Like Sid, I also immigrated to America from the Netherlands. At the time, I was twenty-six years old and had worked as a trader on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. My decision to immigrate was a very difficult one. The year was 1956 and The Relief Act which allowed immigration that was hassle free from Europe, was ending. Earlier I had met my future wife Julie whose father, Ed Douma, was the head basketball coach of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
I arrived in Grand Rapids on December 6, 1956 and married Julia the following year. In 1959 we moved across the country to Bellingham, Washington where I met Sid who had recently started Motivating Sounds which offered background music primarily to businesses. I decided to invest in the company and also set up its bookkeeping system.
From day one I trusted Sid and in all our years working together never had a written contract. Everything was done with a gentleman’s agreement. Ours was a relationship based on mutual respect. Mind you, we didn’t always agree but we worked things out. We had a lot of ups and downs but overall it was fantastic. To this day we still meet for lunch once a month and hope to continue getting together for many more years to come.
From the beginning Sid and I have bounced ideas off each other and enjoyed our brainstorming sessions. We analyzed everything and knew how to measure risks. Sid would have made a great judge because he would not take too much or give too much up. He is a straight shooter. Sid is also good at listening to all sides before making a decision.
During the early days at Motivating Sounds our backs were against the wall financially. I even offered to take on a part-time job to help but Sid wanted no part of it. Instead we both decided to work even harder to bring in more background music business. No matter what the circumstances, we always opened each day for business with a positive attitude. I remember one cold winter morning as we stood warming ourselves by the furnace telling Sid that he would one day be wealthy because the radio station he owned in the same building would be worth a lot of money some day. He looked at me in bewilderment as if he didn’t believe what I was saying—but I was right about it.
Working with Sid has been a beautiful ride filled with hard work and excitement. Though we took a few chances, we never took risks we couldn’t afford.
—Rook VanHalm owned and managed the Lynden Travel Agency. He has been a long time partner of the author and they remain best friends. He is retired and resides in Bellingham, WA.
After opening my TV repair business, something had to give. I decided to discontinue my direct-selling activities. Having to milk eighteen cows every morning and every evening on top of everything else was more than I could handle. Especially since I had to dress like a businessman every morning and drive to my shop in Lynden which was about eighteen miles from our farm. In the early evening I would come home, quickly put on my white coveralls over my suit and milk my cows. Then we would sit down for dinner. Quite often after dinner I would still have to make a service call to repair a customer’s TV set. At that time televisions were large pieces of furniture with a heavy chassis, a glass cathode ray picture tube and were, as a result, simply too heavy for a customer to bring in to the shop.
One evening during dinner Margaret said, “I talked to my cousin Lawrence today. He knows you have a small shop in the back of Joe’s store and thought you might be interested expanding.” I was all ears and asked what he had in mind. Margaret explained that Lawrence owned a small retail store in downtown Lynden with half of the space rented to a jewelry store and the other half sitting vacant. It turned out he wanted to offer it to me to rent. I was speechless. Imagine a storefront with a display window facing the sidewalk and retail space to display merchandise. The following day I called Lawrence and made an appointment to look at the space. It was a Saturday afternoon when I walked to the front door with Lawrence. He explained that there was a large area in the back of the store and that only a small portion was rented to a shoe repair shop. The rest of the back room space could be used as a spacious TV and radio repair shop. I was excited about the possibilities but didn’t show that in any way. After all if I gave an indication of a positive impression it would put me in a weaker position to negotiate favorable rental terms. Lawrence explained that it would be a great way of expanding my business and it wouldn’t cost me an arm and a leg. I asked him what the rent would be. He quoted me a monthly figure to which I responded, “Lawrence, thank you for showing me your space. I’m going to have to think about it.”
“THE MAKING OF FRIENDS, WHO ARE REAL FRIENDS, IS THE BEST TOKEN WE HAVE OF A MAN’S SUCCESS IN LIFE.”
EDWARD EVERETT HALE
Going from a little repair shop in the back of a furniture store to a downtown retail location would be a huge—nearly impossible—jump for someone who didn’t have any capital. How could I buy enough stock to fill a small retail store with a few TV sets, some radios and maybe a tape recorder or two? To do it I would have to contact a wholesale distributor based in Seattle. I headed for Seattle armed only with a list of references, which included the bank where I had my car loan. After checking my references, the distributor agreed to sell me a limited amount of inventory on credit. Since my farming still covered our monthly family expenses I was able to pay for the merchandise as it sold. This was often prior to the thirty days credit the supplier extended. Needless to say, my suppliers never had to worry about me paying my bills. Before long the wholesaler encouraged me to stock even more merchandise and said, “Baron, your credit rating is sky-high.”
