Greater Fort Worth’s Premier Business Magazine
Taxing
Headache: Continued struggles at the Tarrant Appraisal District Fort Worth Family’s Dive Into Portable Toilets
chols • Gus Bates Insurance and Investments • Huckabee • Pacheco Koch Consulting E Marketing Group • Radiology Associates of North Texas, P.A. • Rodeo Dental & Orthodon
• The Baker Firm - Fidelity National Title • The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders • Th en Douglas Advertising • Apex Capital Corp • Balcom Agency • Forrest Performance Gro for Humanity • Freese and Nichols • Gus Bates Insurance and Investments • Huckabee onsulting Engineers • Qualbe Marketing Group • Radiology Associates of North Texas, P.A & Orthodontics • Satori Capital • The Baker Firm - Fidelity National Title • The Center for C Disorders • The CSG Cos. • Warren Douglas Advertising • Apex Capital Corp • Balcom Performance Group • Trinity Habitat for Humanity • Freese and Nichols • Gus Bates Insu ments • Huckabee • Pacheco Koch Consulting Engineers • Qualbe Marketing Group • R iates of North Texas, P.A. • Rodeo Dental & Orthodontics • Satori Capital • The Baker Firm al Title • The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders • The CSG Cos. • Warren Douglas A Capital Corp • Balcom Agency • Forrest Performance Group • Trinity Habitat for Humani
chols • Gus Bates Insurance and Investments • Huckabee • Pacheco Koch Consulting E Marketing Group • Radiology Associates of North Texas, P.A. • Rodeo Dental & Orthodon
• The Baker Firm - Fidelity National Title • The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders • Th en Douglas Advertising • Apex Capital Corp • Balcom Agency • Forrest Performance Gro for Humanity • Freese and Nichols • Gus Bates Insurance and Investments • Huckabee onsulting Engineers • Qualbe Marketing Group • Radiology Associates of North Texas, P.A & Orthodontics • Satori Capital • The Baker Firm - Fidelity National Title • The Center for C Disorders • The CSG Cos. • Warren Douglas Advertising • Apex Capital Corp • Balcom Performance Group • Trinity Habitat for Humanity • Freese and Nichols • Gus Bates Insu ments • Huckabee • Pacheco Koch Consulting Engineers • Qualbe Marketing Group • R iates of North Texas, P.A. • Rodeo Dental & Orthodontics • Satori Capital • The Baker Firm al Title • The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders • The CSG Cos. • Warren Douglas A Capital Corp • Balcom Agency • Forrest Performance Group • Trinity Habitat for Humani chols • Gus Bates Insurance and Investments • Huckabee • Pacheco Koch Consulting E Marketing Group • Radiology Associates of North Texas, P.A. • Rodeo Dental & Orthodon
FOR
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 )
For: FW Inc. finds an elite group of 16 local employers in its first of what will be an annual search for the Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth. What’s it take to make this short list? Lots of flexibility, for one.
62 Taxing Headache: The Tarrant Appraisal District continues to struggle through a new $2 million software upgrade.
66 Taking the Plunge: A Fort Worth family deepens its dive into portable toilets – and sees new growth opportunities.
Texas Rancher
Former All-Pro Tight End
Dallas Cowboys
“This
For many Texans, owning land is a lifestyle choice. Like Jay and Amy Novacek, they choose to spend time where the air is a little fresher, the traffic a little slower and everything just seems a little quieter. If you’re one of those Texans, there’s a lender you need to know. For almost a century, Heritage Land Bank has been financing land for those who want their own piece of Texas. If you’re ready to buy, talk to a Heritage lender today.
Publisher’s Letter
( BIZZ BUZZ )
9 Lights, Camera, Fort Worth! Cowtown’s drawing more television and film projects.
12 Top ‘Boy’s New Toy: Jerry Jones’ new Airbus H145 gets him between headquarters and AT&T Stadium, and out to his ranch.
14 Geography, Through Beer: A TCU urban geographer, normally immersed in issues like local economic development, launches course on geography and beer.
14 Comings and Goings: What’s Coming – and Going – around Fort Worth.
18 Face Time: Marie Holliday, longtime Fort Worth dentist and retailer, looks for new ways to put a charge into her businesses.
20 Staying Informed: Alternative office spaces sprout up around the city.
22 Around Town: Pictures from around Fort Worth’s business scene
( EXECUTIVE LIFE & STYLE )
26 Distinctive Style: Janet Hahn, Fort Worth attorney, matches her personal style to work philosophy.
28 Off the Clock: South Florida’s Acqualina Resort & Spa offers busy executives a luxurious getaway and opportunity to spend time with the kids.
30 Wine & Dine: Grab-and-go restaurants offer tasty, easy and healthy meals.
32 Gadgets: Your office need a little energy? Need a nerdy gift? Check out these gadgets.
34 Health & Fitness: A sampling of the gyms that are becoming commonplace in Fort Worth’s office buildings.
36 Office Space: Project 4031, a nonprofit that helps terminally ill patients with basic needs, appropriately has its offices in the peaceful setting of a historic home on the Near Southside.
( COLUMNS / DEPARTMENTS )
70 EO Spotlight: Don Lamont, approaching 50 and broke, launches an insurance adjustment company that rockets to $100 million in sales in five years.
72 Running Toward the Roar: Mike Coffey could have called it quits during the recession, but he re-assessed and rebuilt his Fort Worth firm.
76 Analyze This: FW Chamber report. Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Report.
78 Analyze This: Commercial real estate. Fort Worth’s commercial real estate industry weighs in on literacy.
80 Analyze This: Energy. Energy represents just 6 percent of Texas GDP.
82 Analyze This: Insurance. What to do if you’re in the individual market for health insurance
84 Analyze This: Wealth. More change in health care slams business owners, physicians and consumers.
86 Analyze This: Legal and Tax. Ready to sell your company? Five Tips
88 Exceptional Entrepreneurship: Wondering why you still own a company? The holidays are a great time to revisit strategy and goals.
90 Management Tips and Best Practices: Five tools to reach for when your team hits a ceiling
92 Management Tips and Best Practices: Enabling Others to Act
94 Day in the Life: Catholic Charities CEO Heather Reynolds’ day is always about eradicating poverty.
At Gus Bates Insurance, our clients rely on us to help guide them through the complex world of insurance and investments. But b before
According to a Gallup poll, American adults employed full-time report working an average of 47 hours per week, which equates to nearly six days. We spend more time at work than any other activity, including sleeping. So, if we’re spending this much time working, we should enjoy it. Our cover story this month features our inaugural FW Inc. Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth winners. This year’s competition, the first of what will be an annual signature competition hosted by the magazine, highlights 16 firms who have it figured out.
As an employer, I can tell you how great it is to work here at the magazine, but what really counts is that my employees believe it is a great place to work. With that in mind, we hired an independent national research firm who ran and judged the contest for the magazine, independent of our staff.
They assessed not only employer’s policies, practices, demographics and benefits, but also the company’s employees, who responded—anonymously—to 78 statements on a five-point agreement scale, as well as a handful of open-ended questions and demographic inquiries. To ensure credibility, organizations with 25 employees or more were required to have a 40 percent or better response rate on the employee survey to be eligible.
The firm we hired, Best Companies Group, is the same company that conducts the Best Companies to Work For in Texas survey for Texas Monthly. After accessing all of the nominations, the list was separated into two categories, small
companies (with less than 50 employees) and medium-to-large companies. The list was then culled down to the final “Sweet 16,” with eight in each category.
Best Companies Group analyzed and ranked participating firms on eight core focus areas: leadership and planning; corporate culture and communications; role satisfaction; work environment; relationship with supervisor; training, development and resources; pay and benefits; and overall engagement.
The competition was open to for-profits and nonprofits, government entities, and private and publicly held businesses. All had to have been in business for at least one year, with a minimum of 15 permanent employees, and have a facility in Fort Worth or a contiguous county within 30 miles west of Dallas.
To find out which company brings in a healthy lunch for its employees every day; which one offers ping pong, an outdoor putting green and an onsite gym under construction; or which one provides a selfproclaimed “freaking awesome” Friday happy hour with food and beverages, turn to page 43, as we celebrate these elite 16 Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth.
Hal A. Brown owner/publisher
drawing more television and film projects despite Texas’ lack of competitive incentives for the industry.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
The buzz was evident among alumni in the Fort Worth Country Day School Scott Theater a few weeks ago as the filmmaker and alumnus Tim Williams prepared to show a short feature called “The Colonel,” based on the story of the ‘60s-‘70s-era Country Day Coach Ralph Rosacker. Williams, who signed the “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Fruitvale Station” actor Kevin Durand to play the character based on Rosacker and shot the short in Fort Worth, wants to produce a full-length feature on the coach. And he’s looking for investors. “I hope I get to do it,” Williams told the crowd.
Williams, a 30-year filmmaker whose credits include work as a set dresser for the Tom Cruise-anchored “Born on the Fourth of July,” moved to Dallas several years ago from Los Angeles, drawn by the region’s authenticity and numerous backdrops. “There are so many great backdrops,” Williams says. “You can make your own backlot.”
He’s not alone. The area’s TV and film industry continues to grow. Desert Wind Films, another Los Angeles company, recently moved to Fort Worth’s Near Southside and is raising money for television and film projects. The company, which reports it sold 100,000 copies of its faith-based “Brother’s Keeper” film in Wal-
Mart and Target stores during the fourth quarter last year, is raising $1.4 million for its next project – another faith-based film called “A Broken Bridge.” Executives Steven Camp and Josh Mills – Mills was born in Fort Worth and began his career at NBC 5 in the city – say they’ve raised more than $300,000 so far for “A Broken Bridge.”
Their draw to Fort Worth: Variety of locations, film-friendly local governments, low costs, and community support for the arts, including the recently formed Fort Worth Film Commission, Camp and Mills say. The drawback, they say: Low financial incentives granted by the state.
“We’re here to stay,” Mills says. “It would be nice if there was a little better incentive for organizations like us that are making the commitment to Fort Worth.” Georgia, for one, has a 30 percent tax credit on eligible expenses and has become a hub for TV and film; Texas has a multi-tiered incentive that ranges between 5 and 20 percent depending on spending and adds 2.5 percent if the production company is using an underutilized or economically distressed location.
cations. The Film Commission also is putting together a local online production directory that will include everything from crew to writers, producers, directors, makeup and camera.
At the same time, the commission is collecting information on economic impact, such as room nights and local spending, Christopherson said. The data will help the industry make its case that it contributes economically.
A number of factors are combining to make North Texas an attractive market for TV and film, including Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, local talent, weather, business-friendly environment, interesting architecture, and a variety of “looks,” Christopherson said. “All these things add up,” she said. “There’s a lot of creativity happening in Fort Worth.”
Williams estimates he spent about $50,000 on the low-budget short, raising it from private equity investors and kicking in personal funds.
He shot much of the film on the grounds of Edwards Ranch, which mimicked the wide-open field Rosacker used to coach football. The Fort Worth legend Rosacker, a World War II and Korean Conflict veteran, found himself at Country Day and ultimately shaped a generation of students.
The short’s executive producers – a lineup of Fort Worth blue bloods - included Craig Kelly, Peter Courtney, Marshall Williams, Mary Williams, Dee Kelly Jr., George M. Young Jr., Kelly Ryan, Scott Nowlin, and John H. Williams. There is a “distinct possibility” some or all of that group, almost all of whom attended Country Day, will participate in the full feature, Williams says.
“There are so many great backdrops. You can make your own backlot.”
– North Texas filmmaker Tim Williams
No statistics exist for how large the local TV and film industry is or what it contributes to the economy. But the Fort Worth Film Commission, part of the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau, is assembling the pieces of the picture. The commission’s job is to facilitate projects, including assisting in obtaining public permits. It will also help serve as the industry’s voice.
Jessica Christopherson, the commissioner, estimated in October that the commission had helped 70 projects, including PSAs and commercials, in its first year. Christopherson estimated double that number have inquired about Fort Worth, with country roads and ranch and western-styled homes being the two most requested lo-
Fifty children were cast as students, and the shoot took place over three days. Another 150 people, including parents of the students, served in the crew. Durand and several other members of the production stayed at the Omni Hotel Fort Worth downtown. Williams, who wants to shoot the full feature in Fort Worth, is now trying to raise $5 million for the full feature, paring the budget in half from the original $10 million in the last few months.
Durand agreed to play the Colonel in the short only if he got the role in the full feature, Williams said. “He’s got the charisma,” Williams says. “While the Colonel is a tough guy, he’s also a big-hearted, big-caring person.”
TV and film projects – no matter how good they sound – carry risks for accredited investors. Desert Wind had a strong box office gross from sales of the award-winning “Brother’s Keeper,” then estimates the fourth-quarter DVD release snared $1 million. But that money was tied up in the subsequent bankruptcy of the distributor, Camp and Mills say.
“We were money-good,” Mills says. “We were ready to start paying investors when they went bankrupt.”
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
DALLAS COWBOYS OWNER JERRY JONES
tired of commuting around the Metroplex by car – who isn’t tired of that? – and came up with the perfect solution. His new chopper:
Airbus H145
Manufacturer: Airbus Helicopters, Grand Prairie
Cabin: 8-10 passengers, depending on the configuration. Stylish interior, low in-flight vibration, cabinet, luggage compartment.
Where Jones will fly in it: Between Cowboys HQ at The Star in Frisco and AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and to his ranch.
Why Jerry bought it: “This helicopter will save us valuable time and allow members of our organization to work and live more efficiently.”
Quiet in the air: Patented Fenestron shrouded tail rotor design makes it “the quietest helicopter now in production,” Airbus says.
Custom interior: Large cabin. Jones can remove carpet and other luxury features to allow Jones to use it on work trips to his ranch.
Key specs: 4-ton-class, twin-engine rotorcraft. Latest “hot and high” evolution of the multipurpose EC145.
Other uses: Emergency medical, law enforcement, search and rescue, offshore oil and gas transport.
What it costs: Trade pubs report the H145 generally costs around $9 million, but Jones’ aircraft is heavily customized.
TCU prof looks to “trick” students into learning geography by teaching it through suds.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
What does geography have to do with beer? Don’t get Sean Crotty started.
Ordinarily, Crotty, an urban geographer and assistant professor of geography at TCU, spends his time looking at locational characteristics of informal labor markets
or community issues in Fort Worth like economic and infrastructure development. These days, he’s thinking a lot about beer. For the spring semester, Crotty will teach an upper-level, three-hour class on the geography of beer. It will be called “Topics in Systematic Geography: Geography of Beer.” Typically, such a class would be capped at 40 students. Crotty expects more. “I have a feeling I’ll be able to make to 60,” Crotty says.
Students better watch it. They might learn something. “The course is meant to teach geographical thinking and trick students into learning by making it about beer,” Crotty says. In much the same vein, he says, a friend at the University of California at Santa Barbara launched a course on the geography of surfing. (The trap snaps.)
How about historical geography and beer? “The earliest civilizations were established around grain production,” Crotty notes. “Egyptians paid slaves in beer. We’re going to talk about the geography of fermented beverages.”
Or, religious geography and sacraments. “Some of the best beer today is being made by monks,” Crotty says.
Crotty will also go into how different places are connected. “By looking at it through beer, we could teach spatial relationships,” says Crotty, who earned his bachelor of science in international economics from TCU in 2003, master’s degree in geography from San Diego State University, and PhD in geography from San Diego State and the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Strangely enough, a textbook already exists at $170. “We would like to create a textbook that is more affordable for our students and fits better with how we would like to teach the course,” Crotty says. Crotty has been thinking about teaching the course for eight years. It will be experimental at first, so it hasn’t yet gone to the curriculum committee. “I did ask the dean for permission, and he said he’d be happy to sit in on a few classes,” Crotty says.
A lot has come and gone in Fort Worth over the past couple months. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the happenings:
The Waterside development at Bryant Irvin Road and Arborlawn Drive hosted a tree planting ceremony Oct. 22 in celebration of its grand opening. Waterside’s anchor grocery store Whole Foods Market is now open, while additional tenants like Piattello Italian Kitchen and Katour’s hair salon are set to open before the end of the year.
Parker-Hannifin, a company that manufactures motion and control technologies and systems, will be renovating an existing call center at 4701 Mercantile Drive to become a 242,400-square-foot office and manufacturing facility. The facility will house Parker-Hannifin’s Stratoflex Products Division, which manufactures fluid conveyance systems for aircraft. The company plans to spend at least $25.5 million on the project.
The Fort Worth Zoo announced a campaign to raise $100 million for new exhibits, renovations and other upgrades. According to zoo officials, about $90 million has already been
D&M Leasing has been based in Tarrant County for 34 years and is excited to open the new Fort Worth Location, conveniently located at I-30 and Summit.
D&M Leasing is the largest leasing company in America and was recently awarded the 2015 Leasing Company of the Year award by Dealer Rater for Texas and the entire U.S.
With D&M Leasing you can save up to 50% each month over buying a vehicle, and the entire transaction can take place right over the phone.
Best of all, your new or pre-leased vehicle will be delivered to next vehicle can be.
Kelly Strausser President D&M Leasing Fort Worth
raised, and the remaining $10 million will be raised by the public.
Construction on the Tanger Outlets is underway. The shopping center will be located off Interstate 35 and Texas State Highway 114 and is expected to have more than 350,000 square feet of retail space.
Construction on the Texas Live! entertainment district around Globe
Life Park began at the end of October. The $250 million first phase includes 200,000 square feet of dining and entertainment space, as well as a 300room hotel.
Sweet Tomatoes in the West Seventh Street development has closed after its parent company, Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp., filed for bankruptcy in early October. An unspecified number of other stores closed nationwide, and all Dallas-Fort Worth locations have since been removed from Sweet Tomatoes’ website.
Another restaurant that closed in October was Thurber Mingus, a burger and taco joint formerly located at 4400 White Settlement Road. The restaurant had been open for a little more than a year.
Carnival Food Store is no more. The grocery store closed its location at 102 Northwest 28th St. in late October.
Salsa Limón has picked up and left the Cultural District. In late October, moving company H.D. Snow & Son House Moving lifted the restaurant’s 1940s diner-style building and moved it from 929 University Drive to 5012 White Settlement Road. Salsa Limón plans to reopen in its new location in mid-November.
Engineering firm Burns & McDonnell moved its Fort Worth office from 6500 West Freeway to the Pier 1 Imports building downtown. The company reports experiencing about 540 percent local growth since 2010.
INVESTIGATION
INVESTIGATION INFIDELITY & DIVORCE CHILD CUSTODY
Downtown Fort Worth’s dentist/retailer Doc Holliday, not hangin’ ‘em up, is still on the lookout for the next turn in her decades-old businesses.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
Dr. Marie Holliday runs four businesses downtown, and after nearly 40 years as a dentist and nearly 30 years as a retailer, she still looks for ways to improve the bottom line.
This when Holliday, who turns 65 next year, enters a stage in her varied life when a lot of people might consider retiring. “Thinking of retiring is kind of hard when you’re healthy,” she says.
Holliday, who’s been a dentist for 39 years, moved her practice to downtown Fort Worth’s Sundance Square 23 years ago. That was a short time after Holliday moved her Marie Antoinette Parfumerie – in business since 1987 – to Sundance Square from Arlington. This fall, the store is celebrating its 25th year downtown. Holliday – sometimes affectionately called “Doc” Holliday after the dentist/ gambler/gunman/friend of Wyatt Earp - started the perfume shop with fragrance, one bath and body line, and one skin care line. She’s since added substantial bath and body lines; men’s shaving, men’s beard care, luxury bath and body, gift, and major fragrance lines, and massage therapy, and dropped the “parfumerie” from the business’ name.
Thirteen years ago, Holliday opened Flowers to Go in Sundance Square in 300 square feet. She’s since grown it to 800
square feet and a full-service shop, serving events at restaurants and Sundance Plaza.
“We needed more space,” she says. This fall, Flowers to Go, which serves on the board of Downtown Fort Worth Inc. and sponsors its Main Table special event, put together all of the floral designs for the restaurants in the fete.
Nine years ago, Holliday launched a commercial holiday decorating business, marketing it through her other businesses.
It’s been some time since Holliday was drawn to downtown by the long-sinceclosed Caravan of Dreams entertainment venue. “I saw the renaissance that was happening downtown,” she says. Even though she had her dentistry, “I wanted to market something. I loved fragrance. It’s something that never goes on sale.”
She estimates she’s worked in the dentistry for as many as three and a half days per week for a number of years. “I have been looking at the possibility of a ground-floor location just so more people can see me,” she says.
Holliday, who also serves on the board of the University of North Texas Health Science Center Foundation, says she’s looking at joining a third board.
She’s been able to develop a cluster of long-serving key people in her businesses, she says. “I have one lady who’s been with me for 18 years now,” and one store manager who’s been with the company for seven years, says Holliday, who has 12-13 employees. One of her sons also works part-time in the business helping with information technology, handling receivables, payables, IT, and payroll.
This leaves Holliday free time to travel and enjoy dance, music and comedy shows, she says. And to think about what to do next in her businesses.
BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN
Not all startups and entrepreneurs work out of their mother’s garage. Many work out of business incubators or coworking spaces, equipped with offices, conference rooms, and other resources for small businesses. When it comes to coworking space in Fort Worth, there are plenty of options. Some offer networking events. Another has a film studio. Another offers house-made specialty coffee drinks. Here’s a guide to all the coworking spaces in Fort Worth.
Located on the campus of the former James E. Guinn School, IDEA Works offers office and storage space, as well as business coaching opportunities. Oh, and there’s free coffee, too. Rates range between $100 and $525 per month.
600 East Rosedale St. 817-569-6869 ideaworksfw.org
Craftwork Coffee Co.
Craftwork Coffee Co. isn’t just a coworking space, but a coffee shop as well, serving house-made specialty drinks like the Camellia, a mix of matcha green tea and chai. Members get discounts to the coffee shop along with all the usual office stuff – conference rooms, printers, internet and all the like. Rates range between $200 and $1,000 per month.
4731 Camp Bowie Blvd. 817-737-4169 craftworkcoffeeco.com
coLAB
coLAB has a Single Day Pass option that lets you try out the space for $20 a day. If you like it, you can opt for a full membership, which ranges between $150 and $950 a month, depending on what package you get. coLAB offers private suites, open workspaces and conference rooms along with standard office resources like WiFi and printers.
262 Carroll St. 817-484-4846 colabwork.com
Backlot has a focus on the creative industry, offering access to a video and photography studio, gear rentals and, of course, office space. Membership rates range between $150-$475 per month. Backlot’s resources are open to non-members, too, with the studio available for $750 per 10-hour shoot day and the audio/voiceover booth available for $125 per hour.
1079 Foch St. 817-810-0777 backlotfw.co
Ensemble Coworking is one of Fort Worth’s newest coworking spaces, opened just this year. Along with standard workspaces, Ensemble offers a full kitchen and resource library among other amenities. Networking events are also held every week. Rates range between $150 and $650 a month. There’s a $20 DropIn Day Pass option as well. 1617 Park Place Ave., Suite 110 817-984-3633 ensemblecoworking.com
Justin J. Sisemore has been recognized by his peers as a 2016 “Rising Star” in Texas Monthly and Super Lawyers Magazines, as a “Top Attorney” in Fort Worth, Texas Magazine for the last eight years, and has been a guest speaker for the Tarrant County Family Law Bar Association and various law firms throughout Fort Worth. Samantha M. Wommack has been recognized by her peers as a “Top Attorney” in Fort Worth, Texas Magazine for the last three years. Zoe Meigs, of counsel, is an AV Preeminent Rated attorney and has been recognized for the second time as a “Top Attorney” in Fort Worth, Texas Magazine. We are proud to welcome Jerold H. Mitchell, Chris B. Norris and Pamela L. Wilder to the Sisemore Family Law Firm. Jerold H. Mitchell and Pamela L. Wilder have also been recognized by their peers as “Top Attorneys” in Fort Worth, Texas Magazine. With a combined 40 years of experience in complex civil and family law trials and appeals, our firm provides an extensive range of family law services: all aspects of divorce, cases with complex property divisions, and custody disputes. While we represent clients throughout Texas, we regularly serve Tarrant, Dallas, Collin, Parker, Johnson, Denton, Hood and Wise counties. The Sisemore Law Firm works diligently to provide highly competent and efficient service to each and every client. Our firm also works with various civil litigation firms throughout the DFW Metroplex to assist their clients in family law matters. Visit our website at www.thetxattorneys.com to view our client testimonials.”
(1) State of the County
Don Whelan, Michael Williams, Stuart Flynn, Mark Nurdin, Glen Whitley
(2) Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Annual Golf Tournament
Larry Anfin and John Hernandez
(3) SteerFW 2nd Keyholders Class Graduation
(4) WORTH Launch Party
These companies have shown they have the best policies, practices, benefits and environments, as well as the employees’ engagement and satisfaction.
Companies with Under 50 Employees
Satori Capital, LLC
The CSG Companies, Inc.
GUS BATES Insurance and Investments
The Baker Firm - Fidelity National Title
Balcom Agency
Forrest Performance Group
Trinity Habitat for Humanity
Warren Douglas Advertising
Companies with Over 50 Employees
Pacheco Koch Consulting Engineers, Inc.
Qualbe Marketing Group
Freese and Nichols
Apex Capital Corp
Huckabee Dental
Rodeo Dental & Orthodontics
The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders
Radiology Associates of North Texas, P.A.
BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN
Janet Hahn decided to throw a pop of red on her outfit one day when she had to go to court. She chose a red belt and red shoes –a bit bold for the courtroom, perhaps, but she went for it anyway.
As the Decker Jones attorney and her client walked up to the bench, Hahn said she noticed the judge give her a strange look. He folded his arms and took off his glasses.
“I thought, ‘Uh oh, I probably shouldn’t have worn these red shoes,’ ” she said, recalling the moment.
Instead, the judge’s reaction came as a pleasant surprise.
“Mrs. Hahn,” he said, “you are looking very stylish today.”
Hahn laughed. After all, a courtroom isn’t exactly a place for compliments or jokes, let alone a lighthearted comment on an attorney’s shoes.
“Everybody in the courtroom was like, ‘What?’ ” Hahn said. “Because it’s usually very solemn. It just made me laugh.”
Hahn says her personal style reflects her work philosophy – love people, be positive and put clients at ease. It’s especially important in a job that can often be stressful and, at times, filled with drama, she said.
“If you’re a positive person, you can funnel all that stress into something productive,” she said. “I turn it around. It’s such a joy doing what I do. Even when it’s stressful, it fuels me. It just makes me more passionate.”
Having a legal career wasn’t a lifelong plan for Hahn. She began working at Decker Jones in the 1980s as a legal secretary, simply enjoying the environment
and the work. Hahn, who didn’t quite have her life planned out at the time, decided to pursue law further, taking paralegal courses at Tarrant County College at night while continuing work at Decker Jones. After she earned her associate’s degree, the firm hired her as a paralegal.
Then she decided to take her career a step further. Following the encouragement of a TCC professor, Hahn attended Texas Wesleyan University to earn her undergraduate degree and eventually Baylor Law School to earn her law degree.
Finding a firm to work for after graduating wasn’t difficult. The firm that hired her was none other than, once again, Decker Jones.
“The people that were my bosses are now my partners,” she said.
Hahn specializes in estate and probate, as well as corporate transactions. She says her goal is to exhibit a positive attitude for her clients, hoping to make what’s typically a difficult process just a little easier.
It shows in her style, which she describes as “professional with a flair.” A fan of bright colors, big jewelry, dresses and jackets, Hahn said she gets inspiration from her friends, one of them being Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.
“I love fashion, I love clothes, I love shoes, I love purses – anybody who knows me will tell you, that’s me,” Hahn said. “I just weave that into my professional style also. You can look professional but not stodgy.”
Even attorneys don’t have to take themselves too seriously.
“It’s okay to wear red shoes to court,” she said.
Florida’s Acqualina Resort & Spa offers busy executives a luxurious button-down experience, while upping the ante of family-friendly appeal.
The quandary comes because while they don’t want to leave the kiddos at home, they BY
Many successful businessmen and women with young children find themselves in a quandary when it comes to planning vacations. They often put in a lot of time at the office, and, while it affords them the ability to take opulent vacations, it also means they’re spending less time with their little ones.
also need time away and a break from the kids to rejuvenate. Acqualina Resort & Spa on the Beach, a luxury seaside haven sitting on 4.5 beachfront acres in pristine Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., combines a luxury hotel with unprecedented accommodations and service, along with a fantastic children’s Aquamarine program that allows time with the kids, while also giving the adults some separate grown-up time to themselves.
This elegant Mediterranean villa on the beach has 98 impeccably appointed guest rooms and suites with breathtaking views
of the Atlantic Ocean. The Aquamarine children’s program, complimentary to guests, lets children experience customized, hands-on activities that use computers and an iPad app in arts and crafts projects and outdoor team-building games by the pool and beach. This summer, the program, which teaches kids about marine biology, launched seven new or enhanced themes that include Arctic Fish and Friends, Colorful World of Reefs, Gentle Giants, Pinniped Pals, Predators of the Sea, Save the Sea, and Sea Turtles. The
program runs every day for a full day and has a half-day option as well. A special, a la carte gourmet kid’s menu is available.
Three oceanfront swimming pools provide havens for relaxation, with one designated as a kid’s pool, one a family pool and one adults only. Pool sundries, including suntan lotion and towels, are complimentary, and if you forgot your sunglasses, you can purchase a pair at the Beach Club pool kiosk. Cabanas, which include personalized service and various amenities to make a guest's day in the sun more enjoyable, are available for full-day rentals.
If you need a break after a day with the kids, the Acqualina Resort & Spa provides vetted babysitting services so you may enjoy dinner at one of the hotel’s restaurants, including Il Mulino New York, one of New York’s most acclaimed Italian restaurants, renowned for its bustling and energetic atmosphere and impeccably polished wait staff. Other resort dining options include Costa Grill, AQ by Acqualina Restaurant, a sushi bar staffed by the talented masters from Hiro’s Yakko-San, The Bar at AQ by Acqualina, and room service.
If the spa is your thing, the Acqualina Spa by ESPA awaits. The first ESPA-branded spa in the United States, Acqualina Spa provides guests with an exquisite 20,000-square-foot, two-story tranquil sanctuary of excellence and relaxation, offering 11 multifunctional treatment rooms and an extravagant private spa suite for two, along with the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful outdoor terrace complete with a spa pool, heated jet pool, and Roman waterfall – all set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Atlantic.
Acqualina’s 54 guest rooms and 44 suites offer oversized floor plans and private terraces. The celebrated Miami designer Isabel Tragash infused each of the rooms with allusions to surf, sand and water. Treatments include zebra wood, walnut, champagne bronze, smoked glass, chenille velvets, plush satins, bouclé’s and exotic woven textiles. Tragash’s palette includes sun-bleached grays, taupes, sands and celadons.
Guestrooms offer views of South Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway or the ocean.
They feature king-size beds, custom curved sofa sleepers, wingback club chairs, smoked glass and bronze metal coffee tables, dressers and desks with bronze glass inlay, desks with integrated media connectivity, high-definition TVs, mini bars, private terraces and bathrooms with marble flooring, double sinks, Jacuzzi whirlpool tubs and glass-enclosed showers.
The suites feature ocean views, king-size beds, separate living rooms, sofa sleepers, club chairs, smoked glass and bronze metal coffee tables, desk chairs and dining chairs, writing desks, taupe lacquer dressers with integrated media connectivity, two high-definition TVs, entertainment units, private terraces and spacious bathrooms with imported marble flooring, double sinks, custom vanity areas, bathtubs and glass-enclosed showers. Many of the suites feature full gourmet kitchens with SubZero built-in refrigerator/freezers, designer granite countertops, Italian limited edition cabinets, microwaves, dishwashers, stainlesssteel sinks and garbage disposers. Some suites feature one-and-a-half bathrooms and a breakfast room.
bana, Prada, Jimmy Choo, John Varvatos, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
The Acqualina Resort & Spa on the Beach is a recipient of the coveted Forbes Travel Guide Five Star Award, the AAA Five Diamond Award and the Andrew Harper’s Reader’s Choice Award for Top 20 Beach and Family Resorts. It was also rated the No. 1 beach resort, spa resort and family resort in the world by Trip Advisor. It’s 20 minutes from Fort Lauderdale International Airport, 30 minutes from Miami International Airport, and 50 miles from Boca Raton.
If shopping is a must, the hotel’s Spa Boutique features luxury brands, specialty gift items and resort wear. Nearby the hotel: the Bal Harbour Shops, three miles away, and its lineup of luxury brands, including Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, Dolce & Gab-
Visit acqualina.com for more information. For reservations, call 305.918.6777 or 888.804.4338.
Eating on the run? Grab-and-go restaurants try to meld tasty, easy and healthy.
BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN
Tasty. Healthy. Easy.
Those three things are what people look for the most in a meal, says Snap Kitchen CEO Dave Kirchhoff, but it’s not easy to find them all at once. Fast food may be tasty and easy, but not necessarily healthy. A frozen meal may be easy and healthy, but not always tasty.
Companies like Snap Kitchen and Simply Fit Meals are hoping to bring all three criteria together. Both stores follow the grab-and-go concept, offering healthy meals in convenient microwavable containers, along with juices and snacks. Simply Fit Meals has locations at 3020 West Seventh St. and 1116 Eighth
Ave., while Snap Kitchen has a location at 2828 West Seventh St.
“Fort Worth is a bustling city,” Kirchhoff said. “It’s really taken off as a city with a great food scene in its own right. It’s a city that has a lot of people that are very health and fitness-minded but don’t want to sacrifice quality of food.”
And it’s more than just grilled chicken and salad – Snap Kitchen, for example, offers a variety of meals, from Asian-inspired dishes like Coconut Curry Beef or homestyle dishes like gluten-free turkey chili. Snap Kitchen’s best-selling dish in Fort Worth is its Chicken and Green Chile Enchiladas, a meal that totals about 430 calories.
