The

Idaho CEOWhat they do that you never learned in

school

By Dave Tester

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TABLE OF CONTENTSConversations with CEO’S

How come they talked to me......................................................................3Stan Zatica Paul’s Markets ......................................................................13Edward Hawkins Litehouse Dressing.......................................................22Scott Moscrip Internet Truck Stop...........................................................33John Jackson Jackson Food Stores............................................................46Melaleuca Frank VanderSloot..................................................................57Bruneel Tire Craig Bruneel ......................................................................70Bodybuilding.com Ryan Duluca ..............................................................81Zamzows Jim Zamzow ..............................................................................98About the Author Dave Tester................................................................106

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Stan Zatica: Fun job: success

Paul’s Market CEO Stan Zatica had a vision of what a community market should offer.

STAN ZATICACEO, Paul’s Markets

"Ahh Dave!"  You might think I dislike being known as the

donut guy in the Paul's commercials, but, over the years, it

might be my greatest marketing compliment ever. 

Paul's markets co-owner, Stan Zatica, and myself came

up with the donuts

and the infamous tagline – “Ahh Dave!” It happened in the

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summer 2003 while we were parked in the driveway of my

Nampa home.  We stumbled on to it. I need not remind you

that some of the greatest ideas work out that way. You might

recall, golfing legend Gary Player once said, “The harder I

work the luckier I get."

The Zatica family, based in Homedale, Idaho, hasn’t

relied on luck, but rather hard work. When I was first

introduced to Stan's dad, Paul, who founded the stores, I noted

a sign in his office, displayed for all to see. It extolled his

philosophy of the importance of treating all “customers as

guests.”

I've never forgotten it and neither has Stan who along

with his brother, Steve, who carry-on Paul's tradition.

When Stan Zatica’s father, Paul Zatica, first dreamed of

opening a grocery store, his vision was simple: Provide

services for the small-towns, making shopping easy.

“He came back from serving in the Navy,” Stan recalled.

“He went to school at the University of Denver, and then

opened his first story a couple months after her graduated.”

Born to Basque immigrant parents, he knew what hard

work was all about. In the decades that followed, and through

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two store relocations in Homedale, the Jordan Valley native

showed himself to be a hands-on businessman with ideals

entrenched firmly in the community.

Stan said he learned many things growing up in the

grocery business. Key was hard work pays off. Stan worked

with his dad for many years, rising through the ranks until he

had his turn to take over the business and develop it.

A graduate of Idaho State University, he stepped in as

CEO, and has implemented many changes.

“I’ve just had a sense that other towns could benefit from

the services we have,” Stan said.

In 1987, Paul’s Corp. purchased a chain with stores in

McCall, Riggins, Hailey and Mountain Home. Stores from that

acquisition remain in operation in McCall and Mountain Home.

The chain also includes the Homedale flagship store, now

on East Wyoming Avenue; two stores in Nampa; a Caldwell

store; a Kuna store that opened in 1997; and a Boise store that

opened in 2004.

During the grand opening of the Boise store at 10565

Lake Hazel Road, the Zatica family solidified its commitment

to locally grown food when, joined by then-Gov. Dirk

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Kempthorne and then-state Department of Agriculture chief

Pat Takasugi. They announced the company’s partnership with

Idaho Preferred to promote foods that were grown and

processed locally.

Stan has directed to the company to become the largest

independent grocer in the state of Idaho.

If you're looking for rocket science, this may not be the

best interview for you. However, if you need to be reminded of

the basics of common sense, this will be a great refresher

course from a great friend and an outstanding mentor’s mind.

Stan Zatica interview with Dave

Stan Zatica: Paul Zatica, my Dad, started Paul’s Market in

Homedale, Idaho, in 1955 in a little store. I believe

at the time in Homedale, there were four other

grocery stores. I was four years old at the time.

My sister was two years old and I don’t remember a

lot other than when we would go down to the store

in the evening as a family. My mother, my father,

my sister and I because freight would be delivered to

the store and it was always easier to put the freight

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out in the evening and as a family, we would go

down and do that.

