My company is a multi-generational family business, here in Modesto, California. My great-grandfather started the company in 1936. My grandfather was the one that took it on from there, and for over 70 years, instilled the heart of the business into us all. Today it's my uncle, my father, myself, and my two nephews. So still a deep-rooted family business and that's the way we intend to stay. We're really doing things the way we've been doing it since 1930 for better or worse."
Listen 🎧 : Jonathan shares how the business has evolved as it passes down from one generation to another.
is a Modesto, California based multi-generational olive oil and goods company. Sciabica says his grandfather worked in the office until the age of 95. His father is 77 and still comes in every day. For Sciabica Olive Oil, the generational weight of non-retirement is part of the plan for the family business. The business itself is a sort of retirement program for employees - if the business fails, everyone loses. This fragile line makes planning for everything from taking on financing to how to make those reinvestments all the more important.
Over the years, Sciabica Olive Oil has taken on a line of credit to borrow against buying olives and other inventory, among other reinvestments. Setting aside savings is a challenge as they often invest any excess funds into the business. Paying rates on those savings also plays a part in the hesitancy to prioritize them over other business decisions. When it comes to navigating financial decisions, Sciabica routinely checks the books himself. In addition to this, Sciabica Olive Oil has had a long-time, in-house accountant who eventually became the company's controller.
He says in order to plan ahead for reinvestments like a new piece of equipment he looks at a cash flow statement spreadsheet for a snapshot look at the business's finances. By checking revenues and expenses, he sets a projected monthly cash flow. "Where small businesses get into a lot of trouble is if they confuse bottom line profit on an accrual basis with cash flow. It can be really easy to show profit but run out of cash and we have gotten into a couple of those pinches early on before I really started running the business. We weren't necessarily thinking about cash flow." said Sciabica.
Check out Sciabica Family California Olive Oil's website for more
