My Educational Programs / Sessions @ Cultivate

Succession or Sell: Taking Over a Horticulture Business
Monday, July 17 • 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Succession and exit planning are hot topics in the green industry. Even though Baby Boomers comprise 21% of the U.S. population, they own 60% of all U.S. businesses, and 83% of those owners have no set succession plan. The Horticultural Industry is known for being composed of many family-run businesses. However, only 30% of family-owned businesses survive into the 2nd generation.

Our panel of business owners is comprised of those who have successfully taken over a family business either from inside the family or purchased it from the outside. Family and new owners will share their experiences, challenges, strategies, and advice for a successful generational transfer or taking over a family-run business. What were some of the pitfalls, and what would they have done differently? What worked and led to a successful transfer of ownership internally and externally?

                



    Lyndsi Oestmann, Owner at Loma Vista Nursery  
    Lyndsi Oestmann grew up in the nursery business started by father, Mark Clear. She pursued a degree in Business from Kansas State University with no intention of returning to the nursery. However, in 2004 she began her full-time career in the nursery industry and has worked in all aspects of the nursery from field production and learning the art of pruning young trees, to accounting and payroll. Lyndsi now serves as president of Loma Vista Nursery where she oversees all strategic and operational responsibility for 300-acres of container production, 500 acres of field production with sales predominately focused on the Midwest and mountain states. Lyndsi prides herself in being an active and highly involved participant in the green industry. She served as a 5-year board member of Kansas Nursery and Landscape Association and as board president in 2016. She is a member of AmericanHort Community Landscape Connector group, member of Johnson County Community College Horticulture Advisory Board, member of the Western Nursery and Landscape Association board, recipient of WNLA’s State Association Leader Award in 2017, and Horticultural Industries Leadership Awards Class of 2020. Our of concern for both the present and future of horticulture, Lyndsi is dedicated to recruiting youth into the industry. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her two daughters and husband, teaching Sunday School, leading her daughters’ Girl Scout Troop, coaching softball, and reading.


    Loma Vista Nursery - Producing cold hardy field and container grown plant material since 1991  
    Loma Vista Nursery produces high quality container and field grown plants for retailers, wholesale distributors, and landscapers across the Midwest. We currently grow over 450 varieties of shade and ornamental trees, shrubs, perennials, and ornamental grasses. Founded in 1991 by Mark Clear, LVN is family owned and operated. Our 310 acre container production nursery is located in Ottawa, Kansas, just 40 minutes south of Kansas City. We have over 650 acres of in ground tree production just 20 minutes west of the container nursery in Baldwin City and Willow Springs, Kansas. Loma Vista Nursery also maintains a full service Landscape Distribution Center in Olathe, Kansas, to meet our local customer's needs.



    Address:   12905 W 143rd St. Olathe, KS 66062
    Email:  lyndsi@lomavistanursery.com
    Contact:   Lyndsi Oestmann
    Phone:  (800) 313-7010   FAX:  (913) 681-5306

                 



               

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