This year, SanMar is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and to kick things off, we talked with our founder, Marty Lott and his wife Sharon. Marty and Sharon started SanMar with $1 in the company's checking account. From there they have worked together selling t-shirts at concerts, unloading boxes at warehouses and teaching their sons the ins and outs of the business.
In this episode, Marty and Sharon reveal how SanMar started with a backpack created for college students, discuss the challenges of running a family business and share how being a family…and being a SanMar family…has been at the core of what they've created.
THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS EPISODE
- What it means to Marty and Sharon for SanMar to celebrate half a century of operations this year.
- How they define success on their terms.
- Marty tells the story of the first backpack he created and how SanMar grew out of it.
- Sharon shares the story of the infamous yellow T-shirts.
- How they manage work-life balance in a family business.
- Why you should tie a rope around your tent.
- What Marty and Sharon love most about their SanMar family.
QUOTES
- "Fifty years has gone way too fast in my mind."
- "Doing what makes you happy is success."
- "My greatest joy now is watching my children be in the business."
- "As long as you and your partner think alike, have the same goals and have the same values, you'll be fine."
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