Episode 26: Continuing the NorCal Beverage Family Legacy Beyond the Sale.

What does it take to transform a small family business into a major player in the beverage industry? Discover the incredible legacy of NorCal Beverage, beginning with Shannon Deary-Bell's grandfather, who turned his Coca-Cola salesmanship into the entrepreneurial foundation of Hires Bottling in 1937. You'll hear the story of Shannon's father and uncle, who made the courageous decision to sell their profitable stocks to protect the family business and its employees, embodying a people-first philosophy that has defined NorCal's journey and continuing legacy. You'll also hear of the tenacity and determination of Shannon as a young manager having to deal with the complexity of "busting" a union that misrepresented itself to the employees. Her pursuit of what was the right thing to do, let to a much greater acceptance from her employees and family alike.

Uncover the strategic genius behind NorCal's significant pivot in 2007, when the company shifted focus from bottling popular brands like Dr. Pepper and Snapple to co-packing. This bold move led to lucrative partnerships with major brands like Arizona Tea, Red Bull, Monster, and Gatorade, propelling NorCal to new heights. We delve into how Shannon's insistence for a particular seat at luncheon led to a critical meeting with the CEO of Red Bull in France that opened doors to substantial opportunities, highlighting the company's resilience and adaptability in the face of industry challenges.

Finally, we explore the complexities of family business dynamics, focusing on succession planning, leadership transitions, and the difficult and emotional decision to sell the business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hear Shannon's son Riley, explain his personal account of returning to the family fold to save jobs and his reflections on the pressures and rewards of taking on a leadership role in a newly developed company. Shannon and Riley discuss the importance of personal accountability, hard work, and seizing growth opportunities while maintaining a people-centered approach. Dedication and passion continue to drive their new venture setting the stage of familial business success once again.

To learn more about NC Equipment Solutions visit https://nceqs.com/
or you can contact them at:
Dispatch & General Inquiries: (916) 372-7700; fsd@NCEQS.com
Accounts Receivables: (916) 374-2657; AR@NCEQS.com
Accounts Payables: (916) 372 7700 ext. 2436; AP@NCEQS.com

Episode Highlights
(05:32 - 06:00) The Power of Community
(13:57 - 15:01) Trust and Communication in Relationships
(18:14 - 19:19) Meeting Red Bull CEO in France
(21:59 - 23:40) Succession Planning for Company Presidency
(25:58 - 27:02) Father-Son Relationship and Business Sale
(32:51 - 34:20) Company Restructuring Saves Jobs
(37:46 - 39:09) Family Business Responsibilities and Rewards
(44:25 - 45:41) Navigating Entrepreneurship at a Young Age

Chapter Summaries
(00:00) Building a Family Business Legacy
NorCal Beverage's history, family commitment, and employee safeguarding, from Shannon's grandfather's vision to her taking over the business.

(15:03) Succession Planning and Co-Packing Success
NorCal Beverage's strategic pivot to co-packing led to partnerships with Arizona Tea, Red Bull, Monster, and Gatorade, driving growth and resilience.

(23:06) Navigating Family Business Sale and Transition
Selecting the next president of a family business, selling during COVID-19, and aligning with company values.

(33:16) Business Transition and Family Values
Riley, a recent business management graduate, joins family business to lead equipment solutions division and support empl

Transcript

Steve Fleming: [00:00:00] Hi, my name is Steve Fleming, CEO of River City Bank, which was founded almost 50 years ago. As a leader in a family business myself, and a long time board member for the Capital Region Family Business Center, I understand firsthand how incredibly important family businesses are to our economy and to our children.

And the unique challenges they face in sustaining from generation to generation. I think that you will find this podcast series informative, entertaining, and even humorous at times. That's why our family business River City Bank is proud to support this podcast. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Yeah, Jimmy Hoffa jr.

Come around and he held babies and, and shook hands to my employees on the picket line and, and, and then. They realized that this was what is going on. I'm not getting paid. And so I really stood For them as much as I stood for anybody else. [00:01:00] Yeah

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Hello and welcome to a seat at the table trials and triumphs of family business Brought to you by the capital region family business center Helping family businesses to grow and prosper. I'm Natalie Mariani Kling, your host and a fourth generation family business member. I am so excited to join you around the table for real conversations about what it's like to grow up in, become a part of, and navigate the complexities of a family business.

Special thanks to another family business, River City Bank, for their generous support of this program. On today's episode, we speak with Shannon Deary Bell, third generation of the Sacramento based NorCal Beverage Company, and her son, Riley Bell. This was a very special conversation, [00:02:00] not only because it was our first ever recording with a live audience of Family Business Center members, but also because it was the first time we had talked with a family who made the difficult decision to sell their family business.

Shannon walks us through the process from deciding to sell to choosing a buyer through the final negotiations, and Riley shares with us how their commitment to not one employee losing their job through the sale led him and his mom to partner on a whole new, exciting venture. . Thank you. Thank you. Okay, so yeah, so thank you everybody for joining us.

This is our very first live podcast, which is so exciting because Usually we're in a very tiny little room with three or four of us Very up close and personal which is also really fun But it's really exciting to have people actually here listening in real time and for those of us who will be listening Later, uh, we [00:03:00] are in a room with, uh, a bunch of wonderful Family Business Center members who are listening live.

