Entrepeneurs

Zig Ziglar, The Once-Broke Man Who Motivated Millions to Success

Bill Thompson
Photo by BrokenSphere

A baby boy born into a large and poor family in Alabama in 1926 would grow up to become one of the world’s most popular and effective motivational speakers.

His name was Hilary Hinton Ziglar – but more widely known simply as Zig Ziglar.

His first job was as a salesman for a cookware company. He quickly rose to a management position, but then discovered his true calling: motivational speaking.

Get your copy of Zig Ziglar’s book

While still in his 30s Ziglar began touring cities with other speakers, including the great Norman Vincent Peale.

By the 1970s Ziglar had formed his own coaching and speaking company. And in 1975 he wrote what turned out to be a phenomenal motivational book called See You At The Top.

In 1994 Ziglar published a follow-up book, called Over the Top. He and I met that summer to talk about it.

So here now, from 1994. Zig Ziglar.

Zig Ziglar died in November 2012. He was 86.

A conversation with chocolatiers Frances & Ginger Park

Bill Thompson
Ginger Park
Frances Park

For 40 years a modest family-owned business has been supplying folks in Washington DC with the treat no one dislikes – chocolate.

It was started in 1984 by sisters Frances and Ginger Park, daughters of a Korean immigrant. And their story is as appealing as the morsels they sell at their store, called Chocolate Chocolate.

In fact it’s their store’s atmosphere of family and community as much as it is the quality of their products that keeps people coming back for years.

Frances and Ginger also write books, especially children’s books. And in 2011 they wrote their own story, in a book called, appropriately enough, Chocolate Chocolate.

Get your copy of Frances & Ginger Park’s book

That’s when I met them – and, yes, happily sampled their products.

So here now, from 2011, Frances and Ginger Park.,

The Park sisters are now both in their 60s, and Chocolate Chocolate continues to thrive in Washington DC.

Do We Owe ’69’s Woodstock To Elliot Tiber?

Bill Thompson
Photo by Niccolò Caranti

It was this week 55 years ago – starting on August 15, 1969, to be exact – that organizers put on what they called an “Aquarian Exposition” in White Lake, New York.

It was a three day music festival that is now widely known simply as Woodstock.

But by one man’s account it almost didn’t happen – if not for him.

Elliot Tiber and his family operated a small, rundown motel in Bethel, New York. And Elliot also owned a permit to hold a music festival.

Get your copy of Elliot Tiber’s book

As he told in his 1994 book Taking Woodstock, that permit, coupled with his friendship with dairy farmer Max Yasgur, helped make Woodstock possible.

I met Elliot when he was on a book tour, which happened to coincide with the Woodstock ‘94 festival.

And if you thought you were about to hear a quiet, sedate conversation with a nearly-65-year-old has-been, get over it. And buckle up, because here’s my 1994 interview with Elliot Tiber.

Elliot Tiber died in 2016. He was 81.

Internet pioneer Michael Daniels on how the web became commercialized

Bill Thompson

In its infancy, the internet was simply a way for government agencies, educators and academic professionals to speak to one another. Today, of course, virtually every business in the world is built on or relies on the internet as a form of commerce.

But what if the internet had never turned to commercialization? What if it had remained just for government and academics?

Get your copy of Michael Daniels’s book

Much of the transformation goes back to the early to mid-1990s when the US government awarded a contract to a small company in Northern Virginia called Network Solutions. They were granted the exclusive right to sell the domain names that we all know so well – .com, .org, .net and so forth.

The chairman of Network Solutions was a guy named Michael Daniels and in 2013 he wrote a book about the early history of the commercialization of the web. His book was called Names, Numbers And Network Solutions. And that’s when I had the chance to talk with him.

So here now from 2013. Michael Daniels.

What I Learned from Martha Stewart About Celebrating Christmas in Style

Bill Thompson
Photo by Gage Skidmore

Just a few more days until Christmas. But if you haven’t gotten the house ready yet or the dinner planned?

Well, who knows more about planning for a holiday celebration than Martha Stewart.?

Well, all right. Lots of people probably know more but she’s perhaps the most famous entertainment planner.

