Colonel Sanders: A Success Story. Five steps to a million dollars or the history of the creation of KFC. Harland Sanders Founder of the KFS network biography

I think many people know such a chain of fast food restaurants as KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken — direct competitor McDonald's).

Therefore, today I want to offer you to get acquainted with the success story Garland David Sanders founder of this network. By the way, not so long ago this network settled and opened in Kyiv.

But first of all, I draw attention to the founder of this chain of fast food restaurants. After all, real success came to Garland after 70 years.

Becoming a millionaire thanks to the created brand KFC, thereby proving that you can become a millionaire at any age.

Conductor, private, stoker, loader, car mechanic

Garland David Sanders(English) Harland David Sanders), better known by the nickname Colonel Sanders(Eng. Colonel Sanders) ( September 9, 1890 - December 16, 1980) - founder of a chain of fast food restaurants Kentucky Fried Chicken (« Fried chicken from Kentucky», KFC).

He first turned chicken roasting into a multi-million dollar business in 1952. His signature recipe is fried chicken chunks seasoned with a mixture of aromatic herbs and spices. His stylized portrait is traditionally depicted on all restaurants of his network and on branded packaging.

In fact, Sanders was never an army officer. The rank of "Colonel" is an honorary title awarded annually by the governor of a state for outstanding service to the public life of the state.

It is noteworthy that Sanders completed only six classes (once again I am convinced that having an education is not a sign of success), and he fried his first chickens at the age of six.

He opened his own restaurant only at the age of 47, and his fried chicken has become a culinary symbol of the state of Kentucky.

I must say that Garland finally had some decent money to live on. A stable income prompted the young man to an important event in his life - he proposed to a girl named Claudia, with whom he lived his entire subsequent life.

After the wedding, the life of the Sanders family was not easy - Garland was fired from his position as a fireman almost instantly. Over the following years, he tried a lot of other professions, but he never found one in which he could hold out for a long time.

In such a situation, any marriage would be on the verge, but not the Sanders. The wife endured all the problems of her husband steadfastly, and until the last she believed in him. And, not in vain.

And he knows how to cook chickens!

To 40 years old Garland managed to change several dozen professions. He traded tires, was a stoker, a military man, a conductor, helped farmers, worked as a peddler and much, much more.

It would seem that the typical fate of a person who has completed only 6 classes. One time Sanders tried to get an education by enrolling in law courses. But for unknown reasons, he never finished them.

However, by the time Garland was in his 40s, he had little capital accumulated over the years. This money had to be managed somehow.

For a long time, Sanders was out of sorts. Most of his life has flown by, and he is still a small man who has achieved nothing, does not have enough money to live in pleasure. He was disappointed in life.

And, of course, he wanted to change it. For starters, stop exchanging uninteresting work for him.

Starting a business

In 1930, Garland opened his auto repair shop in Kentucky. It is worth noting an important point - Garland seriously considered the location of his workshop, choosing the best place for the workshop - the side of the 25th federal highway.

On this road, people traveled to Florida from the northern states. The flow of customers was very high.

And then Sanders came up with a smart idea - to open a small cafeteria for customers who are waiting for all the repairs on their car to go through (Sanders' workshop did the most basic work, such as changing engine oil, tires, etc.). There was no special place for the dining room.

Therefore, Garland allocated one room of the workshop for him (his family lived in several others).

This room contained a dining table and 6 chairs. Sanders cooked food right in the home kitchen. Soon, his auto repair shop became famous throughout Kentucky. With his fried chicken.

It was called "Kentucky Fried Chicken by Garland Sanders".

All clients noted the quality of his seasoning, which he prepared from 11 different spices. Life began to improve.

In order to increase his income, Garland introduces some innovation - acquiring a pressure cooker. This was the time when this kind of pans only appeared. One of the first people to appreciate the benefits of pressure cookers was Harland Sanders.

Whereas chicken used to take around 30 minutes to cook, this time has now been reduced to 15. This meant that customers didn't have to wait that long for their food, which contributed to an increase in the number of orders.

A significant event in the life of Sanders occurred in 1935, when the governor of Kentucky, Ruby Laffoon, awarded Garland the title " Kentucky Colonel for services to the state. Indeed, they were great - after all, all over the district they were talking about " a national dish» State from Garland Sanders.

The rank of colonel, albeit an honorary one, fueled deep-seated vanity in Garlan. Now he has begun building a 142-seat motel and restaurant near his auto repair shop. Outwardly, the establishment very much resembled a sort of neat German farmstead.

Refocusing your business, moving away from the subject of a car workshop. opening a motel Sanders Court & Cafe, which was also an independent fast food restaurant.

True, you can not compare a fast food restaurant McDonald's and Sanders Court & Cafe because they were not comparable. Still, Garland spent about 10-15 minutes preparing the order. So it was not a full-fledged fast food.

Already a colonel, Garland Sanders began to dress in classic clothes - a white suit and a black bow tie. This is how it is depicted on the company logos. KFC.

This image quickly entered the hearts of ordinary Americans who fell in love with Sanders' small establishment. During these years, Garland had as many orders and money as he had never had in his entire life. He felt success.

It was a golden time for Sanders, and the troubles only invigorated. When the establishment burned down in 1939, Garland rebuilt it within a couple of months. And in the same year, the famous culinary critic Duncan Hines first mentioned it in his restaurant guide " Looking for good food«.

There, the colonel's chickens were listed as a special Kentucky landmark. The restaurant resumed its work a few months after the incident. In addition, the state authorities tried to help Garland, since his chicken was a Kentucky landmark.

At least for other Americans.

A state of nickels

Of course, there were also minor problems from time to time.

Years flew by in pleasant chores, and Sanders was already counting on a quiet old age, when his life once again presented an unexpected surprise.

At the very beginning of the 1950s, the new 75th federal highway from the northern states to Florida was completed, which passed away from Corbin.

The flow of customers that began 20 years ago dried up overnight. Sanders floundered for another year, but in 1952 he no longer had enough money to support the restaurant, and he had to be auctioned off to pay off creditors.

At 62, Sanders again lost his job, home, and money. The only thing he could count on was a state old-age pension of $105 a month.

To Garland's credit, he took the disaster as an opportunity to feel 22 years younger, returning to his old tumbleweed life.

He began to go around cafes and restaurants: first the neighbors, then he climbed further and further from the house. With him he carried a bag with his magic seasoning and his favorite pressure cooker.

Arriving at the restaurant, Sanders asked permission for 15 minutes to cook in front of the owner " kentucky chicken“and then offered to put this chicken on the menu, promising an uninterrupted supply of his spice mix.

In return, he asked for 5 cents from each sold " kentucky chicken". Sanders did not sign any contracts - the deal was sealed with a handshake.

Traveling by car from city to city is not at all an easy task, especially when not every restaurant agreed to cooperate.

Sanders found his first partner only in Salt Lake City.

He became the owner of the restaurant Pete Harman.

And Garland continued with stupid obstinacy to go round more and more new restaurants. During this time, his wife stayed at home to prepare the condiment and distribute it to partner restaurants.

« Claudia took orders, packed the seasoning in small bags and sent them to customers on the night train.“, says Sanders.

By the end of the 1950s, kentucky fried chicken» traded more than 200 eateries in the US and Canada.

« At first, business was slow, but over time, business began to revive.

I began to understand how Mr. Woolworth managed to organize such a large network of his penny shops. said Sanders, laughing. These nickels pile up and grow into a fortune!»

Millionaire at work

It is worth noting that the business created by Sanders had a big drawback - he relied on Garland himself, who was already over 70.

The Colonel personally sold franchises, did network marketing, and even tried to check every bag of spices. The heirs did not want to deal with chicken meat professionally.

In general, when Sanders was offered to sell the business in 1964 Kentucky Fried Chicken (« "), he agreed.

The buyers were a pool of investors led by John Brown- junior, future governor of Kentucky. For the entire company, they paid Garland $ 2 million in February 1964. At that time, the company had more than 600 franchises in the United States and Canada. Sanders also remained a public spokesman for the company, earning $250,000 a year.

So at the age of 70 Garland David Sanders became a millionaire

Although the colonel was now something like Santa Claus in a white suit, he did his job honestly.

He flew to all the countries where KFC establishments were now opening, and his luxurious limousine often visited children's parties. If he was asked why a millionaire should work in his old age, he usually grinned:

There is no reason to be a rich man in a graveyard. Lying there, you can't do business. Jack Daniel's famous motto

At 84, he published his autobiography entitled " Life as I have known it has been finger licking good» (« Life, as I learned, carefully licks hands«).

Having fulfilled this sacred duty of any successful American to society, he calmly, as he had dreamed of all his life, lived for another six years, indulging in harmless pleasures, for example, playing golf expertly.

The only thing that poisoned his life were the current " kentucky fried chicken«. « In the company, everyone is too carried away by commerce and they cook the devil knows what from chickens“, he once said in an interview.

However, for the soul he had his own restaurant. Claudia Sanders' Dinner House(he sold the right to his name in the title along with the business), where he always personally followed the technology of cooking chickens.

Harlan Sanders died of leukemia on December 16, 1980, when he was 90 years old. The colonel was buried in his famous white suit with a black bow tie.

