WELCOME TO THE POSSE!

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This book was born from the thought that things have become a bit over-complicated.

We could all use a little Old Fashioned Horse Sense when approaching challenges both personally and professionally. You know, just good ‘ole common sense.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I’m a Northern Californian who was lucky enough to come from a five-generation business that was a start-up…in 1856. My father, the fourth generation, presided over The John Breuner Furniture Company, a company started by my great-great-grandfather in 1856, Johann Friedrich “John” Breuner.

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In 1856, my great-great-grandfather emigrated from Germany to Sacramento, California, trying to capitalize on the California Gold Rush and strike it rich for his family. Like most, he did not find gold. But he did strike it rich.

 

It was the wild, wild west. And with such a massive influx of people engorging the mining towns of California, there was a voracious demand for furniture. And having been a cabinet maker in Germany, he was rarely without clients or furniture orders. He made such a name for himself that he was asked to craft all the furniture and fixtures for the new California State Capital building in Sacramento. His product and employees must have been truly extraordinary. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The John Breuner Furniture Company was on its fifth generation when I decided to take a different path. That path sent me 2,500 miles east to Western Pennsylvania. In my book, "Old-Fashioned Horse Sense", you’ll read about why that decision was made and what happened. But most importantly, you will learn about many of the useful practices that worked to attract rockstar co-workers and together we both struck gold. 

 

You’ll also learn about the disasters my startups faced and how a sometimes-slow learner eventually overcame those challenges. My launches faced horrific weather, poisonous personnel, woeful undercapitalization, a lawsuit brought against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and even my salon storefront being peppered by gunfire! 

 

My journey was the hard way…but most worthwhile journeys are difficult. And I learned it’s the hard times that put the shine in the diamond.  I cultivated a tenacious attitude, dedicated to never giving up and learning to find the positive in any situation. After working through the initial darkness, we ended up creating a Supercuts franchise operation of over 50 locations all over Pennsylvania. We employed thousands of people improving their standards of living, bringing in eight figures in yearly revenue, and serving 3,000 customers daily. ​This was primarily accomplished by creating fun and taking extraordinary care of our employees first.

 

And over the years, I’ve been given the opportunity to prove numerous times that this simple approach works. This attitude was especially true when I became a Sola Salons Studio developer. In those 15 years, we grew to 60+ locations. But the most satisfying part of that experience was knowing we’ve helped thousands of beauty pros around the country start their own small businesses and generated tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue.