A Daily Dose of the American Dream

Sample 5

Famous Amos Cookies

"It's important to start . . . start from right where you are."

-Wally Amos

Wally Amos is one of the most successful black entrepreneurs in America. He calls himself the Jackie Robinson of the theatrical business. It was Amos who "discovered" Simon and Garfunkel in a Manhattan club. Amos promoted talent at the William Morris Agency until he discovered something better. A friend of Amos' dropped by one night with a batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, and they were so tasty that Amos wanted to know how to make them himself. Simple -- the recipe was on a bag of Nestle's chocolate chips. Amos' promoter mind went crazy. He had "discovered" something big. After months of making cookies for all his friends, and perfecting the recipe to make it his own, Amos was ready to let the world in on his new discovery.

It was opening night in Hollywood, California. Two thousand people were sent special invitations. A red carpet decorated the sidewalk. Celebrities arrived in limousines. Music was playing and champagne was flowing. It was the grand debut of "Famous" Amos's first chocolate chip cookie store. Amos promoted his cookies nationwide, marketing them to exclusive department stores and specialty shops. Within five years, annual sales of Famous Amos cookies reached $5 million. Not everyone can afford a car phone, a Rolls Royce, a penthouse, or diamonds. But almost everyone can afford a chocolate chip cookie.

CONSIDER THIS: What's out there waiting to be "discovered?" Look around. It may be the simplest, everyday thing that you can make the "best in the world."

This story is adapted from A Daily Dose of the American Dream, by Alan Elliott, published by Rutledge Hill Press. The book contains 366 stories, one for each day of the year.

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