Dad: "Don't come home until you have a job", Son: Builds Jersey Mike's Subs

hey delivery safe travels my friend thanks man oh no i i was talking to the sub but safe travels to you too okay i said you too peter can crow wasn't a wealthy kid as a teen his father dropped him off at a sub shop and told him don't come home until you have a job no stranger to hard work peter didn't just get the job he turned the shop into america's fastest growing chain with over one billion dollars in sales but success didn't happen overnight peter had to walk away from a career in law and confront the scariest moment of his life the start of america's favorite sandwich 31 years before jersey mike subs started franchising in 1956 mike ingravallo opened an authentic italian shop in the seaside town of point pleasant new jersey he named the shop after him and focused on selling italian style subs they were made with freshly baked bread and sliced meats and made with a blend of red wine vinegar and olive oil it was considered a new product to many americans even though the earliest record dates back to the early 1900s still point pleasant locals and visitors were hooked on mike's subs in the summer they would wait in lines that snaked outside the door it wasn't long until mike subs was seen as a hot commodity in a lucrative business opportunity one day a man named edmund navicus convinced mike to sell the shop to him later he sold the shop to two brothers named victor and frank merlo by the 1970s the merlot brothers were making around a thousand subs a day bringing in forty thousand dollars a week in today's dollars but that changed when a teenager named peter can crow came around taking a chance on a kid 27 years before jersey mike subs expanded to 100 stores in 1971 peter cancro was a student at point pleasant beach high school a few blocks away from mike subs he spent most of his time playing football but he was still expected to earn a few bucks on his own like his brother john who worked at mike subs one day the merlot brothers realized they needed more help at the shop what about your brother peter they asked john i know he'll work hard but i'm not sure how bright he is john told them still the merlot brothers encouraged jon to let peter know that they were interested in meeting him when peter found out he didn't hesitate to give it a try when his father dropped him off at mike subs for his interview he told him don't come home until you have a job fortunately peter went home that night the merlot brothers hired peter as a part-time employee and entrusted almost every task to him at 14 years old he was made to feel like an adult and that his voice mattered it was clear to me right away that it was a family culture that everyone raised each other up together this is the most critical thing preached to all owners and employees that they must commit to their people and treat them with respect once people feel they are truly part of something they will always stay with you from then on peter proved he was worth taking a chance on and that he was just getting started when it came to reaching his full potential risking it all for a sub shop 31 years before jersey mike subs expanded to 300 stores a few years later peter was a senior in high school and considered a hot shot he was nominated as the class president received the college football scholarship from the university of north carolina and planned on studying law but one day all of his aspirations came to a halt after receiving some shocking news the myrtle of brothers are selling mike subs his mother told them peter was stunned and even more so by what his mother said next why don't you buy it she suggested peter laughed as he walked up the stairs after all he was still a teen but by the time he reached the top his instincts told him to at least give it a try the next day he skipped school and convinced the merlot brothers to hold off from selling the shop for a week afterwards he started knocking on strangers doors to raise thousand dollars around one million dollars in today's dollars everyone wondered why he wasn't in class and when they found out why they told him he was ruining his life by friday one man offered to invest under one condition he and peter would become 50 50 partners eager to venture on his own peter turned down his offer and started to think of a plan b he decided to get help from his community instead and immediately thought of rod smith his football coach who is also a banker by then it was sunday just after 9 00 pm but peter had a gut feeling that he had to see rod that evening after ringing his doorbell rod's wife janet opened the door and ushered him into the living room seated in an armchair rod was surprised to see his quarterback walk into his living room on a sunday evening he must be in trouble rod thought to himself peter explained that he missed all his classes the past week because he was trying to raise money to buy mike subs there's no time to lose peter told him as he opened a folder and laid out the shop's gross profits and earning potentials after looking over the details rod sat back in his chair and gave it some thought i think i can do something he told peter after trusting his instincts peter got closer to achieving his goal even though his first plan didn't work out proving the doubter is wrong 24 years before jersey mike subs expanded to 500 stores you want to lend a high school student 125 thousand dollars rod's team question rod nodded i know he'll get the ball across the goal line he told everyone knowing that peter wouldn't give up when it came to sports or business his faith in peter was so convincing that he got him alone with a seven year payback plan at just 17 years old peter became the owner of mike subs he turned down his football scholarship and walked away from a career in law but something told him it was worth the trade-off and he wouldn't fail throughout the rest of the school year he worked seven days a week no fun at the beach and often no classes still he managed to get enough credits to graduate but he didn't realize until later that full participation in gym was required instead of accepting the idea of failing he came up with a medical excuse to explain his absence and managed to graduate afterwards peter continued to work at the shop every day and open a second location he later changed the name to jersey mike subs to pay tribute to its roots as the business thrived the demand to expand grew nationwide more people from all over the country were vacationing in point pleasant and at the end of their stay they would order mike subs to bring their sandwiches back home when are you coming to ohio some would ask or what about florida others would plead only one year later peter gave into their demands and started the franchise the risk quickly paid off within just a few years there were 35 stores every dime made was put back into the business to open more peter's work ethic set the standard for jersey mike subs that helped it grow from a tiny shop into a franchise the scariest moment yet 27 years before jersey mic subs reached over one billion dollars in sales year after year the number of locations rose but in 1991 peter found himself in hot water a recession hit the u.s by then the company's expenses increased from growing too fast there is no money left in the bank no reserves nothing the banking environment went south it was the worst recession of my life no one could borrow money to keep the company afloat peter was forced to lay off six people in his office including his brother he also liquidated his 401k and sold anything considered a luxury but the company was still sinking into bankruptcy peter had to float one bill to pay another to keep it from going into collections i remember standing in our second store's 400 square foot office and thinking it's over even though peter felt defeated he decided to keep trying he worked 100 hours a week and visited each location's owner to ensure everything was done right and he didn't hesitate to roll up his sleeve clean the grill or make the subs to help their staff he also started focusing more on grassroots marketing by appearing on local radio stations and rolling out direct mail and door-to-door campaigns you show up every day and that's nine tenths of success he would often say eventually his resolve to keep trying paid off within three years he managed to hire back all of the employees he laid off and by 1998 the company managed to grow to 100 stores taking in the lesson learned they survived when another recession hit the us in 2008 today they have 1 700 stores in 47 states canada and australia bringing in 1 billion dollars annually they also continue to pay tributes to their roots every year on the last wednesday of march they donate 100 of their sales at the end of the day around 7 million dollars is donated to local charities in an interview with entrepreneur peter shared some of his secrets to success show up early stay late make sure you've got great energy and be yourself don't try and pretend people can see through that in a heartbeat also tell everyone you can about your goals and don't let your age deter you from them this is the story of how a 17 year old turned a tiny shop into america's fastest growing chain

Channel: Hook

Views: 634,597

Keywords: Jersey Mike's Subs, jersey mike's, jersey mike's mukbang, jersey mike's subs commercial, jersey mike's story, jersey mikes subs story, jersey mike's subs ad, jersey mikes subs, jersey mikes, jersey mikes mukbang, the rise of jersey mikes subs, the rise of jersey mike's subs, the company man, why they're successful, the rise and fall, why they're so successful, the rise and fall of jersey mike's subs, subway, the rise of subway, the rise and fall of subway

Id: YbojzcL_yCs

Length: 11min 3sec (663 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 05 2020