This story is easily one of love … and it’s also a $7.5 billion dollar love story you probably never heard of.
It all started in 1964. Tom Love had just gotten out of the service. Judy his wife, who was a stay-at-home Mom concentrated on raising their two young children.
At the time the couple lived the small town of Watonga, Oklahoma.
And now that his time in the service was completed, Tom needed to find a job. The problem was he didn’t know for sure what kind of job to get.
The Idea Behind Their Billion Dollar Love Story
One day as he was driving around town, Tom came across an abandoned filling station.
For some reason it peaked his interested. And so he chatted with the landlord.
If Tom were interested in the property, the landlord was willing to lease it for very little money.
It’s then Tom decided rather than get a job why not try his hand at being an entrepreneur? He would open a gas station.
With Judy’s encouragement and help, the two borrowed $5,000 from her parents to fund their new business venture.
Turns out they had a knack for business. In fact over the next six years, Tom and Judy earned enough money to open up several more filling stations scattered throughout the state of Oklahoma.
Tough Times Fueled A New Idea
Often bad situations happen that are not within your control. And sometimes those outside factors can wreck havoc on a business.
For the Love’s, it would be the 1970’s Arab oil embargo. It made their business model of owning filling stations very vulnerable. It was difficult t to find fuel and at low prices.
This put their billion dollar love story at risk.
At the time President Nixon implemented fuel price and wage controls. This meant fuel businesses were frozen, with stringent allocation rules that had to be followed.
Love’s Crafts & Country Stores
So Tom and Judy had to take quick action to save their business.
Luckily Tom had an idea … one that would turn them into billionaires.
He noticed that convenience stories that didn’t sell fuel weren’t struggling.
And that’s when it struck him: What if they married the two together and create a convenience store that also sold fuel?
The Eureka Moment Leads To Billion Dollar Love Story
It was as Tom says, “A eureka moment.” He knew he was onto something that would have wide appeal.
But neither him nor Judy had any experience in managing a food store. So they hired someone who did. And that person was Larry Dillard, who had worked previously for two different grocery chains.
Larry created the organizational structure for Tom and Judy’s new business venture. With his help, the new plan worked.
The three couldn’t open stores fast enough. They were extremely successful with their new business idea so much so that they know have 490 locations in 41 states and employee more than 21,000 people.
Giving Back to the Community
Love’s Travel Shops & Country Stores rakes in close to $20 billion a year. And in each store you can find just about everything including travel items, electronics, snacks and a selection of restaurant offerings.
Tom and Judy Love began their travel stop enterprise with a $5,000 loan and turned it into a billion-dollar success and a billion dollar love story. Now, they are giving back.
They created The Tom and Judy Love Foundation, which recently gave a $5 million gift to the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma (OU).
Of their foundation Tom says, “I hope the investment from my family helps inspire Oklahoma’s next generation of bold innovators.”
You can read more about Tom and Judy’s story right here.
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