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Staff post about: Tom Monaghan Become an Author

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“I believe everyone on earth has a certain goal/dream in life,” says Monaghan. “I also believe anyone can achieve this if they set their minds to it.” In a self-described “Horatio Alger story”, Monaghan was able overcome the early poverty and tragedy in his life to create one of the greatest success stories in recent American history.

From his very first days in school, the nuns knew that Monaghan was going to be a challenge. He frequently got into pillow fights in the dorm and often got caught talking in study hall. During his brief stint at the seminary, the rector had told him that “when I packed my bags at Easter to pack them for good”; he was being kicked out. Few people believed in Monaghan or in his ability to succeed. Few people, that is, except for Sister Berarda.

Berarda was a nun at Monaghan’s school who became his “surrogate mother”, and to whom Monaghan today attributes his success. “When I said I wanted to be a shortstop, a priest and an architect, and the other kids laughed, she didn’t say I couldn’t do it,” recalls Monaghan. “All she said was, ‘Tommy, be a good boy.’ She was such an inspiration to me and that kind of brainwashed me.” Despite all odds, Monaghan did in fact graduate from high school, and he did so with a new confidence and faith in himself that would serve him well in the difficult times that were to come.

In 1969, Domino’s was undergoing a process of rapid expansion, but all was not well with the business. “I’d financed all these franchisees, but they weren’t doing any business,” recounts Monaghan. “I had the busiest pizzerias in the world and the slowest pizzerias, all in the same chain…I kept them going because I thought they would be all right. I couldn’t believe a Domino’s store could do so badly.”

Indeed, many Domino’s stores were doing quite badly. When a bank took over 51 percent of the company, a so-called expert was brought in, who promptly raised food prices and cut back on service and quality. After ten months, the franchisees had hired an attorney and were ready to sue. “The company was in such bad shape that the bank actually handed it back to me,” says Monaghan. “I returned to a disaster.” Nevertheless, Monaghan was thrilled to have his business back.

Soon thereafter, the franchisees did in fact file suit. “That killed me,” says Monaghan. “I actually did a fair amount of crying – I couldn’t believe it.” But, Monaghan refused to give up. “One at a time, I won them back,” he says. He still owed money to over 1,000 creditors, 150 of whom filed lawsuits of their own. His home office staff was reduced from 29 employees to three, including Monaghan and his wife, and he was forced to live in a house with no furniture and drive old delivery cars. Still, Monaghan kept on.

“I remember how exciting it was when we were growing, and I wanted to get that feeling back,” he says. Monaghan couldn’t afford an attorney, but he defended every lawsuit himself. With a sympathetic judge whom Monaghan came to know quite well, he was given time to work off his debts. Within a few years, Domino’s was again financially strong.

“No matter what an individual decides to become, hard work and determination is very important in today’s competitive world,” says Monaghan. “You may also encounter hardships along the way, but you must not get discouraged and you push on in order to fulfill your goals.”

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