Keith Carley - Dynamics of a Family Business

Keith Carley swept the shop floor at Air Compressor Works. Then he ran the company. Then he sold it. The family business arc, told straight. In this episode, Keith walks through what it actually looks like to grow up inside a business his father and uncle built from nothing. The lessons came on the floor: show up early, work harder than anyone else in the room, and the rest sorts itself out. Decades later, Keith took over Air Compressor Works. Years after that, he sold it. The conversation goes where most family-business stories don't: what changes when you stop being the owner and start being the operator inside someone else's structure. Keith is still in the seat, but the equity belongs to a larger partner now. That's a different job. Different incentives. Different conversations at home. If you grew up in a family business, you've thought about the exit. If you're staring down a sale right now, you've thought about it harder. Keith has lived both sides.