Now restaurants KFC opened in many cities around the world.

What know-how did Sanders offer to its franchisees?

1. A special seasoning of 11 herbs and spices for marinating chicken.

2. The technology of cooking chicken in a pressure cooker - the cooking time has been reduced from 30 to 15 minutes.

Five steps to a million from Garland David Sanders

1. Farmer, streetcar conductor, U.S. Army private, blacksmith's assistant, locomotive stoker, court law intern, insurance salesman, furniture mover, ferry captain, tire salesman, and car mechanic.

2. At 40, life is just beginning: Sanders decided to work for himself and opened his own auto repair shop ... which sold fried chicken best of all.

3. At the age of 47, he followed the lead of his clients and opened his own restaurant.

4. At age 62, Colonel Sanders went broke when a new state highway passed by the side of his establishment.

5. Once again, the retired Sanders began to franchise the technology behind his fried chicken. And he became a millionaire at the age of 70.

Secret materials

The hype around the secret to Garlan Sanders' famous chicken seasoning of 11 herbs and spices continues unabated.

Once the host of the TV show "Fast Food" Gloria Pitzer on TV with Sanders told him that she made a very similar seasoning from three cups of flour, a tablespoon of paprika, two bags of powdered broth and two bags of seasoning Seven Seas.

The Colonel laughed.

« Yes, you are a real cook!«

She adds fuel to the fire KFC. The company officially claims that the full recipe is known only to a few people in the management, and the list itself never leaves a specially guarded safe.

Colonel's first pressure cooker

Still in the museum at the KFC Restaurant Supply Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

Resurrected

A few years after Harlan Sanders' death, KFC ran commercials showing the Colonel very much like the original. Members of his family even said that when they saw them, they experienced superstitious horror.

old freemason

Garlan Sanders He has been a member of the Masonic lodge since 1917. There is a bust on his grave, which was sculpted by his daughter Margaret. It has images of the Masonic square and compasses.

P.S. That's all. Here is such a story. Nikolai Yakimenko was with you with a blog.

Until the next release.

“After I said the sinner's prayer, it completely changed my life. It really made a difference in me.” — Colonel Sanders, founder of KFC. The most famous founder of the fast food restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken, Colonel Harland Sanders David was born on September 9, 1890 in Henryville, Indiana. After the death of his father when he was 6 years old, his mother had to go to work, and Sanders began to take care of his younger brother and sister on his own.

By the way, this predetermined his fate, since Sanders began to cook a lot and cook quite tasty, while all the relatives began to note that the little boy has excellent abilities for this business. However, he began to earn this for bread only after 30 years.

After a while, his mother remarried, and Sanders went to work. It should be noted that none of his works was his favorite - and he had enough work. And what the future millionaire did not do - a farmer, a tram conductor, an ordinary American army, a blacksmith's assistant, a steam locomotive fireman, an intern in law courses in court, an insurance agent, a furniture loader, a ferry captain, a salesman of car tires and a car mechanic.

Perhaps, of all his works, the happiest was the work of a steam locomotive stoker - it was at that time that he decided to propose to his beloved Claudia, who supported him throughout his family life and always believed in her beloved Harland. But the most fateful and even "title-bearing" - work in a car repair shop.

By that time, most of his life had already flown by, and he was still a small person who did not achieve anything, he did not have enough money to live for his own pleasure. He was disappointed in life. And, of course, he wanted to change it.

Yes, Harland was already 40 years old when he opened his first successful business - an auto repair shop on Interstate 25, on which many Americans traveled south from the northern states. The car service began to bring a decent income.

It must be admitted that Sanders showed himself here not only as a practical businessman, but also was extremely perspicacious - after observing the often hungry tourists stopping by him, he decided to open his own canteen, where he fried incomparable chickens with his own hands, adding his unique seasoning!

Chicken became extremely popular, bringing incredible income to the budget. A significant event in the life of Sanders occurred in 1935, when the governor of Kentucky awarded Harland the title of "Kentucky Colonel" for services to the state. Indeed, they were great - after all, all over the area they were talking about the “national dish” of the state from Harland Sanders.

But soon life cracked again - the construction of a new highway was completed, onto which the entire stream, which had previously passed by Harland's auto repair shop, rolled off.

It would seem that again a failure, the age is no longer young at all - 62 years old, Harland almost gave up.

And then came to his aid ... fried chicken! Yes, that's right, Harland tensed up, packed his suitcase and went to drive around the nearby restaurants with the only phrase: "I can cook fried chicken better than you." And he was refused again and again, an excellent cook in venerable years was suspiciously examined from head to toe and often not even allowed on the threshold.

It took a long time before he was able to find the first customer. Under the terms of the agreement, Sanders received only 5 cents for each of his chickens at each restaurant. Not bad, considering that order volumes have been constantly growing. Needless to say, already in the early 60s, Harland Sanders' clients were several hundred US restaurants.

And then the desire of Harland Sanders came true - he realized himself 100%. He found his favorite job, completely surrendering to his talent. He made others believe in themselves!

When he was 70 years old, Kentucky Fried Chicken hits the peak of fame, and the old colonel decides to sell the company to private investors for $ 2 million and the position of company representative (brand face), for which he was paid about 250 thousand dollars a year.

He only needed to meet with the press, clients, employees, in general - to conduct marketing of the head, which, however, he was no longer. Well, he didn't need it.

Harland Sanders passed away in 1980 at the age of 90. In recent years, he devoted a lot to himself - he traveled, played golf, ran his own restaurant Claudia Sanders' Dinner House with his wife. Colonel Harland Sanders was able to make his life complete.

This part of the biography of David Harland Sanders may be known to many, but there is a lesser known part of the story of his life. However, one American preacher and author did his best to change that.

Dr. Bob Rogers, whose father Waymon Rogers was the Colonel's pastor, wrote a book about the legendary fried chicken entrepreneur. In this book, he reveals amazing facts about the founder of the KFC restaurant chain, Colonel Sanders. In it, he tells the story of how his father baptized this famous billionaire in the Jordan River in 1967, shortly after he became a Christian.

Rogers writes: “My dad knelt beside him and asked, “Colonel, would you like to be born again?” The old colonel, with tears in his eyes, said, “I really want to, do you think that Jesus can really save me and free me from what I swear?” Then dad said, "Colonel, God will save you tonight and you will never swear again." That night, the colonel wholeheartedly accepted Christ into his heart. He was indeed born again and became a new creation in Christ Jesus. Since then, he has never used the Name of the Lord in vain.

A few days after his rescue, the Colonel donated $15,000 to Pastor Rogers' Church in Louisville, Kentucky, a very important amount at the time.

The colonel told the pastor, “After I said the sinner's prayer, it completely changed my life. It really made a difference in me." “I am ready to give a large amount of money, I want to give a tithe to the church.”

Dr. Rogers' book also recounts how the Colonel experienced supernatural healing when a colon operation was scheduled to stop the disease from progressing further. He was waiting for an operation in the hospital when his pastor, Rogers, came to pray for him. A day later, Sanders wrote: "I don't need any more surgery, my pastor came and prayed for me and God healed me!"

The doctor said: "Colonel, when I examined you again, there were no polyps!" The founder of KFC has given generous donations to the church for many years.

He later said, “My prayers have always been out of gratitude. God has been so merciful to me. I've always believed in tithing." “The Bible says you have to give 10% to God. I believe that even if you are a scammer, you still owe 10% to the Lord, at least for the fact that you breathe. Tithing is a great inspiration in my life."

History of KFC: how a colonel from Kentucky sold chicken.

Probably everyone knows such a chain of fast food restaurants as KFC. This is one of the oldest fast food restaurant chains in the United States. It is famous for its fried chicken all over the world. The last time I visited KFC, the cashier made several disparaging remarks about the McDonald's opposite, noting that " unlike them, we have natural products!».
Well, there is nothing to argue about. Of course, fried food is also, to put it mildly, not the most healthy, but KFC employees still have a reason to prick McDonald's. In general, if you draw any parallels between McDonald's and KFC, you can see a lot of similarities. For example, the fact that the founder of the company was successful when he was already well over 50 years old. Prior to that, he led a rather miserable life. And Harlan Sanders was already dying as an honorary colonel of the city of Kentucky (the rank of colonel is somewhat similar to the title of honorary citizen). The development of the network also went according to the franchising scheme. The company was often attacked by society. If McDonald's has been criticized for unhealthy food, then KFC has been criticized for killing chickens. I think that the history of this company deserves attention.

6 years of education does not mean that you will be a loser all your life.

On September 9, 1890, Garlan Sanders, the future founder of KFC, was born. I must say that Sanders had a difficult childhood. Firstly, he was far from the only child in a family that did not live very richly. His father worked part-time doing some small assignments of farmers in the city of Henryville, where the family actually lived. The mother did not work, as she had to sit with the children, which was the norm for that time. Even if the father could not earn enough money.
The problems began when Garlan's father died. This happened when the future founder of KFC had not even completed the 6th grade of school. His life changed dramatically. First, the mother goes to work in order to somehow feed the family. Garlan, on the other hand, has to play the role of a nanny and take care of his younger brother and sister. This fact became the key in his life. Since these circumstances contributed to the development of Sanders as a culinary specialist (at the same time, all the relatives quickly began to note that the little boy had a real talent in this matter).