So we're going to have a conversation, um, just like we would in the studio. So the story of NorCal Beverage started in 1937 with your grandfather, Shannon. And it sounds like he was a salesperson for Coca Cola and a visionary. And had lots of big ideas. I think maybe developing Lake Tahoe. Something about buying the 49ers.

Is that right? So, uh, he had a vision to start his own bottling company. And at the time, your grandmother had inherited some money from her aunt. And was willing to support the vision. And so, together they started the company. What they called hires bottling, is that right? That is correct. Okay, and at the time they were bottling for Hires Root Beer, Orange Crush, Canada Dry, if you remember these sodas in the past.

And then, at the time, they were bottling 25, 000 cases a [00:04:00] year. Which turned into, after three generations, 50 million cases a year, is that right? 

Shannon Deary-Bell: 85 million cases a year, yeah. The 25 million cases, we would be disappointed if that didn't happen on one line of one shift today, so. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: The 25, 000 cases? 25, 

Shannon Deary-Bell: 000 cases, sorry, 25, 000.

Yeah, 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: yeah, so, so now that's what, within three or four hours, is that right? Yeah, 

Shannon Deary-Bell: about four to, 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: to six hours, 

Shannon Deary-Bell: yeah. Okay. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: So, grown quite a bit. Yeah. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Yeah. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: And unfortunately, your grandfather passed away quite young, 59, and your dad and uncle were only 30 and 35 years old. And this is kind of a key part of your story, which is they had a big choice to make.

They had a company that their father had started and it was in the red. They also had lots of stocks that were very successful. And they had a choice. They could sell the stocks and keep the business or they could sell the business and be [00:05:00] quite happy in life. So tell us what they decided and how they came to that.

Shannon Deary-Bell: My dad and uncle, they had a great relationship and they had incredible stocks. Back then, you know, you could buy these stocks and it was a handshake with the bankers and much different than today. And he was just very entrepreneurial and bought all kinds of different stocks. And the company was in the red.

They had maybe 25 employees when he passed away. And they said, you know, we can't. Um, and we want to let these employees not have jobs and we want a business we have. We want to grow something and they made the decision to sell all the stock to keep the business going and. History is where it is, so 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: and keep that in mind as an audience because that history repeats itself.

So as I understand, it really was the people that inspired them to keep going. And, um, There was really it started this [00:06:00] pattern that continues through Riley joining you Riley, what was your? Memories of kind of growing up in the business and watching your mom and talking to your grandfather. Tell us how His thread impacted you.

Riley Bell: Yeah, so every day after school for the most part my grandma would pick me up and we'd go to Vic's ice cream for a little ice cream cone and then You Head home by the time about my grandpa was getting home and I would spend at least two, three hours a day right there with him before heading home. We lived right around the corner.

So I would be from there to mind dinner to bed and getting his stories that wouldn't actually necessarily be like lessons and that's not how they were structured. He was just conversing and sharing stories and sharing life and what was going on at the company today and what had happened previously.

Growing up through that you see and you learn values and what [00:07:00] drives people and like you alluded to his major motivation was his people, you know, he loved being not only a provider for his family and hosting all the big gatherings having everyone over and making a big potluck to Being the provider for hundreds of employees that he saw himself as a family and kind of a caretaker towards so When I was in the first grade Shannon took over that role became president and I saw her wear that same burden And that same value and have that same joy come from it too because you know when it works successfully It's the greatest gratitude you have internally when you're able to provide for that amount of people and be that type of staple in their life You But it is a lot of work and it is a lot of stress and it is a heavy burden and see both of those worlds coming together growing up in that type of household.

Natalie Mariani-Kling: And for you, you had mentioned your grandfather, it really was what put a smile on his face. 

Riley Bell: A hundred percent, a hundred [00:08:00] percent. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: It seems like you saw that over and over again. 

Riley Bell: I mean, he was going into work until a week before he passed away in his 80s. He wasn't going there because he had any type of day to day duties to really need to be fulfilled.

He was going in there to check in on all of his people, give them their little two quips of wisdom or, you know, a side jab kind of thing. But that was his friend group, that was his community and those were his people and that's what kept him going and kept him happy. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: So Shannon, you were the youngest of four.

And the youngest of the third generation, right? And let's fast forward to 1989. You graduate from USC. You played on the women's golf team for USC. And you get a great job as a membership director at the country club, right? Which is, 

Shannon Deary-Bell: which country club? Locke Kenyatta Flintridge Country Club. Okay. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: And you buy a place.

You're excited. You're, you're kicking butt. You sell out the memberships. Hunker did. Right? It was [00:09:00] great, yeah. And then you get a call. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Yeah, so my dad says, you know, Shannon, you're Your uncle's had a stroke and you know, I really want you to try to learn the business and understand the business. And I said, you know, dad, I've never worked in the business.

Everybody else has worked in the business and I really don't have any desire to work in the business. I'm really good at sales and I have other aspirations. And he goes, no, no, no, no. He worked on me and worked on me and then ended up selling my little condo, moving back home, mom and dad. And so, yeah, I, I started the business and really didn't like it.

And I had an office, I was in sales, I had a degree, I had already had another job, but I never worked in the business. And I didn't push a broom, I didn't drive a forklift, I didn't do the things that my siblings did, nor my cousins did. And so, there was always a riff there. Well, why do you get an [00:10:00] office and You have a sales job and you didn't have to do all these other things.

