Famous Entrepreneurs - They Once Struggled Just Like You to Become Successful in Business

By Anthony Thompson

If you were to ask a few people if they wanted to become entrepreneurs, it is very likely that most of them will tell you that it's their dream. However, what many of them don't realize is that becoming an entrepreneur is extremely taxing on the soul and body. It takes many years of arduous labor, mental toughness, emotional resolve, and a busload of disappointments. To illustrate this, I would like to turn your attention to some of the most famous entrepreneurs who have had some of the worse struggles that the human mind can even imagine. The point of this is to show that while it is difficult to start a major corporation and stay faithful to its development, it is also possible to reach heights that are both fruitful and life-changing.

Thomas S. Monaghan To really understand what a famous entrepreneur is made of, we should first introduce Thomas S. Monaghan. Monaghan was the founder, president, and chairman of Domino's Pizza. He started the DomiNick's with his brother James in 1960 in Ypisilanti, Michigan. He was only twenty-three years old. The business was nearly destroyed in 1965 due to a bad partnership. In 1968, a fire resulted in a loss of $150,000, and insurance only covered one-tenth of the loss. In 1970, the business incurred a $1.5-million debt and was eventually taken over by a bank creditor. It also incurred one hundred lawsuits and fifteen hundred creditors. By 1990, Domino's sales rose to $2 billion. In 1998, Thomas sold Domino's for $1 billion. Today, Domino's has over 1,000 stores all over the globe, and has over 140,000 employees.

Colonel Sanders Colonel Sanders is another example of a famous entrepreneur who struggled early in his life. Sanders, was the founder of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).in 1952. After the death of his birth father, Wilbert Sanders, he dropped out of school, and left home to get away from his physically abusive stepfather. In 1935, he was given the honorary title "Kentucky Colonel" by then Kentucky Governor Rudy Laffoon. Throughout his life, Colonel Sanders suffered many failures including a divorce from his first wife Josephine, a failed legal practice, and a failed motel. He was later forced to sell his restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky after the construction Interstate 75 decimated his clientele. In the late 1940s, Colonel Sanders began traveling around the country looking for franchisees for his chicken recipe. He was often rejected, laughed at, and chastised for his efforts. However, after about 1000 visits to prospective franchisees, he finally convinced Pete Harman to become his first franchisee. They launched the first KFC site in 1952. Today, KFC is a $500 million business empire.

Christopher Paul Gardner Christopher Gardner is the founder and CEO of Christopher Gardner International Holdings, a stock investment firm in Chicago. When Christopher was a young boy, his father had abandoned the family, leaving him to be raised solely by Bettye Jean, his mother. She married a man named Freddie Triplett who was so abusive that, at one point, Christopher had made a failed attempt to kill him. When Christopher finally left his home in Milwaukee, he relocated to California and married his long-distance girlfriend, Sherry Dyson. Then, he met Jackie Medina, and the two had a son named Christopher Garner, Jr. Soon after, Jackie left the family, and Christopher was forced to raise his son by himself. The year that followed was quite difficult. The two were living on the street, staying in drug-infested hotels frequented by prostitutes, visiting soup lines, and sleeping in public bathrooms. Then, one day while Christopher was in the city, he noticed a well-dressed gentleman getting out of a red Ferrari. Christopher began a discussion with the gentleman, and later learned that he was a stockbroker earning $80,000 per month. With that, Gardner, decided to pursue this as his career path. He enrolled in a training program with Dean Witter Reynolds, and earned his stockbroker's license. In 1987, he started Gardner Rich, and amassed a million-dollar fortune. Gardner's life story is chronicled in his autobiography entitled "The Pursuit of Happyness", which was later turned into a movie of the same title starring Will Smith.

Berry Gordy In the entertainment business, Berry Gordy is the consummate music icon. Gordy is the founder of Motown Records. When Berry got out of the Army 1953, he opened a jazz record store called the 3-D Record. Two years later, the store failed miserably, and Gordy was forced to take an assembly line job with the Ford Motor Company. During this time, he wrote songs, and submitted them to songwriting contests and singers. In the spirit of entrepreneurship, Gordy set out to start his own record label, and borrowed $800 from his family. By 1959, Berry called his label Motown Record, which included well-known artists like Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Mary Wells, the Marvelettes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and many others. The record label is known today as Universal Motown, and continues to release great music.

Shelley Stewart Of all of the famous and successful entrepreneurs featured in this article, Shelley Stewart is the one whose story is the most heartbreaking. Stewart is the president of one of Alabama's largest advertising agencies and the co-owner of WATV-AM in Birmingham, Alabama. Stewart's mother was murdered by his father when he was just six years old, and he and his two younger brothers were abandoned and forced to fend for themselves. At one point, he stayed with his father and stepmother, but was forced to live on the back porch. Then, he lived with an abusive aunt who repeatedly beat him, burned him, and spit tobacco juice in his face. In 1949, he became a radio personality going by his on-air moniker of "Shelley the Playboy." As his popularity grew, Shelley decided to go into advertising sales, and joined the WATV-AM radio sales force after protesting the stations racial discrimination policy. Years later, he became the co-owner of WATV-AM with Rev. Dr. Erksine Faush. Today, it is the most popular radio station in Alabama, and is worth well over $40 million.

About the Author:

Anthony Thompson is an entrepreneur who has learned that creating a home business is challenging, exciting, and profitable. He's offering a free 10-video eCourse that is jam packed with tips and techniques for building a successful blog. Learn how to create yours today with these FREE videos.