I saw the most interesting article the other day on Yahoo. It talked about a young entrepreneur that exhibits incredible determination despite a number of things going against him.
23 year old Joe Steffy suffers from autism, down syndrome, and is unable to use his voice to communicate.
In school, his teachers told his parents that Joe would never live an independent life and certainly could never run a business.
Of course, this just irritate Joe to no end.
Today, Joe runs his own business making Kettle popcorn that he sells to local retailers and local events. 2005 sales were $16k, 2008 sales were $50k. His goal for the next three years is to double sales to $100k per year.
You might not find these numbers are inspiring, but I find his determination humbling.
In case you’re wondering how he sells new retail partners on carrying his product, he brings with him his laptop with a computer assisted speech device that helps him communicate.
How much you wanna bet that Joe’s not going to let no stinkin recession slow him down.
Here’s the article in case you’re curious:
In life and especially in a recession, you get what you expect.