Kirchhoff said his personal favorite is the Bison Quinoa Hash, made with ground bison, organic red quinoa, reduced fat cheddar cheese, beans, rice, and a variety of spices like cayenne and cumin. The meal is between 320 and 620 calories, depending on the size.
The company also launched a vegan menu in October, featuring items like Spicy Dan Dan Noodles and Creole Fab Cakes – vegan “crab” cakes made with organic hearts of palm, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, almond flour and the vegan mayonnaise Fabanaise.
Another option for quick healthy meals is Simply Fit Meals, which aims to marry the concepts of “eating” and “dining,” said CEO Chris Sanchez.
According to Sanchez, eating and dining are two separate things – while eating refers to simply fueling the body, dining refers to actually enjoying the food, he said.
Sanchez says he hopes the food at Simply Fit Meals can create the experience of both.
“You’re having something that’s checking all the boxes,” he said.
One popular Simply Fit Meal is the Greek Turkey Burger, made with turkey breast, Kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes and parsley and served with asparagus, grape tomatoes, and Tzatziki sauce. The meal has about 229 calories.
On the sweeter front, Simply Fit Meals offers smoothies like the 268-calorie Purple Rain, a blend of banana, blueberries, bee pollen and almond milk, along with Maqui, Maca and protein powders.
For business executives on the go, it’s easy to compromise health for convenience, Kirchhoff said.
But he said he hopes the convenience of a healthy grab-and-go meal can help make it easier for the business community to avoid the fast-food/TV dinner route.
“Life is too short to eat food like that,” he said.
Your office space need a little energy? Need a fun geeky gift? Check out these gadgets.
BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN
So your office needs a little character. Perhaps these geeky gadgets will, ahem, beam it up nicely. All of these items can be found at ThinkGeek (thinkgeek.com) – or, if you feel like browsing shelves of unadulterated fandom in person, ThinkGeek has physical locations at the North East Mall in Hurst and the Parks Mall in Arlington. Just try not to geek out too hard. (Actually, just go for it. Have no shame.)
(A) Star Trek Phaser Remote Replica
This phaser can’t shoot Klingons, but it can turn on that TV that scrolls stock market numbers in the office. With lights and 10 different sound effects, this replica phaser works as an infrared remote control. And it doesn’t just work on TVs – the remote can be programmed to control other audiovisual devices, too, from DVD players to stereos.
$149.99
(B) Star Wars MimoPowerBot
You have a big presentation, your tablet battery is on red, and a plug is nowhere in sight. You need the power of The Force, and where can you get it? From Star Wars MimoPowerBots. These portable 5200mAh batteries come with a USB charging cable with multiple tips for tablets, smartphones and other devices, allowing you to juice up your electronics wherever you go. The bots come as Darth Vader or R2-D2.
$49.99
(C) Iron Man Mini Fridge
You don’t need to be a genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist to appreciate cold drinks and warm lunches. This Iron Man Mini Fridge does both, armed with both cooling and heating capabilities. The fridge is small enough to fit under a desk or on the passenger side of a car and can hold up to six 12-ounce soda cans. Its eyes light up too.
$79.99
(D) Doctor Who Bluetooth Speaker
Sometimes the office just gets deathly quiet. Perhaps these Doctor Who speakers can help “ex-ter-min-ate” that silence. These speakers come in the shape of a TARDIS, a black Dalek or a bronze Dalek and have Bluetooth capability so you can connect your smartphone. They also come equipped with an omnidirectional microphone that allows you to take calls – you know, just in case Winston Churchill needs you for something.
(E) Super Mario Bros Question Block Lamp
This Question Block Lamp makes for a great stress reliever or mini celebration after a workday success. Press the top, and the lamp’s light turns on and lets out the classic “bading!” sound. Stressed out? Ba-ding! Made a sale? Ba-ding! It doesn’t dispense gold coins, though. Sorry.
$34.99
$129.99-$149.99
Gyms are becoming de rigueur in Fort Worth office buildings. Here’s a sampling of ones that’ll help you shed a few pounds.
BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN
An office job isn’t exactly conducive to an active lifestyle. After eight or nine hours of sitting at a desk, making that extra stop to the gym after work can be difficult for some.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 49 percent of adults in the U.S. get enough aerobic exercise, while about 20 percent of adults get an adequate amount of both aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise.
To help make it easier for employees to get active, some Fort Worth office buildings provide fitness centers for tenants. One of the newest office fitness centers will be located in downtown Fort Worth’s upcoming skyscraper, Frost Tower, which is currently under construction at 640 Taylor St.
An existing downtown building with a fitness center is the Pier 1 Imports building, located near Summit Avenue. The building’s general property manager, Ryan Delaney, says having a fitness center doesn’t necessarily make an office building more competitive, but it does help the businesses inside put more focus on physical activity.
“I believe it’s come to a point where fitness centers no longer provide an edge over other office spaces,” he said. “Rather, tenants and their employees now expect that there be some space dedicated to improving and maintaining health.”
Check out these offices around town with fitness centers in-house.
PIER 1 IMPORTS
BUILDING
100 PIER 1 PLACE
Employees at Pier 1, as well as engineering firm Burns & McDonnell, have free access to the Pier 1 Imports building’s fitness center, which has 4,423 square feet of weight machines, stair climbers, treadmills and recumbent bikes, as well as equipment like exercise balls, kettlebells and dumbbells weighing between 5 and 70 pounds. Representatives from the YMCA come to teach classes twice a week, and personal trainers are also available at an extra cost.
According to Delaney, the fitness center averages about 80 people per day or 2,400 visits per month.
CITY PLACE
300 THROCKMORTON ST. (ONE CITY PLACE),
100 THROCKMORTON ST. (TWO CITY PLACE)
City Place has fitness centers in both of its buildings (One City Place and Two City Place) with elliptical machines, treadmills and other equipment available to tenants for free. The facility also features a yoga area, as well as country club-
WESTERN PLACE
EAST TOWER
6000 WESTERN PLACE
Western Place, home to companies like Apex and BAE Systems, has an approximately 2,500-square-foot fitness center in its east tower, open 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Cardio equipment, weights, lockers, showers and towels are available for tenants, though a $25 monthly
as well as country club- y style lockers e and showers. a $25 5 membership is p required. s
Project 4031, a nonprofit that helps terminally ill adults get basic needs or fulfill a dream, appropriately has its offices in the peaceful setting of a 1900s home on the Near Southside.
BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN / PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX LEPE
Aquaint house built in the early 1900s sits along May Street on the Near Southside. Unbeknownst to some, it serves not as a home, but as the office of nonprofit Project 4031.
The office stands at two stories and approximately 1,500 square feet with all the elements any typical home would have – living room, kitchen, dining table. That’s why for Project 4031 executive director Leanna Gilles, going to work feels like coming home.
“We just want a place that’s comfortable, something that is peaceful,” she said. “It doesn’t look rigid. It doesn’t look like an office building, but a place of rest and comfort.”
It’s a fitting space for Project 4031’s line of work, Gilles said. The
organization helps terminally ill patients receive basic needs or fulfill a dream, whether it be VIP tickets to see the rodeo at the Stockyards or a visit from Sofia the First for a child’s birthday party.
Gilles said Project 4031’s goal is to “create peace,” a feeling they hope is reflected in their office space.
When visitors come to the office, they enter like a regular houseguest would – by knocking or ringing the doorbell (the house usually remains locked during the day, especially when Gilles and co-founder Kristina Robertson are the only ones inside).
Stepping inside, the first element that comes into view is a pop of pink wallpaper, displaying photos and stories of families the organization has helped since it began in 2011. Above the photos is the Bible verse from which Project 4031 got its name, Isaiah 40:31:
“But those who hope in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.”
The wallpaper, a bright shade of pink found in Project 4031’s logo, is meant to grab the visitor’s attention, Gilles said.
“As soon as someone walks in, we want that to be the focal point – not necessarily the building, not necessarily us, but the families that we’re serving,” she said. “By putting the pop-up wallpaper behind the stories of our families, it begins to draw the eyes to the families and to why we’re here, why we exist.”
To the right of the lobby is the conference room, which more closely resembles a dining room. A chandelier hangs above a custom-built table made from an old door that used to be part of downtown’s Fort Worth’s First United Methodist Church. Placed in the middle of the table is a large Bible with old-style lettering. The room has a fireplace, too, which was an original part of the house.
Just a few steps away is the living room, which serves as a meet-
ing space for employees and potential clients. While deep earth tones were chosen for the furniture, the pink wallpaper from the lobby returns to accent the walls.
The wall art in the living room is a long antique metal, fence-like structure with a collection of tags clothespinned to its wires. The tags feature the names of families Project 4031 has served, written in calligraphy by Gilles’ friend, Andrea Cox.
“We really wanted to highlight all families,” Gilles said. “It’s a memorial as well.”
The house’s kitchen serves as the break room and exhibits a “light and airy” feel, Gilles says, with natural lighting coming through the windows that peek into the backyard. Project 4031 kept the house’s original cabinets, adding not much more than new paint and appliances.
The backyard features a patio with a wooden picnic table, and an approximately 1,500-square-foot garage serves as storage space for medical supplies.
The space may look like a home, but of course, it still serves as a workplace. Employee offices are located upstairs, where Gilles says she has a nice view of the Near Southside, while Robertson has a view of the Hospital District.
For Robertson, having offices in an old home is a dream come true. Before moving to the house in January, Project 4031 used to have a more traditional office at Western Place off Interstate 30 and Bryant Irvin Road.
Robertson began looking for places to relocate last summer, at first eyeing the house next door to the one Project 4031 currently occupies. After touring the first house, the owner of the house that would eventually become Project 4031’s office happened to be standing outside. As it turned out, that house was about to be put on the market as well. Robertson and Gilles looked at the property and were won over by the backyard garage, which could be used as potential storage space.
Donors helped pay for the home, so the organization doesn’t have
to pay mortgage, Gilles said. With the home being fairly structurally sound, all Project 4031 had to worry about was cosmetic repairs.
“We just had to make it pretty again,” Robertson said.
The organization hired Weatherford-based builder Hidden Creek Construction to re-do the house, and after about three months, the house was transformed into an office and ready to open.
Gilles says the home environment has been refreshing, not just for clients, but for those that work for the organization as well.
“Working here, not being in a formal office setting, but more so a more free space, you can have some creativity flow and be able to really just enjoy ourselves at work,” she said.
If there’s anything the house is meant to represent, Gilles says, it’s peace.
“There’s just a true peace within the home,” she said. “We love being able to be hospitable and to open it to people who are in need or just need to come in and talk.”
“There’s an entrepreneurial spirit unique to Fort Worth, and FW Inc. captures that perfectly. It’s become a ‘go-to’ read for me.”
Welcome to FW Inc.’s inaugural Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth, the first of what will be an annual signature competition hosted by the magazine. We’re honoring an elite group of 16 employers, including eight large with more than 50 U.S. employees, and eight small. The Best Companies Group, an independent research firm that specializes in identifying and recognizing great places to work, ran and judged the contest for the magazine, independent of our staff. BCG manages similar programs worldwide. Who was eligible to participate? For-profits and nonprofits, government entities, and private and publicly held businesses. Nominees must have a facility in Fort Worth or a contiguous county within 30 miles, have at least 15 permanent employees and be in business for at least one year. Employers completed an online survey, detailing company policies, practices, benefits and demographics. Employees also completed a survey.
Chair massages, half-day Fridays, Friday breakfasts
Catered Friday lunches. ‘Qual of Fame’ displays fun performancebased awards. Christmas party includes entertainment like Battle of the Bands and performances from executives.
Work schedule that includes flextime and overtime for salaried employees, and supports family. Tuition reimbursement, training and certification support. Celebrations for birthdays, babies and weddings; group retreats; contests such as chili cookoffs
The food: month-end lunches, pizza on busy days, free soft drinks and fruit. Parties: Oktoberfest, holiday party, Thanksgiving potluck, family picnic, and celebrations for achieving company milestones. Feels like family.
Half-day Friday, Christmas party, company team building activities
Birthday and anniversary celebrations, annual employee appreciation events
Holiday Party, Caring Coins, Christmas and Easter Service
Generous profit-sharing and 401(k) match, employer-paid health insurance, annual holiday party
Company-paid gym/studio memberships, weekly joint workouts, bi-annual health screenings
Casual dress, flex schedules, team building events, massages, weekly fun themes
Monday provided lunches, stocked snack bar. Holiday party, family picnic, happy hours. Flexible paid time off and hours as needed
Profit-sharing, office trips, office parties
Firm closes early one day a month anniversary and birthday celebrations. Employees celebrating anniversaries get $10 for every year they’ve been at Balcom. Take your dog to work on Fridays. Paid week off between Christmas and New Year’s, in addition to regular vacation
Friday Happy Hour: Food and drink provided by company, games and fun. Monday Morning Huddles to get employees energized. Quarterly paid seminars
TOGAs (Team Organized Group Activities), 100 percent employer-paid medical/dental insurance for employees
Company-wide “Book War” challenge awards prizes at the end of the year for reading/listening to books. Break room stocked with free drinks and snacks. Rec room with ping pong, air hockey and foosball tables
Team FN Bonus ranges yearly from $450 to $3,525 to all eligible employees (pro-rated for part-time and partial year employment) and paid overtime for exempt employees (straight hourly rate, or can be banked as time off). Fruit/healthy snacks in breakrooms, race reimbursement, wellness contests, outside speakers, wellness coaching. Support of family activities includes free use of cabins in Red River, N.M.
Robust wellness program that encompasses company-paid activity tracking devices, annual biometric screening, wellness lunch and learn programs and smoke cessation. Educational assistance program reimburses up to $15,000 annually. Generous quarterly profit sharing program for all employees
Corporate barista and coffee bar, wellness program and gym membership reimbursement, employee events coordinator
Paid time off, community involvement encouraged. Monthly bonuses to employees who meet their objectives. “National Celebration Days” at least once per week
Thanksgiving Food Drive, Salvation Army Red Kettle Bell Ringing Volunteer, Angels on Christmas Tree with gift requests for needy patients
Monthly “all company” birthday celebrations, generous paid time off, annual employee appreciation day
Optimal Living advisors visit monthly to provide nutrition and fitness coaching, guided meditations, massages, and stress management support. Employee birthday gifts: $100 gift certificate to a restaurant of choice, $100 donation to charity of choice, and holiday. Annual Gratitude Dinner, Charity Competition, and Guiding Principles Awards, monthly community hours, generous time off, chef-prepared lunches daily, travel perks
Office closes early on Fridays.
Flexible lunch allows work-outs during work hours. Outdoor putting green and ping pong table. Onsite gym under construction
Lunch provided on last day of month and very busy days, weight loss challenges, happy hours
Discount at Zyn22 spin studio. Month of wellness-related events and treats each May. Breakfast tacos every other Monday to kick off weekly meeting
Free gym membership to employees who commit to using it three times a week. 10 days paid time off, plus national holidays. Health and dental insurance eligibility after 90 days
Bring your dog to work policy, workout room, monthly team lunchesMember of Blue Zone Project Fort Worth
Flex workday when needed, holiday celebrations, showers, cookouts, movies, lunches, off-site team building, expansive benefits
Game room with mini basketball, foosball table, Wii. Open playlist for agency music throughout the day. “First Friday” is an offsite, early dismissal creative meeting where team brainstorms “What If?” scenarios for the agency and clients.
One big perk of working here: “You can relate to and talk to anybody in the company.”
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
Here’s an important intangible that Pacheco Koch Consulting Engineers offers people who work there: “It’s just fun,” says Dorothy Witmeyer, a landscape architect who joined the company two and a half years ago. “You can relate to and talk to anybody in the company.”
The company, whose Fort Worth offices are on the West Side in the 6100 Western Place office tower, aggressively promotes a relaxed workplace that fosters teamwork, productivity and innovation. Pacheco Koch encourages employees to remain active, bringing in guest speakers
on eating right, organizing teams that participate in fun runs and races, hosting challenges like weight loss or steps, paying for fitness sessions with Camp Gladiator, and regularly offering chair massages.
“When you sit and work, you’re not as fit as you can be,” says Witmeyer, who’s played competitive soccer.
The company also encourages employees to get to know each other personally outside the office, sponsoring company softball, soccer and flag football teams for employees and family members.
It hosts employee outings at Six Flags Over Texas and Possum Kingdom. And it’s also sponsored bowling nights, sand volleyball and kickball teams. Each of Pacheco Koch’s teams has an organizer of group activities – called TOGAs –who’s charged with organizing team events and companywide summer and holiday parties every year. Events have included socials like crawfish boils and chili cookoffs. Fridays are half-days and begin with a company-provided breakfast each week.
“There’s a lot of support here,” says Holly McPherson, the company’s business development director who joined the company and launched the Fort Worth office seven years ago. “It’s a very young atmosphere here.”
