Millionaire Focus on Theo Albrecht

Our millionaire focus on Theo Albrecht was more challenging than I had originally thought it would be. He was notoriously shy, and stayed away from publicity as much as possible. Both he and his older brother, Karl, are self-made millionaires, building their empire from their mother's corner grocery store in Essen.

Their company's focus was on spending almost nothing on advertising and by simplifying their inventory. They stocked only a fraction of the products that would usually be found in a standard grocery store. Their motto was: "concentrating on the basics: a limited selection of goods for daily needs." This is a concept that we as small business owners should take to heart. I have found that we have been pressured to carry a larger variety of products to appeal to a broader audience. The real key is to carry a limited selection of fast-selling products so that you can increase order volume and reduce handling costs. The Albrecht family purchased the U.S. chain, Trader Joe's in 1979.

Theo was such a thrifty person, that when he was kidnapped in 1971, he negotiated with his captors and was able to reduce his own ransom down to 7 million Deutsche marks (about $2 million dollars). Not only did he reduce his own ransom, but he was able to win a tax dispute with the German government over whether the ransom was a business expense.

Theo was the epitome of thrifty, a lesson we can all learn from. With the internet, we can do a lot of advertising for minimal or no money. This current economy has taught us that we are all able to become more frugal and get as much work done with less money. With luck, as the economy improves (hopefully sometime this century...) we will not forget the lessons we have learned about being frugal and continue to grow our businesses smarter.

If you are looking for a small, home based business opportunity, please check out our website. We may have something that would interest you. As always, we would love to talk with you if you have questions or want guidance.

Until tomorrow...