“It’s never too late to start something
new, to do all those things that you’ve been longing to do.” Dallas Clayton.
This proverb stands true for KFC owner Colonel Harland Sanders. He
started selling fried chicken when he was 69. He shattered entrepreneurial myth
such as you have to start at young age to be a successful entrepreneur.
History of KFC
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) was
established by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952 in Utah. He worked for many
years in various fields with mixed success before starting fast food chain KFC.
KFC
focused on the fried chicken when there was dominance of hamburger. Sanders
learnt cooking at the early age of 7. He developed what he called his “Original
Recipe” comprising of 11 herbs and spices in July 1940. The same recipe is used
for KFC restaurants chain. KFC headquarter was established in Louisville,
Kentucky in 1959.
Early Years of KFC
In 1952, Sanders franchised his secret
recipe “Kentucky Fried Chicken” for the first time, to Pete Harman of South
Salt Lake, Utah, the operator of one of that city’s largest restaurants. The
franchise concept became successful. After the success of Pete Harman, several
other restaurant owners franchised the concept and paid Sanders $0.04 per
chicken. Sanders visited suitable restaurants in US
looking to offer the franchise, after he sold his south salt lake restaurant
due to new reduced traffic rules. After closing the North Corbin site, Sanders
and his wife Claudia opened a new restaurant and company headquarters in
Shelbyville in 1959. He slept in back of his car quite often, while visiting
the restaurants to offer the franchise if the staff liked his chicken. After
some time the franchise started to visit Colonel Sanders instead. He ran the
company and his wife Claudia mixed and shipped the spices to restaurants.
The franchise approach was the demand of
the town; KFC was one of the first fast food chains to expand internationally,
opening outlets in Canada and later in the UK, Mexico and Jamaica by the
mid-1960s. Overwhelmed by the growth of the company,
aging Colonel Sanders sold the company to John Y. Brown Jr. and Jack C. Massey
in 1964. But Sanders continued his association with the company as a salaried
brand ambassador. Colonel Sanders died at the age of 90 years in December 16,
1980. During this journey, he got a rejection from 1009
restaurants. However, he never gives up as he was confident about his unique
recipe and its taste. And finally, the day came when few restaurants agreed to
sell Sander’s chicken recipe. By the year 1963, nearly 600 restaurants agreed
to sell the recipe and Kentucky chicken making it a brand.
Today KFC has established itself as the
2nd largest food chain spread globally in 136 countries. The lesson we learn
from Sander’s life is that Success is achievable at any age. The only thing
required is your conviction towards fulfilling your dream at any stage of your
life. Always believe in yourself wholeheartedly, the burning desire to succeed
will pave your path towards your dream despite everything even your age! So
Never give up!