Well, I did other things, but it wasn't in the business. So that was a huge learning curve. And at that point I just asked my dad to give me one of the most challenging jobs. And I want to be out from underneath the corporate veil and let me just prove myself. And so I said, I want to go to Stockton and it was our only teamster operation at that time.

The rest of the organization was an in house union. And so I went to Stockton and I worked there for eight years and ended up breaking the Teamsters at the end of the day. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: So you go to Stockton and in 

Shannon Deary-Bell: your mind, are you thinking, I'm going to prove myself? I'm going to prove myself a hundred percent. And so I did.

And I, Moving up in the organization, I was first a, you know, a vending salesperson to a vending manager to assistant plant manager [00:11:00] to plant manager. And then we ended up going through a strike with the Teamsters. And my oldest son was two years old at the time, Connor, and it was horrible. But we, we worked through it.

So that's when the tide started to change as far as respect goes within the family, within the relationships that I had with my family. And they realized that, oh my goodness, you do really work. You do work hard. And so it's about, you know, Proving yourself and just keeping your nose to the grindstone and working hard and believing in what you do is the right way 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: So going back to when the teamsters went on strike It was very contentious Negotiations to the point where you were getting death threats.

Yeah being run off the road Tell us about what that was to live through that experience. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: [00:12:00] Well back then we didn't have cell phones that you can record like we do today. I had one of these big cameras that I drove along the highway. You know, uh, I had ended up getting an injunction by one of our attorneys.

We went back and they had to stay 30 feet away from my employees, myself. And so I carried this paperwork or along with me and, uh, I got a call about four in the morning that one of my, uh, employees was being followed and so I hopped in my car with my camera and called my brother and my cousin and I said, Hey, I need some backup.

We need help and hit a Walmart and call the police and they had circled my car and that didn't all their tactics, right? So I, I met with the, the police officer and they showed him the injunction and, and they said, well, you know, you could let them go or you can. Do a citizen's arrest. [00:13:00] And I said, Oh, for sure.

Citizen's arrest. You know, that one. Yeah. Yeah. Citizen's arrest. And so I did it. And that was the turn of the tide of really realizing my employees realizing what they were being told was not a hundred percent the truth. And so they started crossing the line and I actually went, they came back to the table and There was nothing to negotiate at that point in time because my employees started coming back to wanting to work.

So 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: So you stood your ground. You were also very transparent and authentic where you could be with your employees. Are those the key ingredients to building that trust to the point where they And then obviously, I mean, just the situation you just described. I mean, I think if I were your employee, I'd be like, oh, yeah, I think she's in this.

Yeah. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: So, I mean, 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: they saw you in 

Shannon Deary-Bell: action. Mm hmm. I was there 18 hour days with a two year old at home. Thank [00:14:00] God for my husband. So yeah, it was, it was not fun, not easy. Those were the days where you had the recorders, where you'd press the button and the recording would go zzzzzz. And so you would hear all these wonderful messages that people would leave that were not true.

And, and so, you know, you had to really have that respect and trust. That relationship with my husband right to understand What was going on too? I mean that it was a really tough time. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Yeah Was there ever a time when you thought to yourself? What am I doing? 

Shannon Deary-Bell: No, nah, not not at that time just because I was so determined to beat them.

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Hmm 

Shannon Deary-Bell: I was in it too deep and I Knew what my employees You were being lied to on certain things. And so I was there to stand up for them as much as I was there to [00:15:00] stand up for our company. And so they were being told a different story, and it was very difficult. You know, they were out of they didn't have money.

They weren't getting paid. And yeah, Jimmy Hoffa Jr. come around and he held babies and, and shook hands to my employees on the picket line. And, and, and then they realized that this was what is going on. I'm not getting paid. And so I really stood. For them as much as I stood for anybody else. Yeah, 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: so that the power of that injustice Yeah, you were not going to let that go.

Yeah and Tell me about a little bit about that with your husband I mean, there's that's a difficult situation for anybody to be in i'm sure as a husband. He probably wanted to protect you and To for you to say I really need to keep doing this. I really need i'm going to do this for my family Obviously he saw you were kicking [00:16:00] butt once again and supporting you, but just briefly kind of give us, you know, for other family businesses who have In laws who are on the outside and are having to watch someone fight for their family business How did you navigate that together?

Shannon Deary-Bell: It's really communication. It's trust It's constantly like, this is what happened today. Now what? I mean, we were on the phone constantly. I, I think it goes back to when he, he was a golfer. He was on tour. The beginning of our relationship was constantly on the phone. And so we had to communicate. We had to learn how to communicate.

Um, and that's just continued to move on throughout our relationship. You know, sometimes we get a little lazy on that, but for the most part, it's pretty good, you know? But I think it's really, it all goes through, through trust and, and communicating the good and the bad. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: And you knew at that point, [00:17:00] he really had your back in terms of, 

Shannon Deary-Bell: he was merchandising when.

You know, Connor was over at my mom and dad's weekends and he'd be down there merchandising with me and, and helping as much as he possibly could, as well as my family members, um, most of my family members. Yeah. Yeah. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: That's really neat. Okay. So in 2007, NorCal leadership has to face a pretty tough decision.

Tell us about this. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: So really bottler and distributor. We distributed Dr. Pepper, Canada Dry, Snapple. We had many, many brands that we distributed. Bottling was a little piece of the business, not the main business. It wasn't the bread and butter of things. Distribution was, and having the brands that we had.

