I know Sid on a different level than most since I serve Exxel Pacific as corporate pilot. Because Sid is a pilot he generally sits up front next to me. That has allowed us hundreds of hours of discussion covering all manner of topics from relationships, current events, our families and our faith. As a Seventh Day Adventist my faith differs in terms of doctrine from Sid’s which is from the Dutch Reformed tradition. Because I’m interested in biblical study we have had some very interesting conversations. In fact, a while back I began packing my Bible in the seat behind me. However, no matter what my beliefs, Sid has always shown me complete respect—which is a tribute to the kind of man Sid is. He has accepted me and made me feel like a member of his family.
What is incredible about Sid and his partner Kevin are that they have been so respectful of my faith which does not allow me to work from midnight Friday to midnight Saturday. Few companies are so respectful of the religious beliefs of others that they allow schedules to change in spite of the hassle it causes.
The reason Exxel established their corporate fleet was out of respect for the families of their employees. Since many of their projects are located in distant states they felt it important to provide a way for employees to spend the maximum time with their families without having to drive a huge number of hours or wait for commercial flights. Both Sid and Kevin believe in providing their employees with the tools necessary to do their jobs most efficiently so that they can have a good quality of life.
Since establishing their corporate fleet, sales have tripled. The reason the company made the investment is that they want their people to be happy. It is one reason turnover is so low. Exxel believes that God comes first, people second and business last. It is why the company is so successful. By allowing its employees to live a balanced life everyone benefits—from the employee, the employee’s family, company management and its customers and vendors.
My personal feeling about Sid is that he is a man who lives by his convictions. After learning he had MS over forty years ago, he has helped those around him to live a balanced life.
—Roger Coon, is a professional commercial pilot with thousands of hours of experience. He serves as the chief pilot for Exxel Pacific LLC.
Running a retail store specializing in electronic sales and service, operating a seven-days-a-week radio station plus milking dairy cows and operating a farm simply became too much. I didn’t worry about keeping my sanity but I probably should have. Margaret helped with the bookkeeping as much as possible. But, after all, she was taking care of a household which had by this time had grown to six children. In 1963, baby JulieAnn joined sister KayeLynn and her four big brothers. We decided to purchase a home in Lynden just three blocks from our business. Then we sold the cows and rented the farm. I was a farmer no more! Finally I was able to concentrate exclusively on my business activities.
The radio station was fun. I enjoyed my personal involvement in a number of broadcasting activities. It would have been easy to simply imitate what competing radio stations in the area were doing. However, it is my nature to be creative while serving our audience in different and special ways. I started hosting a weekly nighttime call-in program featuring interviews with a different guest each week. These included politicians and others covering a wide range of topics. For instance, one episode was called, “Why Marriages Fail,” which allowed listeners to call the station and participate in discussing their relationships.
Many families had emigrated from Holland during the late 1940s through the early 1950s and settled in our county (Whatcom) as well as adjoining Skagit county. Thousands of others settled over the border in Canada’s British Columbia. Just twelve years prior I was one of them. I remembered very clearly the Dutch songs along with popular and sacred music. Eventually I started importing records from Holland and introduced a Monday evening program called “Music from Holland.” It was a one hour program with the first half hour devoted to popular music and the second half hour to sacred. I was the disc jockey and Margaret always accompanied me to the station. Our two oldest sons, Jim and Gerald, were now old enough to be babysitters which allowed Margaret to catch up on some of the radio station’s bookkeeping. As I had expected, because the program was targeted to a defined audience, it became an instant hit. The number of listeners continued to grow as information about the show spread among the Dutch immigrant community.
In our efforts to expand the services to our community of listeners, we began broadcasting a local church service. A little later we began providing play-by-play broadcasting of local basketball games. It helped that because there were two high schools in Lynden, the basketball games were fiercely competitive. Another special program that kept the station’s telephones ringing was a fundraising program for a well-known charity. I remember an elderly gentlemen walking in with a large can full of change. “Here Sid,” he said. “We’ve saved coins for years. Here they are.” I could tell he wanted to say something confidentially to me. He put his head near my ear and whispered: “You’re doing a wonderful thing and I want to say God bless you.” I thanked him and felt humbly grateful.
Providing all those services resulted in making our advertising sales soar. Rather than take a bonus, I plowed the money back into expanding the reach of the station. Within a few years we acquired a more powerful transmitter and antenna system and were operating at the maximum allowable power of 100,000 watts. Knowing that my broadcasting venture, against long odds, had become successful gave me a great deal of personal satisfaction.