Perhaps the most fun interview I ever had with her was in the fall of 1993, not long before Christmas that year when we talked about her book Martha Stewart’s Christmas. And we also talked about her business empire. Her TV show had just premiered a few weeks earlier.

So here now, from 1993. Martha Stewart.

Martha Stewart is 82 now. She lives in New York.

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From Pilgrims to Escorts: The Rise and Fall of the Mayflower Madam

Bill Thompson

As public scandals go, this one might seem pretty benign, by today’s low bar. But in 1984, it was a big story when it was revealed that the authoirities had broken up a high-priced Manhattan escort service that was being run by a woman named Sydney Biddle Barrows.

Now, when a New York Post reporter uncovered the fact that the 32-year-old Barrows is from the Biddle family of Philadelphia, and is a direct descendant of some of the original Mayflower settlers, he dubbed her the “Mayflower Madam” — and the name stuck.

Within two years of her company being put out of business, Barrows wrote a bestselling autobiography, called, of course, “The Mayflower Madam.”

That’s when I first met her.

So here now, from 1986, Mayflower Madam Sydney Biddle Barrows:

Sydney Biddle Barrows is 73 now. She’s a management consultant and writer.

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Suze Orman

Bill Thompson

We all know about the laws of nature or the laws of physics but are there laws that govern what happens to money?

So here now from 2003. Suze Orman

There most certainly are says longtime personal finance expert Suze Orman, and if you are ignorant of those laws, you are bound to break them and suffer the consequences she says.

I had the chance to interview her several times over period of years as she rose to national prominence, including this conversationa bout her book The Laws of Money, The Lessons of Life.

Suze Orman is now 72 and currently hosts the “Suze Orman Women & Money” podcast.

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Martha Stewart

Bill Thompson
Photo by Gage Skidmore

Well many of us went to barbecues, reunions, or other big holiday events for the 4th of July.

And if you hosted such an event, you probably realized how much planning and effort goes into it.
Maybe you could have used a little professional advice…

There may literally be no one in America who is better known for her expertise in entertaining than Martha Stewart.

For more than 40 years, Stuart has been dispensing advice on cooking and decorating and entertaining guests. Best-selling books, a magazine, and a television show have helped push her to the forefront.

I’ve interviewed her several times, including this conversation we had in 1994 when she published a book called Martha Stewart’s Menus For Entertaining.

So here now, from 1994, Martha Stewart.

Martha Stewart will be 82 next month . She lives in New York.

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Andrew Grove

Bill Thompson
Photo by World Economic Forum

It was a young immigrant from Europe who came to the United States nearly 70 years ago who helped create and promote technology that would literally transform the world.

His name was Andrew Grove. A Hungarian by birth, he fled the Hungarian revolution in 1956 to come to the US.

In 1968, he joined the newly formed company called Intel, and eventually became its third CEO. His leadership propelled Intel to the forefront of the fledgling industry.

And in 1997 Andy Grove was Time Magazine’s Man of the Year for his influence in advancing the power and potential of the microchip.

In 2001, Grove wrote his autobiography, a book he called Swimming Across. And that’s when I have the chance to talk with him for a few minutes .

So here now, from 2001, Andy Grove.

Andrew Grove died in 2016 at age 79.

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Lillian Vernon

Bill Thompson

Today we’d probably call it a “side hustle.”

Photo by Annie Watt

But that term had not yet been invented in 1951, when Lillian Vernon started a small mail order business from her kitchen table.

At that time she sold personalized purses and belts,targeting young women like her with ads in Seventeen magazine.

Born in Germany, she and her family fled to America in 1933, and she became an American citizen a few years later. As a 24-year-old housewife she started her business like so many do today, to bring in a few extra bucks.

And the business began to grow, eventually becoming one of the nations first and foremost direct mail retailers. You’ve probably gotten a Lillian Vernon catalog in the mail at some point over the years.

I met her in 1996 when Vernon wote a book called An Eye for Winners. So here now, from 1996, LillianVernon.

Lillian Vernon died in 2015. She was 88.

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