I was now a full-fledged merchant in downtown Lynden. The top of the store’s display window was proudly adorned with the sign, “Baron’s TV and Radio.” It wasn’t long before I needed help in repairing radios and TVs. Jake was a friend who had helped me to learn the Morse code which I needed in order to qualify for my amateur radio operator’s license from the FCC. Jake had been mostly bedridden and not well for a number of years. As a result he had not been able to work. When the doctors finally determined that his problem was caused by his thyroid gland he was able to get the proper medication. Fortunately, he gradually improved. At the time he was in his late forties and had lost all hope of ever being employed again. It took some encouragement for Jake to give it a try. He would come in and help whenever he felt well and leave as his energy faded. Jake continued to be my friend and associate for at the next twenty-five years.
Less than two years later the small retail space was clearly inadequate for our growing business. At that time I had boundless energy and didn’t worry about the stress from working too hard. I started each day milking my eighteen cows, ate breakfast and six days a week opened the store at nine o’clock. Almost every evening, after milking and doing the farm chores, I still had TV service calls to make. Expanding the store would likely make it feasible, financially, to hire an additional employee or two.
“THE ONLY WAY OF DISCOVERING THE LIMITS OF THE POSSIBLE IS TO VENTURE A LITTLE WAY PAST THEM … INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE.”
ARTHUR C. CLARKE
A larger building on the same block, which previously was a grocery store, had recently vacated. The owner lived in an apartment at the rear of the 5000-square-foot building which was too large for our business. I talked the owner into renting me half the space, which was many times larger than our current location. The owner, whose name was Herb, was a pleasant man with a wiry frame and an easy smile. “Herb,” I said, during the course of our negotiations, “If my business keeps growing I may need the other half of your space.” Herb smiled and said, “Sid, I think you’ll do well here. I don’t think anyone else is likely to rent the other half. Whenever you are ready, I’ll give you a good deal.”
It wasn’t too long before we needed additional space and occupied the entire store. Now the store was filled with TV sets, stereo systems, radios, tape recorders and before long I added organs, pianos, guitars and band instruments. The business was really growing. Energy-wise, I was burning the candle at both ends. With an expanding business and growing family, something had to give. I brought on more employees at the store and hired a milker to take care of my morning and evening farm chores. Sundays the store was closed. It became our family day—which by then had expanded to Margaret and our four sons. Since my family was more important than anything else, Margaret and I decided to hire a babysitter for Saturday evenings so we could have a dinner date. It allowed us to spend a little time together and for me to fill her in on my business activities for the week. Margaret, in exchange, shared her child-rearing challenges with me. After attending church on Sunday, I devoted the rest of the day to playing with our young sons.
Increasingly I became aware of the relentless pressure of my activities and ever-increasing responsibilities. One Sunday morning, on our way back from church, Margaret and I both remember me saying, “Hon, I wish I could take a three-month vacation.” She looked at me with an understanding expression indicating she knew what both of us knew. Any vacation was out of the question.
To help relieve the mounting pressure, I liked to plan elaborate pranks. Just a couple years ago someone rang the doorbell at our home. The middle aged gentleman smiled and, with a slight questioning inflection in his voice asked, “Sid?” Suddenly I recognized him and enthusiastically invited him in. Richard was a college student when I had hired him as a part-time technician in our service department. That was a lifetime ago. Now he was a business executive living with his wife and grown children in Minnesota. We reminisced for more than an hour and laughed at the hilarious prank I had pulled on him. Back then he was trying to repair a phonograph record changer mechanism. What he didn’t know was that Jake and I had connected the mechanical device via a virtually invisible wire that, when Jake pushed a concealed button, would deliver about a 2000 volt charge to the mechanism. It was high voltage but low current assuring that the unexpected jolt would not be life threatening. Undeterred, Richard left to purchase a pair of heavy duty leather gloves and then stood on an old rubber tire figuring he was completely insulated before touching that mechanism again. Suddenly a mighty howl reverberated through the building as a solid bluish arc snapped right through his leather gloves. He practically flew out of the building. It was more than his intelligent and inquisitive mind was able to comprehend. I appreciated his coming to visit so many years later.
HENRY FORD, WHO BELIEVED HE COULD DEVELOP A SYSTEM TO MASS PRODUCE AUTOMOBILES, PUT IT SIMPLY: “WHETHER YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN ‘DO’ A CERTAIN THING OR ‘NOT’—YOU ARE RIGHT.”
(The complete details of the above and many other pranks are described in my book Just Laugh About It)