Personal Life

The oldest of three children, Colonel Sanders was born on September 9, 1890, on a farm near Henryville, Indiana. His father died when Colonel Sanders was six, leaving his mother behind to make ends meet with whatever jobs she could find. While she was off working, her children were often home alone for days at a time and had to scrounge around for their own food, which they also prepared themselves. Thus, Colonel Sanders was already focused emotionally on food by the age of seven, when he “was excelling in bread and vegetables, and coming along nicely in meat,” as he once told William Whitworth in a New Yorker profile.

Colonel Sanders was raised according to the strict teachings of conservatism and religious fundamentalism. From an early age he learned self-reliance and developed a love of work, a suspicion of welfare, and an intense dislike of vice. “Mom didn’t spare the rod if we disobeyed her,” he recalled in the New Yorker.

When Colonel Sanders was 12, his mother remarried. Because her new husband disliked the children, they were all sent away to live elsewhere. Young Colonel Sanders went to work as a farmhand in Indiana, earning about $15 a month. He quit several years later and then held a series of menial, low-paying jobs. His formal education ended in the seventh grade, but later in life he obtained two degrees from correspondence schools.

Colonel Sanders’ first marriage lasted 39 years and produced three children before it ended in divorce. In 1948 he married Claudia Ledington and remained with her until his death in 1980. He was described in the New Yorker profile as a “perfectionist” in matters of business. A firm believer in hard work, he expected the same from his franchise owners and insisted that they maintain the high standards he had developed for his product. Colonel Sanders was also known for his quick temper and sometimes crude language.

Colonel Sanders was given the honorary title of “Colonel” from the governor of Kentucky in 1936 and received the Horatio Alger Award from Norman Vincent Peale in 1965. He established the Harland Sanders Foundation during the 1970s and donated much of his wealth to churches, hospitals and institutions such as the Salvation Army and the Boy Scouts. Also in his later years, he adopted 78 orphans from overseas.

In 1974, Colonel Sanders published a memoir, Life as I Have Known It Has Been Finger Lickin’ Good. Believing his children should earn their own way in the world, he announced plans to leave his entire estate to charity after his death. He died of pneumonia in Louisville, Kentucky, on December 16, 1980.

Background of the entrepreneurs

Colonel Harland David Sanders was born on September 9, 1890, in Henryville, Indiana, United States. He was the oldest of three children born to Wilbur David and Margaret Ann (née Dunlevy) Sanders. The family attended the Advent Christian Church. The family were of mostly Irish and English ancestry.

Colonel Sanders was an entrepreneur and restaurateur who founded the world renowned Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) chain which became one of the most famous and liked fast food selling chains in the world in turn making Sanders a world famous colonel. After his father died when he was 6 years old, Colonel Sanders became responsible for feeding and taking care of his younger brother and sister. Beginning at the age of 10, he held down numerous jobs, including farmer, streetcar conductor, railroad fireman, insurance salesman, tire salesman and service station operator for Standard Oil. He even enlisted in the United States Army where he worked as a mule handler in Cuba.

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In 1930, when he was 40, Colonel Sanders opens his first restaurant in the small front room of a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky. He serves as station operator, chief cook and cashier and names the dining area "Sanders Court & Café." Gradually business became better and Colonel Sanders moved to a restaurant close by where he developed his own recipe with eleven herbs and spices. He was named a Kentucky colonel in 1935 by Governor Ruby Laffoon and a motel was his latest addition to the business.

After closing the restaurant in 1952, Colonel Sanders devoted himself to franchising his chicken business. He travelled across the country, cooking batches of chicken from restaurant to restaurant, striking deals that paid him a nickel for every chicken the restaurant sold. His first franchise sale went to Pete Harman of Salt Lake City. In 1964, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has more than 600 franchised outlets in the United States, Canada and the first overseas outlet, in England. Colonel Sanders sold his interest in the Unikted States company for $2 million to a group of investors headed by John Y. Brown, Jr. and Jack C. Massey. The Colonel Sanders remains a public spokesman for the company.

In 1965, Colonel Sanders receives the Horatio Alger Award from the American Schools and Colleges Association. Meanwhile, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) went public in 1966 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1969. More than 3,500 franchised and company-owned restaurants were in worldwide operation when Heublein Inc. acquired Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Corporation in 1971 for $285 million. In 1976, an independent survey ranks the Colonel as the world's second most recognizable celebrity and Colonel Sanders speaks before a United States Congressional Committee on Aging. In 1979, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) cooks up 2.7 billion pieces of chicken. There are approximately 6,000 Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurants worldwide with sales of more than $2 billion.

