Written By: Dr. Amit Mishra
Is there any age limit to Entrepreneurship? Lessons of Inspiration from the Success Story of KFC
Your personal life, your professional life, and your creative life are all intertwined. I went through a few very difficult years where I felt like a failure. But it was important for me to go through that. Struggle, for me, is the most inspirational thing in the world at the end of the day – as long as you treat it that way.~Skylar Grey, an American Singer, and Model
Are you among the struggling youths of today’s world who have been fed up by the regular rejection in interviews or have been disappointed with your business productivity or outcomes? Always remember that entrepreneurship is an opportunity to develop something valuable from emptiness and for being an entrepreneur there is no ideal age. A fabulous idea and courage is the best combo for success in business.
Here is the Inspirational Story of a business person who grew his business from scratch and has been an excellent example of resolution, dedication, and conviction. His personality was well recognized by his French white beard, glistening white hair, and black string tie beside a walking cane.
Colonel Harland Sander is a robust character in the business domain who successfully marketed Kentucky Fried Chicken’s “finger-lickin’ good.” Many world personalities never let their dreams down irrespective of facing immense adversities in their careers.
Colonel Sanders in business (Rejected 1009 times before getting success as Founder of International dollar Food company), Sanath Jayasuriya (An All-rounder from Srilanka, Debuted in 1989 Got Recognition as Most Valuable Player in 1996) in Cricket,
and Thomas Alva Addison (Discoverer of Electric Bulb, Invented Bulb after trying for more than 10000 times) in Science are some of the few names who took sufficient time to mark their presence in their respective fields through sheer hard work and commitment to make a remarkable comeback after a long journey full of struggle.
Colonel Sander, Founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken took his failures as a challenge and converted them into opportunities by his strong will-power. His whole life was full of hardships even though he established his business with firmness and expanded globally with meticulous planning and so the story is a great motivation to Young Entrepreneurs.
Sander was born on September 9 in the year 1890 in Henryville, IN (INDIANA). The tragic death of his father took place when he was merely six years old which compelled him to take the responsibilities of his siblings and mother.
Because of financial issues, he dropped out of the school in 7th Grade and left home to work as a farmhand which was about 80 miles away. Fortunately, his mother taught him cooking skills which he used to do with full interest from childhood only.
After working for several unconventional jobs for his earnings he joined a small cafe as a cook and dishwasher. In between, he joined the US Army for a year. After getting relieved he got hired by the railway as a laborer. He later worked as an Insurance agent, then sold tyres, worked in Lighting Company, operated a Ferry board.
During his work period at Railway, he studied Law as well. He faced fighting with his coworkers in many instances due to his ill-tempered behavior. Finally, in the year 1930, he joined a permanent job at a roadside gas station in the outskirts of North Corbin. He used to cook his recipes in his free time and sell them to people from his storehouse which he had converted into a small restaurant.
The exciting thing was along with dinner the visitors had the opportunity to see the show organized by him in which he used to tell lucid stories. And soon he became hit with the introduction of the legendary chicken dish in the recipe for the first time. By the year 1937, he expanded his business by accommodating up to 150 people at the same time.
He was extremely glad to be successful in his new business but he always looked towards expanding his production process and customer’s demand. He traveled to several restaurants and showed the restaurant owners his chicken recipe on the spot to expand his business.
During this journey, he got a rejection from 1009 restaurants. However, he never gives up as he was confident about his unique recipe and its taste. And finally, the day came when few restaurants agreed to sell Sander’s chicken recipe. By the year 1963, nearly 600 restaurants agreed to sell the recipe and Kentucky chicken making it a brand.
Today KFC has established itself as the 2nd largest food chain spread globally in 136 countries. The lesson we learn from Sander’s life is that Success is achievable at any age. The only thing required is your conviction towards fulfilling your dream at any stage of your life. Always believe in yourself wholeheartedly, the burning desire to succeed will pave your path towards your dream despite everything even your age! So Never give up!
