Can you imagine how a person would feel when they have to retire, after running their own business for many years, on just a measly pension?
This is exactly what happened to Colonel Harland Saunders, the Kentucky Fried Chicken guy who, at the ago of sixty, had no alternative but to sell out his business to make way for a new roadway.
After a period of living on his small pension, he decided that he was not going to accept his standard of living in pension poverty anymore and determined that he had to do something.
The idea came to him to sell his unique chicken recipes to other restaurateurs.
With this in mind, he set about approaching them and travelled all over America. He even slept in his car for many of the nights. He called on restaurateurs, day after day, explaining how his recipe would be advantageous for their businesses. But day after day, he was seen off their premises.
He never gave up and called on 1,009 doors throughout America before his offer was accepted.
What perseverance that man had to follow his dream? How many people would have given up after 3 or 4? But he went on and on until he got his Yes!
One of the reasons why I wrote my eBook on debt was because of my own debt. This happened, due to purchasing a retail business just one year before the last recession started. Our business of leather goods and gifts were not the sort of products which people needed in a recession. Expensive leather wallets and briefcases were eventually replaced by cheaper products but still it was impossible to trade successfully, when most of the customers in the locality were struggling with the recession themselves.
After many changes of the types of products we sold and also many burglaries to contend with, the doors were finally closed, at an enormous financial loss. The keys were handed in and the premises left empty. I drove away from there, knowing it would be a long time before I entered that location again.
Returning to college, I retrained and eventually landing up in a career motivating people on starting their own business, I always included the story of Colonel Saunders.
The story of his success was one I very much admired. The students loved to learn of his tenacity and determination.
Some years later, on my last visit to London, I did a detour down memory lane. This was the first time I had ventured back into the area where we had our retail business, as all recollections of it, the consequences of the recession and the financial burden of the closure had purposefully been erased from my mind. As I drove to the location where our retail business had previously been, memories of our debts challenge flooded back but I was happy to see that the new owners were running a very successful business.
There were many customers inside the bright, yet clean, premises.
It was very strange for me to notice, as I looked up at the shop sign, that it was in fact now owned by the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain.
This is exactly what happened to Colonel Harland Saunders, the Kentucky Fried Chicken guy who, at the ago of sixty, had no alternative but to sell out his business to make way for a new roadway.
After a period of living on his small pension, he decided that he was not going to accept his standard of living in pension poverty anymore and determined that he had to do something.
The idea came to him to sell his unique chicken recipes to other restaurateurs.
With this in mind, he set about approaching them and travelled all over America. He even slept in his car for many of the nights. He called on restaurateurs, day after day, explaining how his recipe would be advantageous for their businesses. But day after day, he was seen off their premises.
He never gave up and called on 1,009 doors throughout America before his offer was accepted.
What perseverance that man had to follow his dream? How many people would have given up after 3 or 4? But he went on and on until he got his Yes!
One of the reasons why I wrote my eBook on debt was because of my own debt. This happened, due to purchasing a retail business just one year before the last recession started. Our business of leather goods and gifts were not the sort of products which people needed in a recession. Expensive leather wallets and briefcases were eventually replaced by cheaper products but still it was impossible to trade successfully, when most of the customers in the locality were struggling with the recession themselves.
After many changes of the types of products we sold and also many burglaries to contend with, the doors were finally closed, at an enormous financial loss. The keys were handed in and the premises left empty. I drove away from there, knowing it would be a long time before I entered that location again.
Returning to college, I retrained and eventually landing up in a career motivating people on starting their own business, I always included the story of Colonel Saunders.
The story of his success was one I very much admired. The students loved to learn of his tenacity and determination.
Some years later, on my last visit to London, I did a detour down memory lane. This was the first time I had ventured back into the area where we had our retail business, as all recollections of it, the consequences of the recession and the financial burden of the closure had purposefully been erased from my mind. As I drove to the location where our retail business had previously been, memories of our debts challenge flooded back but I was happy to see that the new owners were running a very successful business.
There were many customers inside the bright, yet clean, premises.
It was very strange for me to notice, as I looked up at the shop sign, that it was in fact now owned by the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain.
1 comment:
Great story - I love how it came full circle
I've heard that story about Col. Saunders and have referred to it many times when talking about the power of belief and commitment to do whatever it takes when situations call for a solution.
Cheers,
Lorraine
www.powerfull-living.biz
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