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By Debra Solomon
Baker
 ROBERT
KLUGE
CPA, Kluge, Kluge & Sivcovich
Robert Kluge grew up thinking that everyone had basements brimming
with calculators, copy machines, and income tax forms. As a child,
he received a thorough business education by listening carefully
to dinner table conversation.
“I had a really good grounding [from my parents] in what it takes
to succeed,” Kluge says. “Mom and Dad built their business entirely
on referrals.”
Kluge entered the family CPA practice in 1979, directly from college,
and in 2002, his Fenton-based accounting firm, Kluge, Kluge & Sivcovich,
was recognized as one of St. Louis’ fastest growing private companies.
The firm has more than tripled in size in the past six years.
“We work with so many individuals who want to look past today and
really grow their businesses, as opposed to just maintain them,”
says Kluge, a Ballwin resident. “The best part is that on a daily
basis, I get to help people solve their problems. That is a great
thrill for me.”
While Kluge’s father, Vernon, now spends much of his time traveling
the country in his mobile home, he does still return for tax season.
The bulk of Kluge’s clientele are owner-operated businesses, and
often the firm serves multiple generations within a family. One
of his own professional highlights involved meeting the great-grandchild
of a client that his father had had.
“We are still doing business with every member of four generations
of that family,” Kluge says. “The fact that they have stayed with
us all these years is one of the highest compliments.”
In 2001, Kluge received all licenses necessary to become a financial
planner. He expects that to be an area of growth for his firm, ultimately
comprising approximately 20 percent of his overall business.
Kluge views himself as an entrepreneur who “just happens to be a
CPA.” He is also a managing partner in Pursuit Products, a company
that produces and wholesales sewn goods for the paintball industry.
Kluge and his wife, Leslie, also have a houseful of adolescents.
Each of their five children has worked part-time in the firm. Their
father, meanwhile, has coached his children’s soccer and baseball
teams, and served as treasurer for two different churches. Kluge
is also currently the treasurer for Orphan Grain Train, a new charitable
organization dedicated to collecting clothing and goods for local
and overseas distribution.
Debra Solomon Baker is a St. Louis-based free-lance writer.
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE INSIGHTS
Are there any tasks that you could give to your administrative assistant
to do, but you like to do yourself? What chores at home do you do
that might surprise people?
“Gerri, my assistant, does things so well that I gladly let her
take on almost any task, but I still like to draft my own correspondence,
answer my own phone, and I’m very particular about keeping my address
book up to date.
“At home, before we entertain, I get into extreme cleaning. Just
before guests arrive, I’ve been known to pull out the refrigerator
and dust behind it or straighten the medicine cabinet. It drives
my wife crazy.”
JOHN K. NICKEL
President,
The Spark Agency
“Our administrative support team is outstanding, so there is very
little that I do not delegate to them. I do write the first drafts
of my correspondence, but our administrative staff has the final
say, which often entails extensive editing, so it is not only grammatically
correct, but also comprehensible.
“Twenty years ago, my wife assigned the cooking duties to me and
for more than a decade my family suffered as I learned. One unforeseen
benefit of my cooking during this period is that our children did
not return home after college. Today, I would classify myself as
proficient in the kitchen.”
MICHAEL RODNEY, ACI BOLAND INC.
“I answer all Guest letters and emails that are sent to me directly
rather than have my assistant or someone else do it. I like to be
able to know what our Guests are saying and I know they appreciate
hearing from me directly and not just getting a form letter.
“The only chore I do is our taxes—I am not big on chores, but I
do have a fun part time hobby—I like to make scrapbooks for special
events of our friends and family. My husband is a great photographer,
and we can commemorate a special memory in this personalized way.”
MAXINE CLARK
Founder and Chief Executive Bear, Build-A-Bear Workshop
For more information on Leadership Circle, please contact John Diefenbach,
associate vice president-membership, 314/444-1184 or jdief@stlrcga.org.
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