When Times Get Tough

Back in about 1987, the Texas economy crashed. It was bad. Customers could not pay their fertilizer bills. I had a very small line of credit to keep inventory. We got down to one or two employees. I decided that the only way we would survive is to SELL MORE FERTILIZER!! I decided to load my flatbed used Blue Bell ice cream truck up with fertilizer and sell it off the side of the road. I parked my truck at the corner of Mason Road and Interstate 10 in Katy. They had lots of traffic on weekends. I would show up there Saturday morning and then Sunday after church. I made a sign out of plywood and put it out by the truck. I think I sold maybe 10 bags the whole month, of course, losing money in the process. When I was a little depressed at the outcome and was whining to my wife, Julie, she said…” Well, at least you didn’t sit around and feel sorry for yourself, you got out there and tried to make it happen”. What did I learn? When you are faced with a dead end in life, go around it.

- Dean Nelson, Founder and Co-Owner