Finger Lickin' Good: A Story of Business Hope
Let's face it. Sometimes the bad outweighs the good. Business is
down, customers are unhappy, employees are disgruntled and the
checking account is filled with red numbers. Stack up enough of
those days and you to think about packing it in. You start
listening to those who say your business wasn't a good idea
anyway. Before you give up, think about Colonel Sanders. Colonel
Harland Sanders was a businessman just like you, but he refused
to ever give up on an idea he thought worthwhile.
The Colonel retired in 1955, at the age of 65, after spending
most of his life in the food business. His retirement income was
$105 a month from social security and he quickly learned he
couldn't live on that paltry sum. Despite a couple of failed
businesses in his life, he decided to try again with his famous
chicken recipe.
At a time when most people say they are too old to work, Sanders
set out to sell his idea to restaurant owners. He wanted them to
buy his special chicken coating recipe and he in turn would get
a nickel for every piece of chicken they sold. He began his
sales journey in his old car, often sleeping in the back seat as
he crossed the country, because he was, in fact, broke.
Colonel Sanders walked into the first restaurant and the manager
told him no. So did the second, the third and well beyond.
Sanders called on 1,098 restaurants before he got his first yes
from a restaurateur. After two years on the road, he had only
signed five restaurants but he wasn't deterred because he still
believed in his product and believed in himself.
The rest of the story is history. Kentucky Fried Chicken became
one of the biggest restaurant chains in the U.S. with more than
600 stores nationwide. The Colonel sold the chain for millions
of dollars in 1964 and continued on as a spokesman for many
years thereafter.
When business seems hopeless, think of Colonel Sanders. Remember
it's never too late to persevere, to believe in you, to look for
new ways to do things, to keep on going!