Wawa, a family business with a history in dairy and manufacturing, expanded into retail in 1964, offering a friendly, personal alternative to supermarkets. Since then, the convenience store grew into a well-known company that competes against the biggest industry players in the world in three areas -- fuel, convenience, and food -- all while maintaining their personal approach and small business mentality. Now, almost 50 years later, Wawa has opened its first store in Florida and has begun to play on the national field. How did it happen? What are the reasons for their success? Why have they been able to go up against the big guys with nothing more than homegrown talent? With a mixture of personal history and business advice, Howard Stoeckel discusses the last 50 years of Wawa's growth, development, and expansion. It's the story of how a small company with a funny name made a big difference, and all it took was a little goose sense.

Wawa has more than two hundred years of history in American business. Founded in 1803 and incorporated in 1865, Wawa has roots in the manufacture of cast-iron water pipes and decorative lampposts. Using the resources and surplus water power from the iron business, the family opened a cotton mill and began producing cotton piece goods, including Red Star diapers. The first Wawa milk plant opened in 1902; by the late 1950s, the Wawa Dairy had expanded its home delivery business to include over one hundred forty-five routes. The first Wawa Food Market opened on April 16, 1964. Today, the company is familiar to many as a chain of five hundred forty convenience stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia that offers a wide selection of fresh foods, coffee, and gasoline. Wawa contains vintage images documenting the evolution of the company as it adapted to changing economic and social conditions. From the early days of iron manufacture to the opening of the first store in Folsom, Pennsylvania, Wawa brings to life the many facets of one of America's top privately owned companies.

This book is an exciting adventurous story for young readers and old that traces the humorous tales of living in many cultures and societies and eventually coming of age. Once the reader learns what a WaWa is they will find it in the story along the way and eventually apply it to their lives. Once you pick up this book you will not want to put it down until it is finished and you will want to read your favorite stories again and again. In WaWa West Africa William Coughlan weaves a poetic tapestry of memory and wonder. Here the eyes of a young American boy are opened wide by the cultural complexities of a foreign land that soon becomes his second home. Mixing astute observation with irony, warmth, and humor, WaWa West Africa invites its readers to embark on global journey from one station of the heart to another. In a time of unprecedented globalization, Coughlans moving memoir imaginatively traverses the planet in search of compassion, connection, and a reverence for difference. Stephen Pfohl Professor of Sociology, Boston College

One of the greatest entrepreneurial success stories of the past twenty years When a friend told Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank that “you’ve just been hit in the ass by a golden horseshoe,” they thought he was crazy. After all, both had just been fired. What the friend, Ken Langone, meant was that they now had the opportunity to create the kind of wide-open warehouse store that would help spark a consumer revolution through low prices, excellent customer service, and wide availability of products. Built from Scratch is the story of how two incredibly determined and creative people—and their associates—built a business from nothing to 761 stores and $30 billion in sales in a mere twenty years. Built from Scratch tells many colorful stories associated with The Home Depot’s founding and meteoric rise; shows that a company can be a tough, growth-oriented competitor and still maintain a high sense of responsibility to the community; and provides great lessons useful to people in any business, from start-ups to the Fortune 500.

Al Dunlap is an original: an outspoken, irascible executive with an incredible track record of injecting new life into tired companies. The business media have coined a new verb--"to dunlap"--when describing a fast company turnaround.

The Divine Comedy That Is Our Most Beloved Store

To survive in today's gig economy, you must be a mover, a shaker, a doer, and a maker. In The Hustle Economy, we give you 25 essays from founders, writers, producers, game makers, artists, and creative types from every path who share one common trait -- they are all self-made hustlers who have managed to turn their creativity into careers. In this collection you will find essays from: Producer and performer Mike Rugnetta on why "Do what you love" is both the best and worst piece of advice you'll ever receive. Author, television writer, and humorist Emma Koenig on staying focused and productive no matter what life throws at you. Web comic Zach Weinersmith on the equation for success and using your creativity to do what the rest of us won't. Trendspotter Jess Kimball Leslie on identifying your skills and turning it into a successful career. This book exists to inspire and inform. Your creative career is attainable, and we'll show you how to do it and why it's worth it. Complete list of essayists: Nick Douglas, Ben Grelle (aka The Frogman), Adrian Sanders, Farah Khalid, Mike Rugnetta, Emma Koenig, Asha Dornfest, Kelsey Hanson, Móa Guzmá Thomas Leveritt, Casey Bowers, Josephine Decker, Donna Salgado, Alex Pearlman, Dante Shepherd, Brad O'Farrell, Jess Kimball Leslie, Meredith Haggerty, Alex Larsen, Nancy Zastudil, Lee LeFever, Jeff Wysaski, Zach Weinersmith

Made To Order: The Sheetz Story traces the fascinating history of Sheetz, Inc., a regional convenience retailer that battled the odds and cemented its name among the acclaimed ranks of America's most successful private companies. From its humble dairy store origins in Pennsylvania, Sheetz became a convenience-store giant, amassing hundreds of locations across six states, and along the way, combined numerous creative marketing campaigns with retail innovations to shape the Sheetz recipe for success. Made To Order: The Sheetz Story narrates how the company remade itself in the face of dramatically shifting demographics, bravely stood up for its customer base when confronted with a serious crisis, and emerged as a revered and much-beloved retail phenomenon.

In this #1 New York Times bestseller, the CEO of Starbucks recounts the story and leadership lessons behind the global coffee company's comeback and continued success. In 2008, Howard Schultz decided to return as the CEO of Starbucks to help restore its financial health and bring the company back to its core values. In Onward, he shares this remarkable story, revealing how, during one of the most tumultuous economic periods in American history, Starbucks again achieved profitability and sustainability without sacrificing humanity. Offering you a snapshot of the recession that left no company unscathed, the book shows in riveting detail how one company struggled and recreated itself in the midst of it all. In addition, you’ll get an inside look into Schultz's central leadership philosophy: It's not about winning, it’s about the right way to win. Onward is a compelling, candid narrative documenting the maturing of a brand as well as a businessman. Ultimately, Schultz gives you a sense of hope that, no matter how tough times get, the future can be more successful than the past.

When Regina's Umpqua tribe is legally terminated and her family must relocate from Oregon to Los Angeles, she goes on a quest to understand her identity as an Indian despite being so far from home.