What do you do when you’re grateful for your last name… but you don’t want it to be the first thing people see?

In this episode, Andrea talks with Brecken Glenn, a next-gen leader at Affinity Partners in Northern Colorado, about the messy middle of stepping into a family business while trying to build your own credibility, confidence, and identity. Brecken shares the defining moment she chose alignment over another credential, how she navigated the fear that people only saw her last name, and the surprisingly practical boundaries she and her dad put in place to protect both the business relationship and the personal one—like calling him “Ryan” in the office, and a rule that still makes her laugh: no questions on Sundays.

If you’re a successor trying to lead well and stay whole, this conversation will feel like permission.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why Brecken thought she’d never join the family business—and what changed
• How to make an honest ask for a role (without entitlement)
• What to do with the “am I only here because of my name?” spiral
• Boundary practices that actually work when you work with a parent
• Why succession isn’t an event—it’s a roadmap you adapt as you go
• What it means to be the first woman in your family to step into the role

Connect with Brecken Glenn:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brecken-schaefer/

Company: https://affinityrepartners.com/

Connect with Andrea Carpenter and Your Next Gen Friend:

Website: https://yournextgenfriend.com/

Your Next Gen Friend on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yournextgenfriend/

Your Next Gen Friend on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yournextgenfriend

Andrea on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreashaver/

Subscribe to "Your Next Gen Friend" on your favorite podcast player:

Spotify: https://yournextgenfriend.com/open-spotify

Apple Podcasts: https://yournextgenfriend.com/apple-podcast

Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm.

Chapters in This Episode

00:00 – Welcome + how Andrea and Brecken met (Bailey Program)

03:12 – Brecken’s origin story: “I thought I’d never do real estate”

04:20 – COVID pivot + starting on the brokerage side

06:02 – The honest ask: “Will you make space for me?”

07:52 – The defining moment: choosing herself (and walking away from the

master’s)

11:22 – The last-name fear + trying to be “just Brecken” in the room

16:44 – Working with dad: what it’s really like

17:15 – Boundary #1: “Call me Ryan in the office”

18:40 – Boundary #2: “No questions on Sundays”

19:50 – Boundary #3: naming the lens (daughter vs. employee)

22:22 – Holidays + not letting work dominate family space

24:46 – Five years in: confidence, brand, and being seen for contribution

27:25 – Leadership outside the business: ULI + community identity

29:52 – Long runway + patience when the vision is aligned

32:16 – What she’d tell her younger self: you don’t have to have it all figured

out

34:24 – Andrea’s transition roadmap metaphor

38:18 – Closing questions: identity, story, and being first11

42:28 – Wrap + invitation to share the podcast