11/05/2022
Love this story! Resilience is Bouncing Back Stronger!
Today's My 3-Year Anniversary of Buying Stuckey's. At age 53, I had the unexpected opportunity to buy my family's failing business which was 6-figures in debt. I was an environmental attorney with no background in running a business, and our only asset was a rented warehouse full of tchoctchkes like fidget spinners, cowboy hats and six cases of Britney Spears t-shirts. Only 12 of the 370 Stuckey's stores my grandfather had built were still standing, none of which we own. And my grandfather's candy plant had long been shuttered. This dusty warehouse full of kitsch was all that remained of our pecan log roll empire.
People often ask me why I sunk my life's savings into buying Stuckey's. And the answer is simple: I loved my grandfather. I wasn't going to let his legacy be a bunch of broken down stores on the side of the highway, like fading memories of vacations long past.
Now, three years later, I have two business partners, RG Lamar and Ted Wright, and Stuckey's has purchased a pecan shelling and candy plant in Wrens, GA. You can find our delicious pecan snacks & candies in almost 5,000 stores across the country, including Wawa, Inc. in Florida, Food Lion, EZ MART, Bealls, Inc., Bomgaars Supply INC, and hundreds of specialty retail shops. We've gone from 9 to over 100 employees, and the company is profitable again.
It's been a labor of love, but it's also been a lot of work. Comebacks aren't like you see in the movies with a one-two punch, and you're back on top again. They're a slow daily grind. We're not 100% there yet, but we're on our way.
I'll close with a story that happened earlier this year. I was checking into a hotel in Oklahoma City late at night to give yet another speech when a man stopped me in the lobby. He said, "You don't know me, but I know who you are. I follow you on LinkedIn. I just want to say, 'Thank you' for bringing back a piece of my childhood." And he walked off.
That's why I wake up every morning and do what I do. To show that comebacks are possible; that we can revive a failing business. And, yes, we can even a bring back a piece of your childhood.
Oh, and those six cases of Britney t-shirts? We sold them at a profit. Thank God - like Stuckey's - she made a comeback!