So as that segment of the business going against Coke and Pepsi's of the world, they were lessening the marketing dollars. And so we We had to make a choice. We weren't making the money [00:18:00] that we needed to make For all the trucks that were out on the road. We had high insurance costs and just the margins were decreasing and so We had done some co packing in the past and built a relationship with coca cola.

My dad did We were doing aseptic boxes and we were pretty darn good at it And he goes I think we should get more involved in co packing And so I started off, I came back and I started learning the manufacturing side of the business and I started doing cold calls with Arizona Tea. Arizona Tea was one of the big ones and during the process of talking with the family like, do we sell?

What do we do with the distribution side of the business? We're just not making The money that we need to, to keep things afloat, I think we need to sell. And it was a really, really tough decision at the time, but it was the right decision. So we sold all the franchises to PepsiCo [00:19:00] and we could have decided to, Hey, let's go clip coupons and be on our merry way.

We had the opportunity to do that. And the family said, no, let's try to make this happen. So, in the meantime, I'm going out and doing cold calls. I'm in New York doing cold calls, and literally the week that we closed the deal on selling the franchises, a week later, I closed the deal on a five year contract with the Arizona T for a 35 million case opportunity, which was our anchor customer that just Projected us into co packing in a bigger fashion because we, we were doing things down in Anaheim cause we bought Anaheim and so we were very entrenched with Coca Cola at that time to the point that I was a bit concerned about that.

It's never a good idea to have all your eggs in one basket. [00:20:00] And so my thought and strategy was to really try to go out and create a Build a portfolio of customers that we could really grow with. And so that's what I did. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: And you did. I did. You sure did. Yeah. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Tell us some of those customers. So, through the years we brought on Red Bull.

Red Bull was my big, you know, Um, and it's a big nut that I'm probably the most proud of. Tell us 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: about how you earned that relationship. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Yeah. So I was invited by a can company, rexum can at the time to go to France, which what a bad place to go to, right? I'm like, oh, I have to go to France? Okay. So I really didn't understand why I was invited to go to France, but I looked at the guest list and it's all these High execs of major companies and then there was NorCal beverage Okay, well this might be a great opportunity and the president and CEO of Red [00:21:00] Bull I'm like, oh, that's one that I really would like to meet Roland as his name was and so I went to France and I kept asking the can company.

Please seat me next to Red Bull, because I really want to meet this guy. So, the last day, the brunch, I got seated next to him. And so we have a huge conversation, and I'm like, at this time, so back up a little bit, at this time, Red Bull's being made 100 percent from Austria and being shipped into the United States.

There isn't a co packer in the United States that was making Red Bull at the time. And so, I said, Why do you do this? Because control, and quality, and all the right things, right? That's 100 percent right. And I said, but what about when you have issues with Longshoremen, and strikes, and the ports, and those kinds of things?

I said, no. Wouldn't it be great if you had a co [00:22:00] packer that you trusted, and we can provide this, and we're family owned, because family owned was a big piece to their whole understanding, because they were family owned. Oh, 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: really? Oh, I didn't know that. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Yeah. And so I go, I'm family owned. I'm third generation.

I think you need to come visit our plants. Long story short, he ended up coming visiting the plants and he goes, this is wrong. This is wrong. You know, but ended up building a relationship. And I kept going back. I said, well, here's the line that we're going to build for you. It was a 39 million line and it was no contract whatsoever.

And we took a chance and we built this line in Anaheim. Um, and I knew I could backfill it with other customers, but I built it for them. And it took five years and I got the contract with Red Bull. And we were one of the first co packers for Red Bull in the United States. And I think that was probably my most proud moment.

And my dad got to [00:23:00] see it, which was awesome. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Yeah. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: And so it was good. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: So, and then some of the other brands that came after Red Bull. So 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Monster, Monster. I have a great relationship with Monster. Um, and then we got a huge contract with Gatorade, Pepsi, which my dad would never have believed. I thought, Oh, my God.

If my dad was here, he would love to see that we're actually running Pepsi Co. Gatorade and a plant that we bought from Coca Cola, which Coke was still a partner and a great partner of ours. But, um, To have Pepsi and Coke running side by side on two different lines was probably 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Unbelievable. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: He would have never believed it ever in a million years.

But yeah, I got Gatorade contract, a body armor contract, Wyakie, we have a huge contract with Wyakie, Spindrift. We had a contract with them. So it, you know, at the end of the day, [00:24:00] we probably had the best year we've ever had when we sold. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Mm hmm. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: So we went out on, on the top. It was great. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Yeah. Just backing up from the sale a little bit.

So you, in 2010, are named president, but that was not an easy decision. And your dad had actually done a really good job succession planning, had a lot of intention around it. Tell us about that process and how you kind of played into that. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Yeah, so, Hayne Moyer was our attorney at the time and he looked at my dad and he's like, you know, Dawn, you have to start succession planning and you really need to put your head around this.

And he goes, well, okay, well, how do I start the process? He goes I think you need to think about it and try to understand who are the candidates first and foremost and maybe even consider an outside candidate. And then we need to talk about it. So my dad thought about it and he [00:25:00] came back to Hain and he goes, I can't make that decision.