There were aspects of starting, building and operating a commercial radio station that I had overlooked. Within a short time my reputation as a successful businessperson became well-known. Especially in the business community throughout Whatcom County.
With notoriety came both positive and negative consequences. Negative, because I was a somewhat shy and private person. Radio listeners thought of me as a public radio personality of sorts yet didn’t know that I was very comfortable talking through a microphone to an unseen audience. Nor did they know that speaking publicly in front of a group of people petrified me with fear. Yet it was positive to know that many, including some of my friends, wondered how this young immigrant fellow could achieve so much in such little time. They didn’t know that Margaret and I didn’t have any money for luxuries and barely enough for basic necessities. That was because I was still in the “business-building” mode and took home a very modest monthly salary. Luckily, Margaret was frugal. She trusted me to do the right thing. We were happy with our six lovely children and with each other. That was most important because happiness is something money cannot buy.
One effect of my new-found notoriety came when I was asked to head the annual Red Cross, county-wide, fundraising drive. I understood that success came with responsibilities, which I accepted. Now I needed to recruit volunteers who would solicit donations in specific areas. One evening, which had been designated to meet with the volunteers, I was required to give a motivational talk along with instructions on how to be successful in collecting donations for the Red Cross. I managed to get through the talk in spite of being extremely nervous. At that moment had someone told me that in the future I would frequently be a public speaker, I would not have believed them.
“HAPPINESS IS NOT ELATION, BUT IS MORE OF A GENERAL FEELING OF CONTENTMENT THAT HELPS YOU COPE WITH LIFE’S CHALLENGES.”
CHRISTINA FRANK
It was my custom to meet with my radio advertising salesman, whose name was Barry, to plan the week’s promotions. During one of those meetings Barry told me that for some time his accounts in Bellingham had asked if our radio station could provide them with background music. That peaked my curiosity. I asked him to tell me more about it. He told me that many businesses provided background music in their stores supplied by Muzak, a national company. The music, which was piped into their stores, came with a hefty monthly fee. Barry went on to say that since he sold advertising on KLYN, people knew we were in the music business and wondered if we could provide it to their businesses. As Barry spoke I was staring into space, deep in thought. He finally asked what I was thinking. Breaking my silence I told Barry that I was in favor of offering background music in Bellingham only if we could make it economically feasible. This would require the music origination equipment to be located in Bellingham since leasing telephone lines from Lynden to Bellingham would be cost prohibitive. Barry interrupted me saying that he had already gotten approval from the manager of the largest hotel in Bellingham to install tape playing equipment in the hotel’s equipment room. We could then have the telephone company connect our music to our client businesses.
All the hotel wanted in return was some free advertising on KLYN.
Barry had thought of the idea and laid much of the groundwork. Now I needed to do some calculations to determine what kind of cash investment was required for purchasing tape recording and playback equipment with large sixteen-inch reels capable of automatically switching directions and playing music continually. Having such large reels would only require being changed every other day. I knew the equipment would be expensive and that we didn’t have the financial resources purchase it. Barry interrupted me again. He had friends who had indicated their desire to invest in our business. He seemed confident that we could get the money we needed from investors.
At the end of our meeting I knew there would be much to think about. It humbled me to know that other people would have enough confidence in our company to trust me with their money. That night I didn’t get much sleep. If I accepted money from others I was placing myself under obligation to make sure their money wasn’t lost. I could live with losing some money early on but I could not live with losing other people’s money. This time it wouldn’t be a loan, which was subject to regular interest payments, but instead an investment. I would have to give them a certificate indicating that their investment, in fact, bought a small part of the company. This meant forming a corporation, which I had never thought about doing. I ordered a book from Prentice-Hall Publishers that, at the time, was considered the bible for starting corporations. It was a huge book which included numerous forms covering every aspect of the legal requirements governing corporations.
“WE ALL EXPERIENCE STRESS IN OUR LIVES AND WE ALL REACT DIFFERENTLY TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF STRESS OR STRESSFUL CONDITIONS. THE MORE WE UNDERSTAND HOW STRESS CAN AFFECT OUR HEALTH, THE MORE WE NEED TO TAKE SUCH ACTION AS IS NECESSARY TO REDUCE STRESS.”
SID BARON
A few weeks later I had an attorney friend draft the Articles of Incorporation. The Bylaws were discussed and agreed to during our organizational meeting. With that, and a few mixed feelings, I had started another business. That was the birth of Motivating Sound, Inc.
