Gasoline Alley

Forget Harvard: My Dad's Gas Station Was the World's Best Business School

The most valuable business education I ever received cost exactly $0 and happened before I could legally drive.

Between ages 5 and 15, I had the world's best business education—working alongside my father at our local Wallingford, CT Sunoco station: "Town and Country Sunoco – Large Enough to Serve You, Small Enough to Know You."

By age 8, I was pumping gas, checking oil, and washing windshields. I thought I was just helping Dad.

I was actually getting a front-row seat to Entrepreneurship 101.

Here's what that gas station taught me that no MBA program could:

Real Customer Service: I watched my father handle difficult customers with patience, turn frustrated drivers into loyal regulars, and remember personal details about families who'd been coming for years.

Cash Flow Reality: I saw the daily dance of managing vendor payments, dealing with credit card fees, and ensuring there was enough cash to keep the lights on and inventory flowing.

Problem-Solving Under Pressure: When the credit card machine broke on a busy Friday, when a delivery truck was late, when equipment failed—I watched my dad find solutions on the fly, every single day.

Community Building: The gas station wasn't just about fuel. It was a community hub where my father built something from scratch that genuinely served people while providing for our family.

The lessons that stuck:

✓ Consistency beats perfection – Show up every day, especially when you don't feel like it ✓ Relationships are everything – People do business with people they trust ✓ Solve real problems – Success comes from making people's lives genuinely easier ✓ Respect every customer – The person buying $5 of gas today might own the company across the street

Those early mornings and late nights Dad put in taught me that real business isn't glamorous social media posts or fancy offices. It's about showing up consistently, solving problems creatively, and treating people right—even when you're exhausted.

No Harvard MBA could have taught me what that Sunoco station did.

The smell of gasoline and the sound of the cash register were my first business school. The values I learned there—integrity, hard work, customer focus, and community service—became the foundation for every business venture I've launched since.

What was your first real-world business education? Sometimes the most valuable lessons come from the most unexpected places.

Drop a comment and share where you learned your most important business lesson. I'd love to hear your story.

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