Growing Your Business 1, 2, 3: The Go-To Manual for Entrepreneurs Who Want to Expand Their Business (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780692619872)

RICHARD B. (Dick) SANFORD began his life as an entrepreneur in 1945 at the age of fourteen, when a change in family circumstances required that he live alone and provide for most of his living expenses. He started with a newspaper route. When that income proved insufficient, he decided to increase his work hours and added an additional set of deliveries. It wasn't long before the budding entrepreneur was managing both a big city morning paper delivery and two afternoon local prints. Delivering newspapers taught Sanford valuable business lessons no MBA program could. He learned business "street smarts" firsthand. He saw that to succeed in business it wasn't enough to show up for work on time. There was more. He needed to cultivate a loyal customer base and grow his business through word of mouth-which all hinged on providing excellent customer service. He also mastered the "art of the deal," as he perfected handling late-paying and non-paying customers. Still a youth, but expected to labor like an adult, Sanford developed a keen understanding of time's value and how to plan a day's work. Proper planning was key if he was to both attend school-and pass-while working almost fulltime. Because work was all he knew, Sanford explains, "At the time, it didn't seem to be too much of a task. Nothing seems impossible when you are young. Even dreams seem reachable." Sanford always remembered his Grandmother Emma's wise words: "Can-do is a hearty soul." In fact, it is how he lives. His early work experiences shaped the vision and reality of the eleven companies he later founded. You can learn more about the author by visiting www.growyourbusiness123.com.