How I Became an Entrepreneur

"In addition to Clarksville, I opened up stores in Memphis and Jackson, in Tennessee, and in Atlanta and Marietta, in Georgia. I also opened up a second store in Nashville, in the Madison area, which I named Music City Custom Truck Accessories and which became the center of my truck accessory business. In addition to these endeavors, I also branched out into the motorcycle business..." So says Thomas R. Scales in How I Became an Entrepreneur. Born into a poor family, Scales got his first taste of entrepreneurship as a child of nine going door-to-door selling potholders for 25 cents each. This was in the post-war period. America was a different place then. After a stint in the National Guard, Scales landed a job selling rechromed bumpers to automotive body shops. Then, with help from a friend, he put together enough money to buy the business himself. And what started out as a single, stand-alone auto accessory outlet grew eventually into a multi-tiered business enterprise-involving manufacturing as well as sales-that spanned two states. Along the way there were ups and downs, however--lots of them. Early on, his first store outlet was destroyed by fire. Later there were problems with employee theft, including a bookkeeper who embezzled withholding taxes. The loss was so great it almost sank the business and took nine and a half years to repay the debt owed to the IRS. But through it all, Scales kept his faith in God, a faith that has guided him throughout his life. Thomas R. Scales is very much a man who has lived the American dream. This is his story.