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 successfully accomplished what you’re trying to do. I call it Modeling the Masters. My last post was: How to Build a Business the HP Way.

Today I’m going to focus on how you can find your next big business opportunity like Ray Kroc who turned McDonald's from an eight-chain restaurant into one of the most recognized companies in the world.

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“Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get." – Ray Kroc

Raymond "Ray" Albert Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was a Czech American businessman who took over the small-scale McDonald's Corporation franchise in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a $500 million fortune during his lifetime. He was also the owner of the San Diego Padres baseball team starting in 1974.

Ray Kroc began his career selling paper cups for Lily Tulip Cup. It was in the course of selling paper cups that Kroc would meet Earl Prince. Kroc had noticed Prince after he began buying Lily cups by the truckload for a product that he had recently invented – a five-spindle milkshake-mixer. Kroc saw big opportunities in the milkshake mixer and bought the exclusive marketing rights to the product. Over the next 17 years, Kroc would travel across America selling it.

When he received an order for eight milkshake mixers from brothers Dick and Mac McDonald in California, he had to go out to see them. The McDonald brothers had focused on just a few menu items – hamburgers, cheeseburgers, French fries, soft drinks and milk shakes. Kroc was impressed with the efficiency and the popularity of their restaurant, and saw his next business opportunity.

In one of the greatest success stories of all time, Kroc took a small but successful California-based hamburger restaurant and expanded it into what is today a worldwide chain with 400,000 employees, $22 billion in revenue, and a logo that has come to be more globally recognizable than the Christian cross.

Action Item #1: Always Be On The Lookout For Opportunities

Most entrepreneurs don't end up being successful with the product or service that they start with. There are always tweaks and changes that will happen once you start talking to customers and they tell you what they want. Your prospects and customers will lead you to many potential opportunities to grow your business - the key is to jump on those opportunities and take action.

In Ray Kroc's own words: "The two most important requirements for major success are: first, being in the right place at the right time, and second, doing something about it."

Kroc started out as a salesman for paper cups and his customers twice brought him to new business opportunities that he acted on. Sometimes this can mean selling a completely different product or service than you were offering before. Look at your current customers - are there hidden business opportunities you can develop with them or improvements to what you currently sell that can bring them more value and put more money in your bank account? If you're always on the lookout for new opportunities to grow your business you will eventually find the one you can hit a home run with.

Action Item #2: You’re Only As Good As The People You Hire

As your business grows beyond yourself you'll realize the importance of having a good team. They are the ones representing your company, making decisions every day, and talking to your customers. Having a good staff will make or break your ability to build a successful company beyond yourself.

To make sure he had the best team possible in the early stages of the business, Ray Kroc personally took charge of the entire hiring process. Once he had made the decision to bring someone on board the McDonald’s team, Kroc would give each and every one of them a badge with the title of Management Trainee. It didn’t matter what their actual job was; Kroc wanted every employee to feel valuable and like an important part of the team. Kroc would then tell his workers to think of a better way to do their job or of any improvements that could be made in customer service, which could then be written down and placed into a Suggestion Box. The Suggestion Box led to countless successes like the Happy Meal, Filet-o-Fish, Big Mac, Hot Apple Pie, and Egg McMuffin.

When you hire a new employee make them feel like they are an important part of your team. Encourage their suggestions on how the business could be run better, create opportunities for them to advance, and let them know that you value their contributions. A loyal and hardworking team will reward you with outstanding business results.

Action Item #3: Be A Part Of Your Community

Whatever community you sell to, make sure you take part in building that community base and making it stronger. These are the people who will continue to buy from you and the more successful they are, the more successful you will be.

Ray Kroc launched a number of initiatives to help build the communities around each McDonald's restaurant. First off he insisted that his franchise operators lived in the communities where they worked. He also hired regional advertising agencies so they could work "on the ground" and organize grand openings, birthday parties, and community programs. Finally he believed in community involvement through charities and the company continues to give back to this day as part of its corporate philosophy.

You don't have to run a restaurant to be involved in your community. Just think about the people you sell to and where they hang out. Can you get involved in making their lives easier and better? It's a longer term strategy but an extremely profitable one if you can win the hearts and minds of your customers by giving back.

True Story

When Kroc was just four years old, his father took him to a phrenologist to try to have his future determined based on the shape of his head. Here, the young Kroc was told that he would be best suited to having a career in the fast food industry. Nearly 50 years later he would fulfill the prediction.

Contest

I'd like to do another blog contest to give away a Gary Vaynerchuk card from my Entrepreneur Heroes series. At 13 Gary Vaynerchuk was making thousands of dollars per week selling baseball cards. In 1998 he took over his family’s liquor store business, moved from offline to online promotion and grew revenues to 60 million dollars in 4 years.

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

How are you planning on finding your next big business idea? Have you found it already? As always, I’ve love to hear your thoughts if you leave a comment below!

Evan Carmichael

To learn more check out my list of Ray Kroc articles  or my website, EvanCarmichael.com.