Rags to Riches: Eyewitness

[DAP]

From a very early age, I can remember my father getting up at 2am on weekends to work 'bakes'. As in clambakes. As in catered clambakes. This was in N. Eastern Ohio.

Here's the crux.

A fella, one day in the 50's threw a party in his backyard and invited his neighbors. He grilled some steaks, steamed a bunch of clams, boiled a lotta sweet corn and had a party. Big woop.

One of his friends liked it so much, he asked him if he'd help him throw a like party at his place. Then another asked. One thing led to another.

The guy (deceased a few years ago) ended up with an enormous seasonal clambake catering business that blossomed into a frozen fish wholesaling biz on the side - but still made most of his money from the clambakes.

By the time I got involved as a teen, this guy was doing 100 bakes a weekend (avg. 350 head at 30 bucks a plate PER BAKE)- a fleet of big Mercedes cold trucks - a store front - and lottsa willing workers who liked getting out on the weekends to pack the trucks, do the bakes, clean up and throw one back. 75% of his business was repeat business each year. All of the bakes were private and on site - (bars, golf courses, backyards, churches, you name it.) Swimming in cash this enterprise was.

This man died a VERY rich man. By the time I was old enough to drive, I TOO was doing the weekend bakes from Aug. through Nov., mostly cause I could lift heavy things, was too young to drink but old enough to drive.

It was an art - setting up and doing those bakes. People could not get enough of them - perhaps because they were so far inland.

 

[viking]

Interesting. What ever happened to the clam bake enterprise, does it still exist today?

 

[DAP]

It sure does. It was passed onto to his son. I know from living in NYC however, that 2nd generation businesses often lose their resemblence to the first generations business.

They are still doing the bakes out in N.E. Ohio.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

FWIW, according to the research I did about a hundred years ago for my thesis, it's THIRD generation ownership that is most dangerous to businesses. Here's a real skimming sketch of why.

First generation works the long, hard hours and gets it going; second generation grew up seeing that and, while they may be fairly well off by the time they take over, they know what it took to get there and work accordingly.

Their children, however, are the ones most likely NOT to know what it takes because they were brought up well to do and never saw life any differently. Many times their parents (second generation) want their offspring (third generation) to have the priveledged childhood they didn't enjoy.

Even a number of successful family business today struggled mightily through that third generation. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif