that's exciting. We'll. We'll have to check in in six months. There are so many young professionals. You've done it. You've been there, you've experienced a successful career. You say your son is in the in the business. You know, if you had to put everyone in a room and say to them, this is what I learned, and this is this is what I want to impart on you as a successful business person.
00:17:01:10 - 00:17:12:09
Jennifer
These are the things that you should do. So what what advice would you give to a whole generation of people still in it to win it?
00:17:12:11 - 00:17:39:14
Mary
Absolutely. Well, my my two things. My first piece of advice would be to always embrace who you are. We each have our own unique talents, strengths and gifts. My I came into I never intended I'm being in this business. In fact, I was adamantly against being in this business. It was the founders of this business where my mother and father in law and my father in law.
00:17:39:15 - 00:18:03:22
Mary
You see, tell me all the time. Oh, you would be great at this. You should come in the business. And I used to respectfully listen that my inside voice was definitely saying something different. And. And my mother in law, sadly, was diagnosed with cancer, and I stepped in temporarily to help out. That was 40 years ago, and I'm still here today.
00:18:03:22 - 00:18:32:17
Mary
But the reason is because I stayed true to who I was. I held on to what I was passionate about, and as I said, my undergrad and my graduate degree was in social work and which does not seem to correlate to insurance, but because of that passion I brought in, you know, the caring and about other individuals. That's where our wellness and our corporate initiatives were born.
00:18:32:19 - 00:19:00:15
Mary
And so I was able to hang on to who I was. And because of that, I found this career. So fulfilling and so rewarding because I never let go of who I was. And then there's another the second thing I would say would be to embrace challenge. I had so many challenges over the years, and truly from my darkest moments came my greatest growth.
00:19:00:15 - 00:19:24:12
Mary
And I am thankful. Truly thankful for each and every challenge. Maybe not at the time, but I am thankful for each and every challenge because it allowed me to dig deeper than I thought I ever could. It made me stronger. And I've always said, I believe that fear is a self-imposed prison that prevents each of us from reaching our full potential.
00:19:24:14 - 00:19:39:00
Mary
Life is meant to be challenging. Facing your fears is what enables us to grow, and every challenge faced is a character building opportunity. So when you have challenge, embrace them. You will be a stronger person because of it.
00:19:39:03 - 00:20:01:00
Jennifer
And I do think a lot of young professionals base their experience in the working world based off of fear. Worrying about this, worrying about that. What if this happens? But and so when you release that you can really, truly lead. So very very good very good advice. There's so much to learn from you, Mary. So 40 years in here.
00:20:01:02 - 00:20:31:18
Jennifer
So you you briefly touched upon this, but let's swim in it. You're very passionate about wellness. You are a certified wellness coach. I know you received the Best and Brightest and Wellness award, among other wellness awards. You said that this was your passion as from social work to focus on wellness within your organization. What led you to this and what is the business case for wellness in the workplace?
00:20:31:20 - 00:20:58:03
Mary
Sure. Well, it actually came from the initial seed was planted by David Honeycutt, who was the CEO of the Wellness Council of America at the time. And this goes back all the way to 2017. And he had used the words that the vast majority of cultures are here by default, but only a precious few have been built by design.
00:20:58:05 - 00:21:36:06
Mary
And I remember how that resonated with me, the idea of consciously building a culture and how that could overall transform your whole organization, because I believe culture is so vitally important. I always refer to culture as the invisible hand that guides your organization. And as far as the business case, so strong in our in our instance, the biggest impact by focusing on wellness and culture was on employee recruitment, engagement and retention, all of which impacts your bottom line.
00:21:36:12 - 00:22:02:07
Mary
Healthy employees are more engaged. They're more productive, which allows you to be a more profitable organization over hand. And I saw this firsthand, and I had the data to back this up because as our wellness and culture initiatives grew, so did our productivity and our performance indicator numbers, which are those vital business indicator numbers of growth, profitability and customer retention.
00:22:02:09 - 00:22:30:16
Jennifer
That's great. That's great. And you know, we're we're I'm personally an advocate for wellness in the workplace and culture. And it's so important to treat people as humans and treat them as you want to be treated. And it's not always about the work. We as leaders are in people's lives for a reason. And what what legacy or what can we impart on each other and learn from each other and grow together?
00:22:30:16 - 00:22:58:12
Jennifer
So that's so, so important. And, you know, mental health right now is is a huge issue. Ever since I hate I always hate to talk about the pandemic, but ever since 2020, it's more and more of an issue for people in the workplace. And as the world changes, the the mental health of people and being able to be their true selves and get get the care they need is so very, very important.
00:22:58:14 - 00:23:30:15
Jennifer
And there is overlap in the insurance world and in the wellness world. So many people rely on their employee benefits for the care of family members or whatever medical situation they're going through does impact how they show up. So a really, really brilliant example of how you can take a passion and your power as an employer and your client impact and combine it all in together as something that you can champion.
00:23:30:21 - 00:23:50:09
Jennifer
And you have another best practice that I want to make sure we share. You created culture by design. There's in your definition of culture by design. There's 15 ingredients to build a fantastic culture. Can you just share a couple of them with us of those 15?
00:23:50:11 - 00:24:20:22
Mary
Absolutely. And this was something that was just created organically over the past 25 years. So I'll, I'll highlight a few. So the ingredients for building a strong culture. The first one I believe, is you need to start with a true commitment to the value of culture. If you are not truly committed, if you do not see this as a strategic initiative, it will be very hard to dedicate dollars, resources, time.
