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Chapter 1

My Entrepreneurial Roots

The Great 1966 Candy Franchise of Fort Pierce, Florida

I have always been an entrepreneur. From time to time, I have looked back on my life and tried to pinpoint when I became an entrepreneur, only to realize that it seems I was born an entrepreneur. The entrepreneurial spirit came naturally.

The earliest business venture I can recall was in 1966 when I was 14. On a cold and gray February morning, I waited for the bus a block from my boyhood home. Our bus stop was strategically located in front of the Westside Baptist Church, the church my father pastored in the small beach town of Ft. Pierce, Florida. Each morning, as we waited for the big yellow Bluebird school bus to rumble down the street, most of us ambled across the street to the Sunrise Restaurant. While we did not eat at the restaurant, there was a large selection of gum and candy by the cash register. Many mornings, I purchased the gum and candy that I would line my pockets with for the long school day. This practice of taking candy and gum to school was strictly forbidden. This minor infraction to what seemed like a useless rule was inconsequential to a 14-year-old boy with much more important thoughts on his mind.

I can remember the bus ride to school that faithful morning as if it were yesterday. Reaching into my top pocket, I retrieved a package of gum with only one stick remaining. My seatmate, Glen Burrell, asked if he could have a piece, and I held up the pack to show him that only one stick of gum remained. “I would be glad to give you a stick of gum, Glen,” I replied, “but this is my last piece.” Assuming the conversation was over, I withdrew the last stick of gum from its aluminum packaging.

Glen then made an offer that changed my young life. He simply said, “I’ll give you a nickel for it.” The wheels of my entrepreneurial brain began to turn. Quickly, a bit of mental math began to take shape. One package of gum cost 5 cents; there were five sticks of gum in that 5-cent package. It only took a second to realize what a good offer Glen was making. The price of the entire pack for only one stick of gum—this was indeed a good deal. I looked at him to make sure he was willing to consummate the transaction at such a high dollar figure, and I saw that he was. He received a stick of gum; I received a nickel; and both of us leaned back in the bus seat, happy with the conclusion of a successful business transaction.

As Glen chewed his freshly acquired contraband, my mind was off to the races—5 cents for a single stick of gum. That meant that if I could sell five pieces for 5 cents each, I would get 25 cents, which, divided by my 5-cent investment, gave me a whopping 400% net profit. Then, of course, there was the conversion to an annualized rate of return. The 400% return was correct if it took a year to sell a pack of gum, but what if I could sell it in a month? That would increase my rate of return to 4,800%. What if I could do that every day? I’d be rich by the time I got to high school.

Yes, I know, you are wondering what 14-year-old boy thinks this way. Well, I can assure you, this one did. By the time I reached home that evening, my business plan was well formulated and ready to be put into action. My first stop was my bedroom where I knelt in front of the chest of drawers, opened the bottom sock drawer, and dug in the back for the cigar box that held my life savings—$11.55. How many sticks of gum would that buy? The answer—a lot.

My next stop was across the street at the Sunrise Restaurant. I bought an even $5 worth of Lifesavers, chewing gum, and candy. By then, I had rationalized that purely supply and demand drove Glen’s desire to pay a whopping five cents for a single piece of gum. I realized that I could not count on that rate of return on all my sales. After contemplating the selling price of my candy for most of the evening, I decided a simple doubling of my money was reasonable. Therefore, a 5-cent pack of gum would sell for 10 cents. A 10-cent candy bar would go for 20 cents. With this decision, the Great 1966 Candy Franchise of Fort Pierce, Florida, was born.

The next morning at the bus stop, I could hardly wait for the bus to arrive. I realized there was little use in trying to sell my candy at the bus stop. All my potential customers would have to do is walk across the street to the Sunrise to buy his gum for a nickel. However, once the bus doors closed, I had a captive audience—one without access to gum, Lifesavers, candy bars, or any other of my sweet-tooth contraband. On the bus ride to school, I sold two packs of gum and one pack of Lifesavers, but once in the hallowed halls of learning, cut off from the outside world, my sales exploded. By my third-period gym class, I had sold half my inventory and recouped my entire 5-dollar investment. By lunch, I was out of product, but I had acquired a reputation. I was the unofficial, official Candy Man.