The company’s benefit packages include paid healthcare for employees, employee options for expanded plans,
WHAT THE COMPANY DOES:
Civil engineering, land surveying, landscape architecture
EMPLOYEES:
175
FUN BENEFITS:
Fully-paid health and dental insurance premiums for employees, quick eligibility for 401(k), participation in sports leagues
PAYOFF FROM ENGAGED
EMPLOYEES:
More than 90 percent of business comes from repeat clients.
WHAT THE COMPANY SAYS ABOUT ITS
EMPLOYEES:
“We attribute our success to the energetic and focused individuals that make up our staff.”
“There’s a lot of support here. It’s a very young atmosphere.”
– Holly McPherson, business development director
401(k), and retirement and investment planning. The firm pays 100 percent of premiums for employees’ medical and dental coverage.
Witmeyer, who earned her degree in landscape architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington and spent a year working somewhere else before she joined Pacheco Koch, obtained her license in the spring. The firm paid for the tests.
The firm was launched in Dallas 26 years ago and now has offices there, in Fort Worth and in Houston. The fun culture was promulgated long ago at the Dallas offices, McPherson says. “This is just spillover,” she says. The Fort Worth office, which opened with three employees, now has 35.
The company thrives off of a team approach, with easy access to leaders. “They’re right here,” Witmeyer says. “You can walk right into their offices. It’s very much a team atmosphere.”
The company also hosts regular training programs for employees. At monthly “lunch and learn” meetings, employees give technical presentations. Pacheco Koch also hosts regular brown bag presentations and webinars to keep employees upto-date on industry issues, refresh their technical skills, and give them continuing education credits for their professional registrations.
Pacheco Koch is active in the community, sending volun-
teers into organizations such as the Ronald McDonald House and Lena Pope Home and regularly participating in walks, runs and toy drives.
Beneficiaries include CANstruction, Hearts and Hammers, Race for Wishes, and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk for a Cure. The firm also hosts a blood drive for Carter Blood Care and a merit badge event for local Boy Scout troops where Engineering, Surveying, and Drafting merit badges are offered.
The Fort Worth office holds a golf tournament with clients each year that benefits a local organization, raising money through the sale of raffle tickets and mulligans. The tournament raises $7,000-$8,000 annually. “There’s a lot of options for community development and being who you want to be,” Witmeyer says.
Events such as the tournament help build and maintain business relationships. More than 90 percent of business comes from repeat clients, the company says. “We have very strong relationships with our clients,” McPherson says.
Dorothy Witmeyer, landscape architect YEARS WITH COMPANY: 2.5
WITH A STRONG LEADERSHIP THAT PLACES A PREMIUM ON INVESTING IN EMPLOYEES, PACHECO KOCH, PK, OFFERS A WIDE ARRAY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL AND TEAM-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT. Mentor programs, various business and financial training opportunities develop employees professionally, while community involvement, sponsored recreation leagues and family-focused events support employees personally. While working at PK, I have built multifaceted relationships with co-workers and often consider the people I look up to as experts in my field as friends. Fueled by a collaborative environment that encourages participation from every level, Pacheco Koch’s smart
and fast growth is exciting to be a part of. Not only do employees work collaboratively on projects, but internal decisions impacting the firm are made with input from all stakeholders. Even as a young professional, my opinions are always respected. Pacheco Koch’s work-life balance is supported by offering employees a 4.5-day work week. With a half day off on Fridays, I’ve been able to visit family in Northwest Arkansas and go on more weekend camping trips than I would have otherwise. Although I have the freedom to use that time as I wish, I often find myself enjoying an afternoon of fun with co-workers – further developing a sense of the PK family.
Libby Coker, website optimization manager YEARS WITH COMPANY: MAY 2012
WHEN YOU’RE FRESH OUT OF COLLEGE, YOU HAVE AN EXPECTATION THAT YOUR FIRST JOB WILL MERELY SERVE AS THE FIRST RUNG ON YOUR CAREER LADDER TO SUCCESS. For me, working at Qualbe has changed that perspective. I could tell from my first interview that this company cares about the personal development and well-being of its employees, and that people are really key in how the company operates and makes decisions.
Since joining Qualbe, I have had the unique opportunity to train in diverse areas that have allowed for quick growth, both personally and professionally into a management role. Company-wide business goals, reading competitions and paid time to attend conferences and networking events are just a few of the ways Qualbe encourages development.
Employees are able to apply their training and participate in company direction by submitting ideas directly to leadership, which contributes to a sense of unity across departments. I’ve experienced a number of opportunities and challenges that have really molded my career, and it’s been incredibly satisfying to work in an environment that facilitates your development. Qualbe has become my career, and I’m motivated to contribute to its growth because it has invested so much into mine.
Elizabeth Blackwelder, engineer YEARS WITH COMPANY: 13
SOMETI IT W as ago, work Engineermy Profes y license, a infra e an e rig y when my an Nichols a s e balance w
SOMETIMES YOU JUST KNOW IT’S RIGHT. From joining as an intern 13 years ago, working five years as an Engineer-in-Training, earning my Professional Engineer’s license, and working on large infrastructure projects, Freese and Nichols has been exactly right. It was right when my daughter Victoria arrived and Freese and Nichols accommodated my part-time schedule so I could balance work and family.
Now that she’s a first grader, Freese and Nichols is the right workplace for her to visit and see what I do at work. Freese and Nichols is also the organization that supports my passion for sustainable design and the national Envision certification program. I have been privileged to work on the team that designed the first Envision-rated pipeline and then the Envision-rated (Platinum) integrated pipeline project, bringing water to
North Texas. Freese and Nichols even provided a Research and Development grant to develop sustainability practices. As a young student from Colombia, I did not know that Freese and Nichols would lead me to all this. But I have always known that this was the perfect place for my career and professional development, my community work, and my family life.
Kim Hopper, director of human resources YEARS WITH COMPANY: 5.5
THERE ARE MANY
LOVE ABOUT HUCKABEE, MANY THINGS THAT HAVE INSPIRED ME OVER THE YEARS. First and foremost though, Huckabee represents family, opportunity and excellence, not just sometimes, but all the time! I knew from day one that it was a special place. Opportunity was everywhere. During my first week, I attended an ACE (Achieving Company Excellence) meeting. It was a game changer. Chris Huckabee, our CEO, spoke about thinking outside the box. He centered his talk on Wayne Gretzky’s quote, ‘You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.’ His passion for Huckabee and his commitment to his employees inspired me to be and do my best. I often say that I have the greatest job at Huckabee. Every day, I get to be a part of this growing firm. It’s a privilege to watch each new employee start their journey and see that look in their eye when they hear their first inspirational talk, have that one interaction or attend a meeting that inspires them. I wake up each day excited to go to work and be a part of such an amazing team.
APEX CAPITAL:
Julie Ornelas, account executive YEARS WITH COMPANY: 2
APEX IS S THAN A AN OFFI THAN I E
APEX IS MORE THAN A JOB, MORE THAN A PAYCHECK, MORE THAN AN OFFICE BUILDING, AND MORE THAN I EVER IMAGINED IT WOULD Apex has actually changed my life. I am healthier and happier now than I have been in my entire adult life. I am not stressed at work, thanks to a management team that allows us to manage our portfolios and individual clients as we see best for Apex and our client’s business. I have never had so much freedom in a position that has such a high financial risk. Because of this, I work hard to make sure my portfolio is in order without stressing about staying inside a confined ‘box.’ I
I am healt have bee stressed team that best for A r I nev e t Because my portfo y about sta t
get to go home every evening leaving my work at work; it’s an amazing feeling. Apex has also empowered me to take control of my physical health by providing access to resources that allow me to be the best me. We have access to a full gym, health and wellness seminars, gym reimbursements, boot camp discounts, weekly fresh fruit, a healthy snack vendor, and best of all — encouragement. Apex has the best wellness committee that genuinely cares about Apexers’ health and happiness. I am truly blessed to work for Apex.
Erica Munoz, office leader YEARS WITH COMPANY: 7
I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT WHEN A RODEO DENTAL OFFICE APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE - RIGHT DOWN THE STREET FROM WHERE I GREW UP. Fresh out of dental assistant school, I was blown away with the Rodeo founders and staff. It was obvious they were building something special, and I feel so lucky to have been hired! During my first five years, I pushed myself to learn everything I could about dentistry and how to really connect with patients on an emotional level.
I got promoted to lead dental assistant, and then to the office leader! Imagine someone like me advancing all the way up to the leadership position! I’ve developed personal relationships with thousands of patients in my community, and it feels so great to help everyone get the oral health care they deserve. Now the company is growing so quickly, and to think it all started here in our Main Street office near the Stockyards! Rodeo is my home, and I’m going to stay here forever!
RADIOLOGY ASSOCIATES:
Christine Lee, senior teleradiology assistant YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 2
TO ME, RADIOLOGY ASSOCIATES OF NORTH TEXAS MEANS HOPEFULNESS, GRATEFULNESS, OPPORTUNITY, CHALLENGE, HARD WORK, TEAMWORK, AND FAMILY. Being able to walk down our halls and have everyone speak to you, no matter their title, lets me know how valued I am by this organization. I have worked in healthcare for over 25 years, but this is where I received my
first break in the IT field, and for that, I am grateful. Radiology Associates took me in and made me a part of their family.
I enjoy working with my teammates because we function like a well-oiled machine. We have worked to create a collaborative environment where team members jump in to help each other before ever being asked. We work on building new relationships every day, and I enjoy being a part of that. My role
at Radiology Associates allows me the opportunity to be able to assist patients, our imaging partners and the radiologists. My goal is to always give exceptional service to those who need us. I am very proud to say that I am a Senior Teleradiology Assistant for Radiology Associates of North Texas.
Amber Williams, registered nurse YEARS WITH COMPANY: 5
THE CENTER FOR
AND BLOOD
IS A GREAT COMPANY
WORK FOR. This company has been built on a strong foundation, creating a building block for employees to develop and grow. It is constantly adapting to the ever-changing world of medicine. This provides continuing education for employees, thus allows us to offer the latest and greatest treatment options for our patients. The Center supports many fundraising events which encourages employee participation and builds relationships between departments. I am very privileged to be part of a hard-working nursing staff. We are not only coworkers, but friends which generates a successful chemistry in the workplace. Making a positive difference in an individual’s cancer journey is the most rewarding part of my job. This would not be possible without the hard work and commitment from each person in each department at The Center. It is a blessing to be part of such an amazing team.
• Here’s a look at some of the fun benefits offered by our 16 Best Companies to Work For. And to be fair, great minds think alike. Many of these benefits are provided by more than one of our Best Companies:
• Educational assistance program reimburses up to $15,000 annually. – Apex Capital Corp.
• Week off between Christmas and New Year’s. – The Balcom Agency
• “Freaking Awesome Friday Happy Hour!” with food and beverages provided. –Forrest Performance Group
• Bring Your Dog to Work. Enough said. – Trinity Area Habitat for Humanity
• Flexible work schedules bend to employees’ needs. – Freese and Nichols
• Outdoor putting green and ping pong, and onsite gym under construction. – Gus Bates Insurance & Investments
• Corporate barista and coffee bar. – Huckabee
• 100 percent companypaid health and dental premiums for employees. – Pacheco Koch Consulting Engineers
• Company-wide Book War challenge with prizes. – Qualbe Marketing Group
• Profit-sharing. – Radiology Associates of North Texas
• Monthly bonuses.
– Rodeo Dental & Orthodontics
• Company-paid partnerships with eight local fitness studios.
– Satori Capital
• Profit-sharing. – The Baker Firm – Fidelity National Title
• Caring Coins prizes for individual achievement. – The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders
• Flex schedules. – The CSG Cos.
• Gameroom with minibasketball, foosball, and Wii. – Warren Douglas Advertising
INSPIRATION: Rodeo Dental was founded in 2008 with a mission of “providing every family the means to access high-end dental care”. Born in the Fort Worth Stockyards, its founders were inspired by the fun, laughter, and excitement that the Rodeo provided to all types of people – regardless of their ethnicity, financial standing, or social status.
RAPID GROWTH: Rodeo Dental opened its first office on Main St near the Stockyards and currently operates 11 Rodeo offices across Texas. With five new offices under construction, Rodeo will be serving up it’s special flavor of dentistry to urban and rural families across the entire state of Texas.
WOW CULTURE: Rodeo has a distinctive set of core values that empower employees and promote individuality and self-expression. Its unique culture fuels deep emotional connections with patients and produces spontaneous, one-of-a-kind experiences that are so fun they
light up social media venues. Rodeo’s dancing mascot, Moo Moo, is a family favorite and cultural Icon in the communities it serves!
PATIENT EXPERIENCE: Rodeo’s award-winning doctors and crazy staff team to provide awesome patient outcomes and genuine smiles. Every patient interaction is an opportunity to entertain – and build trust. At Rodeo, parents have a voice and make all decisions regarding treatment options! Sound too good to be true? See what their patients say by reading 1,000+ 5 Star Google reviews at each office!
RODEO CARES: Rodeo Dental spends an enormous amount of time and resources in philanthropical endeavors. It has helped thousands of underprivileged kids get the dental care they deserve! Every Rodeo office is deeply ingrained in its surrounding community and regularly evangelizes the importance of oral health care to Moms, schools, and other organizations.
Private equity firm looks to thrive on the principles of Conscious Capitalism – looking after all stakeholders.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
Satori Capital’s culture is built on the foundation of Conscious Capitalism, the practice that says a business thrives when it looks after the interests of all stakeholders.
“That’s the core of who we are,” Faith Geiger, the company’s stakeholder engagement manager, says. “That’s the lens we use to view the world.”
Conscious Capitalism permeates everything from recruiting to investments at the company, which invests in growing private companies. “When we hire people and when we on-board, we try to take a whole-person approach,” Geiger says. “We
explore – what do they want to bring to the workplace? What makes them thrive? People are always learning and always developing. That’s one of the reasons people leave a workplace – because they’re not intellectually stimulated.”
Satori, which has offices in Dallas and Fort Worth and recently was named as an approved workplace by the Blue Zones Project Fort Worth well-being initiative, looks for the same values in the companies it invests in. “If the values alignment is there and the growth potential is there, we believe it will help the business grow,” says Hope Kahan, the company’s operations manager.
Satori offers a panoply of benefits, including healthcare, 401(k), and longand short-term disability. It pays for corporate fitness memberships that employees propose and currently has eight such partnerships with local studios. It hosts periodic discussions on dimensions of personal energy, annual “gratitude dinners,” holiday events, and birthday benefits, in which it makes a contribution to employees’ charities of choice.
The company also encourages flexible schedules to allow employees to build the workday around their energies and needs. “Instead of having an environment where we frame what a day looks like, we empower employees to do that for themselves,” Willie Houston, the chief financial officer, says. “People
WHAT THE COMPANY DOES:
Invests equity in growing private companies that have $5-$25 million in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
EMPLOYEES: 23
FUN BENEFITS:
Lets employees define parameters of their work day, pays for corporate memberships with local fitness studios.
WHY THE COMPANY LETS EMP LOYEES FRAME THEIR WORK DAY:
“People rarely feel as if they’re making sacrifices to be here in their lives. That doesn’t mean we don’t work hard. We work really hard.”
WHY THE COMPANY LIKES TO INVEST IN COMPANIES SIMIIAR TO ITSELF:
“If the values alignment is there and the growth potential is there, we believe it will help the business grow.”
“We create value for investors; we partner with great people. We love business; we’re entrepreneurs. It’s the type of company where everybody plays a role.”
– Willie Houston, CFO
rarely feel as if they’re making sacrifices to be here in their lives. That doesn’t mean we don’t work hard. We work really hard.”
The company offers three weeks of paid vacation, plus major holidays, government holidays, and the week between Christmas and New Year’s. It also doesn’t track vacation usage. “What we find is we have to push people to take their time,” Geiger says. Casual dress is the order of the day.
Personal energy is a big focus. The company’s offices feature a Wall of Energy Rituals, including physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy. Employees make a commitment to something on the wall, such as working out more. “If you’re taking care of this,” Cami Miller, an operations analyst at the company, says of what’s on the wall, “then your performance should show that.”
The paid fitness memberships is a nod to that. “If we take cost out of the equation, they’re more likely to keep themselves fit,” Miller says. Satori offers joint workout times twice a week, brings in free healthy, catered lunches, and ensures its break room is filled with healthy snacks.
Another office wall, the Wall of Value Statements, offers encouraging expressions like “Be Present” and “Inspire.” All team meetings start with seven minutes of meditation – each employee gets to define that for themselves. “It’s just really to clear your mind so when you’re in the meeting, you’re present,” Miller says.
Some employees take daily walking meetings, walking around the block in the company’s West 7th district Fort Worth office. Others have standing desks with treadmills underneath. One of Houston’s energy rituals is to walk more. “There are studies that show getting some exercise will help you think better,” he says.
“There’s nothing healthy about sitting behind a desk for 10 hours and not moving and eating crap.”
“One of the reasons I came here was the emphasis on well-being,” Miller says.
“We create value for investors; we partner with great people,” Houston says. “We love business; we’re entrepreneurs. It’s the type of company where everybody plays a role.”
