Milkshake Mixer Salesman

Ray did …

Ray was 52 and a milkshake mixer salesman. He was happy selling just one mixer at a time. But then he heard about a restaurant run by two brothers, they had 8 mixers and huge crowds everyday. Ray thought, “If I can get them to open just a few more restaurants I could sell a whole lot more milkshake mixers”.

But once he saw the restaurant and the crowds first hand, Ray said forget the milkshake mixes I want my own store … and convinced the brothers to give him the franchise rights. Pretty soon he’d opened many new locations and they were all just as successful as the initial ones. Within a few years, Ray bought out the brothers for almost $3 million and took full control of the restaurant chain.

Today, almost 60 years later, Ray’s little operation, the one he got involved with at age 52 when he was selling milkshake mixers for a living … is one of the world’s most iconic brands with over 38,000 locations … and its still named after the brothers who Ray bought it from … the McDonald brothers.

The Ray Kroc/McDonalds story is a Great Idea because you are never too old to start something new.