Businessman tells students the secrets of his success
When starting a business, loving the work is one of the most important things to remember, said Lee Badger, owner of Lee’s Marketplace.
Badger spoke to members of Phi Beta Lambda, Utah State University’s business club, Tuesday night about his experiences as a private businessman. Badger visited the club as part of the club’s Partners in Business program. He detailed the history of Lee’s Marketplace, which is in its 20th year.
Badger and his wife, Shari, started Lee’s Marketplace 20 years ago when they opened their first store in Smithfield. They had wanted to open a store in Cache Valley when they moved back after seven years in California, where Badger worked for K-Mart. In 1991, they expanded the store in Smithfield, which became in 1994 Lee’s as it is today. Planning for a store in Logan began in 1998. Fall of 1999 marked the opening of the store that sits on 1400 North.
Badger, a graduate of USU, did not always want to be a businessman. His father, a retired sergeant, and his uncle created a partnership that included their own construction company, paint store and lumberyard. The business life wasn’t appealing to Badger, and he came to USU to escape business. He graduated in political science but took business classes in order to fill credit requirements.
After some time he realized business would be in his future.
“Even though I tried to get away from it, this is what I really like to do,” Badger said.
Badger said Lee’s competes with grocery store giants like Smith’s and Alberton’s primarily because Lee’s is aligned with Associated Food Stores, which is a co-op – a group of stores (in this case 650) that all own shares of each other and share in the group’s successes as well as its failures. Associated Food Stores also owns other familiar stores such as Macey’s and Dan’s Foods. Associated Food Stores actually has a greater share of the market in Utah (32 percent) than both Albertson’s (28 percent) and Smith’s (26 percent).
This allows Associated Food Stores and its companies to stay competitive by providing them advertising, retail pricing, new technologies and accounting.
Their buying team gets the best prices from warehouses so the stores can charge less and compete effectively.
Badger had some advice for the members of Phi Beta Lambda. In order to do good business, an owner needs to spend one-on-one time with both customers and employees.
A successful business owner needs to be willing to do things the competition won’t do. Students who have internships need to take their jobs to a higher level.
They need to separate themselves from others who are vying for the same positions.
“Get all the training you can,” Badger said.
Lee’s and Phi Beta Lambda have worked together before. Lee’s has given the club tours of the store and given the members a feel for the workings of business.
Last year representatives from Lee’s helped the club teach high school students about business.