In the Genes: When an entrepreneurial spirit runs in the family

Springfield has several well-known entrepreneurial families, including that of Jack Stack, owner of SRC Holdings Corp. Stack’s daughter, Meghan Chambers, opened Staxx Apparel in downtown Springfield in 2004.

The O’Reilly family, founders of O’Reilly Automotive Inc., have numerous children with their own business ventures, including Matt, owner of Dynamic Earth, and Lindsay, owner of Dynamic Body Yoga & Pilates Studio.

The Jones brothers and the Dock brothers – members of two other local entrepreneurial families – are further proof that the desire to own a business may very well be in one’s genes.

Learned entrepreneurship

Among the Jones brothers – Kelly, Karl and Kenneth – two own and operate businesses founded by their parents.

Kelly is president of Lincoln-Evans Land Title Co., which his father, Larry, bought in 1984, and which Kelly joined in 1994, taking part ownership of the title business in 2000, when his father died.

Karl, meanwhile, is owner of Linda’s Flowers, which he purchased from his mother, Linda, in 1990. Karl also owns Karl’s Tuxedo & Bridal, having founded the tuxedo business in 1980.

Ken started Ken’s Mobile Repair in 1999 and what is now All J’s Automotive and Fleet in 2005.

Kelly Jones said the fact that all three brothers are business owners is not surprising.

“Our father had his own business, our mother had her own. More than anything, it was a lifestyle that we were all comfortable with,” he said, noting that both he and Ken also worked for other people before starting their own enterprises. “It was just the family that we grew up in.”

“We’re used to working to get things done on our own and making things happen,” Ken Jones added.

Ervin, Morris, Paul and Robert Dock also trace their business acumen to their parents.

Morris started MoDoCo Construction in 1983; Paul and Robert have owned and operated Dock Brothers Construction Co. since 1983. Oldest brother Ervin recently sold his ownership in the local Beltone Hearing Aid franchise.

Paul said his desire to go into business for himself came from his father, Robert, who started his own construction business in 1968 after his former boss retired from the industry.

“He retired about 1980, but during that time, I worked for him, Bob worked for him, and at one time, Morris worked for him as well,” Paul said. “That’s kind of how I learned the business and where I got the inclination.”

He also points to his mother, Mary Dock Massey, who was instrumental in helping to start the Springfield chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Passing it down

Barbara Spector, editor-in-chief of Philadelphia-based Family Business Publishing Co., said it’s not uncommon for business-owning parents to create entrepreneurial kids, because entrepreneurship becomes a family value.

“Either children see their parents’ entrepreneurship and want to experience that for themselves, or the parents see their business as an asset to be sold to use the proceeds to fund other entrepreneurial ventures.”

Morris Dock said that in addition to the parental influence, the brothers also rely on their independent spirit.

“We’re all pretty self-confident, but also controlling,” he said. “We all like to have our own niche. I think it’s an independent thinking that our dad brought to us.”

While having a sibling running another business in the same industry could be a source of heated rivalry, Paul Dock said the situation is really just a friendly competition. In fact, he said, it creates some advantages for everyone involved.

“There have been times where, if we’ve been a little shorthanded or if Morris’ company has been a little shorthanded, I could loan him a guy or he could loan me a guy,” he said. “Sometimes we’ve also borrowed equipment from each other.”

Secrets of the brotherhood

Perhaps an even more important benefit of sibling business ownership is being able to share information. Paul Dock said he and brother Morris have compared bids on the same projects to see how each company arrived at its bid totals.

Morris agreed, though he does jokingly admit a healthy sense of competition.

“I’ll squash him if I get the chance,” he said with a laugh.

Morris said the Dock brothers – particularly he and Paul – share information during their favorite activity: golf.

Kelly Jones said he and his brothers share similar benefits, despite the fact that their companies are in different industries.

“We’re all in the service business,” he said. “We share ideas with each other – advertising ideas and service ideas – all the time.”

Karl said he also enjoys the ability to network on behalf of his brothers, and vice versa.

“They have customers, I have customers, and we’ll say, ‘My brother has this, you should go see him,’” he said. “It’s a great way to refer customers back and forth.”

And, in the course of their information sharing, does sibling rivalry ever rear its ugly head?

“Of course not,” Ken Jones said with a laugh. “We’re all brothers – we always love each other.”[[In-content Ad]]