A year prior to opening his first tire store, Bruce Halle was unemployed with no job prospects and $17,000 in debt. His prior business failed and by age 30 he opened his store with six tires and no plan. It was a week before he sold his first tire.
But a half-century later, Halle sits atop the nation’s largest independent tire dealer, an 800-store chain that services 22 states and grossed over $3 billion in revenue in 2010.
A new book, titled Six Tires, No Plan, details Halle’s – and Discount Tires’ – rise to success. Business consultant and former business journalist Michael Rosenbaum, the book’s author, interviewed Halle, plus current and former employees, to get the story.
When asked the secret to his success in expanding his empire, Halle replied, “It’s not because we were brilliant or smart. We were just lucky. And it’s sometimes better to be lucky than smart, because you’re never that smart.”
Six Tires, No Plan will be available in March 2012.
