TZL 1442 (web)

ON THE MOVE NELSON-RUDIE TRANSITIONS TO 100 PERCENT EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP, APPOINTS FOUR NEW PRINCIPALS AND ANNOUNCES THE RETIREMENT OF JOHN BRISON, PE Nelson-Rudie & Associates, a consulting engineering firm, completed a transition from a five- person ownership model to an ESOP organization. As part of the transition, Nelson-Rudie appointed four new principals and announced the retirement of John Brison, PE, principal and mechanical engineer. Newly appointed principals include Eric Nelson (structural practice lead), Eric Nebelung (mechanical practice lead), Joseph Tupy (electrical practice lead),

and Gregory Lindberg (refrigeration practice lead). Nelson-Rudie’s new principals join Michael Woehrle, Joseph Pearce, Frederic Decourt, and Jeffrey Piehl in the management expansion of the company. For Nelson-Rudie president Michael Woehrle, this transition ensures the legacy and longevity of the 46-year- old company. “Our employees are our greatest assets. We are proud to name them employee-owners and excited to continue the management expansion by appointing four new principals to the company.” John Brison’s decision to retire after a

rewarding career of more than 40 years in the consulting engineering industry will undoubtedly be felt for years to come. His boundless energy, engineering expertise, and most of all his friendship and camaraderie will be missed. This transition to an ESOP organization, plus the addition of new principals, strengthens the company’s position for continued growth and success. Nelson-Rudie & Associates, Inc. is a consulting engineering firm offering structural, mechanical, electrical and refrigeration services to public and private clients throughout the U.S. and Canada.

or customer. But that isn’t true. Sometimes, when you have a potential client or customer who clearly has the wrong idea about how they can deal with you or one of your people, it is very rewarding to know you don’t need them and can say “no thanks” to their business. And when the mistreatment involves one of your people, and they (your employee) see you care more about them than the revenue you will lose, they are always more than grateful to you. That is a good feeling! 7. Being recognized by people in the community as someone who is contributing to making the community a better place. Being in the AEC business, in particular, makes this easy. But any business owner who has a business that creates good jobs and does something to make the community more prosperous, more desirable, safer, or more beautiful can enjoy this important aspect of business ownership! 8. Having enough control over my life that I could put my family first over my job when that was necessary. This has happened to me more than once. It was particularly important in the late ‘90s, when my first wife had a complete breakdown and was addicted to drugs and alcohol, that I could – even though we were crazy busy – put my kids first ahead of my business. Of course, I was lucky I was the primary shareholder of the company, and that I had really competent (and nice) people who could step up and run the place while I was either distracted or not there. I am very grateful for that. I am also grateful that my business ownership afforded me the opportunity to put my family first during that time. Each of these things contributed to my happiness as a business owner. I think business ownership is one of the most rewarding things any person can participate in if they really want to. Of course it involves some sacrifices. But the rewards far outweighed the costs for me and for most other business owners I have known and worked with over the years! Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

MARK ZWEIG, from page 11

3. Being able to make it possible for other people to become business owners. There is little more gratifying than being able to offer the opportunity and rewards of business ownership to someone else who may not have that if not for you. Being able to make it affordable and finance all of that, and then see this highly motivated and conscientious individual reap the rewards of their sacrifices and live the “American dream” is really exciting. 4. Being able to do something differently or better than what other businesses were doing. This was a huge motivator and reward for me in all of my businesses. In fact, that was a primary reason for starting them in the first place! In every case, we did what we did in new ways or to a higher standard than existing providers. I don’t think I’m unique in this regard – most business owners aspire to do this even if they don’t always succeed. And when you do (succeed), and get positive feedback from your clients and customers, little is more gratifying. 5. Being able to fix something that went wrong for a client or customer because I controlled the resources necessary to do so. This is another aspect of being a business owner that I loved. Sometimes things go wrong. But we always did our best to rectify the situation immediately. I remember one case of a completely redone house we sold to some really nice people. A couple years later, I was driving by and saw paint peeling on some trim boards. I got my painter over there to fix it before the buyer ever said anything to us about it. They are still appreciative of that. I’m sure I could probably cite dozens of cases where we went overboard in one of my businesses to fix something that made a client or customer unhappy, and I always thought that if I had worked for a large company that was only concerned about short-term profits, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do that. 6. Being able to say “no” to a client who mistreated me or one of my people. Conventional wisdom says that no one who owns a business likes turning away a client

THE ZWEIG LETTER MAY 23, 2022, ISSUE 1442

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