Do You Have $10?
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 9:12AM
Steve in Barbecue, Goals, small business

No, this is not a request for a loan, or even a pitch to donate for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

Although if you do want to loan me the $10, I suggest you send it to the Red Cross instead.

Rather, I just wanted to highlight a story I came across last week, about a regular guy that set his dreams in motion with just $10.

Mike Neal liked to barbecue (and I admit the barbecue angle was what led me to find this story), and he dreamed of someday having his own barbecue restaurant.  So instead of waiting, hoping, or simply ignoring that dream, Neal simply went for it. 

From the story:

"I had $10, and I went out and got one pack of ribs," said Neal. He set up a grill outside a furniture store and began cooking ribs slathered in his family's special sauce."I'd sell for $5 a sandwich, and people came and started buying them, and I'd go back and get more food, and before I knew it something was happening," he said.

Eventually, continued hard work and dedication led to Neal opening his own restaurant, Michael Neal's Southern Grill,  and developing and marketing his signature barbecue sauce in stores like Walmart.

Sure Neal had a talent for barbecue, and sure good barbecue is about the most wonderful food in the world, but the story is not really about that. The message to me is that you can start small, even $10 small, and still see your dreams realized.  Neal did not see having only $10 as a constraint, he saw it as an opportunity. A start.

So let me ask again, do you have $10?

Postscript - This restaurant is in the 513, winner of the Best HR City. What is it with that town?

I would give you the link to the restaurant's web site or Facebook page, but I don't think they have either, but it sounds like Neal is doing fine without them.

Article originally appeared on Steve's HR Technology (http://steveboese.squarespace.com/).
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