Talent was talent, but there was no time left for school. As a result, Garlan finished his studies already in the 6th grade. Once and forever. At the age of 6, he goes to work on a farm in the city of Greenwood. By that time, the mother had married a second time - the family had some money, but free time disappeared, which could be devoted to Garlan. He was not upset, but decided to take fate into his own hands and go to work in another city. True, the young man did not want to connect his life with agriculture, and soon decided to change jobs. At the age of 15, he got a job as a tram conductor, and a year later he was sent to the US Army to serve as a private. And not just anywhere, but to Cuba! True, a military career did not appeal to Garlan, and in less than a year he left the troops. This time he found a more or less permanent job - he got a job as a fireman in a US railroad company.
I must say that Garlan finally had normal money on which to live. A stable income prompted the young man to an important event in his life - he proposed to a girl named Claudia, with whom he lived his entire subsequent life. After the wedding, the life of the Sanders family was not easy - Garlan was fired from his position as a fireman almost instantly. Over the following years, he tried a lot of other professions, but he never found one in which he could hold out for a long time. In such a situation, any marriage would be on the verge, but not the Sanders. The wife endured all the problems of her husband steadfastly, and until the last she believed in him. As it turned out, not in vain.

And he knows how to cook chickens!

By the age of 40, Garlan managed to change several dozen professions. He traded tires, was a stoker, a military man, a conductor, helped farmers, worked as a peddler and much, much more. It would seem that the typical fate of a person who has completed only 6 classes. At one time, Sanders tried to get an education by enrolling in law courses. But for unknown reasons, he never finished them.
However, by the time Garlan was in his 40s, he had little capital accumulated over the years. This money had to be managed somehow. For a long time, Sanders was out of sorts. Most of his life has flown by, and he is still a small man who has achieved nothing, does not have enough money to live in pleasure. He was disappointed in life. And, of course, he wanted to change it. For starters, stop exchanging uninteresting work for him. And in 1930, in Kentucky, he opens his auto repair shop. An important point should be noted here - Garlan seriously considered the location of his workshop, choosing the best place for it - the side of the 25th federal highway. On this road, people traveled to Florida from the northern states. The flow of customers was endless.

Soon, Sanders decides that he needs to make a small canteen for customers who are waiting for all the operations on their car to go through (it should be noted that Sanders' workshop did the most basic work, such as changing engine oil, tires, etc.). There was no special place for the dining room, and therefore Garlan allocated one room of the workshop for it (his family lived in several others). This room contained a dining table and 6 chairs. Sanders cooked food right in the home kitchen. Soon, his auto repair shop became famous throughout Kentucky. With his fried chicken. She received the name: "Kentucky Fried Chicken by Harlan Sanders." All clients noted the quality of his seasoning, which he prepared from 11 different spices. Life began to improve.
In order to increase his income, Garlan buys a pressure cooker. This was the time when this type of pans only appeared. One of the first people to appreciate the benefits of pressure cookers was Harlan Sanders. Whereas chicken used to take around 30 minutes to cook, this time has now been reduced to 15. This meant that customers didn't have to wait that long for their food, which contributed to an increase in the number of orders.

A significant event in Sanders' life came in 1935, when Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon awarded Harlan the title of "Kentucky Colonel" for services to the state. Indeed, they were great - after all, all over the district they were talking about the "national dish" of the state from Harlan Sanders.
At this time, Sanders realizes that he needs to refocus his business, moving away from the subject of a car workshop. In 37 he opens a motel Sanders Court & Cafe, which was also a fast food restaurant in its own right. True, you can not compare the fast food restaurant McDonald's and Sanders Court & Cafe, as they were incomparable. Still, Garlan spent about 10-15 minutes preparing the order. So it was not a full-fledged fast food.
Already a colonel, Harlan Sanders began to dress in classic clothes - a white suit and a black bow tie. This is how it is depicted on the KFC logos. This image quickly entered the hearts of ordinary Americans who fell in love with Sanders' small establishment. During these years, Garlan had as many orders and money as he had never had in his entire life. He felt successful.
Of course, minor problems arose from time to time - with supplies, technical ones, once even the building in which the Sanders motel was located burned down. There was money, and therefore it was already rebuilt again, and resumed its work a few months after the incident. In addition, the state authorities tried to help Garlan, since his chicken was a Kentucky landmark. At least for other Americans.

This is the end, my friend?

But life has dealt a blow to Sanders. In the 1950s, the construction of the 75th federal highway was completed. Sanders' restaurant was out of sight of Americans passing from the north to Florida. The number of clients has dropped dramatically. The once successful business went downhill. Sanders was already in his 60s when he again lost his financial balance. It cannot be said that, owning his own restaurant, Garlan was considered a rich man. No. But he certainly wasn't in need. To retire, especially without money, Garlan Sanders did not dare.
On reflection, he came to the conclusion that he could sell his chickens to other restaurants. So, his numerous trips to other restaurants in America began, where he talked about the chicken cooking system “according to Garlan Sanders”. And about your condiment. It took a long time before he was able to find the first customer. Under the terms of the agreement, Sanders received only 5 cents for each of his chickens at each restaurant. Not bad, considering that order volumes have been constantly growing. Needless to say, in the early 60s, Garlan Sanders' clients were several hundred US restaurants.
After 4 years, Kentucky Fried Chicken reaches the peak of fame, and the old colonel decides to sell the company to private investors. Under the terms of the deal, he received $2 million in cash and a position as a company representative (brand face, in fact), for which he was paid about $250,000 a year. He only needed to meet with the press, clients, employees, in general - to conduct marketing of the head, which, however, he was no longer.

In 1980, at the age of 90, Harlan Sanders passed away. In recent years, he devoted a lot to himself - he traveled, played golf, ran his own restaurant Claudia Sanders' Dinner House with his wife. He was already disappointed in KFC, because he believed that in the pursuit of low price and speed, the owners compromised on the quality of the chickens. However, the history of the company did not end with the death of the colonel ...
Moreover, at one time it was even acquired by the famous Pepsi Co. Today, KFC is owned by Yum! Brands. The network of these restaurants currently operates in more than 50 countries around the world. At the same time, the company prefers to use a co-branding strategy. For example, in Russia, the KFC chain is represented together with the well-known Rostik brand.
At the moment, the company employs about 24 thousand employees, and last year's revenue amounted to just over half a billion dollars. Not bad, although not in the way that KFC would like. The company has really serious problems with Greenpeace. In addition, in our time, many people have realized how harmful it is to eat fried food. They take care of their health and appearance, and therefore are not eager to visit KFC. Yes, and Colonel Sanders on the company logo, which was a kind of symbol of that generation, is little known today. The company needs to change. This is understood by her leadership. Perhaps the coming years will show how they coped with this task.

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This man is the real embodiment of the "American dream", dreams of a beautiful life, wealth and power that everyone can achieve. The name of Colonel Sanders does not speak as loudly as his portrait - almost every person anywhere in the world has seen his face. Because Colonel Garland David Sanders (or “Kentucky Fried Chicken”) is the founder of the KFC fast food restaurant chain.

Harlad Sanders was born in 1890 in Henryville, Indiana. He was not even 6 years old when he lost his father. The mother had to work day and night to somehow feed herself and her son, and Sanders was entrusted with all the housework. Including, it was also cooking, which the boy loved very much. Soon his mother started a new romance, and then got married. The boy's relationship with his stepfather did not work out, it came to beatings and humiliation. Then Sanders decided to leave his home and moved to his uncle in the city of New Alban. Fortunately, the uncle received the boy with all the warmth of his heart.

In the seventh grade, Sanders was kicked out of school for poor performance. He was never diligent in his studies, often truant, preferring to earn extra money instead of lessons. He washed cars, worked as a loader and even sold his own pies at the local market. So the guy wasn't too upset when he was expelled. He decided it was time to start adulthood. At that time he was 12 years old ...

In 1906, Sanders made the decision to join the US National Army. At that time, unrest was taking place in Cuba - the Cuban people were against the American occupation, and the United States began recruiting into a volunteer army, which was transferred to Cuba to ensure control over the occupied state. Sanders was only 15 years old at the time, so he had to forge documents in which he changed his date of birth. He was assigned to the division of military logistics, it was assumed that he would keep inventory records. But the young fighter was not entrusted with this lucrative position, and until the end of his service, Sanders was assigned to the stable. His duties included caring for the horses and cleaning the stalls. He had to rake horse manure with his hands - either because of a lack of tools, or because of the bullying of his colleagues. In the army, Sanders caught some kind of tropical infection, lost 20 kg (a third of his weight), ended up in the hospital, but recovered and served his due date.

By the way, Sanders did not receive the rank of colonel in the army - he was never even a junior officer there. The title of "Colonel of Kentucky" Sanders received from the hands of Governor Ruby Lafon for outstanding service to public life in the state.

Demobilized, Sanders returned to his homeland. He wandered around the cities and states of the United States, like a tumbleweed, never stayed anywhere for a long time and tried a bunch of professions that he met on his way. He worked as a blacksmith's assistant, washed trains at a railway station, worked as an intercity tram conductor, a loader in a furniture factory, a mechanic in an auto repair shop, a ferry captain, a director of a tire shop, and even a trainee in law courses at a local court. It was such an American Ostap Bender, who took on everything he could reach, and was not afraid of anything. But luck was not on his side...

