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The
Chicken Man
“Baldness.
Handsome in a man, beautiful in a chicken.”
-
Frank
Perdue
Chickens
are so common and plentiful that it seems they should be a
commodity business. After all, one chicken looks like
another. Or does it? There is one chicken business that has
made a big name for itself by growing a chicken that is a
cut above the rest. After saving money from his salary,
Arthur W. Perdue entered the chicken business in 1920 with a
small chicken house and fifty chickens. In that same year,
Franklin Perdue was born. Arthur Perdue’s chickens
produced superior eggs, and young Frank learned a great deal
by observing his father’s careful attention to detail.
Focusing on quality and cost gave Arthur a good profit in a
low-profit-margin business. From the beginning, the Perdues
always looked for ways to improve their business and their
chickens. They learned that contented chickens produced more
eggs. They learned how to developed better feeds. By 1970
they had learned the value of “quality-message”
advertising, much of which featured Frank himself.
“It
takes a tough man to make a tender chicken,” said one
Perdue ad. “I’m not about to compromise when it comes to
my legs and breasts,” quipped another. Frank declared,
“If you can find a better chicken, buy it!” Perdue is
one of the most successful chicken producers in the U.S.,
selling literally hundreds of chickens each minute of every
day. Their branded chicken and turkey products sell from
Maine to Florida and as far west as Chicago and St. Louis.
Perdue’s formula for quality and innovation has produced
considerably more than chicken feed.
Consider
This: If the
chicken business can be innovative, your business can be
innovative. How can you improve the quality of your product?
How can you shape your message so it is memorable?
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Library
Resources...
This
is your Library Resource connection. The menu at the left
is your link to those hard to find culinary and management
books as well as links to Christian books. The link to Pocket Testament
is for obtaining free Bible
handouts. More will be added
later...
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Milton
Hershey
“The
difference between mediocrity and greatness is extra
effort.”
-
George
Allen
Some
people see failure as a sign to give up. Those who
eventually become successful see failure as a
stepping-stone and another lesson in the business
school of life. They just keep on trying. Milton
Hershey’s father was an itinerant speculator,
moving from place to place and investing in every
kind of business with little success. Milton, born
in 1857, attended seven schools in eight years and
never made it past the fourth grade. He first worked
for a printer, was fired, and then was apprenticed
to a confectioner. In 1876 Milton opened his own
candy business in Philadelphia, but he couldn’t
make a profit. Next, he went to Denver and opened a
candy store. It too failed. Milton made another
attempt in New York City, and that business failed
in 1886.
Finally,
Milton Hershey returned to his hometown of
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and began making caramels.
The candy came to the attention of an English
importer, who placed a big order. The caramel
business prospered, and Hershey built a modest
factory on the site that eventually was to encompass
sixty-five acres of candy manufacturing. In 1893,
inspired by German chocolate makers at the World’s
Fair, Hershey began to produce his own chocolate. By
1900 he sold the caramel business and concentrated
solely on producing chocolate. Hershey refused to
advertise (a policy the company adhered to until
1970), believing that quality would sell his wares.
Consider
This: Failure
can be a valuable part of learning. Some see it as a
dead end, while others see it as an opportunity to
learn a valuable lesson.
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