My name is Evan Carmichael and I believe that the fastest and most effective way to build a business is to model the strategies of people who have already done what you’re trying to do. I call it Modeling the Masters. My last post was: 3 Ways to Prevent Your Employees From Losing Interest In Your Company - Issy Sharp (Four Seasons Hotel)

Today we're going to look at how a young entrepreneur who had difficulty keeping up in class and didn't believe in himself changed his life and became one of the wealthiest men in North America. this is the story of S. Truett Cathy from Chick-fil-A and the top 3 lessons that you can learn from his success.

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"I realized I could do anything if I wanted it badly enough." - S. Truett Cathy

Samuel Truett Cathy (born March 14, 1921) is the founder of Chick-fil-A, a quick service restaurant chain based in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, USA. When his parents couldn't pay their bills from his father's job they began renting out rooms in their house, providing a bed and two meals to guests for a dollar a day. At any given time, there would be as many as 8 guests in the Cathy house. That, on top of Cathy’s two brothers, four sisters, and parents. According to Cathy: “Growing up in a boarding house introduced me to hard work and taught me the value of diligent labor."

By the time he was eight years old, Cathy was already an entrepreneur, chipping in where he could to help support his family. He began buying six-packs of Coca Cola for 25 cents and selling the individual bottles door to door for five cents each. In high school he read "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill which had a profound impact on his life: “I wasn’t all that bright. I had difficulty keeping up in class and I had always carried with me a bit of an inferiority complex. But I enjoyed my work and I enjoyed the rewards of working. As I read Mr. Hill’s book, I realized I could do anything if I wanted it badly enough. His words motivated me and showed me that I live in a do-it-yourself world.”

With just over $10,000 of his own and the bank's money, Cathy opened up his first restaurant in 1946. Today, his Chick-fil-A restaurant chain has over 1,500 locations and Cathy's net worth is over $1.5 billion making him one the richest people in North America.

Action Item #1: Lead from the Front

Your business will only be as strong as the people you have helping you. If you want them to perform and be motivated then you need to be a source of inspiration and lead them.

After a particularly rough year in 1974 where inflation rates rose unexpectedly, Chick-fil-A was hit hard in the pocketbook. They had to spend more money on advertising to attract people into the restaurants. Not wanting his operators to lose their shirts, Cathy decided that he would cover the unexpected increase in costs. He took the hit so they wouldn't have to.

According to Cathy: “I didn’t take a salary that year because I didn’t want our employees to take pay cuts. I struggled with this but I was determined not to lose sleep over it...Too many CEOs are leaving sinking ships. They should be the last ones to leave the company. If some people are losing money, everyone should lose money, not just the stockholders.”

Action Item #2: Build a Culture

If you're really clear about the type of company that you want to build and the type of people you want to hire then it'll be much easier to attract people to you who believe in your vision. There is no right or wrong culture but it's important that you build one that people can rally behind if you want to really accelerate your business growth.

Cathy doesn't believe that businesses should be open seven days per week. He built a culture around working hard for six days and then having a day off to spend with your family and for your spiritual well-being. As a result he attracts people who believe in that culture and strengthen it.

According to Cathy: “Why do we close on Sunday? Well, it started back in 1946 when I opened my first restaurant... After the first week, I determined that if it took seven days a week to make a living, I should be in some other business... We find closing on Sunday attracts those people who give attention to spiritual growth and are family oriented... The fact that we have Sunday closing helps attract quality employees."

Action Item #3: Keep Your Priorities in Order

As entrepreneurs we often don't do a great job of managing our lives. We work too hard, eat bad food, don't look after bodies, neglect those around us... all in the name of building our businesses. If that's you, it might be time to reconsider where your priorities are.

When Cathy was 38 years old, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. He thought his life as he knew it was over. It wasn't, but the experience did force Cathy to re-examine his principles.

According to Cathy: "I think I’d like to be remembered as one who kept my priorities in the right order. We live in a changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important things will not change if we keep our priorities in proper order."

True Story

As Chick-Fil-A grew, Cathy knew he needed a new tactic to attract more customers. This was when Cathy first introduced advertising, hiring a company to give Chick-fil-A a public face. The result? Large billboards showing cows that urged people to “Eat mor Chikin.” It was a humorous slogan, and it worked.

More Quotes

"We must motivate ourselves to do our very best, and by our example lead others to do their best as well."

"People want to work with a person, not for a company."

"I realized I could do anything if I wanted it badly enough."

Contest

Congratulations to Leon Hoang for winning the Jeff Bezos card from my Entrepreneur Heroes series by writing a this comment on my last post. Leon, please contact me so I can get the card sent to you.

For this week's contest I'm going to give away a Martha Stewart card. While in grammar school, Martha Stewart planned birthday parties for neighborhood children to supplement her baby-sitting income of $1 an hour. Her 1976 home-based catering business grew to earn hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

"I think it's very important that whatever you're trying to make or sell or teach has to be basically good. A bad product and you know what? You won't be here in ten years. - Martha Stewart

To win the card all you have to do is leave a comment below. One winner will be selected at random from the comments.

Are you leading from the front? Do you have your priorities in order? What part of S. Truett Cathy's message impacted you the most? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts if you leave a comment below!

Evan Carmichael

To learn more check out my list of S. Truett Cathy articles or my website, EvanCarmichael.com.