When Sanders was 18, he got married. He had a son who died in infancy and two daughters, Margaret and Mildred. But when Sanders was fired from another job, his wife left him, taking the children. Later, the brother-in-law wrote a letter to the future millionaire, in which he said that his sister should not have married such a loser who could not hold on to any job.

In Chicago, Sanders entered the correspondence department at La Salle University, the largest educational institution for business representatives. He studied, oddly enough, well. Despite moving and life's vicissitudes, Sanders finished his studies and received a diploma. During his studies, he continued to work - first as a firefighter in Tennessee, and when he was fired from his job for fighting, he moved to Arkansas. He worked as a farmer, a peddler, a miner, a locomotive stoker, an insurance agent - for which he just did not undertake. At the same time, Sanders noted that none of the professions that he tried brought him pleasure. Only Sanders recalled his work as a stoker with warmth. At this job, fate pushed him against the main woman of his life - Claudia Price, who became his wife and met old age with him.

And so, when Sanders was 40 years old, and he had accumulated a small amount of capital, he decides to open his own business - a car repair shop. Far from a young age (even by today's standards, Sanders was no longer a boy) did not bother the newly minted entrepreneur. He chose a very good place for his workshop - the workshop was located on the side of the 25th federal highway, along this road people got to Florida from the northern states. The flow of customers was consistently large. To increase income, the entrepreneur decided to open a dining room for clients in one of the rooms of the workshop. There was only one table with 6 seats, and food for visitors was prepared right in the home kitchen. Soon, the Sanders auto repair shop became famous throughout the state of Kentucky ... for its fried chicken!

The owner of the cafe himself developed a unique recipe for cooking chicken under pressure with eleven spices and seasonings. Pressure cookers were just coming into vogue then, and Sanders was one of the first to appreciate this innovation. If it took about half an hour to fry a chicken in a pan, then in a pressure cooker this period was halved - which means twice as many satisfied customers!

The popularity of his fried chicken has grown so much that this dish has become known as the "national dish of Kentucky", the hallmark of the state. In 1935, Sanders received the title of "Colonel of Kentucky", which stirred up his hitherto suppressed vanity. And so he opens the Sanders Court and Café motel with a restaurant with 142 seats.

Business business went up the hill. People liked the way he cooked chicken. Sanders kept the recipe for his signature dish a closely guarded secret. People kept trying to figure out the composition of his signature sauce of 11 spices and crispy breading, which made the taste of chicken so unusual. At the time the Colonel created his recipe, standard poultry seasonings included black pepper, allspice, marjoram, ginger, nutmeg, thyme, cloves, thyme, and sage. Perhaps the colonel also used these spices. True, no one knows the exact composition of the seasoning mixture. Even KFC management claims that the original recipe is known only to a few members of the company's management and is kept in a cache. In KFC establishments, spices are supplied in the form of a ready-made mixture, so even employees do not know its exact composition.

And hit again! In 1952, the government opens a new federal highway, I-75, and the flow of customers plummets. At that time, Sanders was already 62 years old. He decides to sell the restaurant, but now its location has become completely unfortunate, and no one wanted to buy it. I had to put the restaurant under the hammer in order to pay off creditors. The Colonel again lost everything he had so briefly - his wealth, his business, even his house. The only thing that shone for him was a ridiculous pension of $ 105 ...

But Sanders didn't give up. He began to travel around the country, trying to sell his fried chicken recipe to restaurant owners, but they only laughed at the "out of his mind old man." Sanders traveled to 1,006 restaurants and received 1,006 rejections until he met Pete Herman, a Salt Lake City restaurateur. He saw potential in the colonel's idea and opened a new restaurant, Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC's first restaurant. At the same time, the famous KFC logo appeared - the smiling face of a colonel in glasses and a ribbon tie. Over the next 50 years, the logo has not changed its essence and has undergone only minor changes - for example, the colonel's face has “lost a little” over time.

The restaurant was destined for success. In the first year alone, 75% of the restaurant's profits came from Colonel Sanders' signature fried chicken. After 8 years, the colonel sold KFC for $2 million. The deal extended only to the United States - in other countries, the colonel could open his restaurants. And the very next year, Sanders opens a new KFC in Canada, where he moves with his family. In the same year, the first "KFC" was opened in the UK.

