Continuing a Legacy: Matt Strathman
Photo by: John Burns
Matt Strathman is a lifelong Topekan and third generation owner of Strathman Sales Co. It wasn’t until his junior year in college, however, that he decided he would go into the family business.
“When you are a kid growing up in a business, you find yourself thinking you want to try something different,” Matt said. “But I realized sometimes different isn’t better.”
Matt didn’t walk straight into a leadership position with the company. He began by helping in all aspects of the business from delivery helper, to sweeping the floors and helping out in the office.”
“At first, I just did a little bit of everything,” Matt said. “I had to learn the ropes just like everyone else.”
Matt’s father, Art Strathman, offered Matt and his brother the opportunity to purchase part of the business a few years later, and then Matt became sole owner in 2006. A lot has changed between the time that Matt first joined the business to now.
“Back then, it was just about working hard,” Matt said. “You worked with the customers and sold and delivered a product. Now it is much more complicated.”
GROWING PAINS
Business really took off in 1982 when Bud Light hit the market. Growth suddenly hit double digits every year and even though emerging technology helped, Matt says the company wasn’t really prepared to handle that surge in business.
“We worked long days and long nights back then,” Matt said. “We didn’t add employees as quickly as we should have, so we had to make it work with what we had.”
When Matt first started working at Strathman Sales, they didn’t even have a computer. Everything was done manually. Customer invoices were handwritten and getting people to accept change proved to be one of the biggest challenges Matt would have to face. However, he knew that staying out front of technology would be the difference between staying status quo and taking the business to the next level.
“When my grandfather owned the business, every case of beer was hand stacked,” Matt said. “The inventory numbers are so much greater now, there aren’t enough hours in the day for that to happen today.”
Instead, they rely on forklifts and other heavy equipment to move inventory and keep products going out the door, and the salesforce team all carry handheld computers for invoicing and inventory management. Although, convincing them to embrace new ways of doing things wasn’t always easy.
“In a pretty old-school blue-collar business like this, change was hard,” Matt said.
Advancements in technology and communication also meant Strathman sales needed to shift their marketing focus.
“When I got here, we used local radio ads and billboards to promote our products. You were friends with the local DJ, and everything was a simple handshake. Now we spend most of our marketing budget on point of sale and digital advertising,” Matt said.
As various aspects of the business have changed over the years, one thing has remained the same: quality employees. Many of them have been with the company longer than 10 years, and Matt hopes they will stay many more.
“The legacy I want to leave behind is that my employees feel like they were able to grow while they were here and that they felt like they were part of the team,” Matt said. “We couldn’t have experienced the success that we have without them.”
Matt also wants to leave the business, and the community, better than he found it. An avid supporter of helping make Topeka a place where people want to live and work, Matt has been involved with both GO Topeka and the effort to revitalize Downtown. He also supports many smaller local organizations and fundraising efforts with many of his customers.
THE LEGACY CONTINUES
Matt doesn’t see retirement in the near future, but with his oldest son, Colton, already approved as a successor manager, the family business will endure through at least one more generation.
“When my dad retired, it wasn’t like he had a set date,” Matt said. “He just gradually spent fewer days at the office. I assume that is what I will do as well. One day, I just won’t go in anymore.”
When that day comes, Matt will likely be found enjoying the outdoors with wife, Sheryl; somewhere driving faster than he should be, competing with son Grayson in SCCA racing or out hiking with son Hunter in Utah.