And I think this is so brilliant because, not because I got the presidency, but just his process and his thought process of going about it is that he says, I want three outside, people that understand our business. And so Kurt Glassman with Family Business Center was one interviewee that was on the panel.

And then two others that were our advisors on our board, which was Bruce Scheidt, our attorney, our corporate attorney and Kerry Gordon from Moss Adams. And so they both sat on our board as advisors. And so they knew the candidates that were actually going to run for presidency for company. And they actually are the ones that recommended.

To my dad who they thought was going to be the next president. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: And you were obviously a candidate. You also had a very clear idea of if you were going to be president, you [00:26:00] had some parameters of how you wanted to be voted in. So tell us about that. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Yeah, so I went to the family when I understood that they recommended me, which I, you know, I was overwhelmed by, by that.

But. I said I was not going to accept the presidency unless it was unanimously voted upon by the shareholders. And so I believe that Kurt and Bruce and Kerry Gordon actually took all the shareholders out and, you know, addressed their, the pros and cons and how and why. And, you know, they had a really good conversation.

process about going about it, and then when the vote came, it was unanimous, and that's why I accepted it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have. Riley, 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: pay attention, I'm just kidding, I left you on the side. Do you remember the day that your mom came home? 

Riley Bell: Yeah, I was at extension after school [00:27:00] program at, uh, Holy Spirit like the first grade and I remember her coming in and saying Yep, two thumbs up and then me and my best bud Elias at the time were jumping around in like circles at the time didn't really understand Exactly what it all meant and what it entailed but I knew it was something she was striving for and was happy that she got So we were all just jumping ignorant to what it all truly entailed.

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Yeah. Do you remember your grandpa's? Reaction I would say a sense 

Riley Bell: of pride, you know, it wasn't anything. I think it gets so political in family business. You can't show that's like favoritism where I'm happy with that decision or anything, but you could just see within him as Shannon, especially grew into the role and started taking on more responsibilities in the role, that sense of pride just continued to grow.

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Yeah. 

Riley Bell: And I'm sure he, He possibly shared words with her in private, but again, it's not a very public display of, um, I'm very happy that it's you, or proud of you, or what you're being able to accomplish here, because you have to maintain that [00:28:00] objective sense to it all, you know. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Did he share words with you in private?

Riley Bell: Of 

Shannon Deary-Bell: course 

Riley Bell: he did, 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: yeah. Do you remember? 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Yeah, I mean, he was just, he was proud, but also, um, Guarded in regards to his son was one of the candidates too. And, and we all have such a close relationship and honestly, Tim, my brother was my biggest supporter throughout my whole years of being presidency. And so he and I've talked about it and I'm sure it was hard for him.

He worked through the business and was such a hard worker and so loyal. And the employees loved him. He was just amazing. At the end of the day, he looked at me and he goes, I couldn't do what you just did. And it was a sense of respect on both sides. And he was my, probably my biggest supporter. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: That's amazing.

Yeah. Okay, so, for 13 years, you lead this business, and [00:29:00] then the family comes to you and says, we think we need to consider a sale. And how did that, how did that go? And what was your reaction to that? 

Shannon Deary-Bell: So COVID was tough. COVID was a really hard time. I mean, we were busier than we'd ever been, but we were the most inefficient that we had ever been.

A lot of overtime, just. Pulling people, had Riley working on Christmas day and Christmasy one, one year because we didn't have people to support our quality side. And so it just, it was tough. And I think the family, and they were all starting to retire at that time. And being in manufacturing, it's very capital intensive.

And they just thought, you know, this, there's a lot of risk. There's a lot of liability. COVID was tough. What are we doing? We want to retire. Most of them had retired. And at the end of the day, when we did sell, I was the only one, my generation working. [00:30:00] And so it, the business passed them up in a kind way to understand really what it took to continue to grow.

And continue to grow with the portfolio of customers that we had. So when Pepsi says, hey, we want to do this, we jump. And if it means that we have to spend 5 million, 10 million dollars, that's what we do. And the ROI may not be in a year, it might be in five years. But you have Gatorade, right? So, the business passed their Comfort of continuing to invest in a big way.

So when they came to me, I got it. I understood. I wasn't happy about it because I knew where the business is going and how we were doing it. But at the end of the day, I worked for them and that's my job. And so I had to swallow my pride and swallow what I think is the best thing to [00:31:00] do and do what their desires were.

And that's to sell the business. And so I started going out and looking at opportunities for whether it's private equity, whether it was family owned businesses that were looking at us and ended up thinking that Man of Beverage was the best suited buyer. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: At the time, obviously your passion was to grow the business.

You have to swallow this idea that you're going to be selling. So that, that's a very emotional thing for any family business owner, I think. And then. Um, and then in the meantime, having to navigate. Okay, who will be the people who will be the people? So did you have in your mind certain values that you wanted certain goals that someone might have for your company?

I mean, what in your mind? How did you discern who you wanted to speak to? 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Sure. Number one, the biggest thing was that if we were going to go into an acquisition, not one of my employees was going to [00:32:00] lose their job. That was very, very important to me. It's very important to my family that there was consistency and this company was a family owned business and so I felt like in the APA that this was going to happen, that we put parameters that benefits and all the things, you know, that we felt was important for the employees that they were going to still, it's going to be seamless, certainly different ownership ownership.

