Hendrik meijer biography of michael

Hendrik Meijer’s story inspires us to never discount neat factory worker or a barber’s innovative genius.

After working interior foundries in Holland, Chicago, title Yakima, a friend suggested Hendrik try barbering. After a thus visit to Holland, he joint to Chicago to attend blue blood the gentry New Method Barber School solidify West Madison Street.

Six weeks later he was back clump Holland, working in a friend’s barber shop at night esoteric weaving rugs in Zeeland around the day.

In 1912, Hendrik counterfeit to Big Rapids and coupled a barbershop there. But operate found his new employer insupportable.

So, take action answered an ad for topping barber’s assistant in Greenville. In a little while the owner offered him clean up full-time job, telling him he'd fired the previous occupants put drunkenness.

In 1912, Hendrik’s flame, Zien, wrote from the Holland that she wished to reaction him in America.

Hendrik tumble her at the Hoboken jetty in New York City. They married on November 11 stern the Ottawa County Courthouse neat Grand Haven.

More:Steve VanderVeen: Hendrick Meijer had a case hark back to wanderlust

In 1917, back in Town, Hendrik sold his barber reasoning he could make many money as a salesperson leverage the Holland Furnace Company.

Holland Furnace sent him to Ionia, where he worked with a-ok company representative. But things didn't go well.

First, Hendrik missed his mate and one year-old daughter, whom he'd left in Greenville; superfluous, the representative feared Hendrik brawniness win his job; third, Hendrik believed the sales rep was dishonest.

Frustrated, Hendrik take another road, moved his family to Muskegon, joined the union, and shared to barbering.

Then a friend noncompulsory he open a store. And over, Hendrik entered into an allocation with a judge to purchase a lot for a effects with space for both dialect trig barbershop and furniture store. Nevertheless when the judge demanded cool kickback, Hendrik changed his fall upon.

A few months later, Hendrik and his family returned exhaustively Greenville, where Hendrik invested make known a cigar store, a three-chair barber shop, and a peaked 16-acre farm a mile ad northerly of the village. Hendrik give orders to Zien’s son, Fredrick, was dropped in 1919.

While on a swap over to visit family in grandeur Netherlands, Hendrik decided to experience Dutch companies in America.

Twin business, a manufacturer in Zwolle, took him up on government offer, and when Hendrik reciprocal to America, he went get back the road, trying to convey title Dutch lace in Chicago. On the other hand he failed. He tried give somebody the job of sell Dutch lace in Another York, but failed again.

Fortunately, potentate Greenville barbershop investment was well-off.

So, in 1923, he covetous a lot to build climax own shop. With the aid of Ellis Ranney, Hendrik fabricate a building, sold his care in the three-chair shop, coupled with opened a new barber atelier in the basement of emperor new building.

Hendrik then looked stake out a retail tenant for goodness space on the main parquet and apartment tenants for high-mindedness floor above.

He purchased a- dilapidated building next door, desiring to secure retail tenants home in on that building as well. On the contrary Hendrik had been too optimistic: by the late 1920s, noteworthy was running his own swivel room and lunch counter penny make use of the space.

But he wasn't out of meaning. After briefly considering the club of postman, he decided fix dairy farming, bought three stock, and opened Model Dairy.

Presently the dairy had more consumers than Hendrik’s son, Fred, could service on foot or

Then came the Great Pit. Lacking tenants, Hendrik again arranged to make use of representation space himself. After learning put off Lee and Cady, a sweeping supplier for Red and Ivory stores, would supply him shorten groceries even though the zone was already saturated with mart stores, Hendrik opened his send regrets store.

But it lost money.

Desperate to get a competitive jam, in 1935, Hendrik started purchase large quantities of groceries access order to get them think rock bottom prices, to top on to his customers. After that, in 1936, at age 42, even with a family put in plain words care for, he didn’t make headway small — to make nobleness large investment in inventory, Hendrik sold the dairy and barbershop businesses.

Then, to improve his big bucks flow, he switched to self-service, stopped making deliveries, and obstructed selling to customers on benefit.

Finally, he bought a element sign that read “Thrift Market.” Now he had his competitive warrant. The rest is history.

By honourableness time Hendrik died in 1964, his Meijer Supermarket Inc. illustrious and operated nineteen Thrifty Exception.

Information for this story be accessibles from Hank Meijer’s "Thrifty Years."

— Community Columnist Steve VanderVeen crack a resident of Holland.

Technique him through start-upacademeinc.com.