Wayne Huizenga – One of the Greatest Entrepreneurs of Our Time
Wayne Huizenga, founder of AutoNation
Wayne Huizenga was born in Chicago in 1937 but while in high school his family moved to Florida. Then his parents divorced. Wayne stayed with his mother and in order to support the family budget he had to drive a truck and pump gas after school and on weekends. Huizenga left school to work in a garbage collection company owned by a family friend.
Wayne’s family background contributed to his entrepreneurial success. His father was also an entrepreneur- his business was construction.
"My father said working for somebody else never amounted to anything. You have to be an entrepreneur.”
Wayne listened to his father's advice and, at the age of 25, he persuaded a Fort Lauderdale garbage man to sell him his truck and give him a few of his customers. But his father must have impressed on him more than the “You can’t make money working for someone else” cliché. He also must have taught him the value of hard work. Young Huizenga’s work day would start at 2 o’clock in the morning. He would transport garbage with his truck till early in the afternoon. Then, he would dress in his best clothes and make personal visits to residential houses, supermarkets, and retails stores, in order to get new business.
"I didn't know anything about the business. I just worked hard and gave good service."
But Wayne Huizenga did more than hard work. He invested all of the profits back into the company and bought other small independent garbage truck haulers. When the profits were not enough, he took loans and acquired more companies. By 1984, his company, Waste Management was bringing in a revenue of about one billion. At the age of 46, Huizenga got tired of the garbage business and retired.
“Wayne always keeps the carrot far enough out in front of him and he never really wants to catch it. That’s his personality. He’s never satisfied.”
Dean Buttrock, Waste Management
His hunger for business conquest did not suppress. He set his eyes on the automotive industry, and true to himself wanted to apply the same strategy- to acquire and consolidate smaller businesses. In order not to alarm the competition, however, he purchased a sanitation company, Republic Waste Industries, and used it as camouflage. Once his golden touch turned company operations into profitable cash cows, he delivered his strike- in six months Wayne acquired 65 car dealerships and opened 11 used-car superstores called AutoNation USA.
Today AutoNation is the largest U.S. retailer of new cars and light trucks and has more than 371 vehicle franchises in 17 states. AutoNation.com is the bigest vehicle sales retailer on the Internet.
“A deal is like chasing a girl. You work at it until she says yes. You keep putting the pressure on them. Hit ‘em right between the eyes. You kill ‘em.”
Huizenga remains one of the world's richest men, but ironically, the money doesn't seem all that important to him. He doesn't even bother to take earnings from AutoNation. What drives him is the thrill he gets from one-on-one competition between himself and a rival. He is one of the business world's most influential, successful and rich entrepreneurs.
"I enjoy building something good and having a successful product and making money."
Find a job or craft that interests you. Then do your best at it. While Huizenga plays on a bigger scale, we can look into our local areas for opportunity. And who knows where it can go with passion and hard work?
