By Philip C. Benedict
Founder and Chairman Emeritus
I grew up neither financially poor, nor rich, but I did grow up in a culture that was very rich in values and work ethic and a lust to learn. For that I am far more thankful than for any financial inheritance.
I grew up in a rural community and, at age ten, my classroom was in a one room county schoolhouse. I remember going up and asking the teacher, “If the country is short of money, why don’t they just print more of it?” She replied, “Philip, you know I don’t know the answer to that; ask your father when you get home.”
A few years later, I remember asking my father what all those stock market tables were behind the sport sections in the newspaper. “Those are things that rich people read,” he responded.
During my college years, I assisted a finance professor in developing the training course for a major stock brokerage firm. I knew then I loved the aspects of finance, but there was no way I was going to spend my life calling strangers and telling them I had a great investment for them.
For a few years after college, I helped people set up their own businesses. For most, this was an entirely new experience…from employee to self-employed…from being controlled to being in control, but with all the corresponding responsibilities. We had a plan on how to create a successful business and that plan helped.
