All the pieces were in place. But they didn’t get there on their own.

It was known that Beth Parker and her cousin, Marc Burleson, would take over their family’s pool company from the time they were young. But the firm’s second-generation owner, Benny Burleson, appreciated that preparing them properly would take years.

Even if the older generation in the family business has no plans to slow down or retire, it’s still wise to have a succession plan together on paper. That way a sudden health issue doesn’t derail the whole business.

Both spent years working alongside Benny and observing how he handled the day-to-day and larger company decisions.

“Learning how to run the company isn’t something that is learned overnight,” Parker says. “It is something my uncle has mentored and taught both his son and I.”

And as they now run Burleson Pool Company, Parker and Marc Burleson aren’t just planning for themselves — generation three — to take over. She’s also helping to ensure the company carries on to the fourth generation.

The company’s succession plan was not about Benny Burleson leaving, Parker says, but they wanted to “let our employees know that we intend to carry the family business into the [fourth] generation, which is his grandson and one of his granddaughters.”

Embedded in family

In 1984, Benny Burleson and his wife Sissy took over Burleson Pool Co. The Owens Cross Roads, Ala.-based firm had been founded by his father, James Burleson Jr., in 1965.

His son Marc Burleson and niece Beth Parker grew up working for the company. She was drawn to the pool business and says she loves the work she does and the relationships she creates with employees, clients, builders and architects.

For the Burleson company, the change in ownership “was simply just a transaction to get it on paper so that when something does happen, we already are operating in the roles that we have been in, and that we plan to carry out until it’s time for the next generation to take over,” says Parker.

The logistics of changing ownership on paper were still challenging. “You’ve got to make sure you can afford to do it,” Parker says. “We had to go through financials to make sure it made sense to start doing this.”

To get the paperwork set up, they had to consult with an accountant and have a law firm draw up legal documents for the transfer of ownership. Before starting a succession, she recommends businesses prepare for additional expenses, such as insurance policies, legal fees, accountant, and consultant fees.

Her advice to others looking to make a transition plan is to make sure everyone involved knows what the end goal is and to set up the next generation for success. Those involved should align on who will make up new leadership, what roles they will have, and where they would like to see the future of the business go.

The first goal for Parker and her cousin was to get themselves into defined leadership roles on paper. They arranged for her and Marc Burleson to hold the majority of company shares between them, with Benny’s remaining shares to transfer to his grandchildren when the time comes.

Parker oversees the residential construction and design, while Marc manages the company’s commercial side. She holds the title chief executive officer and Marc holds the title chief operations officer.

They also spoke with employees in leadership roles to explain that nobody was getting let go and that there was a solid plan to transition company leadership without removing Benny and Sissy.

Succession within a succession

Even though the third-generation leaders are just starting to take the helm, they’re focused on mentoring the fourth generation. Connor Lewters joined Burleson Pool in 2016, and Allison Burleson joined in 2023 after graduating from college. Both are Benny’s grandchildren. The goal is to ensure they have defined roles and enough experience in the business to take over when the time comes.

Lewters and Allison Burleson came to Parker and Marc asking to be trained as the fourth generation to lead the company. They wanted to start learning by working with Parker and her cousin in different parts of the business.

“We’ve moved Connor around into different departments of the business to make sure he’s in the field a lot, learning all the ins and outs of commercial and residential,” Parker says. Since Allison has an education in human resources and accounting, she’s learning the office and contract side of the business.

“They’re learning all of the areas that Marc and I had been brought up in the business to learn,” Parker says.

While the fourth generation is learning, Parker says the third generation will keep their eye on industry trends and ensure the company can continue to adapt if needed. They don’t have plans to make changes in the way things run unless the market calls for it. Parker cited a pivot during COVID-19 from building big commercial competition pools to luxury condo pools as an example of the company’s ability to be flexible.

Modern era

Parker notes that one change the third and fourth generations have brought to the company is using new technologies to increase efficiency.

“Since we are so spread out all over the southeast, the ability to look at construction drawings via laptops, iPads, and phones and make decisions from one state to another makes us more efficient,” she says. Burleson Pool has a commercial market in North Alabama, all of Tennessee, Mississippi, and some of Kentucky, and a residential market in North Alabama.

Before, team members would have to come back and forth from the job location to the office to print or make changes. Video meetings also help make decisions and stay in touch while working at different locations.

To stay on top of industry trends, Parker serves on the board of Master Pools Guild. She says the affiliation has helped with understanding what direction to take.

Benny Burleson still comes into the office and offers advice when asked but lets the new leaders make decisions.

Overall, Parker says transitioning leadership wasn’t as complicated as they expected. It came together once they figured out the financials and got things on paper.

“I think the hardest part is just starting,” she says. “Then, as long as you have a good understanding of what each person’s goal is, [and] you know that going into it, it should be an easy transition.”