Harland Sanders - KFC's "father" of fried chicken failed 1009 times, only 88 years old became a millionaire

Hà HàSep 13, 2021 at 16:22

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The success of Harland Sanders - the founder of KFC fried chicken is proof of the strength of will, perseverance, ambition, even in difficult circumstances can still bring success, regardless of age.

The life story of Harland Sanders has inspired the world with a lesson he's spent a lifetime asserting: It's never too late to start.

Harland Sanders - KFC's "father" of fried chicken failed 1009 times, only 88 years old became a millionaire - Photo 1

Life is turbulent, start-ups fail consecutively

Harland Sanders was born on September 9, 1890 in Indiana, USA. He had a difficult life from a very young age. At the age of 6, the family's situation was already poor, now it all fell on the mother's shoulders when his father died, Harland Sander had to take care of the children on her behalf. Life was so hard that just a year later, that "sleeping age" boy had mastered all kitchen tasks.

At the age of 12, due to a conflict with his stepfather, Sanders left home to work part-time on a farm 130km away. He realized that studying could not support him at that time, so he dropped out at the age of 16. Life is precarious, Sanders has experienced a lot of work. At the age of 15, he worked as a traffic controller, at 16, he dropped out of school and served in the army for 6 months in Cuba. 17 years old was fired 4 times. During this time, the only thing that has not changed is the passion for cooking that began to arise in him from a very young age.

At the age of marriage, Harland Sander's life was once again the beginning of turbulence. Thoughts of happiness smiled when he met his wife at Josephine King, then became a father at the age of 19, but just a year later, Sanders lost everything when his wife filed for divorce, gaining custody of the children.

Harland Sanders - KFC's "father" of fried chicken failed 1009 times, only 88 years old became a millionaire - Photo 2

His wife left, his job also rejected him time and time again, it seems that there is no greater despair than that. However, the feeling of rejection made Harland Sanders more courageous and ready to go on adventures. He decided to hitchhike to various places in search of opportunities. During this adventure, he happened to meet the owner of an automobile oil company.

After hearing Harland's story, this person offered him a job at one of his gas stations. Harland immediately accepted. The locals were very loyal to the previous gas station employee, but Harland soon won their hearts and he also earned a better income. However, Harland later had to quit his job when the Great Depression hit the United States.

Become a billionaire at the age of 65

Trying to overcome the tragedy, at the age of 40, Harland Sanders began to stick to the cooking job that he loved since childhood. It's a food stall located at a gas station in the Corbin neighborhood. While working at a gas station, seeing the needs of passengers stopping here, he came up with the idea of making a convenient dish to serve this customer. With his initiatives, his restaurant is more and more crowded, and its dishes gradually become a typical Kentucky dish.

In 1935, in recognition of his contributions to the culinary arts of the state, the Governor of the state awarded Harland Sanders the title of Kentucky Colonel - Honorary Colonel of Kentucky.

Harland Sanders - KFC's "father" of fried chicken failed 1009 times, only 88 years old became a millionaire - Photo 3

However, in 1950, a downturn in the economy and a number of other unfortunate conditions put Sanders on the path to bankruptcy at the age of 60. He had to sell the property for just enough money to pay taxes, with the only remaining fortune is only 105 USD in social allowance. At the age of 60, the age that should have rested and enjoyed the joy, Harland Sanders once again hit a huge failure, seemingly knocking down any strong heart.

The first time he received unemployment benefits, only 105 USD, he thought of suicide, because he could not live in the land of vanity with a meager pension. He has lost everything, his job, family... and pension can't support himself, so what's left to regret in this life? And a few minutes of reflection before leaving, the owner of KFC wrote life lines about himself, about failures, about achievements in life...

But as if to prove to life, he once again started from scratch with the creation of a new fried chicken recipe. He recalled the taste of the food he had made in the cafe. He has put all his love of food into it, with the perfect transformative combination of spices to make fried chicken that will delight all the guests, and why not try to remake your life with this "thing". make me proudest"?

Harland Sanders - KFC's "father" of fried chicken failed 1009 times, only 88 years old became a millionaire - Photo 4

Thinking to do it, he borrowed another $87 plus a $105 pension and started his first business with fried chicken. He fried chicken with unique spices mixed from 10 of his secret flavors. After that, he patiently knocked on the door of each family, each store and showed off his talent for making chicken according to this new recipe right in front of their eyes to invite cooperation.

And it was only after 1,009 rejections that he received his first nod. Persevering like that, by 1964, at the age of 75, he had more than 600 franchised shops selling his trademark fried chicken.

For Mr. Sanders, service attitude, quality and cleanliness are top priorities for any establishment. He wanted everything to be done the right way. Whether it's simply mopping the floor or showing the chef how to prepare a special sauce. There's nothing in a restaurant that Sanders isn't willing to do.

Unexpected success, Sanders' chicken dish received very good feedback and a good reputation. Mr. Harland Sanders is constantly researching different recipes for fried chicken. In 1939, while preparing fried chicken for diners, he added an 11th seasoning and this spice completed the fried chicken that he had been researching for so long. "With that 11th spice, I had the best fried chicken ever," said Harland Sanders.

God did not disappoint people, at the age of 88 Harley Sanders became a millionaire in the United States. However, the business grew and grew beyond Harland Sanders' control, so in 1964 he sold his stake in the company to a group of investors, including John Y. Brown JR , who later became governor of Kentucky. The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1969 and was acquired by PepsiCo in 1986. Since 2002, KFC has been owned by the YUM Group! Restaurants International. The company also owns other restaurant chains such as Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

After selling his chain of stores, "grandfather" Sanders continued to be the Ambassador of KFC - Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation and was ranked as one of the two most recognized celebrities in the world. Today, KFC is a successful and world-famous fried chicken restaurant chain with about 23,000 restaurants in 135 countries and territories around the world.

The story of Harland Sanders has greatly inspired those who want to start and succeed in their business. On that road, it is inevitable that the grim, the failure, but at any age, the progressive spirit, serious attitude and perseverance will also bring great success behind.

Harland Sanders - KFC's "father" of fried chicken failed 1009 times, only 88 years old became a millionaire - Photo 5

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