 |
Houston:
1961 is the year Lupe Fraga left the
security of his hourly wages as a bookkeeper and virtually overnight he was a
business owner. He borrowed some of the start-up capital from his girl friend
and the owner financed the purchase. He married Irene -- "the best thing I ever
did in my life..." -- and then he learned that in business profits do not come
easily.
Michelle is
the first born and the day we met her, she was busy teaching a new manager and
leading a customer service training session. Alisa, the middle child, deals
with human resources and says that caring can be measured on the bottomline.
Stephen, the
youngest Fraga says that they all wear many hats, but he is now focusing on
improving systems in the warehouse. Stephen followed in his father's footsteps
and graduated from Texas A & M. Rather than coming to work at Tejas Office
right from school, Lupe encouraged Stephen to work for a large company which he
did for two years before joining Tejas in 1998.
We all
constantly ask, "What is really important?"
To focus on
what is important requires leadership. One the books that Lupe Fraga was
reading when we visited was Ken Blanchard's "The Heart of a Leader." It is
one of those books to read on one of those five-hour flights. For those of you
who have been at it for a few years, it is one of those books that rekindle the
early fires that kept us so enthusiastic and hopeful in the early days of our
business.
Lupe is
mentored and he is a mentor:
He learns from others within
his professional trade associations -- the National Office Products Alliance
(NOPA), the American Office Products Distributors (AOPD), the Tri-Mega National
Purchasing Association, and the Independent Office Products Dealers
Association.
He advises
and helps others at Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Greater Houston
Partnership (Board of Directors), the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas-Houston
Branch (Chairman, Board of Directors), the Greater Houston Convention &
Visitors Bureau (past Chairman), and he has work on the boards of the Central
Bank Timbergrove (Advisory Board), the Childress Foundation, Harris County
Child Protective Services, Houston Hispanic Forum, Houston Zoological Society,
the National YMCA, Metropolitan YMCA, the Harris County Private Industry
Council, , Houston Urban League, the Laredo National Bank Houston (Advisory
Board), National YMCA, the Reliant Energy Business Advisory Board, Sam Houston
Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Strake Foundation, United Way of the
Texas Gulf Coast, Visiting Nurses Association, and the list goes on and
on.
GO FURTHER: Spend some time
with the eight key points of the case study guide
(upper right corner in the green box) and each of the related
transcript segments.
Here is a
print version of the
transcript.
CONTACT:
Lupe Fraga or Irene or Michelle, Alisa or
Stephen
The Fraga Family
Tejas Office Products
1225 W. 20th
Street
Houston, Texas 77080
Tel: 713.864.6004
URL:
http://www.tejasoffice.com
Email:
Click
here |
|
- FIRST PRINCIPLES: Starting a
business is the road to economic independence for most of us average people.
Read a little more to see why
incorporating a business keeps the passion of
the American revolution alive!
- UNDERSTANDING INTANGIBLES: For most
businesses today, up to 85% of the value of your business are intangibles yet
you will not find them on your balance sheet. For example, the value of your
web site does not show up. Get to know FASB and their GAAP and encourage your
CPA to further open the discussions about
intangibles.
- CASES BY BUSINESS TYPE. Click on the
heading to find all the business types and then click on your type of business
to check out those case studies.
- FAMILY BUSINESS: Some
say, "All business is family business." Yet, when Mom and Dad and the kids are
all here day-in and day-out, these kinds of family business have special
dynamics. Here are links to other family business stories; be sure to look at
each case
study guide.
- RELATED STORIES: There are
many other episodes of the show that study how people win over great odds.
There is more information about growing a sustainable business within
Step 7
and
Step 8.
- Selection Criteria: Awards, recognition,
and volunteerism are all important in this selection
process.
AWARDS: We are always encouraged when
people are recognized by their local community and national trade association.
- SUPPORT PUBLIC
TELEVISION:
Become a member of your local station. If you are
already, great. If not and your business is doing well, consider joining the
Producers' Club ($1000).
- JOIN, JOIN, JOIN: Your professional associations in your industry
are your key to continuing education, market research, collaborations, strategic
partnerships, capital and so much more ... often you'll find that you enjoy
like-minded people and many will become friends for life.
|
|