Different ideas, but also growth opportunities for them. They weren't just California They want to take the business and grow it nationwide and I felt like for my employees, there's huge opportunities huge Growth for them internally if they had the desire to do so and so when I looked at them that that was the best suited Buyer in my mind that we were going along all those The same steps I, right, that made sense for the employees.

Was it like an [00:33:00] interview process? It's negotiation. So I guess, I mean 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: before you decided on Manna? 

Shannon Deary-Bell: No, I think Manna came about really just through a customer of mine that said hey, do you know these guys and I said no and and so he goes I think you should meet him. And so I got to know him and meet him and and they ended up being The ones that we picked as a family, not just relationship.

It wasn't just me. It was the family Desired to to go with them. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Yeah, it was a good fit. Yeah So walk us through that negotiation process And what what were some of the biggest hurdles you faced? Through that time and how long did it take? Oh 

Shannon Deary-Bell: It took way too long. Um, it was a year and a half to two years really and It, it was difficult because it continued to change.

And so, if I was to look back, we had a great attorney, Bruce Shite, he [00:34:00] was wonderful, but also having an M& A attorney is important, and I think it's, it's important for family businesses to go through, depending how big you are, to make sure you have the right attorney on your side to know what's going on.

All the ins and outs of all the contracts that you're dealing with. It was a learning curve and a huge learning curve for me and difficult because I started doing a lot of the negotiations. And so my relationship with Manna had changed through the process just because I was looking after the best interest of the shareholders at the end of the day.

And that's my job to do. Whether my relationship was good at the end of the day with MANA, didn't matter to me. What mattered is making sure the shareholders were taken care of. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Yeah. And so you're getting closer to closing, and MANA informs you that they will not be taking on [00:35:00] a section, a sector of your company, right?

And that would mean about 40 people are going to lose their jobs. Tell us about your thought process around that. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: So like I said, at the very beginning, the biggest thing is no one's going to lose their jobs. That was number one. And Riley was at San Diego state. And I thought, Hmm, this is interesting. You know, he's, I graduated with a business management degree and, and I thought, Oh, this might be a good opportunity for me to get him home.

And also to, uh, a great opportunity for learning experience for him. So I'll let him talk a little bit about that, but I took it to the shareholders and I said, here's the deal. I really don't want to shut this section of the business down. I really don't want the business, but. If anybody else wants it, it's all yours.

And so, there were a couple people that said, well, I'll be a partner. I'm like, oh [00:36:00] no, I'm not going to be a partner. But I'll be happy to take it and buy it. So, at the end of the day, they chose to sell it to me. And then I bought it. I went to Riley and I said, so Riley, I think I have a great opportunity.

Okay. So perfect. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: So perfect segue. So this is amazing because literally history is now repeating itself because you're graduating from San Diego state, you're doing what the family always told you to do, which was go get some outside work experience. You've got a lease on an apartment ready to move in with friends and, and also having a great time.

It's amazing. And you get a call. So tell us from your perspective. 

Riley Bell: Yeah, so I think there's a lot of parallels to the story Shannon was sharing earlier. So I was just getting ready to finish San Diego State's probably February or early March at this time graduating in May And was preparing to move from campus to Pacific Beach get set up there for at least a year find, you know My roots.

I was having a great time [00:37:00] having fun but she told us that or told me that this whole deal in negotiation was hitting a crux because Either 40 people are going to lose their jobs, and the deal is going to fall through because that's our priority, is our people, and we're not going to have that happen.

Or, they need someone to come in and help and lead this transition, and build it into its own business and company, you know, without that support from NorCal's corporate side. And then the buyer would be more comfortable taking on the rest of that business, or in the sense the seller would be more comfortable selling it with the knowledge that the buyer is not going to lay off 40 people right afterwards.

My first instinct was no, no thank you. I'd worked in the manufacturing side doing summer internships, you know, since I was 15 or 15 and a half, whenever I could get my work permit. And so I was working in the factory a few summers, went to the corporate side for customer relations and sales side, did a procurement, did inventory [00:38:00] control.

All of those divisions and functions were manufacturing focused. None of them really held this equipment solutions division, which is all service based for convenience stores and restaurants in the area. Never really involved that. And I had cousins and family that were involved and I knew that were passionate about it and loved it.

And So my first instinct was, you know, no, they could take it to them. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Riley growing up. I mean, that section, that sector had kind of been just coasting, right? It didn't get a lot of attention. It wasn't something, it probably wasn't very, there wasn't a lot of glory. Yeah, no, 

Riley Bell: it was stable and stagnant is what it was.

So when they moved NorCal moved from being more of a distributor and vending side to a co packer side, that's when the focus kind of left a lot of equipment solutions as well, because. It was much more simpatico when we would be distributing the soft drinks to a 7 Eleven, say, and they go, we haven't sold any sodas here the last month because our fridge is down, or our fountain machine isn't pouring anything, so [00:39:00] what do you expect us to do?

It was, you know, a good parallel there to be, oh, okay, we're the one stop shop. We'll also have technicians come out here and work on any of your equipment here in the store, what have you. And when they moved to the co packing side, resources, focus, investment went to that co packing side to continue building it up.

And this service side was never, you know, defunct or dissolved, but it also wasn't really supported as much as it could have been, or should have been possibly. There's just a lot of opportunity there. And obviously the manufacturing side was doing so successful that there was no really need to shift focus at any time.

But yeah, it just, it lingered and there was a lot of potential there that I'm hoping we can now seize. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: So you get the call, you say no. You get a second call. 

