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Dave Thomas Quotes

Article Overview: Dave Thomas Quotes

Dave Thomas Quotes

In the beginning there was nothing and God said 'Let there be light', and there was still nothing but everybody could see it.

It all comes back to the basic. Serve customers the best-tasting food at a good value in a clean, comfortable restaurant, and they'll keep coming back.

There's no one to stop you but yourself.

If there are things you don't like in the world you grew up in, make your own life different.

You can do what you want to do. You can be what you want to be.

I think the harder you work, the more luck you have.

I need 30 Ken Popes. I need guys with that demeanor. A great family guy. He's a great model for what we want.

If you want it bad enough...and try hard enough...you can get it ? you can make your dreams come true.

What people forget is that every movie that gets made keeps making money for somebody FOREVER.

Jack has provided outstanding leadership and delivered excellent results during his 25-year career at Wendy's. He has the right combination of restaurant industry experience, management skills and strategic planning ability to lead our organization.

There is not enough time to fix the wheel that's been broken. So this will give us some breathing room and will put pressure on those in leadership to get the job done this year.

Think about it. Any time you have family and you have people sitting around the table, normally our business should be good.

The more you give, the more you get in return.

Every child deserves a permanent home and loving family. If just one foster child is adopted, all of our work has been worth it.

When I was eight years old, I dreamed that I would one day own the best restaurant in the world. My restaurant would serve great tasting hamburgers made just the way you like them, and all of the customers would love the food and come back again and again. - From a school essay he wrote at 15 yrs called "The Pursuit of happiness"

Hard work is good for the soul, and it keeps you from feeling sorry for yourself because you don't have time.

Only in America would a guy like me, from humble beginnings and without a high school diploma become successful. America gave me a chance to life the life I want and work to make my dreams come true. We should never take our freedoms for granted, and we should seize every opportunity presented to us.

I thought if I owned a restaurant, I could eat for free.

Thomas said, “Mary Kay Ash, 3 April 2002 Foundation Watch founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, once told me something I’ll never forget. She said the one suggestion she got in life that helped her most was to ‘pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, “Make me feel important.’

Anytime I had any doubts, you know what I would do? I’d have a double cheese with mustard, pickle and onion, a bowl of chili and a Frosty. And I’d say, ‘I know we can sell
this. It’s fantastic.’

I mean, if I’m dead, why would I care about it anyway? I’d rather be remembered while I’m living.

If we take care of our customers every day and exceed their expectations, we’ll earn their loyalty. It all comes back to the basics: serve customers the best tasting food at a good value in a clean, comfortable restaurant and they’ll keep coming back.

I’m just a hamburger cook.

Giving back is the right thing to do. If you can provide financial support to community groups, do that. If you can only afford to give your time and energy, that's just as important. When you give back, you get something important in return - the knowledge you've made a positive change in the community and lent a hand to someone in need.

A great leader is someone who practices what they preach. They lead by example, create a sense of loyalty and teamwork, and are active in the community sharing their success with those in need.

You can't have a clean floor with a dirty mop bucket. To be successful, you need to take care of the basics of your business - and that means making sure you don't overlook the little details.

What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone. Know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.

Everyone has an opportunity to succeed. You can be anything you want within the laws of God and Man.

Take care of your business and your business will take care of you.

Share your success and help others succeed. Give everyone a chance to have a piece of the pie. If the pie's not big enough, make a bigger pie.

Whether you sell hamburgers or computers, we're all in the customer service business. Our goal must be to exceed our customers' expectations every day.

Everyone, at any age, should be involved in their communities. Giving back doesn't just mean financial support...it's also an investment of time and energy. By supporting our communities, we are making them a better place to live.

The more you give, the more you get in return.

We have a responsibility to help others who can't help themselves.

Believe in your dream. People may tell you that you won't make it, that you're wasting your time. If you keep your dream in mind, have done your research and are willing to work hard, you can make it come true.

What's the secret to success? It's no secret. You need a winning attitude, honesty and integrity, and a burning desire to succeed.

You earn your reputation by the things you do every day.

When you greet someone, look them in the eye and say their name. It's a sign of respect.

Get all the education you can. Who knows what more I could have achieved if I'd stayed in school and went to college? The possibilities are endless when you have an education.

Related Articles
  Open For Business: Wendy’s Takes Off
  Lesson #3: Give Something Back
  Words of Inspiration
  The Most Reliable Predictor of YOUR Success
  The Man at the Top of the Food Chain: Dave Thomas is Born

Article Tags: breathing room, dave thomas, demeanor, dreams, experience management, family guy, god, hamburgers, industry experience, job, leadership, loving family, management skills, popes, pursuit of happiness, right combination, school essay, strategic planning, wendy, wheel



Related Forum Posts
Categorizing the Famous Entrepreneur Profiles? - By the way Evan, what do you think about my idea to categorize your list of Famous Entrepreneur Profiles by industry rather than by alphabetical order? For instance, if I was a small business owner looking to enter the food industry, I might want to look for inspiration from famous entrepreneurs in a related field (like profiles on Dave Thomas, Harland Sanders, Debbi Fields, etc...). It just seems a bit time consuming having to run down the long list of names you have on the "Features" page. Thanks
The Value of Mentoring - Successful mentor pairings (in case there was any doubt as to the value of mentoring): 1. André Ouellet (President, Canada Post) mentor to Mark Whalen (Urban Organics and winner, Young Entrepreneur Award) 2. Marc Lefrançois (President, Via Rail Canada) mentor to Jeffrey Campbell (Core Networks, Inc. and winner, Young Entrepreneur Award) 3. Donald Kendall (former CEO of PepsiCo) mentor to John Scully (former CEO of Apple) 4. Harland Sanders (the Colonel) mentor to Dave Thomas (founder of Wendy's) 5. Stuart Friend (KMart manager) mentor to Wayne Sales (CEO of Canadian Tire) 6. Jim Rohn (author, motivational speaker) mentor to Anthony Robbins (author, motivational speaker) 7. Robert Patterson (CEO, National Cash Register) mentor to Thomas Watson (founder of IBM) 8. Henri-Paul Rosseau (President, Laurentian Bank of Canada) mentor to isabel Rodriquez and Yves Besner (i4design and winners, Young Entrepreneur Award)
Dropping out of school - I remember Dave Thomas, a man who dropped out of high school to found Wendys and turned into a millionaire, saying to people who pointed to this fact.... "Just think what I'd've been able to do if I HAD gone to college." In other words he was thinking he could've been even better if he'd gotten that extra education. Although in this day and age where young guys - and gals - with computer smarts can provide an invaluable service at a young age... they might not need to go to college to learn how to do what they already [i:ckavbg5w]know [/i:ckavbg5w]how to do... but do they have the business knowledge to run the [i:ckavbg5w]business [/i:ckavbg5w]end of their business? Hiring people, doing accounting, making sure your accountant isn't diddling you, etc. etc. Although it's not necessary to go to college to get those skills - a votech will do.... some education in those areas is necessary, I would think.
Re: How did we Live before Electricity - Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison - USA heros!
Re: Search Engine Optimization - Hi Thomas, So what would you recommend? Hiring an SEO expert or simply trying your hand at doing it yourself?


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