FORT MADISON - Sitting in one of the display furniture sets at Holtkamps Floors, Decors, & Furniture in Fort Madison, Sandy and Dave Holtkamp look around with a sigh of relief, and maybe sadness.
But no regret.
The two started Holtkamp's Flooring 34 years ago Oct. 11, and built a business that stood the test of time before turning it over to their son Bobby and his wife Jessica about five years ago.
Today Dave and Sandy celebrate the three and half decades of business in Fort Madison with a celebration starting at 4 p.m. at the family business at 2331 Avenue L with beverages and hors d'oeuvres.
About five years ago Dave and Sandy reached an agreement to sell the business to their son, Bobby, and his wife Jessica (Panther) Holtkamp.
But the couple hung around for another half decade to be the support mechanism as Bobby and Jessica turned the page.
"It was my retirement plan that one of my boys would take it over eventually and (Bobby's) the only one that had any interest in it," Dave said.
"I offered it to all three of the boys at point and the other two said it wasn't what they wanted to do. No problem."
But Bobby had been living in Ohio. And all along he knew his parents business could be a solid back up plan. With things not going well out of state, Bobby reached out to his parents about coming back and joining the fold.
But Dave said Bobby had to come back and start with the crew installing, and then learn how the retail outlet functioned.
"He thanks me for it because he got to know what they go through and he found out it's not that simple. I think the guys do respect him more. He did that for four or five years," Dave said.
Sandy took over Bobby's training with the retail side of it showing him the ropes before the family came up with an agreement where Bobby's family would buy the store.
Dave quickly admits that Social Security, health insurance and Medicare had a little to do with the couple sticking around for while
Sandy said she wasn't sure she wanted to retire until just a short time ago.
"I wasn't real sure when I wanted to retire and I told them I would let them know when I was ready. It's been good to watch them grow and the customers come to love them like they did us," Sandy said.
"But just a few weeks ago there was hustling and bustling in the store and they were handling it all perfectly and I said, "They've got this. I'm ready to go."
"It's time." Dave said.
The two said they plan on spending time camping with friends and being involved in the lives of all their grandhildren. Their oldest son, Scott lives on the east coast, so traveling to that part of the country is in the works as well.
The couple's youngest son is Ironman Wes Holtkamp. Wes is now entrenched in development in Fort Madison working for Barker Financial out of Iowa City.
Sandy said the secret to their success over the past 34 years has been a personal touch and staying engaged in the community.
"Our motto has always been Personal Attention Is Our Specialty - and we've tried to stick with that," she said.
Dave said customers are willing to pay a bit more for the special attention you can't get at a big box store.
But both are quick to point out that not only is the special attention customers get in the store a big part of their success formula, but just importantly is the great staff they've had in place.
"We couldn't have done any of this without great people," Dave said. "They're the ones that are allowing us to do this."
That solid reputation and workforce has made the transition for Bobby a bit easier as well.
"Bobby was fortunate enough to come into a business that was already etablished. I'm not saying that was easy, but he had it a bit easier to go quicker and that's exactly what we wanted for him," Dave said.
"There was no reason for him to fight through the first five or six years like we had to. We all want for our children something just a bit easier than we had it.
And I'm not saying he hasn't struggled at times, but not as bad as we did and we're very thankful for that."
Bobby said it's also been fun watching his parents grow over the years and build a successful business.
"Its something that we took for granted as kids. How they were building this and how successful they were. Now that I've been a part of the business and learned how hard it was - it's just incredible what they've been able to do." Bobby said.
He said the reputation the family has in the community is one of the really special rewards of the business.
"It's a big part of my life, to be involved in this community and it's growth. But that started with them, too. They showed us that path," he said.
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