00:24:21:03 - 00:24:43:09
Mary
And it will be very, very hard for this to get off the ground. And then I would say to start the process by taking an honest and honest assessment of your current culture. Look at your strengths, things that you need to build on. Look at your weaknesses. Things that you need to replace or get rid of, get rid of, or to strengthen.
00:24:43:11 - 00:25:12:04
Mary
And there are a lot of assessments out there. So those are the first two. And then I would say establish and bring to life your vision, mission and values. These were living and breathing, not just something we pasted on a wall, but they were really the foundation of everything that we did. And then, as I referenced before, communicate often and with transfer and see, we tended to communicate more than most.
00:25:12:06 - 00:25:44:11
Mary
We would share high level financials, overall growth, overall profitability. We believe these are the people producing those results. So they need to know the fruits of their labor. And in many instances, what their bonuses are based upon. Also having strategic partners like best and brightest. When I started I didn't know what I was doing. So having these strong partners to guide you through the process is vital.
00:25:44:13 - 00:26:08:13
Mary
Also, another thing that was extremely important for us were those regular engagement outings and activities. We had collaborative employee committees. One was a fun committee and they would plan fun events a couple times a month. It might be 15 minutes in the conference room, a game or meeting after work at the local beer garden. But they were consistent, fun activities.
00:26:08:15 - 00:26:43:24
Mary
We also had what we called our best and brightest committee, and this committee was and this committee was focused on making the star group a best place to work and always looking for ways to make improvements and enhancements. And one of the initiatives they oversaw were our charitable efforts. And so they would plan charitable events. We were very active with the Hunger Task Force, and those would also turn into engagement outings.
00:26:44:01 - 00:27:12:14
Mary
And so we were very involved in the community and that was extremely important to our team. And then last but not least, I would say provide a robust wellness program and create policies so that wellness becomes a part of your cultural DNA. We had a physical activity policy, healthy eating, stress management, and a medical self-care policy, and that all made wellness just really ingrained with our DNA.
00:27:12:17 - 00:27:40:06
Jennifer
Well, there's a reason why your last name is star. Just thank you, Jennifer. So you have the advantage of being retired so you can speak frankly now. You know, you you can say whatever you want to say. You don't have to be buttoned up. This question, what is the hardest part of leading that nobody talks about? You kind of have to just suck it up as a leader.
00:27:40:08 - 00:27:51:01
Jennifer
What are those hardest parts? So somebody going to lead or leaving currently can feel normal, but would you still require respiratory?
00:27:51:03 - 00:28:16:24
Mary
Well, as I as I stated, I tend to be a very transparent person and I like to believe I'm a caring person. So for me, it was really setting those boundaries and having a healthy balance of caring for your team, but also knowing you have tough decisions to make on behalf of the entire team. And so is really keeping healthy boundaries so that you're able to make those tough decisions.
00:28:17:01 - 00:28:41:14
Mary
And then for me, I started this early in my career. It was setting healthy boundaries for myself because I could easily work seven days a week, 12 hours a day. And so I believe you need to nourish yourself in order to nourish those around you. So one thing I started very early on was scheduling my workouts and my workouts.
00:28:41:14 - 00:29:02:01
Mary
I need to do them. I do them daily. That's my stress management. That's my creative thinking. I would write speeches. Riding my bike. I would just very important time for me. So I would look at my schedule in advance. If I had afternoon appointments, I would block off time in the morning. And as a business owner, I was able to do that and flip flop.
00:29:02:01 - 00:29:21:05
Mary
If I was busy in the morning, I block it off in the afternoon and I was unavailable. I was in a meeting. It might have been with my bike or my running shoes, but I was in a meeting and I treated those to. I treated those just like any other important meeting because I thought they were just important.
00:29:21:05 - 00:29:44:11
Mary
Just as important, if not more so than any other meeting that I had. And then for me, another thing I tend to refer to myself as a compulsive completer. So for me it was finding that off switch. Like I said, I could work seven days a week, 12 hours a day, but there's something on my plate. I will work like a dog to get it done that day.
00:29:44:16 - 00:30:11:22
Mary
And so I had to learn to prioritize. I also had to learn to delegate because early in my career, I thought that as a leader, you took everything. You know, you did everything. And that was my job. But I quickly learned I was more effective by delegating. And then that also empowered other people to step into those roles and take over those responsibilities.
00:30:11:24 - 00:30:38:11
Mary
And then the last thing I will say, it's always, always about embracing change. As the saying goes, the only constant is change. But most of us tend to be most comfortable in the status quo. So I will share what I shared in my retirement speech was, which is that there is no growth without change, no change without fear or loss, no and no loss without pain.
00:30:38:13 - 00:30:48:16
Mary
We must let go of the old ways to experience the new. We need one door to close to walk through the next. So definitely about embracing change.
00:30:48:18 - 00:31:17:03
Jennifer
That was so well-said and powerful that I think we should just leave it there. Mary, I'm joking with you that stars your name and you know we are all about shining bright ourselves. But congratulations to you on this journey. Congratulations on doing it so amazingly well and we are so excited for what's in front of you. And please keep in touch with us.
00:31:17:05 - 00:31:22:03
Jennifer
But thank you for being on the program and keep shining bright. Mary.
00:31:22:05 - 00:31:33:05
Mary
Oh, wonderful. Thank you so much, Jennifer. It's it's it's rewarding to be able to to revisit my 40 years through this podcast. So thank you for the opportunity.
00:31:33:07 - 00:31:39:06
Jennifer
Wonderful, wonderful. Thank you for being on the program. Everyone have a good day. We'll see you next time. Bye bye.