SMILING HILL FARM
Westbrook, Maine
Established 1720
Is the company still owned by descendants of the founder?
WK: Yes, that is correct. There were two Knight brothers, and I am one of their descendants.
What percentage of the company does the family own?
WK: 100%.
Have there been any significant changes in the business over the last five years?
WK: Not really. We spent a number of years after 2008 just holding steady. It’s been a slow evolution as the economy has ticked upwards. We’re starting to see the benefits of that. We haven’t gone out and acquired any competitors or anything like that, but we’re always trying to improve facilities and make those changes necessary to attract new employees and service our customers better.
What family members are in management? What generation do they represent?
WK: [In] my immediate family there were six of us: three boys and three girls. We just lost my father last year; my mother still survives and lives on the property. All of us are involved one way or another. But as far the day-to-day management, there is myself, [brother] David Knight, my sister Marsha Knight and my brother Michael Knight. And I have two other sisters who have other employment. They are not full-time employees, but they contribute.
I am generation 12, and we have generation 13 [working in the business] and generation 14 on the ground. Although I do not have any children, my brothers and sisters do, and their children are old enough where they have children. [Generation 14] They are about 10 years old.
Some of [the 13th generation] work full-time for the business. At this point they are anywhere from 20 to 35 years old, so we’re starting to transition them into management and running the company. They are getting to the age where they appreciate it, and they are deserving of it.
What does it feel like to be the owner of such an historic company?
WK: I wouldn’t describe myself as an owner, and I don’t think my siblings do either. We’re more stewards. We’re more caretakers. I was at a conference one time and people were speaking about exit strategies. I never even considered that before…. We’re trying to steward this thing and be able to pass it on to the next generation.
Our business is unique because it’s a piece of property, and the location is so important to the business. If I had a standalone pizza shop, it would be easier to sell that and move on from that. Here, we’ve been occupying this 500-plus-acre piece [of land], and there’s so much history there. That’s part of your heritage and your children’s heritage, so you want to be able to pass it on.
Is there any pressure to keep the company going?
WK: It does create a lot of responsibility. My hands are tied because I don’t have certain flexibility to do some things that other companies are able to do because I always have this feeling that I have to hold on and preserve what we have. It creates some tension and a different dynamic for economic decisions than [exists at] other companies.
What do you admire about how the previous generation ran the family business?
WK: Selflessness. My parents and my grandparents, they were people who lived well below their means and took a certain amount of pride in how they lived. Living frugally, and living sustainably, growing their own food, being used to [using] things over and over again. I think that’s one of the hardest things to instill in the next generation. There is a certain amount of entitlement that kids today have growing up. Frankly, I had a little bit of that as a child, but I grew out of that. You hope and pray that most of them do mature and see the bigger picture and importance [of running a family business].