Before I tell you the story of how I started Subway Restaurants, and then share with you the Fifteen Key Lessons, I also want to tell you what you won’t learn in Start Small, Finish Big. This isn’t a book about writing business plans or about how to get your idea funded by investment bankers. This isn’t a book about business strategies or cutting-edge research. It’s not about breakthrough developments or technical prowess. It’s not about styles of management. It’s not about franchising your business, although it includes information about franchising. It’s not about my “clever strategic plan” to build Subway—because such a plan never existed—or my “incredible business skills”—because they were minimal when I started my business.
Start Small, Finish Big isn’t about building a multinational company, or even a big company. The size of the business doesn’t matter. The BIG in the book’s title may mean a part-time venture, a home-based business, or a kiosk at the mall. It could also mean a chain of stores, or an international corporation. BIG is however big or small you define it to be. It may simply describe the incredible feelings of accomplishment and pride that you derive from your own business, no matter how big it gets.
Some people may find it hard to believe that you can start a meaningful business with a little bit of money. I don’t blame them. Roll-ups, international buyouts, industry consolidations, and dot-com companies are the meat and potatoes of the business press these days. There doesn’t seem to be much opportunity for the small enterprise. And yet, it exists. Small businesses abound. The small business is the backbone of the American economy and it will continue to be the future of this country and many others. Small businesses create more jobs every year in the United States than do big businesses. As many as 40 million Americans now work from their homes, and the majority of them are small business owners. In the age of the megadeal, there’s still room for the small businessperson. All you’ve got to do is look for it, then reach out and grab it.
When I started Subway in 1965, no one told me that I couldn’t succeed with just a little bit of money. Of course, at the time, I was just a teenager, recently graduated from high school. I really didn’t know much about running a business. I knew nothing about making sandwiches, nor the food industry. I knew nothing about franchising. One day, when a family friend encouraged me to start a business, I became one of those millions of people who think about starting a business at any given time. But I also became one of the few who took the first bold step. Fortunately for me, and for an ever-increasing number of people worldwide who are part of the Subway family today, I didn’t know that you couldn’t start small and finish big.
Now that I have, let me help you get started!
chapter two
The Fifteen Key Lessons
How I discovered them and implemented them, and how they helped me start small and finish big with Subway!
Before I tell you my story, and the stories of the other microentrepreneurs in this book, and then get into the substance of the Fifteen Key Lessons, it’s important to explain how I discovered each lesson and how the lessons contributed to Subway’s growth, and to my current way of thinking about building any business. I wasn’t looking for these lessons when they became evident to me. Chances are you’ve already learned some of these lessons on your own, but you haven’t recognized them as lessons. Several of the lessons escaped me until I was well into the development of Subway Restaurants. But eventually they all appeared—some from my childhood, some from my business associates, and others from trial and error. Each lesson proved to be invaluable to me, and I believe they’ll be important to you, too.
Lesson One: Start Small. I learned this lesson while owning two newspaper routes. In my estimation, a newspaper route is one of the greatest training grounds for business. It’s a really small business, and yet it provides a vast array of experiences with all the fundamentals of business represented. You have to buy a product, deliver the product, provide a good service to customers, and of course you have to collect your money. It goes almost without saying that you’ll have to work hard to make a profit. Through rain, snow, hail, and on sunny days when you’d rather be doing something else, you’ve got to deliver your papers! A paper route is a great way to be introduced to the world of business, but actually, any small start serves the same purpose.
Some people have the idea that a small business doesn’t amount to much unless it delivers a sizable income, or it expands into an international enterprise. But I don’t agree. Just because it’s small doesn’t mean the business can’t grow. And while it is small you will have the time to learn the lessons that are essential to your future success. If you want to finish big, starting small is the best way to begin.
Lesson Two: Earn a Few Pennies. I learned this lesson at age seven when it was important to have pocket change. Collecting discarded soda pop bottles and redeeming them for pennies was an important lesson. Buried in the process of collecting bottles and redeeming them for a couple of cents was a lesson that said: It’s not how much you earn at first, it’s learning to earn something, even a few pennies. Exchanging bottles for money taught me the importance of the transaction in business. It set me up for bigger things to come. At the time, of course, the lesson didn’t interest me. I spent the money on baseball cards, comic books, and other things that kids enjoy. Little did I know that this was my first real lesson in economics.
Lesson Three: Begin with an Idea. This lesson was introduced to me at a family picnic when I was seventeen. Family friend Pete Buck suggested that I open a small sandwich shop. He saw a need for one, and that was the idea for Subway. We spent a few hours talking about the idea, and later that day Pete and I became business partners. The idea was so simple that we got started the next day.
Take a look around you. What needs to be improved? Where is there a void? Ask others for their opinions. Eventually you’ll find a good idea.
Nowadays, it seems all the big business ideas are coming from the recent technology of the Internet. Talk about starting small and finishing big, some of these dot-com businesses have created overnight billionaires! But even many of these companies started with a simple idea.
Lesson Four: Think Like a Visionary. After Pete and I agreed that we would start a sandwich business together, he then suggested that we set a long-term goal. That’s when I first realized the importance of creating a vision for your business. Pete suggested that we open thirty-two stores in ten years, a rather incredible goal, but big enough to capture my attention and commitment. That goal would help keep us focused during the difficult times that awaited us.
It’s not enough to have an idea. It’s important to look beyond the idea. If you implement the idea, then what? It’s really important to ask the “what” questions. What will result after we open the business? What can it become? What value can it provide? What good will it do for me emotionally and financially? What is it about this business that will capture my commitment, my energy, and money?
From those questions come the answers that will help you create a vision for your business. Think big when you create that vision! Give yourself the opportunity to get excited about your idea and the future.
Lesson Five: Keep the Faith. I learned this lesson within six months of getting into business. That’s when Pete and I realized our first sandwich shop was an economic failure. At that point, it would have been so easy to give up the belief in our idea, and our vision, and close our business. Fortunately, we didn’t take that approach.
Building a business is a challenging commitment and the challenge never ends. Many days the future of your business will look bleak. You’ll run short of money, you’ll lose customers, vendors