Riley Bell: Yeah, about a month later and said it's done. Pack your bags. No, I get a few more calls, you know, just about [00:40:00] How unique and wonderful an opportunity it really is going to be, and how much work it's going to be, but how eye opening all of that will be as well.

And I think kind of how she said her father, you know, worked her up to getting back up to home. She worked on me to get me back up to home, and end of the day, would I change it? Absolutely not. I know how lucky and blessed I am to be in the position I am every day, but at sometimes it also feels like a little bit of a curse each day with the amount that's going on.

But, um, no, I'm, I'm extremely grateful and nothing makes me more proud than being able to follow those parallels and those examples that were set before me by her and by my grandpa and by everyone that's really committed themselves to this family business. Cause I think, It's not committing themselves for any more of a selfish reason or trying to benefit their family, but benefit the whole and benefit those around them, and I think that's what's most special.

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Well, I think you said a lot when you said, you know, you had seen [00:41:00] all the stress, all the burden, all the fact that you running a family business means you can't turn it off. There's not a lot of real vacation time. No, no. And you, you saw all that. Yeah. With your grandfather and with your mom. And so that would deter a lot of people.

So you went in with your eyes wide open as to what it would take and for other existing family members who would like to entice their children to come aboard, what's the benefit of it? What's the flip side of all of that commitment? 

Riley Bell: Yeah. And I would say that commitment's grown more heavy too in the last two Probably 20 30 years than it ever has been because you know my grandpa Didn't have a cell phone on them and wasn't an email and getting calls all day So really whenever we did go on vacations anything Shannon mom was completely inundated with it And she never really had that escape and I think that's kind of gone from that past generation [00:42:00] had that benefit before but As a total crux benefit to all of it I think it's those values and that self gratitude that comes from being able to You Be that support beacon for others.

Because when you're a support beacon for others so heavily, it kind of reinvigorates your own self confidence and being self sustaining and being able to not only become successful and happy for myself personally and for my personal family, what have you, but. For possible complete strangers that come up, Hey, I know we've never introduced ourselves, but you know, Mrs.

Bell, I just want to say, thank you. You gave me a job. You gave my son a job. You know, we've been working there, dah, dah, dah. And it's that type of passion ability. I'll say too, that, you know, we have people come in that say it's NorCal is no longer NorCal. It's no longer got that eerie family aspect to it.

I think that's what really is a driver is being able to. Say, yeah, not only do [00:43:00] I have that family business, that family company, but it's something that people are really proud of, are really happy about, and think is doing good and doing well, not only successfully financially, but As a moral and valuable corporation.

Yeah. Given back to their community. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Yeah. I love this story so much because of that, because you got that from your grandfather and passed directly through your mom. And that DNA is so strong. And every decision you guys made along the way was for the people and to have you now as fourth generation. And have that, that's going to be a non negotiable for you too.

And so whatever, however you guys decide to grow this company, it's going to be heavily influenced by that, which is the family business part, 

Riley Bell: right? Yeah. It's a concrete value that, um, when I share the stories with, you know, new vendors, new clients, even on, in, in our little Zooms or meetings, they're a [00:44:00] little bit taken aback because they're also used to more of corporate structures too at times.

And. And being able to see the success that has been brought because of that focus from my grandpa, from my mom, here now what we're doing at NC Equipment Solutions. That's what gives me the confidence that I need to maintain that value and continue prioritizing that value because it's easy to get lost when you're just tunnel visioned in on something like that.

And, you know, not see all the other different moving pieces going on around you. But if you have that tunnel focus, everything else should follow into place because when you're prioritizing your people, your people are also not getting on that adversarial type of aspect with their corporation. It's one team.

It's one family. We're all working towards one goal together. And when one of us succeeds, we all succeed. And that's really the, uh, inspiration behind it. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: So Shannon, what are your dreams and goals for this new company? 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Oh, you know, it's, it's just been [00:45:00] fun watching Riley grow and learn, drink from the fire hose, really from every aspect.

I mean, pulling a small division, per se, away from a big corporation, whether it's payroll, benefits, HR, all these aspects, you know, we had to get all new software systems, everything. He had to do it because I didn't have time to do it. I was sitting there trying to finish the deal, you know, so we broke off from NorCal Beverage on November 6th, right, November 6th, 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: of this past year, 

Shannon Deary-Bell: of 2023, 2023, and we closed the deal on January 12th.

He had to make all that happen with our employees, with benefits and everything else, on his own, which was truly amazing, amazing. He's 22 years old. I'm very proud, very proud of that. So, yeah, [00:46:00] I think there's lots of opportunity, and I'm looking forward to growing this business, and alongside with him, and my goal is to double the size of the business in three years, so.

Natalie Mariani-Kling: I mean, with your track record, I think we might get there. I hope so. I don't know. I hope so. I'm excited to see. We're going to wrap up pretty soon, but Riley, what has it meant for you to jump into this at 22 years old, to dive in? I mean, where do you even begin? What did those first six months look like and how did, how did you have the drive to keep making your way through it all?

Riley Bell: Oh, I think the drive was, uh, it was probably. Either you do it or it doesn't happen. You know, there's no one else that's going to pick up that slack. It's either I'm getting it done or it's not getting done because there were so many different workflows and processes that kind of finished on a question mark.

