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Books By:
John P. Hayes
James A. Michener: A Biography
Franchising: The Inside Story (with John Kinch)
You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar (with David Sandler)
Philadelphia in Color
Taming Your Turmoil (with Peter L. Brill, M.D.)
Lonely Fighter
Mooney Warther: Life of the World’s Master Carver
This book is sold with the understanding that neither the publisher nor the authors are engaged in rendering financial, legal, or other professional advice, and you should consult with professional advisors before starting a business.
Store counts, facts and figures which were current at the time of the first printing have changed. For up to date information please log onto www.subway.com.
Copyright © 2000 by Frederick A. DeLuca and John P. Hayes
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
Mandevilla Press, 7 Indian Valley Road, Weston, CT 06883
First Mandevilla Press Printing: July 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
DeLuca, Fred.
Start small, finish big : fifteen key lessons to start—and run—your own successful business / Fred DeLuca with John P. Hayes.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-62704-002-0
1. New business enterprises. 2. Entrepreneurship. 3. Self-employed. I. Hayes, John Phillip, 1949- II. Title.
HD62.5 .D448 2000
658'.041—dc21
00-024986
This book is dedicated to the memory of my dad Salvatore DeLuca who was there for me from the start and to my mother Carmela DeLuca, who still encourages me to follow my dreams.
To Haydee Buck for her support and for my partner Pete Buck. It was Pete who had the idea to start our small business and who had the vision that it would finish big.
To my wife Liz and son Jon—thank you for everything.
Of course, this book is for the members of the Subway family who are the foundation of this business. Each day they make me proud that we continued on our journey toward success—for without them this book would have not been written.
Lastly, to all the up and coming entrepreneurs—may this book help you as you set out to make your dreams a reality.
—Fred DeLuca
For more information about the SUBWAY® chain, visit www.subway.com. Find us on Facebook: Facebook.com/subway. Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/subwayfreshbuzz.
FRED DeLUCA’S
Fifteen Key Lessons to Start—and Run—Your Own Successful Business
Lesson One Start Small
Lesson Two Earn a Few Pennies
Lesson Three Begin with an Idea
Lesson Four Think Like a Visionary
Lesson Five Keep the Faith
Lesson Six Ready, Fire, Aim!
Lesson Seven Profit or Perish
Lesson Eight Be Positive
Lesson Nine Continuously Improve Your Business
Lesson Ten Believe in Your People
Lesson Eleven Never Run Out of Money
Lesson Twelve Attract New Customers Every Day
Lesson Thirteen Be Persistent: Don’t Give Up
Lesson Fourteen Build a Brand Name
Lesson Fifteen Opportunity Waits for No One
chapter one
It’s an Entrepreneur’s World
You can become part of it by starting small as a microentrepreneur .
Paul Orfalea doesn’t read very well, he has a short attention span, suffers from dyslexia, and he struggled to get through school. But one day, without any business experience and hardly any money, he leased a small space in a garage, leased a copy machine, and launched the business that we know today as Kinko’s. Through trial and error, and by following many of the lessons discussed in this book, Paul was able to turn a profit and eventually expand his business. Today, having started with just $5,000, Kinko’s has opened more than 1,000 business centers worldwide. I’ll tell you more about the development of Kinko’s later in the book. For now, let’s just say that Paul Orfalea started small and he’s finishing big.
Mike Ilitch also started small, and he’s finishing big, bigger than anyone could ever have imagined. In his twenties, the only world Mike knew was baseball. He was an amazing high school athlete, so much so that the Detroit Tigers recruited him during those years. After a stint in the Marine Corps, Mike joined one of the Tigers’ farm teams. He played well for several years, until he broke his ankle, and soon thereafter his baseball career was history. What would he do now to support his young family? He floundered for several years until he opened a small pizza shop. Even then, lacking experience, he experimented with one idea after another. Success wasn’t an overnight phenomenon, but Mike paid attention to the details of his business, he learned one lesson after another, and eventually he opened multiple shops. That was the beginning of the Little Caesar’s pizza chain, now known in nearly every community of the United States. Today, Mike Ilitch not only owns Little Caesar’s, he also
