I was thinking about business
other night, which is not a surprise, since I think about business all time! However, I was remembering my Dad telling me about starting his business. He decided to go into automotive parts business right after war. He decided on this particular type of business because it was right after Depression. No one could afford to buy new cars then and they needed parts to fix ones they had. Seeing a need and fact that there was no parts store in his town, he thought this would be perfect time to try it. He worked many, many hours every day. It was hard to get parts, too, so he had to make friends with companies' parts salesmen and work his way on their supply lists.
He also had to go to mechanics and let them know he was in automotive parts business and tell them he would give them good service and good deals if they would buy parts from him. They would call him at 4 in morning to get 2 spark plugs and he would get up and go down to store just to sell them spark plugs, hoping they would appreciate extra service and come back next time they wanted something. He did this for years. I remember many nights when phone would ring and I would hear my Dad leaving to go to store.
Did he make it into a successful business? You bet he did! His business grew so much that he outgrew building he was renting and bought property and built his own store. He also added a service shop and hired 4 excellent mechanics to service cars and trucks. And he added an automotive paint center where he mixed and sold paint for cars and trucks.
And through it all, he kept his integrity and honesty. He one time drove 50 miles to give a man $10, because he overpaid for a part. People knew to go to him if they wanted a fair deal. They also knew that if they bought a part from him and it didn't perform like it was supposed to, he'd take it back and refund their money even if factory wouldn't let him send it back. The customer was number ONE.
