Our plan to put people before profits

Having retired after 43 years in the business world, the way I learned to keep score was by the profitability of our business.

My wife and I retired to Myrtle Beach 18 months ago and were struck by the level of poverty that existed here and the number of children growing up below the poverty line. Poverty is a cycle, and once families are in it, it is very difficult to escape.

We feel we are fortunate and blessed as a family and sought to find a way to help some adults and children break the cycle. We decided to start a business in Myrtle Beach that doesn't keep score by how much money we make but by how many people and families we are able to give an opportunity to.

In October, we opened 2 Philly Pretzel Factory stores, one in the Walmart at Gator Hole in North Myrtle and one in the Walmart in Surfside Beach. Our employees, we believe, are deserving of an opportunity. The two senior people in each store are paid a living wage and will receive 70 percent of the profits of each store, and we have asked them to save 50 percent of their profit share to accumulate capital.

The part-time people in each store are paid $10 to $12 an hour. The remaining 30 percent of the profits will go to open new stores where we can give more deserving people an opportunity. For this to be successful, the business has to be profitable. Let me be clear this is not a charity; we will give our customers great service, a great product and good value, and if you like our product please buy lots of pretzels for parties, to bring to the office or to school.

We will do our part but this is a community project and will not be successful without the support of the community.

The writers live in North Myrtle Beach.

This story was originally published December 10, 2016 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Our plan to put people before profits."