SATORI CAPITAL:
James Gorski, associate, investment team YEARS WITH COMPANY: 1.5
DESCRIBING WHY I LOVE WORKING AT SATORI, IT’S EASY TO FOCUS ON ALL OF THE PERKS THAT SET THIS COMPANY APART FROM OTHERS. To name a few, we have a healthy lunch brought in every day, participate in team meditation sessions, work out together, and maintain a sincere approach toward achieving work/life balance. We can also bring dogs to the office. Yet all of these benefits pale in comparison to the conscious culture that our team strives to cultivate. We celebrate learners, reward honest communication, seek a purpose higher than making money, and, most importantly, strive to create lasting value for all of our stakeholders. In many ways, our culture embraces the opposite of ‘what works’ in the asset management industry, and the most rewarding moments I have are when I realize how well it’s working. Perks may allow a company to attract skilled employees and increase their productivity, but creating an enduring firm culture that provides its employees with a sense of purpose firmly establishes Satori as one of the best places to work.
Williams Group at
THE CSG COS.:
Sandy Buck, benefit and reporting analyst YEARS WITH COMPANY: 3.5
WE SERVE OUR CLIENTS NOT AS INDIVIDUALS WORKING AT CSG BUT AS A ‘CSG TEAM,’ OFFERING VARIED EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE BROUGHT TO THE TABLE BY EACH EMPLOYEE. The positive atmosphere here begins with the partners who consider the employees to be fellow team members. Rarely is there a task that does not involve more than one of us working together to get the job done. When one succeeds, we all do. The basis of the way we conduct business at CSG begins with our commitment to a list of tenets and beliefs that we all agree upon and strive to practice daily. The underlying tone of our tenets is integrity. The long-term business relationships that we have attest to the fact that we work hard and we place our clients first in everything. Our partners have established a friendly, relaxed tone in the office. Family is first for each of us, and we are all encouraged to make the most of our time when away from work. We do, however, have fun together at monthly team building events and luncheons. Look for Team CSG Companies at The Cowtown Marathon!
Cammie Nowell, vice president, employee benefits YEARS WITH COMPANY: 10
I JOINED GUS BATES 10 YEARS AGO AFTER SELLING MY RETAIL BUSINESS OF 15 YEARS. I can’t believe all that we have accomplished during this time and how grateful I am to be a part of it! I can say ‘we’ because both Gus Sr. and Gus Stewart operate with a team approach. They ‘recruit’ great individuals to join the Gus Bates team and value candidates for their attitude, trustworthiness and work ethic. Because of this mentality, they listen and involve their employees in the decision-making
process to enhance growth. With sales being a naturally competitive environment, at Gus Bates, we take a different approach, by working as a team to ensure quality service and customer satisfaction. Throughout my career in the corporate realm, owning my own business and now being apart of the Gus Bates team, I have experienced the greatest happiness here. Personally, a very important aspect of this company is that we consider each other one big family. When my daughter was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, there was no question that I should take as much time as I needed to care for her, without adjusting my compensation at all. Everyone rallied behind us with support in so many ways, and we will never forget it. I am pleased to share that she is in remission and doing extremely well in college. I am so grateful to be a part of this great team that has become an extension of my family.
BAKER FIRM:
Whitney Van Eman, escrow officer
YEARS WITH COMPANY: 4
AS I AM WRITING THIS, ONE OF OUR MARKETERS WALKED BY MY OFFICE IN A FULL LEDERHOSEN COSTUME FOR OUR ANNUAL OKTOBERFEST PARTY. I never know what each day will bring, a driving force behind my continued commitment to the Baker Firm. When the Baker Firm opened its doors four years ago, I was one of the first people to join the team, and I feel a strong sense of pride seeing what all we have accomplished in that time. In this industry,
pp
BALCOM AGENCY:
we manage a high work volume in an intense, fast-paced environment, making teamwork the critical component to our success - one of my favorite things about working with this team. The Baker Firm’s leadership have worked hard to cultivate that environment, and it shines through in every individual in our office. We all have a vested interest in the success of the company with our participation in profit share. In a work hard, play hard model, you may find us celebrating
company accomplishments through team-building trips in New Orleans or Cabo, courtesy of our generous management. I feel blessed to work for people who not only care about the success of the company, they make it clear that the employees are their best asset. I have had the privilege to work with and learn from the best in the business and have enjoyed every minute of it.
rofit share. In a work ard, hard y model, you may find y us
Trey Sprinkle, brand creative director YEARS WITH COMPANY: 15
I’M THANKFUL TO WORK FOR A COMPANY THAT INVESTS IN ME AS AN EMPLOYEE AND AS A PERSON. Over the past 15 years at Balcom, I’ve been able to grow in my role because of the opportunities to be challenged and to learn, and I’ve been able to grow as a person through the interactions I’ve had with coworkers and industry peers. When people ask me about the culture at Balcom, I tell them we’re like a family. We spend each day working to overcome marketing challenges for our clients, and sometimes we have different ideas on how to do that, but at the end of the day we all genuinely like each other. That’s because the people here make the difference – people who are smart, who are dedicated to doing really great work, who care about our clients and one another. In an industry that brandishes a lot of superficial perks, Balcom focuses more on people and on culture. The benefits of enjoying what you do and who you do it with come naturally. I’ve said it for 15 years: I bleed purple. I love this company.
Laura Casciano, director of research, application & development YEARS WITH COMPANY: 6
THERE
LIKE FPG. The positive atmosphere is undeniable every single day; people smile, people laugh, people help, people are genuine. Negativity doesn’t survive here. Everyone wants each other to succeed, to grow, to do the things they never thought they could do. FPG truly believes in coaching their employees into becoming the best version of themselves, and I am a classic case. I started as an assistant and have been coached, mentored, supported, and encouraged into the position I now proudly hold. I would have never thought I could be where I am, and I know that it’s all thanks to FPG and the growth culture it lives by. No one is silenced, and every opinion holds weight. People feel appreciated and recognized for their dedication and hard work. FPG is a strong, solid company that is always evolving - never resting, and is constantly looking for the best new ways to be a source of confidence, hope, inspiration, and love for its employees and its clients. The positive energy here is contagious, and I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
Lauren Harris, director of leadership giving YEARS WITH ORGANIZATION: FEBRUARY 2014
I KNEW MY VERY FIRST DAY WHEN A REQUEST FOR PRAYER CONCERNS WAS MADE IN A STAFF MEETING, THAT I WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE. The Christian core of Trinity Habitat for Humanity allows for the understanding that your relationship with God and your family are your priorities and this provides a positive work/life balance. This Christian core also fuels the two attributes that set Trinity Habitat
attributes that set t t Habitat y homes e available s e
apart: Grace and Cooperation. This grace allows individuals to hold themselves accountable and know that everyone has limitations and occasionally makes mistakes. It is powerful to address an obstacle head on rather than spending precious resources pointing fingers. This is also where cooperation comes into play. Trinity Habitat is a family of individuals who have one clear goal: to make quality, affordable homes available to
those willing to partner with us. Because this mission is so clear, everyone works together to get the job done. Whether you are in a retail position in one of our ReStores or helping families through the process in our family services department, each of us comes to work each day because loving our neighbors is important to us. That makes for an incredible team of people!
Steve Hanthorn, creative director YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 10
WHAT A ACT DA T
Warren D of other f a r about Su the cooles e our big, r s studio Bu that make t honest cu t years m y in performa as comfo is s advertisin the best e o t
WHAT A GREAT FEELING IT IS, TURNING IN AT NIGHT AND ACTUALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WORK THE NEXT DAY. That’s my lucky reality, after nearly a decade at Warren Douglas in Fort Worth. Having spent time at a variety of other ad agencies during my career, I know what I’m talking about. Sure, having an ultra-hip building parked between two of the coolest neighborhoods in Fort Worth doesn’t hurt. Nor does our big, sun-filled kitchen and café area. Or the on-site recording studio. But it’s not these physical attributes of Warren Douglas that make it the best place ever to work. It’s the respectful and honest culture that’s been carefully tended and cultivated over the years by management that leads by example. A culture steeped in integrity and excellence, where positive virtues and exceptional performance are immediately recognized and rewarded. A culture as comfortable with mastering digital’s latest mousetrap as it is arguing over the day’s agency play list. Yes, there are many advertising agencies, but there’s only one Warren Douglas. And it’s the best one I’ve ever been a part of.
As a Tarleton student, Dr. Karla Dick majored in pre-med and played basketball for the TexAnns. She credits her college student-athlete experience with teaching her the time management skills and self-discipline necessary to graduate in the Top 10 of her medical school class and earn a spot in the prestigious John Peter Smith residency program.
Her career in family medicine allows her to diagnose and treat ailments that affect young and old, as well as incorporating education and all-important prevention strategies into her patient care.
The Tarrant Appraisal District continues to struggle through a new $2 million software system and criticism over leadership, but Chief Appraiser Jeff Law has powerful allies.
At the Sept. 16 meeting of the board of directors of the Tarrant Appraisal District, a proud chief appraiser began the 9 a.m. discussion by notifying his bosses that his office had won a big award.
TAD Chief Appraiser Jeffery D. Law compared the award to winning the World Series. “I think it is a high honor for us,” Law said.
But Law's comment was met with eye-rolling in the backrooms of county offices, the boardrooms of cities and school districts — even on the steps of the Texas Capitol.
“I got a problem with that,'' said state Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) the chairman of an influential state tax overhaul committee. “You don't take awards for stuff that doesn't work.”
At issue is a $2 million software system that is the basis for the appraisal district's
tax and valuation activity. Since it went “live" in October 2014, it has been criticized for producing rampant inaccuracies, errors and incomplete data. Also at issue is Law's leadership as the new system came on-line.
A lot is at stake. Law is in charge of highly sensitive data that powers the engines of the North Texas economy.
The chief appraiser has powerful allies at his side, including Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price. Price concedes there have been problems with the software.
“Anytime you make a conversion like that, you have a few issues,” she said in June.
Law has emphasized that he has helped clean up thousands of account errors. Each time, he's made promises to do better.
“I have committed to working with the tax office to give them right information, the correct information,” Law said at the Sept. 16 meeting.
But some say he's stuck in a denial that makes him ill-suited to get to the bottom of the problems.
One skeptic is Renee Tidwell, the Tarrant County auditor, who says precisely determining what is wrong is almost impossible and could take years.
In August, Tidwell got reports from the appraisal district that contained thousands of inconsistencies and changes that swung in different directions.
“I still have concerns about the accuracy of the information, but Mr. Law continues to tell everyone that problems are under
control and are being corrected,” Tidwell said.
and state lawmakers often say Law's office ignored a basic rule of bringing on new technology.
Instead of keeping the legacy mainframe running for a minimum of two years to be available for backup in case there are problems with the new software, it was turned off as the new one came on.
That gap was compounded by the fact that most of the mainframe technicians were unfamiliar with the computer language of the new software.
“I understand the desire to get off the legacy system,'' said Travis Farral, vice president of the Information Systems Security Association, Cowtown Chapter, a local group of technology experts.
“But slamming something new in place after it's been running for so many years? It's kind of an amateur mistake.”
Law, who makes almost $170,000 a year in his post, has taken responsibility for some of the missteps. “We are sorry that those we serve were impacted by a less than satisfactory implementation.” he said.
But he also wants some of the blame shifted to the technology vendor, Thomson Reuters.
He says the company did not lend a hand during the system's implementation.
Law said that because of a lack in technical support, the appraisal district did not pay the company the $793,000 it was owed. It also withheld payment on an additional $805,000.
“This is more than 50 percent of the total cost we would have incurred had the full implementation met our expectation,” Law wrote in response to questions on Oct. 4.
The company has said earlier that it designed the software system to be accurate and transparent to the public.
It said that it worked with Law in March to address issues and “to better equip" the appraisal district to effectively manage citizens' concerns and assessment appeals.
Another criticism is that counties and cities, for many months, were not kept in the loop about developments at the HandleyEderville offices of the appraisal district.
For instance, they had no idea that in October 2014, there was a software slowdown that did not permit appraisers to update data files. The slowdown made it harder to record the latest information about the taxable value of properties.
Critics say new properties in the county were likely missed, and last-minute changes to existing ones were not recorded.
Tidwell, the county auditor, pointed to this lack of communication in an August audit to Tarrant County Commissioners.
“During the implementation and conversion process, communication with TAD was insufficient and sporadic,'' she wrote in the audit. “In addition, end users were not part of the initial phases of the process nor were they given the opportunity to review and comment on the validity or integrity of the data files.”
DaiAnn Mooney, chief financial officer for the Grapevine-Colleyville school district, said it would have been a smoother transition if she and her staff had been offered some training.
Her staff had been accustomed to the format of the legacy system. The new system's reports were cumbersome to read, and there was little or no support.
“They really didn't go over anything with us,” Mooney said.
In July 2015, Law got hit with an avalanche of calls and questions from Mooney and others.
They wanted to know why the preliminary values released on July 2015 looked anemic compared to results of adjoining counties.
Denton County's taxable values shot up by 10 percent from 2014 to 2015. Dallas had increased 7.5 percent over the same period. Tarrant's number: 5 percent.
At that point, Law held a series of meetings with the taxing entities to reassure them.
But some school officials speculated that
the 2015 appraisals had been incomplete and that an undetermined number of properties had not been included in the overall $142 billion appraisal of taxable properties.
A January property value study of Tarrant County by the state comptroller of public accounts reported a gap in taxable values in the tens of millions of dollars.
Tidwell, in her August audit, said the county still had not received an “adequate explanation" for the difference in taxable values between Tarrant and its neighbors.
It's one of the worst things financial officers can do: Tell their bosses they overestimated revenues.
So, Tidwell, who is required to set revenues, didn't budge. She flatly told county commissioners that they wouldn't get additional revenue because the data from the appraisal district was unreliable.
The commissioners court by law cannot approve a budget that exceeds the auditor's revenue estimate.
Even as late as the Friday before she met with commissioners, Tidwell was still flagging errors on data files provided to her by the appraisal district.
Throughout the year, she said she received numerous unusable files. One file contained more than 800,000 records. Many accounts changed multiple times.
And she isn't the only one who says she can't trust the numbers. Elsie Schiro, chief financial officer with the Fort Worth school district, and Mooney from Grapevine-Colleyville, say the same.
“We have reason to doubt their overall processes are accurate,” Schiro said.
Some elected officials say they worry about the accumulation of inaccurate data. Some inconsistencies go back to 2014.
“These problems are very alarming,” Tarrant County Commissioner Andy Nguyen said. “They compromise the integrity of our county, and they erode the public trust in our system.”
Tidwell had no easy answer.
“I'm not sure how you fix it until every-
one eventually looks at their tax bill.” she said.
It's pretty typical for taxpayers to get angry at Ron Wright, the county tax-assessor collector, for what they owe.
But it's highly unusual for Wright's tax office to owe taxpayers $13 million in one swoop. Usually, refunds trickle in and are paid throughout the year. In September, however, an avalanche of up to three years’ worth of refunds were due.
The oversight wasn't Wright's fault, though. Wright doesn't determine how much taxes you pay. The appraisal district does. (His job is to bill you.)
In late summer, Wright got hit by a data file that contained hundreds of thousands of records with questionable changes.
“It was a mess,” Wright said of the data file report. “Just rubbish.”
Tidwell, the county auditor, said data files contained an unusual amount of exceptions, including errors that ranged from duplicate homestead exemptions on the same account to missing address information. Other errors included changes prohibited by the property tax code and duplicate cities or schools on the same account.
Wright suspected that the jumbled files were attributed to an upgrade to the software system in April. But Law declined to answer written questions about whether the errors in the reports were related to the upgrade, nor did he provide details of its results.
Normally, Wright's cash reserves are flush in November, December and January near the deadline for people to pay their taxes. But this July, August and September, he didn't have enough money on hand to cover the refunds.
He had to send letters to 67 taxing entities, including school districts and cities, to tell them they wouldn't get their money on time. The county and the cities of Fort Worth and Arlington each were owed about $1 million.
Wright only got out of the jam when the
county loaned itself money to cover the rest of the refunds.
Needless to say, he's not a fan of the appraisal district's software. “We haven't gone three months without a major problem,'' Wright said.
“We expected a year of problems; two years is unacceptable,'' he said. “There cannot be a third.”
OPTIONS Law has told his bosses that he has assembled a team that reviews data file reports before they are shipped to Wright's tax office.
He's also said he will improve communications with Wright's office. Tidwell has agreed to send some of her staff to Law's office to help validate reports.
And an audit of the software system by a Fort Worth firm, due in November, is expected to give recommendations for improving operations.
But repairing the public trust is another matter. As tax protest hearings come to a close this fall, some tax agents already have noticed that they and their clients have received letters of determination that
contain errors.
Tracy Stanley, an Arlington tax agent, has shared those errors with two other tax agents who saw the same problem.
If it's system-wide, the notices of determination for the more than 100,000 taxpayers who filed a tax protest this year might not be right. (A preliminary report showed Tarrant's taxable property values from 2015 to 2016 rose 14 percent. The exact number still has to be confirmed.)
“This nightmare is just beginning,” Stanley said. “It's going to get smoking hot when the tax office starts getting information that's wrong.