Colonel Sanders' portrait is part of KFC's corporate identity - it is printed on the company logo and on every package of chicken prepared according to his recipe. This portrait was made after the colonel's money began to flow. Having become rich, Sanders began to sculpt himself an aristocratic image. He grew a bushy beard and mustache. In public places, he began to appear only in white shirts, with a black ribbon tie, with a cane and in a mandatory white suit: in winter - woolen, and in summer - linen or cotton. Do you remember that Ostap Bender in The Golden Calf considered it a symbol of wealth to walk along the promenades of Rio de Janeiro in white pants and a white shirt? Apparently, Colonel Sanders agreed with Bender. The difference is that the colonel also managed to do it.

Having become rich, Sanders joined the Masonic Lodge and even rose to the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. The tombstone of the colonel depicts a Masonic square and compasses.

Harland Sanders died at the age of 90 from leukemia. A few years later, KFC ran a commercial featuring an actor who looked so much like the colonel that his family was horrified by superstition. Looking at this advertisement, relatives could not get rid of the idea that the colonel had resurrected.

Colonel Sanders was an incredible adventurer who did not succumb to any blows of fate, tearing out his happiness with his teeth. Without finishing school, he was able to finish the university - because he believed that he needed it. Not being an adult, he joined the army - because he wanted to. With little management experience or business skills, he started his own business at the age of 40 and prospered. And then, having lost everything at the age of 62, he did not give up and continued to fight, and in the end he got even more than he expected when he was successful. His story teaches perseverance and the ability not to give up under any circumstances. After all, success is not around the corner, it is in your head!

Sanders, the eldest of three children in the family, was born on September 9, 1890, in a cabin on a rural road three miles from the town of Henryville, Indiana (Henryville, Indiana). His father, a farmer, was a kind and gentle man, but after an unfortunate fall, breaking his leg and spine, he was forced to change his job on the farm to be a butcher in Henryville. Alas, one summer afternoon he returned home with a fever and died that evening. Harland's mother took a job in a canned tomato factory to support herself and her children, and her eldest son, who was then only five years old, took care of cooking. When he was 12, Sanders dropped out of high school. In 1902, his mother remarried, but his stepfather turned out to be a completely different person - he beat Harland, and then the boy, with the approval of his mother, moved to his uncle in Albany (Albany, Indiana).

Three years later, Sanders threw himself a few years off and enlisted in the military. He served in Cuba (Cuba), and after demobilization moved to Sheffield, Alabama (Sheffield, Alabama), where his uncle moved. During these years, Sanders changed many occupations, having worked as an insurance agent, a firefighter on the railroad, a farmer and a pilot on steamboats. In 1908, he married Josephine King (Josephine King), they had three children, but his wife left him when Sanders once again lost his job.

In 1930, Sanders opened a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky (Corbin, Kentucky), where, in addition, he prepared chicken and other dishes for customers. The popularity of his dinners grew, and Sanders soon moved into a motel with a 142-seat restaurant, which later housed a cafe and the Harland Sanders Museum. Over the next nine years, he came up with and perfected his "secret recipe" for deep-fried chicken in a pressure cooker, much faster than in a frying pan. In 1939, restaurant critic Duncan Hines visited his establishment and was so impressed with his dining experience that he featured Sanders' humble restaurant in Adventures in Good Eating, his famous guide to American restaurants. It was the start of a big success.

As his business grew, Sanders began to play an increasingly important role in the life of his city and even joined the Masonic Lodge. In 1947, he finally divorced his first wife, Josephine, and two years later married Claudia Price, his secretary, which he had long desired.

In the same 1949, his friend, Governor Lawrence Wetherby, awarded Sanders the honorary title of Colonel of Kentucky - it has nothing to do with the military rank - and since then the founder of "KFC" is better known as Colonel Sanders. Then he changed his appearance, growing his signature mustache and goatee and wearing a white suit and ribbon tie, and finally turned into that peppy white-haired old man who still looks at us from the company logo to this day.

In the early 1950s, Sanders noticed that a new road, Route 75, was reducing the crowds at his restaurant, and he decided to turn "Kentucky Fried Chicken" (however, the name was different then) into a franchise. In 1952, the first such restaurant opened in South Salt Lake, Utah (South Salt Lake, Utah), enjoyed incredible success, and Don Anderson (Don Anderson), designer, came up with the name that became famous. A restaurant in Utah capitalized on the legendary southern hospitality that set it apart from other establishments in the area, and in the future, the entire chain lined up around this feature - by 1963, the number of restaurants in the chain exceeded six hundred!

In 1964, Sanders sold the American part of the corporation for $2 million, and he moved to Canada (Canada), where he continued to oversee the Canadian part of the business.

Sanders used his wealth to create a foundation and charitable organization that paid scholarships for education, helped medical institutions, organized help for women and children in difficult situations, and so on.

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Ksenia Stolbova