That afternoon, immediately upon arriving back at our bus stop, I headed straight across the street to the Sunrise Restaurant with 10 dollars in my hand. I discovered that 10 dollars buys a lot of 5-cent gum and Lifesavers, so much that I was buying all the candy off the shelf racks. I thought this would make the cashier happy. Look at what I was doing for the restaurant’s sales. Instead, it seemed to irritate her. All she kept saying was “now I have to restock all this.” That was my first education in the different outlook an employee holds of a business transaction contrasted with an owner. Employees look at great sales as more work, and an owner looks at it as more money. I knew I was destined to be an owner.

I soon learned that I could increase sales by increasing my candy mix. Some of my buyers would buy one of every type of candy. A bigger assortment meant bigger sales. However, that afternoon, I saw for the first time what a limited selection was offered on the Sunrise Restaurant’s checkout counter. I left the store with just under $7 of gum and candy.

I computed how much inventory I would need, based on my sales that day, to make it through the next. I reasoned I would need at least $10 of candy to have enough stock for the next day. With a $10 investment, I could expect a $10 profit. As I stood on the corner contemplating my next move, I looked across the street and down two blocks where I saw my answer.

Like a lighthouse beckoning a weary sailor, that big Winn-Dixie grocery store sign called me. We sell candy, it seemed to say. I ran as fast as my 14-year-old feet could carry me to the Winn-Dixie, as if someone was there just ahead of me busily cleaning out the candy and gum before I arrived. As I trotted into the store, I went directly to the sweets aisle. But, to my amazement, what I found were not packages of candy and gum, but boxes.

As I looked, I saw that I could buy a box of gum with 40 individual packages, not for the $2 it should cost based on 5 cents per pack, but for an unbelievably low price of only $1.79—giving me four additional packs of gum and a penny. This was my first lesson in expanding margins. The lower you pay for the goods and services, the higher the profit potential when you resell.

I quickly returned to my house, dug out my cigar box, and emptied it on the bed. I took every penny I had to the Winn-Dixie and bought all the boxes of Lifesavers and gum my stash could purchase. This, again, was a valuable lesson. In business, you receive no rewards until you are willing to invest in your idea. And the more you are willing to risk, the higher the potential return. I had to put my money where my mouth was.

Coming home with a grocery bag of candy, I realized that the next problem my young start-up business faced was that the sheer volume of candy I carried would be difficult to get to school without being detected. I went to my room to mull over how my business would overcome this growth challenge. As I sat on my bed, my eyes locked on a gym bag on my closet floor. I yanked the bag off the floor and dumped an old pair of socks and my baseball glove. Once empty, I began to stack my inventory carefully into the bag. Almost three quarters of my candy and gum fit snuggly into my gym bag. After all, no one would suspect my sugary delights in a gym bag. Everyone carried a gym bag to school. The next day, I was off to the races selling candy before school, between classes, during gym, at lunch, and even on the way home. I sold almost all the candy in my possession.

I then computed exactly how much I should buy just to fill the gym bag to the top—my required inventory for the day. I did not realize it at the time, but I had just learned another business lesson. Excess inventory lowers your return. I soon reached my personal sales nirvana. Each day, I completely sold that day’s inventory by fifth period and counted my money on the bus ride home with an empty gym bag at my side. Could life get any better than this?

Over the weekend, I began to strategize how I could multiply my efforts. I needed to get more candy to school. More inventory meant more sales. More sales, of course, meant more profit, but how many gym bags can one 14-year-old boy carry to school? I rationalized that two gym bags would be the most without blowing my cover. Again, that capped my sales, which was unacceptable for a growing business. The following week, every day, two gym bags went to school. Every day, I came home with nothing but two empty gym bags and a pocketful of nickels, dimes, and quarters.