“This nightmare is going to continue until a new vendor is selected.”
But the option of pulling out is not a popular or economical one, officials say.
While Wright, who describes himself as “so snake-bit,” he wouldn't recommend the product to anyone, he also says it won't be easy to simply toss the new software system.
The appraisal district is “too heavily invested and they have nothing to go back to other than what they've got.” he said. .
Cally Smoke was the sort of kid who scraped the bark off sticks, sprinkled them with cinnamon, then sold the improvised potpourri door-to-door until her neighbors gave up and took them off her hands. Smoke was such a budding entrepreneur, she imagined up fake businesses with fake record-keeping, like her fake babysitting service.
“If somebody didn’t pay me to watch their fake kid, they didn’t get their fake kid back,” Smoke says. Smoke was studying at St. Louis University more than a decade ago when her father, Nick Massey, suggested she consider taking the plunge with him in a small portable toilet business he had launched in Lewisville. Perhaps not remarkably, portable toilets had never occurred to Smoke.
“I was thinking of law school,” says Smoke, who grew up in Omaha, Neb., and majored in communications at SLU with a minor in Spanish. “That was pretty much the plan since I was 7.” Smoke liked to read, and a friend of her mother’s noticed. “She said if you like to read, you should be a lawyer. If you want to be a rich lawyer, you should be in business.”
That Smoke, 32 today, gave up the law for portable toilets wasn’t such a deep dive. A “natural salesman” who says she learned from watching her grandfather, Smoke saw the portable toilet business as an opportunity to work with her father, who had started the business off of a modular construction company he’d already built. Massey began with a single federal contract for 200 toilets in a staging area for Hurricane Katrina relief in Fort Worth; two years later, the Federal Emergency Management Agency contract was up, and Massey needed to figure out what to do with the toilets.
“Nobody’s going to give you this opportunity
Fort Worth family deepens dive into portable toilets, sees new growth opportunity for their 10-year-old Forest Hill company
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA / PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL CLOUSER
at 21,” says Smoke, explaining why she came into the company 10 years ago in late spring 2006 and began immediately stalking prospective accounts.
‘A RACE TO THE BOTTOM’ Then, the company owned 250 toilets. By 2012-13, it had as many as 800 units. Today, the company - called MMG Building & Construction Services - has about 5,000 toilets, ranging from standard single portables to luxury trailers, and serves events as large as races at Texas Motor Speedway. It has about 50 employees, 24 pump trucks, 14 restroom trailers with running water, and 1,500 customers, and it operates from a sprawling lot north of Interstate 20 in the Forest Hill suburb of Fort Worth. The company, privately held by Smoke, Massey, her uncle Jeff Mackie, and other investors, doesn’t disclose sales. But sales have grown more than 30 percent annually for the last five years, Nick Mackie says.
It hasn’t been easy. The company has been buffeted by recession (it diversified its business lines in response) and competition. Jeff Mackie, 57, who joined the company as president five years ago to take over operations and let Smoke focus on sales, estimates there
are 25,000-30,000 total portable toilet units available for rent in North Texas.
MMG – the acronym stands for Murillo Modular Group, Nick Massey’s original modular construction business, which he sold later – has tried not to get caught up in the resulting price competition, deciding to cut loose of low-paying business it couldn’t afford to support.
“A lot of it’s price, a race to the bottom,” Smoke, the vice president of sales, says. “Which is unsettling,” adds Nick Mackie. Jeff Mackie and Smoke run the business today; Nick Mackie, 55, helps MMG with strategy and still runs a modular construction business, based in Plano.
Smoke has managed to build portable toilets into her lifestyle, getting engaged to her husband-to-be Kyle at Rockefeller Center in New York while the two were on a trip to Jersey City, N.J., for the Portable Sanitation Association International convention. The couple is expecting their first baby in February; Smoke is trying to determine how much time she’ll take off. “That remains to be seen,” she jokes.
‘DOUBLING’ THE SALES STAFF The company believes it’s positioned for continued growth. A year ago, it bolstered the sales staff (just Smoke), adding an account executive. “We doubled our sales staff,” Jeff Mackie jokes. MMG has restructured ownership, bringing in outside investors. The company has long resisted the temptation to buy competitors or their assets, which it believes has better allowed it to ensure reliability of service.
But Jeff Mackie says there may be suitable acquisition opportunities. The company estimates it has a half-dozen primary competitors in North Texas today, compared to 25 when Smoke joined the company. New competitors have popped up in the last three to four years with the housing market’s strength and the energy industry’s weakness.
“The housing market’s off the charts; the oil patch is out of whack,” Jeff Mackie says. “Some competitors came in from the oil patch. The water’s great. Come on in. It’s nice and warm.”
But the industry has been consolidating at the same time. Major competitor United Site Services earlier this year purchased Waste Partners, another major competitor, which the Mackies and Smoke believe boosts MMG’s attractiveness as a hometown company. Additionally, some long-timers in the local market may be ready to exit, the MMG executives say.
“I think we’re not done yet getting market share,” Mackie says. “I’d like to think over the next year or so we could identify some candidates to purchase. We can’t continue to grow [organically] at 35 percent. We’re going to have to do it by acquisition.”
MMG’s desire to grow organically is rooted in what it believes differentiates the company from competitors. MMG touts its on-time performance, cleanliness of units, and simple billing, and it’s working with the industry to try to improve the image of the product, the better for long-term business.
“We think we do a better job than anybody else,” Jeff Mackie says. “It’s nothing fancy. We just deliver it on time, clean it on time, and remove it on time.”
SINKING CASH IN TOILETS The company’s growth today is capital-intensive, and it touts those investments as a differentiator. Nick Mackie remembers he sunk about $25,000 to start the toilet business, which got him a toilet and a leased truck.
“Anytime we grow [today], it’s new equipment we bring on board,” Smoke says. “We’re able to offer a brand new product where other people can’t.” Today, it costs about $125,000 to buy a pump truck, and $5,000-$7,000 a year in maintenance, Jeff Mackie estimates. But the fact that the company’s business is typically tied up by contracts makes it easier to make the investments. “It’s long term, and you can count on the revenue,” Mackie says.
The company has also fully digitized its service system, installing GPS units on its vehicles and equipping drivers with cell phones to help make routes as efficient as possible. “We know how long it takes to clean a unit; we know how long a route takes to drive,” Mackie says. Technology “has driven down our costs considerably. We’re able to be more productive. The more productive you are in this business, the better off you are.”
The company’s also levering its investments in equipment and technology with secondary businesses, such as construction fencing, which some other competitors offer. Fencing is a small, but growing piece of MMG’s business.
recession hit and decimated housing, it went into special events and municipal contracts, both starting in 2010. Today, residential accounts for 45 percent of the business, and commercial, 30 percent, Jeff Mackie says. Even with the diversification, residential construction is still the company’s bread and butter and is MMG’s fastest growing segment.
“Like it or not, we are tied hook, line and sinker to the residential construction market,” Mackie says.
The company also raised prices during the recession. That meant the loss of some business from clients who wanted the company to cut its prices, but it shored up margins and led to five straight years of big sales growth.
“We had to decide which accounts we wanted to service and which ones we wanted to maintain,” Smoke says. “Sometimes, you have to walk away from the business.”
Says Jeff Mackie: “We had to raise prices. We were just way too low. We were just a tad bit above our costs, and you can’t operate that way. It was painful.”
“I’d like to think over the next year or so, we could identify some candidates to purchase.”
“We’re already on the job site; what else can we do for the client to make their job easier?” Jeff Mackie says. “We did what every good American does. We stole the idea from folks who were already doing it. I’m not that smart.”
The company is certainly a long ways from 2004, when Nick Mackie founded the company on a one-year contract with FEMA. The toilets were in place at the FEMA staging area in Fort Worth during 2005, and FEMA began releasing them back to the company in 2006.
Smoke, who lost interest in law school after studying in Spain for a semester, taking humanities courses and Latin Dance, landed in Fort Worth at the tail end of the FEMA contract. By that fall, she landed a 500-unit account with a homebuilder. “I knew that was big,” Smoke says. “We had to buy a truck and hire people.”
Another big account came in 2008, with floods in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, another FEMA contract. Hurricane Ike hit the Texas Gulf Coast as the Iowa contract was wrapping up, giving the company another contract.
The company, already in residential construction and disaster relief, diversified into commercial construction. And when the
The company’s special events include the Alliance Air Show, Komen Fort Worth, and races at Texas Motor Speedway, where it puts out 9001,000 toilets. It also serves events at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas and former President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, near Waco. Other major industry clients include the Thomas S. Byrne construction contractor.
–Jeff Mackie, MMG
The company’s city contracts include Fort Worth, Arlington, Hurst and Grapevine. In restructuring its ownership with outside capital and borrowing power earlier this year, Smoke, formerly the majority owner, gave up some of her ownership and is no longer the majority owner. That means the company gave up its status as woman-owned in March, but Smoke says she doesn’t think that will be a problem in getting renewals of MMG’s city contracts because no competitor fits that bill.
Today, the company is in its seventh home, starting in Lewisville and landing in Forest Hill five years ago. It’s looking at the possibility of expanding into other markets, Smoke says.
The company typically has 3,600 toilets on rent to construction sites and parks, leaving the remainder for special events like the speedway races. In May this year, it had 3,200 units on rent; that was up from 2,369 a year earlier, Jeff Mackie says. “For having as many units as we have on rent, there’s still a lot of opportunity for us to take on,” Smoke says.
Its work with the industry on improving portable toilets’ image is meant to help drive new business from potential clients that don’t use portable toilets today.
“We provide dignity, we provide privacy,” Smoke says. “If you’ve got five people on a job site that have to leave four, five times a day to go to a gas station, how much are you losing?”
Broke at 50, a Springtown businessman founds an insurance adjustment company that went to $100 million in annual sales within its first five years.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA / PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX LEPE
Don Lamont likes to say his entrepreneurial journey began when he was 8 and went door-to-door selling bottles of rug shampoo that his father, a vacuum salesman, had brought home.
His journey has been a career of ups and downs. Broke in his middle age when the recession dealt his home-building business a fatal blow, he says, he started an insurance adjusting company, D.A. Lamont Public Adjusters, in 2011. Today, the company is licensed in 22 states and does about $100 million in annual sales, depending on the big disasters like hailstorms he works. He has nine full-time employees and 15 subcontractors, working from a home base on Highway 199 in Springtown.
Lamont serves on the board of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, which sprouted the idea, he says, to go big. At age 56, with seven daughters and 15 grandchildren, Lamont, whose first wife died years ago, is now remarried to Ronda, who helps run the business. He helps fund a Honduran orphanage that his dad, still alive, founded in retirement. And Lamont, a pilot who flies a bush plane and a six-passenger Bonanza for business, finds plenty of time to get away.
“We make more money than we’ve ever made and been more blessed than we’ve ever been,” he says.
Where the Entrepreneurial Journey Began My entrepreneurial journey began at the age of 8 when my father, who was selling vacuum cleaners, brought home some samples, some little bottles of shampoo. I asked him if I could have them. He said, ‘sure,’ so he gave me a box of them. I went door-todoor, selling them for $1.
On How His Dad Finished His Career
Always a new project for him. He went to Honduras and started an orphanage. It’s still running today. It has 59 kids. They raise kids to be better Hondurans. Our firm is the single biggest donor.
What Happened Af-
ter Age 8 I had my first business failure at 22 in the remodeling business. A guy went bankrupt on me and took me with him. We were building houses, and we started building more houses. And then in 2009, we lost everything. I was almost 50 and broke. I had to do something, so I started this company (in 2011). We go all over the place. We’re licensed in 22 states. In five years, we built this company to $100 million in sales, and we started three other businesses since then, all expert companies in the insurance business.
On His Education (Associate Degree,
Tarrant County College) I went to night school when my kids were little, for like 12 to 15 years. I’m a big self-educator. I believe in that. I think everybody can learn anything if they apply themselves.
On Starting Up I just hit on all my natural skills: knowledge of construction, good sales, experience. We have a lot of testimonials of our work. When I built our company, I did it on integrity, on honesty. That’s a thread that doesn’t change.
Key Moment I joined EO in 2012, 2013, and somebody in my (member) forum said something about big
deals. I left there with big deals in my head; I came back to the office and pulled the group together and said we’re going to do big deals (large losses). The multimillion-dollar loss is kind of a specialty; many of these (adjusters) can’t do those because they’re expensive. Within a very short amount of time, we had our first $50 million deal (hail claim from the Amarillo public schools). We were probably doing $40-$50 million in claims a year.
Key Pieces for Expansion Money. We were self-funded. It was a lot of self-discipline. It was being frugal. Then we have the money to re-invest in ourselves.
On Getting Away I probably take three months of vacation a year. I have more time and more freedom than I’ve ever had. I can leave the company, and it runs on its own. I’m an avid bush pilot (with a single-engine, two-seater Husky), and I like to fly my plane to Alaska (five days, 30 hours of flying). I like to fly where there’s no airports. Gravel bars, mountain tops and glaciers. To see America from 500 feet is unbelievable.
How Often He Flies A couple of times a week, at least. It’s a big stress reliever for me to fly my bush plane.
BY JASON FORREST Forrest Performance Group
The market is cyclical: It’s as true and reliable as death and taxes. But if we don’t learn from previous downturns, we’re in danger of going under the next. And according to Mike Coffey, whose company, called Imperative, barely eked through the 2009 downturn, predictions say the next one is likely to come in 2019. Now is a good time to capitalize on everything we learned from the last. One tried and true lesson in business and life is that
sometimes the safest place to be is the one that feels the scariest.
For example, lions’ intimidating teeth and deafening roars are designed to provoke fear. But the real danger lies with the smaller, quieter lionesses. In the animal kingdom, the lion’s job is to roar and send prey scattering away from the startling noise—right into the path of the waiting lionesses, the true hunters. If gazelles knew to run toward the frightening sound, they would have a better chance of survival. The
roar doesn’t represent the real danger. When the economy roared at Mike Coffey and his business suffered a tough blow, he had a choice to make. He could either quit and go back to the safe corporate world he’d left or adapt to the new information he was learning and trans-
How much more effective did this business become when it re-evaluated priorities during the recession? Please see Jason Forrest's video interview at fwtx.com/fwinc/videos.
Through the tough economy, Mike Coffey re-evaluated his priorities, time, and business practices and learned he could rebuild his company in a way that would sustain future market challenges.
form his business. In 2009, Mike’s company, Imperative, was losing business as his clients slowed hiring in response to a tough market. His company, which offers “Bulletproof Background Screening,” provides a premium service and has a huge satisfaction rate. But when people aren’t hiring much at all, there’s not much need for his service—no matter how much Imperative’s clients like what they get.
Through the tough economy, Mike learned that he could not just rebuild his company, but by reevaluating his priorities, time, and business practices, he could build it in a more effective way that would sustain future market challenges.
In hindsight, Mike feels the biggest mistake he made was leaving his CEO
group. He thought it was best to shift attention to his company, but realized later that the hard times are when he would’ve benefited from his CEO group the most. Such a group is filled with masterminds, people “of great intelligence or executive talent, especially [those who] direct an undertaking.” Having access to people from a variety of industries who know more than we do in their areas of expertise allows people to learn from their experience and adjust perspectives, when needed.
Think and Grow Rich describes such a place as a “mastermind group”—an outlet to share ideas, learn best practices, and benefit from others’ brains, experience, and belief systems. The book describes such a group as “a coordination
of knowledge and effort and a spirit of harmony between two or more people for the attainment of definite purpose.” The benefits of such a coordination are invaluable—like having a “third mind.”
The other thing Mike did to bolster against the next downturn was to work on internal practices. He hired an outside consulting company to create improved processes, procedures and workflow to make the company more efficient, effective and profitable. Such a third-party consulting company can help improve internal operations by creating key performance indicators, clearly define roles and objectives, and make communication/meetings more productive. The company Mike hired led employees to take individual ownership of the business, something he says changed operations dramatically for the better. Like gazelles, humans sometimes have an instinctive desire to shy away when something looks and sounds scary. But often, running toward those challenges and conflicts is the best or only way to grow and meet our goals. In business, those who run from the deafening noise never reach their full potential, while those who turn and face the fear thrive. Mike certainly thought about quitting when times got rough, but he faced the roar and is better for it. He feels ready for the inevitable time that the market throws some curveballs his way. There will be another downturn. We don’t have a choice about that. What we do choose is how we look at it and what we do to prepare for it.
Jason Forrest is CEO of Forrest Performance Group, a global leader and designer of sales, management, and corporate training programs. This year, the company made the Inc. 5000 list. Forrest grew up “under the influence” of his father, a business owner and professional salesman, and his mother, a persuasive speaking professor. Jason writes Running
BY BILL THORNTON
President and Chief Executive
Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce
When you read about Fort Worth’s economic development achievements, it’s probably in the context of the relocation or expansion of an aviation company, manufacturer or logistics provider. However, over the course of many decades, Fort Worth also has established a dynamic life sciences community to meet the city’s health care needs and foster medical innovations that will solve our world’s most critical life science challenges. This sector continues to generate a great deal of business opportunities for our city and for the region.