It was, I sent it back to corporate. I sent it back to X, Y, or Z at corporate and they did what they did with it. I don't even know. And that's kind of where it ended with [00:47:00] me. And so coming back in and trying to restructure all of that, but at the same time, never really having a clear. picture of any other structure than, you know, what I've seen from a likely biased and filtered point of view in a family side of a family business was strange and difficult and still is strange and difficult.

But that's where I'm grateful I still live at home, for instance, because at the dinner table and I know I can find a moment of time when she's not. stressed, wrapping her head around the rest of the deal that I could say, Hey, by the way, what would, you know, and kind of get some, some valuable input there.

Natalie Mariani-Kling: How's your dad doing with all the work talk at home? 

Riley Bell: He hangs right in there. He hangs right in. Yeah, no, he'll, he'll smile and wave sometimes. No, he does great. Yeah. Yeah. That's really neat. And he's got a very laid back personable kind of character to him and go with the flow. So a lot of the times when You know, maybe her and I are getting to more of a [00:48:00] deeper level and getting out of our brains a little bit trying to put a puzzle together in our heads.

He'll give that step back, put the brakes on it a little bit and kind of recenter ourselves a little bit. I think it's a perfect mix. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: I'm going to ask you this, Shannon. So when you think back on this whole journey of not wanting to join the family business, joining the family business, becoming president, how Working through the Teamsters, the sale, now starting this whole new venture with Riley, which, by the way, is the coolest thing because you're coming in as fourth generation and sort of first generation.

Riley Bell: Yeah. Right? It's quite odd, but yeah. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Yeah, that is, that's an advantage, I think. I love it. Yeah. So when you look back at all of that, would you say that, The journey has been more hard work and grind, or has it been more timing and luck and market? 

Shannon Deary-Bell: I think 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: both. 

Shannon Deary-Bell: I [00:49:00] think all good things happen because you're putting the effort behind it.

You have to have fire in your belly when you are running and owning a business. You have to live and breathe it no matter what. And I tell that to my boys today at Connors and Commercial real estate, Cushman and Wakefield. And he's in business for himself as well. You have to have the fire in your belly and you have to live it day in and day out.

And so, yeah, certainly luck comes along the way. I was very lucky to have the opportunities that I have had that my dad gave me. But It just doesn't fall in your lap at the end of the day, because if it, if it did, everybody would do this, right? So, that's right. I think there's 

Riley Bell: a very true phrase, the harder you work, the luckier you become.

So, that falls suit with our family, I think. I don't think any of us have really been too shy from hard work. Yeah, right. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: I [00:50:00] think I know the answer to this, but do you feel a renewed sense of fire in your belly? 

Shannon Deary-Bell: Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah, I, I, I'm very thankful. that I have NC Equipment Solutions to now focus in on.

If I didn't have it, you know, I look back and I'm like, what if I didn't do this? Or somebody else ran this section of the business and took it over. Oh, I'd be in a funk. You know, and, and what would I be doing with myself? But I am very thankful that I have something to, to really focus in on and, and work alongside with Riley and, and grow it together.

And we've just been very blessed. And looking forward to the next chapter. 100%. 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: Thank you guys so much. This is a very valuable conversation. I think a lot of families think about selling, but you almost, there's a lot of guilt around thinking about selling. I think there's a lot of people who feel obligated to keep their family businesses going when maybe that's not [00:51:00] the right thing for them.

And I think, Shannon, one thing you said that sticks with me is that You feel like as a business person. It's your obligation to look ahead to ask what's next constantly and maybe that has to include a sale because if you're not thinking about what's best for the shareholders and you're not considering a sale, then you're not really looking at all the options all the time, right?

Shannon Deary-Bell: 100 percent is and it's not just the shareholders, right? It's the employees. And so when I saw the opportunity for manna. and opportunities for my employees to have the ability to grow outside of California possibly and grow their skill sets. This was an opportunity that maybe I couldn't provide for them because I, I wasn't able to have the wherewithal to grow outside of California.

I didn't have the financing to do that. Maybe we could do that down the road, but this was an opportunity not only for the shareholders, but the [00:52:00] employees. Um, and I think it's up to us to have the ability to grow, but it's up to them at the end of the day, what their fire and their belly is right. Um, so, yeah, 

Natalie Mariani-Kling: well, thank you guys.

Thank you for exemplifying this transaction in a way that really does prioritize people still, and I'm really excited to see what's going to happen, and we will follow your story, and then we might have to have you come back in like a year or two from now. I hope so. Thank you, Natalie. Yeah. See you then.

so much. Can we have a round of applause for Shannon?

Thank you for listening to A Seat at the Table, Trials and Triumphs of Family Business. If you like what you heard today, please be sure to subscribe. Post a positive review and share with another family business owner. For more information about the Capital Region Family Business Center, visit cap family biz.org.

That's Cap family B [00:53:00] us.org. You can also follow us on Facebook at Capital Region Family Business Center. And on Instagram at CapFamBiz, B I Z. If you know of other family businesses that have a story to share, please contact the Family Business Center at info at CapFamilyBiz. org, that's B U S. We're grateful for the support from River City Bank to make this program possible.

And special thanks to Guy Raz from How I Built This for a wonderful closing question that's become one of our favorites.

Steve Fleming: Hi, this is Steve Fleming of River City Bank, and we're proud to bring you the Capital Region Family Business Center podcast series.