How do I stay motivated?

He was looking for bait to go fishing...

Visit the largest iguana farm in the USA.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Meet the Fluker Family and their business, Fluker Farms. This is no ordinary farm.  This story begins with Richard, the father, who was an excellent high school science teacher and an avid fisherman. School was out, and everything had slowed down for the long, hot summer.  When he couldn't find anyone selling bait so he could go fishing, he declared, "I'm going to start a business!"

He did, and he had a good little business. Yet, when his wife died unexpectedly, his heart was broken. He had to turn to his oldest son, just 19-years old, and asked him to carry on his little business.

That responsibility must have been daunting for oldest son, David, but he was up to the task. He had two younger siblings, and of course, he missed his Mom, too, but somebody had to carry on.

There were customers, employees, and orders to fill. Today, this family business cultivates and grows more worms, crickets, and iguanas than any other in the USA.

Small business is the source of jobs and new ideas in every economy. Here you'll see that necessity becomes the mother of invention. When somebody says, "That's impossible," entrepreneurs take up the challenge. Big business is about ROI and ROE; small business is most often all about family and power- love- and- money. That's a very different value equation. Return On Investment or Return On Equity for shareholders often just happens.

So, let's travel to visit a different kind of farm. Not far from Baton Rouge where the mighty Mississippi River flows nearby and meet the family. First, David Fluker, then his Dad, his sister and brother and many employees.

Today, they are one of the world's largest cricket farms. Literally millions of crickets are shipped every week to pet shops and research laboratories all over the country and around the world. The Fluker Laboratory continues their research and development with the help of the local university biology departments; and not only do they continue selectively breeding crickets, they now work with the entire insect and reptile food chain, from meal worms to iguanas.

Their working motto is "Serving Satisfied Customers." Telemarketing, catalog sales, technical newsletters, and innovative production techniques all keep this family business growing.

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