Outlet: The Virginian Pilot

By Phil Walzer

For nearly a decade, the brothers have worked together – and separately – at the business their father built.

Eric Kline joined Payday Payroll, which provides payroll processing and human resources services, in 2002. He started in sales. For the past four years he’s been director of business development, cultivating clients locally and beyond.

His younger brother Danny came on in 2006 as a payroll processor. He rose to become president last year, taking over Payday from their father, Andy.

Eric and Danny Kline will part ways – amicably – next year.

Eric told his brother and father last month that he’s leaving the business to try something new.

“I’m 37,” he said. “I won’t have many more opportunities in my life. I could stay the course and make incredible money and retire happily in 15 years. But there are other things I want to do and I’m not going to get the chance to do them.”

He had told his father early on that he didn’t expect to spend his career at Payday. So “it wasn’t a shock,” Danny Kline, 35, said.

“I kind of knew he wasn’t going to be a salesperson for life. Was I expecting that conversation? Of course not.”

Danny added: “Selfishly, from a business standpoint, I’m losing my top salesperson. But he happens to be my brother, and if that’s what my brother wants to do, I’m happy for him.”

Family-owned businesses face particular challenges. One is the handoff to the next generation, which Payday, unlike the majority, has successfully maneuvered.

Another is the relationship among siblings in the firm.

Danny and Eric acknowledge they’ve had disagreements, but they said they’ve worked smoothly together despite, or maybe because of, their personality differences.

The brothers bypassed one common sore spot among siblings: rivalry for control of the business.

Danny: “I knew he’d never run this company; he loves sales.”

Eric: “I didn’t want to be CEO. I don’t like being tied to the office.”

And that gets to what sets them apart.

Eric: “Danny is a lot more detail-oriented. I’m more like Dad: Let’s just do it and we’ll figure it out later. Danny wants everything in meticulous order, and then he’ll pull the trigger.”

Danny: “Neither of us wants to change jobs, and we don’t have the acumen to change jobs.”

Danny has done sales: “I was pretty good at it, but I didn’t enjoy it. I like to learn systems, find the holes and learn how to fix them. That’s what intrigues me. I’m an inside guy. He’s an outside guy through and through.”

Eric’s also more of a people person – another resemblance to their father – so he’s more likely to take the microphone at charity events that Payday sponsors.

“He’s very, very charming, and people tend to gravitate toward him,” Danny said. “I’m not that much of a schmoozer.”

Even their appearances reveal their differences. Both shave their heads.

“That’s one of the things he didn’t pass down,” Danny said of their father, who has a full head of hair. “Poor hair genes.”

But while Danny is clean-shaven, Eric sports a bushy beard.

Danny runs the company, but Eric operates relatively independently in sales. Yet both are also partners in Payday and consult on big decisions.

“Occasionally, we butt heads like any two people would,” Eric said, “but ultimately we’re partners and we come to an agreement.”

The key, Danny said, is to mentally separate the words in “family business.”

“With my dad and my brother, we’ve had dual relationships and we’ve had to compartmentalize,” he said. “In one sense, we’re business partners. In one sense, we’re family. One shouldn’t affect the other.

“We can have a heated conversation and then we can leave and have family time together. It’s like the separation of church and state. If you can’t do that, it’s very difficult.”

Eric spent four years in the Navy, working in intelligence, before joining Payday. Early on, he studied at Tidewater Community College but didn’t finish his degree.

Leaving Payday will allow him to do that. He hopes to go further and get a bachelor’s in international business at Old Dominion University. Then maybe work as an international business liaison, brokering overseas deals.

Eric is phasing out at Payday, working a couple of days a week before he leaves in a few months. Payday will be OK, Danny said, though the business might not replace Eric.

Eric said he’s excited about the future, “but it’s also scary. I’m leaving guaranteed income on the table for the chance of maybe succeeding or maybe not.”