In this edition of Family Matters, we’re featuring Dennis Rynearson and Jennifer Quinnell, a father and daughter team at ASB! What began as Dennis’s goal to keep his business in the family has grown into a true partnership built on trust, teamwork, and shared ambition. Together, they’re combining decades of experience with fresh perspective to serve their clients and having a lot of fun along the way.

When did you start working at American?

Dennis – I started with ASB in 2019

Jennifer – I started with ASB January of 2022

What’s your favorite memory from Jennifer’s childhood?

Watching Jennifer play basketball because she was very, very good at basketball, as well as being a wonderful young lady. She certainly was a daughter that was the life of the party and still is, just like her two sisters.

What motivated you to start working together as a family?

I wanted to pass on my business to one of my daughters to keep it in the family. American is a great company, and you can do extremely well if you choose to. Jennifer will do very well.  I introduced her to my clients a couple of years ago, hoping to make the transition more organic, and it has been more than a great transition. Client’s love working with Jen, she brings different strengths to the business, so that at times they may like working with her even more than with me. I am very proud of her.

Can you share a memorable success story that you achieved together?

It would be introducing Jen to my existing clients because they love her. She does a fabulous job, and she is doing extremely well bringing on her own clients now that she understands the complexities of this business. With Jen’s love for sports and athletic programs we have been working together to expand our clientele in the athletic division. She is currently working with a couple different basketball programs and hoping to expand that. It has been a joy watching her grow in this position. She currently handles about 85% of the workload for both of us. 

What do you love about working together?

Jen’s personality is great. We can be serious, which is most of the time, but we both like to have fun, so there is a lot of laughter in our days. Anyone would love working with her.   

What’s a challenge you face when working together?

This is a good one, I am more lenient with pricing issues with my major clients and Jen will hold the line. I tend to be more flexible and Jen says no, this is how it should be. Not really a challenge but we do kid about our differences.

What advice would you give to other family pairs considering working together professionally? 

Well, the biggest challenge was setting up the family trust with 3 daughters involved.  I am a believer that the estate my wife and I put together should be broken out evenly amongst our daughters. I wanted that to be clearly spelled out in the documents. Clearly recording everything in legal documents and reviewing it with all family members ahead of time, allows you to hash through questions and provide comfort for everyone.

Second, the ownership percentages need to be clearly outlined and agreed to, as well as having a well-documented transition plan. The transition compensation must be written out and agreed to in writing. I do not believe verbal agreements should be used in businesses, even if it is with family.

Anything else you’d like to share?

American is a great company to work with. Because of the structures American has in place, I believe that Jennifer is going to continue to grow this company and make it even more successful.

To learn more about American Solutions for Business, visit https://explore.americanbus.com/