North Texas’ health care infrastructure comprises more than 450 biomedical companies and more than 1,100 research, development and testing laboratories. It is estimated that about 222,700 North Texas residents are employed in the life sciences industry, making the industry a substantial job generator.
The same is true on a statewide level, with roughly 3,900 life sciences firms located in Texas. Last year, Texas ranked third nationally for the number of clinical trials, with approximately 20,400 studies
underway, according to the National Institute of Health.
In particular, Fort Worth benefits from the presence of numerous pharmaceutical companies. One of the earliest pharmaceutical companies to establish its local footprint is Alcon Laboratories, a division of Novartis that specializes in the development of medical eye care products. Alcon was founded in 1945 as a small pharmacy in Fort Worth and was named for its founders, pharmacists Robert Alexander and William Conner. The company was purchased by Nestlé in 1977 and has since expanded its product line and its outreach. Today, Alcon has operations in 75 countries, and its products are sold in 180 countries. The company’s U.S. headquarters remains in Fort Worth, and it has continued to expand its footprint.
Galderma is another global pharmaceutical company with a long history in Fort Worth. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nestlé that specializes in the research, development and marketing of dermatological treatments. Its products are used to treat conditions such as acne, rosacea, psoriasis and other steroid-responsive dermatoses, fungal nail infections, pigmentary disorders, skin cancer and skin senescence.
In October 2015, Galderma selected Fort Worth for a $22 million expansion of its op-
erations that will be supported by a $2.052 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund. The project includes construction of a 100,000-square-foot building that will house Galderma’s training, marketing, sales and regulatory affairs divisions. The expansion will create at least 350 new jobs, which will double the company’s employee base in Fort Worth.
Medical device companies also have a significant impact on the state and local economy. In excess of $1.3 billion in venture capital was invested in 161 biotech and medical device ventures in Texas between 2008 and 2013. Additionally, an estimated 700 firms employ approximately 15,400 highly skilled workers in this sector, making Texas one of the top 10 states in the nation for its medical device labor force. In Fort Worth, this sector is represented by companies such as Medtronic Powered Surgical Solutions, a global manufacturer of surgical tools, and Ferris Manufacturing, a manufacturer of wound care products.
Other area players in this space are Avcor Health Care, product developer and manufacturer of elastic, cohesive compression dressings and bandages; Smith & Nephew, recognized global experts across the full spectrum of wound care solutions and joint replacement systems; Medco Health Solutions, pharmaceutical consultants; Sovereign Pharmaceutical, which specializes in wholesale pharmaceutical products; US Oncology, industry leading cancer research and treatment center; and Virbac Corp., manufacturer of veterinary equipment and medicine.
The education and training of life sciences professionals in Texas and North Texas further reinforce the economic impact of this industry sector. In 2014 alone, Texas public institutions of higher education spent nearly $2.5 billion on medical and life sciences research, accounting for more than 56 percent of all higher education research and development expenditures in the state.
Locally, the University of North Texas (UNT) Health Science Center in Fort Worth is a major driver and collaborator in medical research and cutting-edge
technologies that are gaining ground in the fight against diseases.
For instance, the UNT Health Science Center is partnering with a statewide consortium to identify genes and biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
North Texas’ health care infrastructure comprises more than 450 biomedical companies and more than 1,100 research, development and testing laboratories.
As well, the UNT Health Science Center has established an Institute of Applied Genetics, in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the University of Granada in Spain, to create a worldwide database to help reunite missing children with their parents. The UNT Health Science Center is also home to the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, one of the nation’s leading medical schools for training physicians in comprehensive primary care
and rural medicine.
A recent partnership established between Texas Christian University and the UNT Health Science Center to offer an M.D. program is another example of how Fort Worth is preparing the next generation of life sciences professionals. The first class will matriculate in 2018.
In addition to supporting educational and training programs to prepare future generations for careers in the life sciences and facilitation of research and development programs, Fort Worth is also taking steps to support life sciences entrepreneurs. Regional initiatives such as TECH Fort Worth provide resources to emerging biotech companies during the startup phase.
While many industries will experience ebbs and flows, ongoing efforts to maintain and improve the quality of human life means there will always be a critical focus on life sciences. From nursing and medical staff at local hospitals and clinics, to researchers and developers at pharmaceutical and medical device companies, the life sciences community will remain a strong local economic driver.
Only three of every 10 third-graders in the 87,000-student Fort Worth Independent School District are reading on grade level. Why should business owners care? Here’s why.
BY KAREN VERMAIRE FOX
Real Estate Council of Greater Fort Worth
nonprofit and volunteer leaders to ensure that 100 percent of Fort Worth thirdgraders are reading to learn - not learning to read - by 2025.
Why should you care? Here are a just a few interesting facts to consider:
•In Texas, 39 percent of third-graders are reading to learn. In El Paso, 38 percent of third-graders are reading to learn compared to 28 percent of thirdgraders in Fort Worth. Austin, Houston and San Antonio third-graders are more prepared than third-graders in Fort Worth.
Fo acy. kids can
et’s talk Fort Worth and literThis is not another article on why kids can’t read (although only 28 percent of Fort Worth third-graders are reading on grade level currently). This is an article on what Fort Worth is doing
•For the past 25 years, the per capita income in Fort Worth has been lower in both Texas and the U.S. when adjusted for inflation.
28 percent of t Fort are on g gra is an article on wh about that t fact. t
•The tax base in the past 20 years has dropped to 41 percent commercial from 56 percent, with the residential base shouldering 59 percent of the burden.
With more than Worth is one of th f in the U.S and ran d ies in which to rais a But thr in the 87,0 Scho t on level, rea fourth and d There is an i Fort Worth t prove ensu have reac
With more than 830,000 residents, Fort Worth is one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. and ranked among the best cities in which to raise a family and to find a job. But only three of every 10 thirdgraders in the 87,000-student Fort Worth Independent School District are reading on grade level, ready to read to learn in fourth grade and beyond. There is an indisputable need in Fort Worth to change course, improve early childhood literacy, ensure that our children have the opportunity to reach their potential and strengthen the future workforce. Championed by Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, Superintendent Kent Scribner and BNSF Executive Chair Matt Rose, Fort Worth is forming an unprecedented coalition of business, civic, education, philanthropic,
•More surprisingly significant is the fact that our population in poverty has increased to 19 percent from 14 percent over the last 25 years, and this is well above the U.S. poverty rate.
Not only is focusing on reading to learn the right thing to do - it is what must happen to provide Fort Worth with an educated workforce that can bring about the economic development we need to improve our community.
There is a plan in place for action. It’s called a “collective impact approach,” to be facilitated by The Fort Worth Literacy Partnership. Rather than create something totally new, the Partnership will support collective work already happening and focus on:
•Using data to engage community expertise to identify key challenges and levers to act upon.
•Creating and maintaining a public web portal that allows users to monitor campus progress toward the 100x25 goal. The preliminary website is www.ReadFortWorth.com.
•Communicating data and practices that work to drive behavior change.
Not only is focusing on reading to learn the right thing to do, it is what must happen to provide Fort Worth with an educated workforce that can bring about the economic development we need to improve our community.
• Celebrating bright spots, especially in schools where students are beating the odds despite challenges. Spreading success from bright spots schools to others with similar demographics and challenges.
• Measuring campus reading assess-
ment results, both annually and periodically throughout the school year to identify what works and where course correction is needed.
• Engaging the community in broad, structured efforts to advance early childhood literacy efforts toward the 100x25 goal.
That part about engaging the community is important. It is where the citizens of Fort Worth, those with kids in any kind of schooling program and those without kids at all, get involved.
Improving our education system has been top goal for the Real Estate Council of Greater Fort Worth (REC of GFW) for the last five years. The members of The Council remain engaged and ready to make sure all third-graders are reading to learn. As the partnership grows, REC of GFW will support the overall year-one
deliverables of the Literacy Partnership to promote effective volunteer reading programs in our schools, support a common pre-enrollment period to increase overall enrollment, promote and support a 2017 summer literacy campaign and watch for improvements on the public web portal. REC of GFW looks forward to engaging the rest of Fort Worth in this imperative agenda as well.
It's just 6 percent of the state’s GDP today, as oil prices edge toward triggering boost in the rig count.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
Ask an oilman when the industry is headed for a rebound, and he’ll tell you he’s stopped making predictions because he’s always wrong. Where are things heading into 2017? To start with, energy has shrunk dramatically as a percentage of Texas GDP since 2014, but the state’s diverse economy has been able to shoulder that, says Robert Kaplan, the new chief of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Kaplan shared some thoughts during a recent appearance before the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.
6 Texas energy, as a percentage of the state’s GDP today. That compares to 13 percent in 2014. Kaplan: “Even at that, the state should hold its own because it’s done so well in many other industries.”
$55-$60 What it’ll take to put a charge in the rig count. Crude oil traded at around $50 per barrel in midOctober. With the U.S. rig count at about 70 percent of its numbers a year earlier, “we think we need to see $55-$60 a barrel oil before we see significant rig count,” Kaplan said.
2 Projected percentage job growth in 2017. Sluggish because of numerous factors, Kaplan said.
China: On high debt-to-GDP: “We don’t think that’s sustainable.” But entrepreneurship and the middle class are growing. Borrowers and lenders are both government. “We think they’ll work that out. The world is going to have to get used to lower growth in China.”
Other major continuing drags on GDP growth: Continued retirements of aging baby boomers (“It’s the most fundamental reason for slower growth GDP”), disruptive competition (“There’s a disruptive competitor in almost every industry”), infrastructure needs, and needs for changes in education and entitlements.
Educational attainment: “We need to improve educational attainment, or Texas GDP will fall. You need to improve attainment at all levels. It’s in all our interests.”
Lagging literacy among gradeschoolers: “We’re going to have to go at (age) zero to eight. Government is not set up well to do that. There’s a lot businesses can do to help improve educational attainment.”
Business’ awareness of this issue: “Not as aware as we need to be.”
Economic growth: “The economy doesn’t feel like it’s overheated. It’s because of these issues.”
Interest rates: “I think we can be patient and very gradual (with any rate hikes), and I think we will be.”
Impact of free trade on local U.S. economies, and loss of jobs to overseas markets: Trade carries net benefits to the U.S. economy, he said. “The negative is it creates local dislocations. We think the balance of payments is manageable.”
What Is It and Why Is It a Big
FW Inc. magazine has created the area’s first and only Entrepreneur of Excellence (EOE) awards competition to showcase and honor the contributions of exceptional entrepreneurs in the Greater Fort Worth area. The program evaluates each entrepreneur’s vision, leadership, innovation and relationship building, along with their
SPONSORED BY:
company’s financials and best practices to establish the winners.
Three finalists from each category will be highlighted in FW Inc.’s January/February issue, with the final winners being featured in the March/April issue. For more details on the awards, go to fwtx.com/fwinc/eoe.
AWARDS BANQUET JANUARY 12, 2017
Time to gird for more changes, particularly if you’re in the individual market for health insurance.
BY CAMMIE NOWELL
Vice President of Employee Benefits
Bates Insurance & Investments
Americans are now feeling the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), particularly with individuals that simply want quality, affordable health insurance. The federal government’s Open Enrollment is upon us beginning Nov. 1, with many changes ahead for 2017 and beyond.
Under ACA, most individuals are required to have health insurance or pay a penalty. For 2016, the penalty is $695 per adult, $347.50 per child under 18, or 2.5 percent of one's total household adjusted gross income. At the same time, the employer mandate rules require that employers with 50 or more employees provide health insurance for their employees
or pay a steep penalty. This undoubtedly pits the employer against the employee at times, one of many unintended consequences of the ACA.
What happens to those employees who work for small businesses that aren’t required to offer group health insurance? What do individual entrepreneurs do when starting a business?
The federal government’s Health Insurance Marketplace still exists where an individual might receive a subsidy if his or her income is less than 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level; if he or she is under age 65 and not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid; or if he or she is an individual who files a joint tax return if married and cannot obtain coverage from the spouse’s group plan. Without a subsidy, individuals are finding out that their choices are becoming more limited and often aren’t affordable.
In Texas, we have already experienced a tumultuous individual enrollment period in 2015 when Blue Cross Blue Shield announced it would no longer offer PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) plans in the individual market beginning Jan. 1, 2016. Blue Cross had 70 percent market share in the state. Although it continued to offer plans in the Blue Cross HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) network, individuals discovered their doctors and hospitals weren’t part of this network and therefore were not accepting the coverage. Blue Cross stated it had paid out millions more in claims than premiums collected. With losses that substantial, it was no longer sustainable. In recent months, other major carriers are taking it a step further. Aetna, Cigna, Baylor Scott & White and Humana have all recently announced they will discontinue certain individual plans in select states including Texas. All are exiting the federal exchange, including the nation’s largest private insurer, United Healthcare. How does an individual plan for the future? On the Healthcare.gov website, 2017 plans and prices became available for preview Nov. 1. The Kaiser Family
Foundation published an analysis in July concerning premium changes and participation in the federal marketplace. They are predicting higher increases in premiums than in recent years. Participation will be lower than in 2016, especially with United Healthcare exiting the marketplace.
Small businesses are also finding plans difficult because of limited choices and increasing rates. Even before there was a mandate, companies chose to offer health benefits to their employees for very good reasons. Benefits tend to increase employee retention and are a recruiting tool. Most would agree that health insurance is necessary, especially with today’s high costs of health care and prescriptions. The lower the deductible, the higher the premium has been the norm. It appears that companies are having to increase deductibles to keep financial obligations sound. Even with a cap on the deductible at some point, it will become unsustainable.
This challenges the carriers to be more creative and offer more affordable choices. In recent years, most carriers have introduced a level funded plan option (self-funded) to small businesses. These small businesses would normally not be eligible due to their size. Self-funding allows a company to have more control over how its dollars are spent and a better understanding of the expenses incurred. There is a benefit if health care costs go down as well as stop-loss insurance protection for unexpected large claims. Level funding has the financial predictability of fixed monthly payments like a fully insured plan. If the actual claims are lower than expected at the end of the year, a business can receive a credit to put toward future health plan costs. Exclusive Provider Organization plans (EPO) have also been a cost-saving option in which a member can use the doctors and hospitals within the EPO network but cannot go outside the network for care. There are no out-of-network benefits. Depend-
ing on your geographic area, this is a good viable option.
Regarding individual insurance, the next two years will be challenging in Texas. A great deal will depend on who is elected president and if the powers in control dismantle or maintain Obamacare. In the meantime, the remaining
A-rated carriers offering individual coverage will be limited. The primary reason to enroll via the federal marketplace is if you are eligible for a subsidy. A certified broker can assist and explain your options both on and off the marketplace. There are also several affordable benefits that can enhance a medical policy with a limited network.
A qualified insurance consultant can help clients select the most appropriate plan(s) for their specific needs, educate on their health care coverages, and serve as an advocate when problems arise. Brokers and consultants are needed more than ever to help navigate the ever-changing and complex health care system in this era of health care reform. Excellent brokers offer assistance with their coverage long after the point of sale. And as NAHU (National Association of Health Underwriters) has always emphasized, the implementation of ACA can only be successful if American consumers are able to receive adequate guidance. Education regarding new programs and compliance issues through licensed agents, brokers and consultants is key to success.
BY ANDREW M. PIRTLE Tax Manager
JTaylor
In economics, competition and consumer demand dictate the market. Outside forces such as legislation further impact the market. The current healthcare profession finds itself being transformed by these forces. Forces reshaping healthcare include insurance carrier movement on the federal exchange, reform of Medicare reimbursement, and consolidation of healthcare providers.
From the Exchange
Obamacare may be facing one of its biggest challenges yet as some of the largest insurance carriers are exiting the state and federal health care exchanges. Insurance providers are reducing their plan offerings available on the Affordable Care Act exchange in droves due to their financial losses. Aetna, one of the six largest health insurance companies in the U.S., is the most recent insurance provider to significantly reduce its plan offerings.
Other companies that have or are expected to unveil major reductions in their Affordable Care Act plan offerings are UnitedHealth Group and Humana. The withdrawal of insurance providers impacts the plans available to the public. Certain counties may find they have fewer than two insurers available through their exchange. Consumers may find their physicians aren't available under the new plans or providers in the federal exchange.
Physician Payment Reform Physicians and the hospitals they partner with may be unaware of the changes and risk
involved with implementing changes under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). MACRA replaces the historical volume-based Medicare reimbursement model with a pay-forperformance model based on the quality and efficiency of care provided. A survey performed by Deloitte Center for Health Solutions found 50 percent of physicians had not heard of the (MACRA). The three major Medicare reimbursement changes to implement under MACRA are:
1. The discontinued use of the highly unpopular Sustainable Growth Rate,
2. Implementing new payment mechanisms that are intended to compensate physicians for quality, and,
3. The consolidating of several quality reporting programs into one system. Providers will have the option to use either the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) or Alternative Payment Models (APMs). MIPS is a new program designed to adjust Medicare payments based on quality, resource use, clinical practice improvement activities and meaningful use of technology.
