Reviews
Salt & light company Life with Flavor: A Personal History of Herr’s. By Jim Herr, with Bruce E. Mowday and June Herr Gunden (Barricade Books, 2012, 182 pp. $22 U.S.)
munched on chips as they watched. New seasonings were added, from barbecue to salt and vinegar, as well as other snacks like pretzels, dried meat sticks and tortilla chips. While not an exhaustive history, Life with Flavor is a delightful memoir told in avuncular fashion by a man who seems to have good-naturedly weathered the ups and downs of business in the post-World War 2 era. Along the way he relates the vicissitudes that come with being an entrepreneur — a devastating fire, potato shortages, inventory that goes bad and the inevitable business mistakes which “are just part of life, especially if you tend to take risks.” He relates “decision points,” such as when the company began a profit-sharing plan for employees, or how they dealt with handling waste in an environmentally responsible manner. It’s fascinating to get an inside look at the Herr family business culture. “There is a tremendous advantage to running a business as a family,” Herr writes. Early exposure “makes it easier for kids to learn the value of money management, of dealing with customers, of relations with employees, and just general knowledge of how to operate a business, such as working long hours.” Herr died in April, 2012, after the manuscript was completed but before the book had gone to press. By then, the company he founded had 1,500 employees and annual sales of more than $250 million. It ranked in the top five independently-owned salty snack food companies in the country. Near the end of the book he says, “The best gift you can give your employees is to keep the company good and solid, so they don’t have to worry about job security. It’s gratifying that in 65 years, we have had no lay-offs due to a lack of business.” Jim Herr brought the snack food industry not only flavor but also spiritual zest. Sprinkled throughout the book are Proverbs that illustrate vital business principles, such as “Don’t withhold repayment of your debts. Don’t say ‘some other time,’ if you can pay now” (Prov. 3:27,28), or “The Lord demands fairness in every business deal. He established this principle” (Prov. 16:11). Also endearing is the listing of personal business principles at the end of each chapter (see sidebar). “I believe the Great Creator is the model entrepreneur,” Herr writes early in the book. “He made us to be creative and to work hard at something, just like He did.” Clearly, Jim Herr learned those lessons well. — Wally Kroeker
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n 1946 Jim Herr heard about a potato chip business that was for sale in Lancaster, Pa., for $1,750. Although snack foods weren’t really part of his Mennonite culture, he thought making chips was something he might be able to do. So he took out a loan and bought the company. He had no idea how fast his learning curve would have to be. The former owners pledged to stick around for two weeks to teach him the trade, but two days after the sale was completed they took off and were never seen again. Undeterred, young Jim pressed on. With the help of one part-time employee he peeled, sliced and cooked potato chips, then packaged them and sold them door-to-door. His wife, Mim, did the bookwork at night. Herr kept up with the times and expanded his cooking and distribution capacity. “The whole snack food industry exploded in the 1950s,” he relates. People were moving from the country to the cities as manufacturing grew. A new invention called television boosted Herr’s market as people
A sample of Herr’s principles • If you are in a profession you don’t enjoy, be willing to make a change. I’ve known people who resign themselves to a job they detest and then complain about it their whole lives. • If you want to create a business you have to be on the lookout for an opportunity. It doesn’t usually just come to you – you have to be willing to make the effort to look for it. • Don’t give up too quickly. At first I thought I had made a wrong decision about making potato chips, but as I stuck with it I learned to appreciate the business. • Be open to giving employees opportunities to diversify in their career paths. If a new position is needed, perhaps someone you already employ would be energized by the challenge of learning something new. • Every company has a “culture.” Identifying your values and staying true to them helps give your company a firm footing. • Never stop looking for opportunities to be a blessing to someone else. ◆
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The Marketplace January February 2013