Colonel Sanders continued to visit the KFC restaurants around the world as a spokesman in his later years. On 16 December 1980, Colonel Sanders, who came to symbolize quality in the food industry, dies after being stricken with leukemia. Flags on all Kentucky state buildings fly at half-staff for four days. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) becomes a subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc. (now RJR Nabisco, Inc.), when Heublein Inc. is acquired by Reynolds in 1982. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) was acquired in October 1986 from RJR Nabisco, Inc. by PepsiCo, Inc., for approximately $840 million.

In 1997, PepsiCo, Inc. announces the spin-off of its quick service restaurants in Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Taco Bell and Pizza Hut into Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. In 2002, Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., the world's largest restaurant company, changes its corporate name to YUM! Brands, Inc. In addition to Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), the company owns A&W® All-American Food® Restaurants, Long John Silvers®, Pizza Hut® and Taco Bell® restaurants. Last but not least, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) International launches global re-image as it unveils an astronomical 87,500 square foot new Colonel Sanders logo that is visible from space.


The skills and competencies that contribute to the entrepreneurs’ success

• You Have To Get Yourself A Gimmick

If there was one thing that Colonel Sanders knew better than how to make a quick and mean fried chicken, it was how to sell himself. In the early days, Colonel Sanders understood that if he was going to make his small service station stand out from the rest, he would need something that was different from everyone else, something that nobody else could possibly have. The answer? Himself. Colonel Sanders became a master of the brand image early on in his fast-food career. Who else would know what good fried chicken was if not a southern colonel? Colonel Sanders was one of the first successful American businessmen to teach the world that a well-known and well-liked spokesperson could add more credibility to a company.

• Figure Out How To Whet The Nation’s Appetite

Within the industry, Colonel Sanders had come to be respected as a great marketer not just because his own face was plastered around the country. Rather, Colonel Sanders understood food and he understood what it would take to whet the nation’s appetite for his food. He was thus able to come up with a number of unique strategies for enticing customers to try his fast-food franchise. One of Colonel Sanders’ greatest marketing strategies was to keep a mystique surrounding his recipe. Colonel Sanders decided to create easy take-out buckets of his special chicken specifically for busy mothers to be able to take home. Whenever a new franchise opened up, Colonel Sanders would come to the opening to personally hand out special two-for-one coupons to customers.

• Dedicate Yourself And Follow Through

Colonel Sanders was not your ordinary 60 year old. Indeed, it was when he was 66 years old, and almost penniless to boot that Colonel Sanders decided to give his business idea one last go. He packed up all his things and his equipment and began to travel the country in search of restaurateurs who would buy his secret recipe from him. “I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something if I could,” Colonel Sanders once said. “And no hours, nor amount of labor, nor amount of money would deter me from giving the best that there was in me. And I have done that ever since, and I win by it. I know.”

• Set High Standards So You Can Take Pride In Your Product

Colonel Sanders was a meticulous man and it showed in everything he did. He also had to make sure that each and every franchise location maintained the highest standards of cleanliness and customer service possible. After all, Colonel Sanders knew that it did not matter how tasty his chicken was; if customers saw it coming from a dirty kitchen, they would immediately be turned off. It was Colonel Sanders’ attention to detail and his refusal to compromise on any aspect of his business that enabled him to attract a loyal following of customers. They knew that the Colonel Sanders brand was one they could trust. “If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean.” he said.

• You Are Never Too Small To Get Started

Colonel Sanders was not born into a rich family. Instead, he spent much of his youth living and working out on his own, trying to support himself and stay off the streets. But, he did not let that stand in the way of his future success. In fact, the experience as a young boy taught him how to make do with what he had available to him. And, it was precisely that attitude that was able to lift Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) off the ground. Colonel Sanders had nothing but his cheque for $105 per month from social security. “That paid for my gas and the travel needed to get the franchises started,” he said. “Lots of nights I would sleep in the back of my car so I would have enough money to buy cookers the next day if someone took a franchise.” By making do with what they had – a car, a garage, two sets of hands, and a meager social security cheque – the couple slowly began to build up their dreams. “Life as I have known it has been Finger Lickin’ Good.” he said.

In a nut shell, a successful entrepreneur will overcome and persevere despite many setbacks, roadblocks and failures. They learn from the challenges to improve themselves, their team and their product. Being a successful entrepreneur means that you have persevered through criticism and thrived in the face of failure. You have demolished obstacles and led your team to achieve greatness. Your tenacity and persistence have served you well and I am sure that your customers and team will thank you for it.

