When Ownership Becomes Opportunity: Ron Bloomingkemper on Sharing Success with Employees

Business success can take many forms. They can be revenue, reputation, product impact, market share, or the strength of customer relationships. But once success arrives, leaders face a pivotal choice. Will they treat it as a personal reward, or as a springboard to deepen purpose, expand opportunity, and reinforce the behaviors that made it possible?

For Ron Bloomingkemper, a seasoned leader in financial services, the path was clear. If one builds a business with others, their stake should be embedded in its structure, from daily operations to eventual sale. His guiding belief is to share success, enabling those who helped create it to truly benefit from it.

Bloomingkemper's philosophy was shaped over decades in an industry that values persistence, discipline, and trust. He spent his career alongside frontline producers, administrative teams, and agency networks, learning that those who meet clients in homes, offices, and communities are more than task-doers. They're the company's relationship engine.

His journey from top marketer to founder gave him a moral compass. Early experiences watching founders retain most of the rewards while others walked away with little left a lasting impression. Determined to do things differently, Bloomingkemper built a model where equity and profit sharing were not vague promises but contractual guarantees, an intentional strategy that turned employees into owners.

Bloomingkemper's approach rests on two key principles. First is transparency in how value is measured. Second is a clear, contractual pathway that links contribution to future reward. From the outset, employment agreements included a formula detailing how proceeds would be shared with those who helped grow the business, payable upon sale.

"This clarity did more than offer potential upside. It shifted mindsets," Bloomingkemper shares. "Employees started seeing themselves as stewards, not just staff. Admins went beyond their roles, making smart choices because their work truly mattered. Sales teams built lasting client relationships, knowing every deal shaped their future. Success became something everyone owned."

When people have a vested interest, engagement deepens. Teams worked longer hours, took initiative, and built stronger client bonds. Performance rose as motivation and ownership were distributed.

"We had a carrot, not a stick, and the carrot got bigger and bigger," Bloomingkemper says, capturing how a growing reward replaced the need for top-down control. That carrot, embedded in contracts and communicated clearly, became a magnet for retention, productivity, and organic recruiting. Talented individuals were drawn to a model that treated them as future beneficiaries, not temporary hires.

Implementing this model required humility and discipline. It meant committing in writing to share proceeds and honoring that commitment, even when it might have been easier to retain more. Bloomingkemper says, "It feels better to share the wealth than to keep it all."

He also reframes success in generational terms. "If you don't come from a wealthy family, make sure a wealthy family comes from you," he adds. These are guiding principles. For Bloomingkemper, the company was a vehicle for intergenerational change, helping people who began with modest means discover life-changing possibilities.

Operationally, the model depends on honest compensation design and systems that reward team building and long-term service. Bloomingkemper championed a transparent formula that recognized those who developed others, ensured client satisfaction over time, and helped institutionalize replicable practices.

He emphasized simplicity and scalability. When systems are teachable, newcomers can thrive, and those who build teams are rewarded. Workplace flexibility was another cornerstone. Employees were trusted to manage their time and environment, with accountability tied to results and longevity, not hours logged. This trust reduced the need for oversight and allowed people to integrate work with life while staying focused on shared goals.

Beyond the mechanics, there's a deeply human story. Bloomingkemper has seen people who began in humble roles and achieved financial security, building futures for their families. "We didn't hire people to build our business, but our business to build people," he says, reframing the employer-employee relationship from extraction to mutual creation. In this model, stewardship replaces accumulation, and legacy is measured in lives uplifted, not assets retained.

Ultimately, sharing success is both a smart business strategy and a moral commitment. It aligns incentives, strengthens performance, and fosters a culture of ownership. More importantly, it turns the fruits of risk and effort into lasting change for families and communities. Ron Bloomingkemper's work shows that when equity and profit sharing are built into the foundation, businesses can achieve exceptional results and create enduring impact.