Now, I was only four years old. How helpful I was, I

don’t know, but I do specifically remember my

Mother always had me in the cracker section and I

was always able to put the saltine crackers on the

shelf because it was a light box and it was kind of a

square box and easy to handle. So that was

probably my first taste of the grocery business when

I was four years old.

Dave: You were either a smart cracker, Stan, or a tough

cracker. It takes both of those to be an

entrepreneur. What, beyond that, as you got older,

more involved in the store, and let’s talk maybe

about during the high school years when you were

old enough beyond the cracker boxes, things your

Dad talked about and things you had to do as a

beginning entrepreneur?

Zatica: The one thing my Dad always stressed when I was

12 years old, 16 years old, whatever age working in

the store, was honesty is the best policy. Be honest

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with your customers, be honest with your suppliers,

be honest with everybody in every aspect of

business. Now, you say that’s “old school.”

This day and age, Dave, is it “old school”? Is AIG

honest? Are politicians honest? I don’t know what

honest is anymore. That is one thing we have always

tried to do is be honest, hard-working and do the

right thing.

Dave: Now, Stan, we talk about do the right thing when no

one’s looking and throughout this series, every

single entrepreneur, yourself included, have always

talked about integrity and honesty. Can you tell us a

story with Paul’s where that has either come around

to pay off big in dividends where you said I sure am

glad I did the right thing when no one was looking?

Zatica: I’m not so sure it was one particular big thing but a

lot of times you’ll have a customer that will come to

you that has a problem or an issue or a

miscommunication because a lot of times that’s what

happens.

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When you have thousands of customers come

through your door every day, you have a tendency

sometimes to have miscommunication and that is

really where the rubber meets the road. Where can

you talk to that customer of yours to make them

understand why you did what you did on a

promotion, on a pricing issue or something in

marketing?

Most of the time when that customer looks at me

and says thanks very much, I appreciate you

explaining that to me. And that’s all people want to

do. They just want to know exactly why as a

company you do something.

Dave: Stan, you mentioned about the rubber meeting the

road and with your customers. How about your

employees? Knocking on the door of almost 400

employees, what is your – and I don’t know whether

I call it your favorite way or your best way, but how

do you motivate the customers – or I should say,

your workers, into translating your belief to the

customers?

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Zatica: In my office and in our board room, we have a sign

that says “Treat people with dignity and respect”.

So, if I want an associate who works for Paul’s

Markets to treat me with dignity and respect, the

best way is for me to treat that individual with

dignity and respect.

And I always, just recently, have adopted, and I’ve

expressed it to my store managers, my supervisors,

but when I walk to one of my stores and I park out in

the parking lot and I walk into the front door, when I

get ten yards from the front door, which in football is

always a first down. I

f you go ten yards, it’s a first down. When I get ten

yards from the front door, I smile and I keep that

smile on my face and my eyes wide open as I walk

ten yards into the store and around the store and I

make one walk clear around the store with a smile

on my face.

And it amazes me how many customers will smile

back, how many associates will smile and that’s what

I do because when I walk into a grocery store, I live

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in a glass house. Everybody watches me, everybody

wants to see how I’m having a day that day.

Dave: Stan, you also do something and one of your

philosophies is I work for my employees. I want to

give them all the tools. Kind of explain that when

you go to your managers and say what do I need to

do to help you be successful at your job?

Zatica: When I meet with anybody, an associate, a

department head, a supervisor, anybody in the store

and I talk to them, I always ask them what can I do

for you? What do I need to do for you?

Because I work for them. If I can make their job

easier and grease the wheels for them, then I have

done my job. They don’t work for me. Because

without them, we have nothing as a company and in

this day and age and the way the economy is and the

way the economic structure of this country is, you

have to rely on your people and I work for them.

“If I can make somebody more affluent and more determined in doing their job and having fun in their job, then the more successful this company will be.”

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If I can make somebody more affluent and more

determined in doing their job and having fun in their

job, then the more successful this company will be.