That second weekend, I had an aha moment. I realized that what I needed was help; more specifically, I needed sales help. That next week, the Great 1966 Candy Franchise of Fort Pierce, Florida, implemented the power of franchising.

I reasoned that if I had people helping me sell my candy, then I could make more money. But this next step presented me with several logistical problems. First, I would have to get a large amount of candy to school. Second, I would need a place to put the candy. Third, I would have to bankroll all the salespeople working for my newly formed franchise organization. Out came the pencil and a clean white pad of paper. By early Saturday afternoon, I had reduced my new and improved business plan to writing. By late Saturday afternoon, I was off to Glen Burrell’s house.  You remember the guy who offered that first nickel for a single piece of gum and started this ball rolling.  More specifically, I was off to see Glen’s 16-year-old brother, Thom.  You see Thom had two things I really needed; a driver’s license and a car. Thom was exactly what I needed to move my franchise operation into high gear.

I knocked on the door of Glen’s house, and his mother cheerfully welcomed me in and sent me to Glen’s room. I told Glen that I needed to talk to Thom and he looked surprised but quickly made the intro. Of course a 14 year old boy has absolutely nothing in common with a 16 year old. Before he could ask what I was doing in his room, I informed him that I had a business proposition for him. He initially looked doubtful, but when he heard I would be willing to pay him $5 to take me to school and back, his attitude began to change.

This was another important business lesson. You must not only believe in your idea, but also be persuasive enough to get others to believe. Your sales presentation must be well designed, understandable, and well rehearsed. I learned that most people do not have the vision to see an opportunity, so instead of trying to make them see your vision, just find their hot button and know how to push it. What will motivate them to help you reach your goal? In Thom’s case, it was cash. Cash works with many people, I learned. If you pay someone to do a job, he does not need to buy fully into your dream, just your rate of pay.

In a matter of minutes, we were in Thom’s car. You see, in those days, gasoline ran about 30 cents a gallon and filling your car took less than a $5 bill. So, for a tank of gas, I now had a company vehicle at my disposal. Thom drove me to school that afternoon. Because we lived in Florida where the weather is warm, all the lockers are located in open breezeways. So, there was no problem with getting access to my locker and Glen’s locker. Glen also became my first franchisee. The deal cut that weekend gave Glen Corridors A and B to market during classes, while I continued working Corridors C, D, E, and F.

          As the sun rose that Monday morning, I could hardly wait to get to school. I wasn’t after the education; I was purely after the cash. After all, at this rate, I would be very wealthy before I graduated. Glen and I met at the bus stop and mapped out our procedures. Once the bus delivered us to the school, I helped Glen set up on Corridor A. His sales began to move along at a brisk pace once I taught him how to use a bit of carnival-barker technique to draw a crowd. Did I have a knack for this business, or what?

With Glen’s plate spinning just fine, I proceeded to Corridor C, and by the time the opening bell rung, I had completed my rounds through Corridors C and D. This went on for two more weeks, during which time, I brought on board additional franchisees. I could not believe my good fortune, each evening coming home and adding more money to my cigar box, which was now filling up very nicely. I learned that the Winn-Dixie cashier would gladly change my small bills into larger ones. In the mid-60s, few 14-year-old boys toted a cigar box of 20s; but I did.

This business lesson was one that has stayed with me for a lifetime. Any business venture dependent on your personal efforts will always cap your earning potential. But if you can find a way to give others what they want and earn an override from their efforts, there is no limit to your income potential. This business lesson learned in 1966 has helped me establish two national licensed operations (similar to a franchise), where others paid me for the right to make money from my idea, and one publicly traded company. It was a good lesson to learn at such an early age.

About 30 days into the Great 1966 Candy Franchise of Fort Pierce, Florida, operation, I was in gym class, when Coach Moore, walking through the boy’s locker room, yelled, “Parker, I want to see you in my office… now.”  ……………

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