The achievement of the entrepreneurs 

Colonel Harland David Sanders is known as the Southern gentleman in the white suit, white goatee and black string tie, and he is perhaps one of the most famous colonels in the world. Despite not founding the business until he was 66 years old, he turned his local chicken stand into a multinational fast-food franchise. “Colonel Sanders’ achievements as well as his secret 11 herbs and spices recipe are our company’s cornerstones,” said KFC’s chief marketing officer Barry Westrum. “We are privileged to launch this undertaking to preserve the legacy and memory of our founder by gathering his stories from near and far. “ 

“We are quite confident that there are a lot of stories waiting to be shared about the Colonel,” says Topmiller, who used to handle everything for him, from arranging his TV appearances to ordering his famous white suits. Now she is helping out to spearhead the campaign in upholding the legacy of her former boss, encouraging everyone who met the Colonel during his travels, saw him on TV or was told a story or two from a friend of a friend, to submit the stories to the online archive.

“We want to ensure that the future generation can understand the significant role he played in the history of their favorite chicken restaurant chain, and the motivation that he inspired in the heart of many Americans,” said Topmiller.

Today, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has more than 14,000 franchise outlets in over 100 countries, and pulls in over $520 million in annual revenue. That success, however, was the result of a long and uphill journey for Sanders. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is one of the world’s most popular restaurant chains. Today Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) chickens are offered in approximately 11,000 restaurants in over 80 countries around the world. Every day almost eight million customers are served. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurants employ over 290,000 employees around the world out of which approximately 4,500 are in Poland. They sell 5,89 billion chicken pieces around the world out of which over 12 million in our country. Every year a new Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant is opened. 

At present, there are 75 Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurants in Poland. Almost all of them offer, the so called, ĄChicky CornerĒ, where games and parties are organised for the youngest consumers as well as birthday parties which are very popular. It is hard to find a shopping centre today without a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant. In 2004, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) ‘Green Line’: three types of salads (Vega, Caesar and Mandarin) was awarded Worldwide Best Practice Award 2004 in the category of the best product, the best marketing promotion and its implementation in the restaurants. YUM Restaurants International grants the award annually. The Polish line of salads was recognised as the best product in the category referred to in all Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurants around the world. In the ranking of the American weekly Business Week ‘Most valuable world brands 2004’ Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) ranks 54th and is currently valued at USD 5,1 billion.

Social and Economic Impact

Colonel Sanders’ work ethic, along with his creative approach to doing business, made him one of the pioneers of a new industry. Before he established his chicken franchises, there really was no such thing as fast food in the United States. But Colonel Sanders realized that Americans during the 1940s and 1950s were increasingly on the move and needed places to eat while traveling that were clean and convenient with speedy, dependable service and quality food. His accomplishments in fast-food franchising paved the way for similar businesses to grow and thrive to the point where they are now a central part of American life. For example, Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s International, began his career with a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Columbus, Ohio.

Colonel Sanders employed innovative marketing techniques to expand his business. His very image as a Southern gentleman proved to be an extraordinarily successful sales tool. “Before the Colonel,” noted Thomas, “there was never an image in the food industry. I think the Colonel really provided that. He was really a personality.” Indeed, Colonel Sanders appeared in commercials for the company as late as 1979, the year before his death. So effective was his distinctive image that a 1994 advertising campaign used a look-alike actor to impersonate him in a series of new, folksy television spots.

Colonel Sanders relied on several other brilliant marketing strategies. By calling his product “Kentucky Fried Chicken” instead of merely “fried chicken,” he made it seem special. Furthermore, he added mystery and interest by calling attention to the “11 secret herbs and spices” in his coating recipe. “He came up with a special flavor that was addictive,” observed John Y. Brown. “He was the first trendsetter to have a real differentiation in taste in the field.”

Colonel Sanders liked to remain personally involved in sales and promotion. Whenever a new franchise opened, he wanted to be there to hand out coupons and speak on local radio and television. Thomas recalled, “The Colonel was right out there with us in rain or snow. There wasn’t anything in the restaurant he wouldn’t do.” Franchise owners appreciated Sanders’ loyalty and interest and repaid him by working hard and making the business grow.

Quality was always an issue with Colonel Sanders. Employees remember him bursting into kitchens to check up on them and show them how to do things properly. Harman Management chairman Jackie Trujillo, who first met Colonel Sanders when she worked as a carhop at a Harman’s in Salt Lake City, said, “He used to visit us often. Service, quality and cleanliness was No. 1. He never backed down from that.” One of his favorite sayings was “if you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean.”

In short, declared Brown, “Nobody can really touch the Colonel when it comes to creating a concept that was ahead of its time.” Colonel Sanders was a true pioneer in a business who tapped into Americans’ growing desire for mobility and easy living. The fast-food industry he helped create has now become a way of life, not only in the United States but in a substantial part of the rest of the world as well.