Dave: Stan, do you remember whether it was with your

Dad or yourself, kind of that big risk moment,

whether it was we’re going to purchase another or

store or we’re going to carry a certain line where

you look back – I know some people where they say I

wish I would have taken more risk. But as an

entrepreneur, there’s a lot of risk involved in your

business. Do you remember either one of those?

Either the first one or that big risk?

Zatica: Yes, I do. Specifically, two of them. When I first

came to work back with my Dad after I had worked

ten years in the banking business, we had a chance

to build a fourth store. We had three stores at the

time. When we built that store, it was in the ‘80s

and it was about the mid-80s and this country kind

of set up on a recession much more – not as severe

as today but it was very, very tough for that store –

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that new store, and it was Caldwell, to turn the

corner.

We finally got it to turn the corner and then we had

an opportunity to buy four grocery stores, double

our size. There were four existing grocery stores:

Mountain Home, Hailey, McCall and Riggins. And

we picked up four stores and doubled our size and

that was pretty risky at the time and I think I went

through a spell there for just right at four years, I

don’t think I took a vacation.

Dave: Wow. And do you look back and there are those

people now that have had their business for a long

time and they’re either struggling or in some cases,

losing their business, and I know – I mean, you took

a risk in a tough time and there’s other

entrepreneurs we’ve talked to that have said, would

I do it all over again. Stan, if something happened

where you said I lost everything and I’m going to

start all over again, would you take those risks?

Zatica: Oh, I would take those risks. I’m fortunate enough

to survive this long because an independent grocery

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chain this day and age is almost like a dinosaur.

Would I take that risk again? Yes, I would because

once it’s in your blood and once you figure it out,

you’re always going to have that. It’s the

competition and it’s the survival.

Dave: Stan Zatica, who is one of the owners of Paul’s

Markets, visiting with us on Entrepreneur Radio.

Stan, I’m going to kind of sum it up as we wrap up

here. You talk about smiling; you talk about

honesty, hard work and one thing that you’ve always

done a good job in the time that we’ve spent

together, working with common sense.

Zatica: I think that’s true. So many times this day and age,

a lot of people lose touch with common sense, what

really makes sense. I have a cousin, and I won’t give

you his name, but he never had a high school

education but I admire him because when you talk to

him, he just oozes common sense. I just love the guy

to death.

The other thing is as an entrepreneur, you cannot

tell your story enough. Once you figure out your

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strengths, you have to tell everybody over and over

and over. And sometimes as entrepreneurs, we lose

that. We just don’t tell our story enough.

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“Once you figure out your strengths, you have to tell everybody over and over and over.”

– Stan Zatica

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A to Zatica

Action steps to follow with the Zatica principals of business.

1. Honesty is the best policy.

2. Treat people with dignity and respect.

3. Always have a smile on in front of your customers.

4. Always ask your team “What can I do for you today?”

5. Figure out your strengths and tell that story to prospects.

6. You can never tell your story enough. Tell it over and over.

What did you learn or actions you will take from this interview

A.

B.

C.

D.

B.

C.

D.

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About the Author

Dave is a Broadcast personality in the Treasure Valley and partner in Sandler Sales training in Boise.  After twenty years as a television and radio on-air broadcaster, his focus now is helping small businesses grow to great companies.

"My passion is translating what I have learned from a number of sports legends into great sales and motivational training for people and businesses across the country." 

His training tools, if used every day, will help you have a more fulfilling way of life, both at home and at work. We hope you enjoy the “Idea Machine” and pass it on to others.

Dave is married to Claudia, who is a former television news anchor. They are the parents of two kids: Carson 14 and Clare 12.

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Contact Dave

Dave’s Website: www.askdavetester.com

Dave’s email: testerbroadcast@gmail.com

Books:Find a Parade and get in front of itThe Marketing Makeover Find a Parade and get in front of itIf We Could Sell Like Our Kids The 180Rule Handbook100k in 365 daysThe New Testerment Sales Manual

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