The Succes Story Of KFC

The name Harland David Sanders, or Colonel Sanders, is synonymous with the global fast-food brand KFC. However, the journey to his success was anything but straightforward. Sanders' story is a testament to resilience, hard work, and an indomitable spirit that refused to give up despite numerous setbacks.

Born in 1890 in Indiana, Sanders learned to cook at a young age after his father's death. By the age of six, he was preparing meals for his siblings. His early life was marked by a series of challenges and jobs. He dropped out of school and left home before his teens, briefly enlisting in the US Army, from which he was discharged before his 17th birthday.

At 16, Sanders was drawn to the railroads, a promising career at the time. He started by emptying ash pans from engines and eventually became a fireman on the route between Sheffield and Jasper, Alabama. However, his temper and a series of altercations led to his dismissal from multiple railroad jobs. His 20s and 30s saw a string of failed jobs and business ventures, including a short-lived legal career and a stint selling insurance, both of which ended disastrously.

Despite these failures, Sanders' entrepreneurial spirit remained undeterred. At 30, he launched a ferry boat service over the Ohio River, but it became redundant when a bridge was built nearby. His subsequent venture, an oil lamp business, failed with the advent of electricity in rural America.

In 1927, Sanders took charge of a Standard Oil gas station in Nicholasville, Kentucky. However, the Great Depression forced him to close it in 1930. Undeterred, he opened a second service station in Corbin, Kentucky, where he began selling homemade chicken to truck drivers for extra cash. This modest start laid the foundation for what would become the KFC empire.

Sanders' early restaurant, Sanders Court and Café, became a success, earning him the title of Kentucky Colonel in 1935. However, he faced significant setbacks, including the loss of his motel at the start of World War II and the destruction of his restaurant by fire in 1939. Resilient as ever, Sanders rebuilt his restaurant, making it larger and beginning to pressure-fry his chicken, a technique that would become central to his future success.

In 1952, Sanders secured his first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Salt Lake City, Utah. He stopped at a burger joint owned by Pete Harman and cooked his special recipe chicken for Harman's family. Impressed, Harman added it to his menu, and it quickly became a hit.

Despite continued challenges, including a new highway that bypassed his service station in 1956, Sanders persisted. At the age of 66, with little more than his $105-a-month social security check, he embarked on a final effort to franchise his chicken recipe. He traveled across the country, teaching restaurant owners his cooking techniques and selling his secret spice blend. By 1963, Sanders had 600 locations, including overseas franchises in Canada, the UK, Mexico, and Jamaica.

In 1964, at the age of 74, Sanders sold his business to investors for $2 million. The new owners took KFC public two years later, and by 1970, the company had 3,000 restaurants in 48 countries. Today, there are around 20,000 KFC outlets in 118 countries, a testament to Sanders' legacy and the global appeal of his fried chicken.

Harland David Sanders' story is a remarkable example of perseverance and innovation. From a young boy who learned to cook out of necessity to an entrepreneur who built a global brand in his later years, Sanders' journey to success was filled with obstacles and failures. His legacy reminds us that success often comes later in life and that the road to achievement is rarely straight but worth traveling.