Clinicians participating in advanced APMs are exempt from using MIPS. Under APMs, clinicians accept the risk and reward for providing coordinated, high-quality and efficient care. Physicians may not have the capital to implement an APM and may not want to bear the risk of subpar performance under an APM. The expectation is a majority of physicians will undertake MIPs instead of APMs.
MACRA continues the industry transi-
tion from volume-based to performancebased care.
As a health care provider, it is important to understand implementation of MACRA and the impact it will have on Medicare physician payments. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates approximately 836,000 clinicians will be affected by MACRA changes in the first performance year, 2017. A physician’s reimbursement for treating Medicare patients may increase or decrease by as much as 4 percent in 2019 and then up to 9 percent in later years. The quality of services will dictate whether reimbursements received in following years will be positively or negatively impacted.
Growth and Consolidation of Providers The manner in which North Texas residents are obtaining care is changing. An example is the recent joint venture between Texas Health Resources and Adeptus Health in the Texas Health Emergency Room, which opened 31 freestanding emergency rooms in September. Consumer desire for shorter wait times at a facility that is relatively closeby has resulted in facilities sprouting up at an increasing rate.
In order to provide service on a larger scale, organizations have consolidated. Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare merged in 2013. The result of this consolidation was 43 hospitals, more than 500 patient care sites and more than 5,800 physicians. And in January, Baylor Scott & White and Tenet Healthcare entered into a joint-venture to own five North Texas hospitals.
M.
Ready to exit? Get organized, make sure your accounting records are good, manage for EBITDA, give key employees a reason to stick around, and hire the best help.
BY DOUGLAS W. CLAYTON
Cantey Hanger LLP
Being prepared for a sale can help reduce the business owner’s level of stress and maximize the chances of a successful sale.
At some point in the life of most business owners, they conclude it’s time to sell the business. It is exciting to harvest the fruits of one’s labor, but it can also be stressful.
The business owner might be concerned about getting the best price for the business, the fate of the business and its customers, employees and vendors after the sale, how much of the purchase price will be taxed by Uncle Sam, or how the business owner will spend his or her time after the sale.
Being prepared for a sale can help reduce the business owner’s level of stress and maximize the chances of a successful sale. Five tips:
Get organized. Each potential buyer is going to serve up a detailed due diligence request list. The buyer will seek to review the business’ formation documents, material contracts, financial statements, tax returns, patents and other documents evidencing intellectual property, leases, employment agreements, licenses and permits, and other books and records of the company.
A well-organized data room with all this information readily available will reflect favorably on the business and will facilitate timely due diligence by potential buyers.
Scrub accounting records. The surest way to spook a potential buyer is to provide financial statements that prove to be inaccurate.
A business owner should ensure that his or her accounting records are complete and correct. Buyers that have confidence in the seller’s financial statements are more likely to make an attractive offer to buy the business.
Maximize EBITDA. The most important financial measure a buyer will focus on when valuing the business is its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.
EBITDA is a measure of the business’ ability to generate cash flow. While many objective and subjective factors will impact the ultimate purchase price of the business, the starting point for any valuation is typically a multiple of the business’ EBITDA. With that in mind, a business owner preparing for a sale will usually want to manage the business to maximize its EBITDA.
Incentivize key employees. Putting a business on the market often has a negative impact on the business’ employee morale. Uncertainty about their employment future can make employees less focused on their work and more likely to seek employment elsewhere. Therefore, the business owner might consider retention packages, deferred bonus plans
and other compensation structures that encourage key employees to stay with the business and have an economic stake in helping complete the sale.
Engage an experienced tax advisor. All business transactions have tax consequences, and it is best to have a tax advisor engaged before the sale of a business to help maximize the after-tax proceeds of the sale payable to the business owner.
For example, a sale of the assets of a business often has very different tax consequences than a sale of the stock or other equity of the business. And when assets are sold, the manner in which the purchase price is allocated among the assets can dramatically affect the taxes of the buyer and the seller.
or fwtx.com/fwinc
The eve of the holidays provides perfect opportunity for entrepreneurs to re-evaluate and update the vision for their companies.
BY TONY FORD Ford Leadership Solutions
What will inspire you in 2017?
Every year about this time, I take some time to think about what the past year has been all about, how my business is doing right now, and what I want to accomplish going forward. Sometimes, if the past few months have been really challenging, I come to this process tired, burned out and uninspired. Maybe you do too.
It is at times like this that it is important to dig down deep and ask the very serious question: “Why do I own a company, and what am I trying to accomplish with it?”
For me, the eve of the holiday season provides the perfect backdrop to help me gain perspective, find meaning in what I do, and update my vision for our company’s future. Here is what I mean:
Thanksgiving - When early settlers came to this country, they almost did not survive. Harsh conditions, lack of food and disease relentlessly devastated their fledgling colony. Still, they worked together, made hard choices, problem-
The privilege of leadership comes with an obligation to provide these gifts to others. If not, why not?
When I reflect back on the meaning of Thanksgiving, I ask myself: “Do I lead my people and treat my customers and vendors with an attitude of real gratitude for what they do?
solved and took a decidedly entrepreneurial approach to dividing up the work until they began experiencing success. Thanksgiving is a celebration of gratitude that reflects back on how hard work and God’s provision came together to start the greatest experiment in freedom and free enterprise the world has ever seen.
When I reflect back on the meaning of Thanksgiving, I ask myself: “Do I lead my people and treat my customers and vendors with an attitude of real gratitude for what they do? If not, why not?
Christmas - The Christmas holiday is filled with celebration, decorations and gift giving. But the very heart of Christmas (at least for Christians) is Emanuel – God with us. In other words, the birth of the Messiah, the Christ child sent from God to redeem a broken world. It is the fulfillment of a promise and the ultimate gift of a loving Father. It is also a reminder that the greatest gift we can give is to treat other people the way we would want to be treated.
As I ponder the true meaning of Christmas, I ask myself: “Do I make good on my promises to teach, support and encourage the people around me?”
New Year's Day - While I am not a big fan of “New Year’s Resolutions,” the start of every new year reminds me that the future is a truly marvelous place filled with opportunity and, yes, obstacles. It is a chance to right wrongs committed out of ignorance or anger and to begin and even restart relationships. In the future, almost anything is possible. Being a typical Type A, problem-solving entrepreneur, contemplating the new year is great fun. What is not so much fun is realizing that past decisions sometimes limit future opportunities. It is for this very reason that I ask the question: “What am I going to do differently this year so that future years hold even greater opportunity for me and my people?”
As leaders, I believe our actual “job” is to provide the tools and resources our people need to do their jobs. Consequently, taking advantage of some seasonal downtime to think about our past, present and future performance is critical to finding real opportunities and not re-living our past failures. It can also be the source for some real inspiration including:
Remembering the Power of Gratitude – Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” As a leader, our expressions of gratitude truly become the gift that keeps on giving as its powerful goodwill ripples through our organization.
Us – When we train our subordinates well, they take responsibility to correct
mistakes before they become major problems. Often those mistakes originate with us. We should recognize and reward their efforts to protect us from our own bad judgments.
It is a given that we expect our people to give their best efforts to help our company succeed. It is just plain fairness that we should continually monitor our own attitudes and behaviors to ensure that we are modeling the same for them.
ship – Sometimes we forget that we chose to grow our own business – nobody forced us into it. Consequently, our decisions and activities should reflect a strong desire to build excellence into every facet of our company. Keeping our focus on leading with excellence will produce a profit that far exceeds mere financial rewards. It will change the course of people’s lives forever!
If one of your goals in 2017 is to realize your potential as an Entrepreneur of Excellence, I encourage you to take some personal time during this holiday season to gain perspective and to become inspired. Also, it is great hearing how so many of you are using the principles I am sharing to help improve your businesses – keep the ideas and comments coming to tony.ford@fwtx.com.
I wish you, your family and your company a truly wonderful holiday season!
Tony Ford is an awardwinning Fort Worth entrepreneur with a history of starting and growing industry-leading companies. He now helps other businesses grow and sell their companies. He also is program director for the 2017 FW Inc. Entrepreneurs of Excellence Awards program. Tony writes this column in each issue of FW Inc. Contact: tony. ford@fwtx.com
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Whenever your team hits a ceiling, rely on these fundamental tools to push through it.
BY JEFF WHITTLE Managing Director, Whittle & Partners
Whether you’re running a multinational company or a fledgling startup, your business will hit a ceiling – likely many of them. Businesses don’t grow in a nice linear way. Markets change, competitors adapt, team members come and go, and innovation happens. Any one of these can throw the brakes on an otherwise growing company, department, or individual. Your job as a leader is to be the catalyst to push through those ceilings every
time you reach them. That can seem like a daunting challenge, but if you develop and use these five fundamental skill sets, you’ll set your company up for its next phase of growth.
1. Simplification – When you’re stuck, complexity is often the culprit. Face it, growth typically brings complications. When companies stall, it’s often because they struggle to adapt to their growingly complex environment. While it might seem counterintuitive, effective leaders develop a knack for simplifying the complex and reducing things to their most basic components. Great leaders aren’t the ones who can muscle through an increasingly complex environment – they’re the ones who can dumb challenges down to the point where solutions and strategies become clearer.
2. Delegation and Elevation – You can’t grow personally – and your business can’t grow institutionally – unless you hone your ability to effectively delegate. We’ve all seen drowning leaders desperately clawing to hold on to the very tasks that continue to drag them underwater and hold their businesses back. To push your business to the next level, you must
constantly challenge yourself to let go of the job you had yesterday, so your people can develop, and you can embrace the job you need to be doing tomorrow.
3. Prediction – As long as you’re in the dark about what’s going to happen in the future, you’re doomed to run a reactionary operation. While there are no crystal balls, there are myriad tools that can help you sharpen your ability to know what the future holds and act accordingly. These tools range from effective strategic planning methods to rigorously tracking key performance indicators that truly have predictive value. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you must deal with reality as it comes. Do the work to sharpen your predictive capabilities and minimize surprises.
4. Systemization – The way you did things in your startup days simply won’t get it done as you grow. You can goose your stuck business by evaluating, adapting and documenting your critical processes. Once you’ve done that, have the discipline to make sure that your systems are followed. Religiously.
5. Structure – As your business evolves so, too, must your structure. Look at your organizational structure, and ask yourself whether it’s built to sustain future growth. Do roles need to be split? Are job responsibilities logical and understood by all? Do you have the right people in the right seats for the future? The wrong structure can hold you back forever. Review yours regularly.
Bank has tips on how to get your team moving.
BY HARRIET HARRAL Executive Director Leadership Fort Worth
When Tim Carter became president and CEO of OmniAmerican Bank in 2007, he knew he had a significant job to get the culture and people aligned so the bank could deal with some serious financial challenges. He developed a three-year leadership course to train all managers and get processes at the bank moving in the same direction.
The goal for the first year was, “One team, one goal, one million dollars.” They created a $4 million turnaround, and they did it by working in teams trained to all focus on the same goal.
The OmniAmerican story exemplifies one of the five tenets in a leadership model developed by James Kouzes and Barry Posner: Enabling others to act. This is the third
“Exemplary leaders know they can’t do it alone. Leadership is a team effort, not a solo expedition.”
– James Kouzes and Barry Posner
in a series of columns in FW Inc. in which we have been exploring the Kouzes-Posner model. We have discussed:
• Modeling the Way as demonstrated by Fidelity Investments,
• Creating a Shared Vision and the success this created at GE Manufacturing. Upcoming columns will highlight:
• Challenging the Process as a core commitment at BNSF, and
• Encouraging the Heart as a strategy to achieve goals.
This column will focus on the ways Southside Bank, which merged with OmniAmerican in 2014, established a culture of Enabling Others to Act.
“Exemplary leaders know they can’t do it alone,” Kouzes and Posner say. “Leadership is a team effort, not a solo expedition… (Leaders) share power and information as well as build the capabilities and capacities of others to be successful…By fostering collaboration, building trust, and facilitating relationships, leaders Enable Others to Act with increased self-determination and competence.”
To find this in action at the bank, look to when Southside Bank of Tyler merged with OmniAmerican. Once again, it was clear the two organizations needed alignment. Management surveyed employees to find their greatest concerns or needs.
Not surprisingly, communication and training were at the top of the responses. Groups of employees then met over several months to recommend the kind of training needed to equip managers with the tools to lead effectively. They looked for a model program and realized that the program the OmniAmerican folks had gone through
several years before was just what they needed. Carter, now market president for Southside Bank, was charged to help enable this larger employee base achieve the success he had at OmniAmerican.
The result is an eight-month program called Core Leadership. It includes modules on:
• Lead with core values
• Build talent
• Coach and develop others
• Promote teamwork
• Influence others
• Champion change
• Manage disagreement
• Speak effectively
Lee Gibson, president of Southside Bank, introduced the program to the bank’s managers this way: “At Southside, we strive to build leaders who seek innovation, demand excellence, and drive our success… Through this program, you will be taught valuable skills, enabling you to lead your team in the most successful way.”
Carter says that after the bank turned around financially back in 2008, he saw a commitment from managers to use teams to make decisions and develop processes. Morale improved; having people involved has been the best way to retain energized people. His advice to anyone seeking to enable others to act?
• Have the courage to do it.
• Channel the energy that will be created.
• Have a game plan to rally around.
• Give people time to think about the leadership legacy they wish to leave.
5:30 a.m. I’m up and it’s time for some French press COFFEE. Then, I spend 10 minutes catching up on my Bible study.
6 a.m. I hop in the shower, and then knock out 30 minutes worth of work emails.
6:45 a.m. My 4-year-old daughter, Olive, wakes up, and she reads books to me every morning while my husband, John, makes breakfast for everyone.
7:45 a.m. I’m heading to the office,
From first light, the CEO of Catholic Charities of Fort Worth spends her day working to bring people out of poverty.
talk about clients and what case management methods work best.
11 a.m. I meet with our Senior Leadership Team for an L10 (from our favorite operating model via Traction), and it allows us to quickly catch up, identify issues, solve the quick ones, and assign/ timeline the rest.
12 p.m. We’ve been running these Know Poverty ‘experiences’ of CCFW over lunches on Tuesday. I often pop in and share my personal story.
1 p.m. I block time to refine upcoming speeches. Currently working on one for the Independent Sector’s Public Policy Institute in November.
2 p.m. I may meet with JPS or the Omni, or one of our many partners to talk about employer-based strategies to get folks out of poverty.
able to pick Olive up from school and spend the afternoon with her. We go to the park, run errands. The other nights, I usually attend a work function, community meeting, or speaking engagement. Sometimes, I travel and see what others are doing to eradicate poverty, or share our work.
5:30 p.m. We cook dinner as a family, and Olive helps, or we walk over to our favorite places - Snappy Salads or Little Lili’s Sushi.
6:30 p.m. It’s family game time!
7:30 p.m. Bathtime and a few chapters from Little House in the Big Woods, then lights out for Olive.
and I call my mom or my sister every day. It’s a rooted tradition in reminding me of the awesome line of strong women I come from.
8 a.m. Lately, I spend a lot of time focusgrouping and informing stakeholders about the welfare cliff or our path out of poverty model. And, I’m getting a lot of feedback and intel on what other smart brains in the community think would enhance our work.
9 a.m. I meet with our Research and
Innovation Team to catch up on initiativesone being a partnership with Uber that enables our clients to trade work for transportation. Another is a mobile platform for access to social services.
10 a.m. I might take a call with Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunity team to talk about our research partnerships and download on micro trends they see from studying our work, or connect with our Hope Center staff to
3 p.m. I usually meet with one of our wonderful supporters to ask for support. I am always amazed at the YESES we get from those who join us.
4:30 p.m. Three days a week, I am
8 p.m. I usually devote the next hour and a half or so to work, then John and I spend an hour or two catching up, playing Ticket to Ride, watching the presidential debates (!), or reruns of Friends.
11:30 p.m. I finish a chapter of Patrick Lencioni’s The Ideal Player, spritz some lavender on my sheets and call it a night. We’ll end more poverty tomorrow.
“I either call my mom or my sister every day. It’s a rooted tradition in reminding me of the awesome line of strong women I come from.”
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Clay Brants | 817.980.9500
cbrants@briggsfreeman.com
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Michael Hoover | 817.458.1431
mhoover@briggsfreeman.com
“As is typical for fall, the housing inventory is lower, and the competition is higher. Sellers are using stagers and staging techniques to gain an advantage and set them apart from their competition. Studies show a buyer’s initial decision is made within 90 seconds, so it is important the home makes a good first impression. A clean, depersonalized, clutter-free home allows the buyer to focus on the highlights of the home without distraction.”
Jerri Pedro | 817.925.9462
jpedro@briggsfreeman.com
“The multiple offer scenario is having a big impact on the way buyers write offers. The savvy buyer has already interviewed a lender and received a prequalification letter to submit with an offer. Also, if a buyer locates a desirable property he must be decisive and ready to pull the trigger. Many younger buyers rely on the advice of friends or family when it comes time to make a big decision. The savvy buyer will have his “committee” ready to go.”
