Overlap Episode 29: Brad Summersell

Brad is the CEO of a company that his father bought thirty years ago. The company was started by two brothers as a potato chip distributing company that also sold Bic and Lindy pen displays. Overtime the company formed into an office supplies distribution company that expanded along the gulf coast. In 1978 Brad's father bought the company. In the 1990 Office Depot, Staples, and others began to rise and small independent office supplies companies (which were the customers of Brad's father) were getting crushed. Therefore, as Brad graduated from Auburn with a marketing degree. Brad and his father geared the company more towards education/school supplies distribution. Brad started with the company immediately out of college and helped his father recreate their company into an education/school supplies distribution company.

After the company got off the ground in the education/school supplies market. Brad had his heart to do other things and prepared to leave his fathers company to go backpack in Europe. However, Brad had lunch with one of his fathers friends whom Brad respected and talked Brad out of leaving the company and made Brad realize the opportunity Brad had at his father's company.

In 1993 Brad's father's company was a distributer to small independent school supplies stores. Today the entire company which is called Educators Resource is all e-commerce.

This episode is all about how to keep up with our ever changing world to stay relevant and how to successfully handoff your company to the next generation.

As we talk about a lot on this podcast ego is the enemy. This is definitely the case in staying relevant and in successions. Family owned businesses fail most of the time due to just keeping ownership in the family due to ego when that family member was not capable to succeed in their role. Brad talks about how to overcome the obstacle of succession and how to tell if your children and other family members can actually make a career of working in your business.

Brad also talks about how to effectively work with your family members and knowing yourselves well enough to confront the brutal facts and make whatever decisions are best not what makes someone happy. Which if you are not in a family business this will also apply to you. In any business you must be selfless for things to be successful.

That is just the beginning of the things that are talked about in this episode. Brad shares wisdom that could be 5 episodes that are all packed into this hour and ten minutes.that you do not want to miss out on.

Brad's Facebook

Educators Resource

RX SPORT FIT

CHECKMAT DAPHNE

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