44 | winter 2017 cmba-achc.ca CMB MAGAZINE
all in the family
ROGER: Matt took business at Acadia, like me.
But when I started the company, I didn't know
what Matt's career path would be. I told him he
was welcome to come in and join anytime. Kids
need to go see what's out there for them, but
then I got a call: He was ready to come home
and go to work. We have a strong relationship,
and share family morals and ethics. As he
gained experience and got more courage, he
challenged us to try things in new ways. I was
all for it! Anything that he could do to help us.
When you run a small business, you wear many
hats, so it was nice to take a hat off and hand it
to him. We come from different eras, and he's
been introducing me to all the social media
and helping with reaching out to clients. But,
fundamentally, we are both the same.
How do you keep work and
personal life separate?
MATT: A lot of people ask about this, and I
do think it's unique how well we work together.
Sure, discussions do come up at family
dinners, but we usually let it relax with family. I
give [Roger] the credit on that, and for making
it easy for me. We have a great business
relationship, a strong father-son dynamic, and
a friendship at the base of it all, too. But do we
need breaks from each other? No, we're good!
We know each other well enough. Our family
homes are close, too. When we leave work, we
both have separate things we're doing.
ROGER: In our industry, some of it overlaps –
like when we're out, and people talk to me and
then Matt. eir reaction is that we know what
the other's going to do or how they would react to
things. Bottom line is, we have our shared values.
Do people make comparisons?
MATT: With our referrals, people pair us up
with demographics if they prefer to work with
someone their own age. I'm oen with the
THE WHEELER BOYS
Father and son team
of Roger (left) and Matt,
says having a division
of responsibilities and
clients makes it all work