With the infusion of a few thousand dollars in capital provided by investors, we were able to acquire the equipment to provide Motivating Sound background music to several businesses in Bellingham. Because the monthly fees were low, the number of customers we served were insufficient to cover our expenses. It was not a good start. I also hired an additional employee to help with bookkeeping and sales. The new employee was a tall, handsome man with deep brown eyes and pitch black hair. Born and raised in Amsterdam, he told me that when he was born his dad noticed his pitch black hair and called him “Rook,” which is a member of the black crow family. That nickname stuck. Rook was a responsible, honest, and hardworking young man. He later became a minority partner and our friendship continues to this day.
Back then I never missed reading the monthly electronics periodicals. Once we started our background music corporation, I paid particular attention to any information pertaining to the industry. A small but rapidly growing area of background music was known as “on premise.” It had remained small because long playing tape systems were not yet available. Soon, a company in New York began importing on-premise background music units with long-play, pre-recorded music cartridges on a continuous loop. They were known as Möbius loop tapes and repeated every hour. While it was not a problem for the store’s customers, it was a little annoying to their staff. I contacted the importer and indicated that our company would be interested in an exclusive franchise. Before long a representative of the importer called to set up a meeting. We met at Boeing Field in Seattle. My Piper Tri-Pacer came in very handy for that short flight. I learned from Mr. Ehrenzweig that his company, Jay Electronics, located in New York had the exclusive sales rights for the United States and Canada. I signed an agreement whereby Motivating Sound Inc., became the exclusive distributor of the Möbius on-premise background music system for the state of Washington and British Columbia in Canada. I was also required to sign a purchase order for one gross (144) background music units. Mr. Ehrenzweig agreed to 30-60-90 day payment terms on the first shipment. I knew we didn’t have adequate capital. This put us under a huge amount of pressure to sell them. Most of that pressure I placed on myself. We soon hired two types of sales reps. One to establish dealers throughout our state and the other to sell the systems directly to customers. Because I was increasingly involved in managing our growing corporation, there was little time for me to concentrate on selling my retail store merchandise.
With the on-premise background music system we were on the leading edge of a new and growing industry. We established an office in Vancouver, B.C. and succeeded in setting up a distribution program for the province. I learned that when starting a new business in a relatively new industry not to expect anything to go easily nor smoothly. There are always numerous situations that develop that need to be dealt with expeditiously. When you employ sales representatives to sell new systems and they have no previous experience, you can expect to spend much time on the phone training them. After that first difficult year, Motivating Sound Inc. had sold several hundred on-premise background music systems and was reasonably successful.
However, during the second year serious problems surfaced. It was the 1960s and the electronic industry was beginning to transition from vacuum tubes to transistor technology. Unfortunately, our background music units used vacuum tubes which generate heat and the tape transport mechanism used a rubber belt from the electric motor to the tape drive pulley. We discovered that the material used in the rubber belt could not withstand the heat generated by the tubes for more than fourteen months. This resulted in our clients having to pack-up their unit and ship it back to our service department at no charge for repair work. This turned out to be an expensive problem that would be unsustainable for any length of time. I cancelled our contract with Jay Electronics and consulted with one our technical wizards who assured me that he could design a good “solid state” amplifier which used transistors instead of tubes. I knew that a U.S. Company, Viking Electronics, was building a cassette tape mechanism that didn’t need a belt to transfer energy from the motor to the tape drive system. Soon Motivating Sound began to manufacture background music units of our own design. These units turned out to be far superior to the outdated tube units. To produce the units, we expanded our existing service department extensively and hired people to assemble, test and pack our Motivating Sound background music units. This included the assembly of the large cartridge tapes that played for eight hours before repeating. Subsequently we added an additional product line, which originated because of requests from some of our grocery store customers, to add a feature that would periodically announce specials with the sound coming from a small loudspeaker hidden on the store shelf amid the products to be promoted. We called it the “Modern Merchandiser,” which was a unique system.
After a successful initial test we were strongly advised by our suppliers to go national. One factory representative offered to have us join them in their booth at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago in an attempt to sign up factory reps. I spent four days there, endlessly explaining and demonstrating our Modern Merchandiser to factory sales representatives from throughout the country. Many gave me their business cards and requested that we contact them at their place of business. That required us to hire someone who could travel around the country calling on those contacts. My traveling was out of the question due to my schedule, so instead I would have to find someone who possessed the skills to effectively make sales and be willing to drive all over the U.S. It was a tall order, but we did succeed in hiring a person I knew who had all the right ideas and abilities we needed.
The man we hired lived in Portland, Oregon. His name was Bill and he was a good-looking gentleman with a solid build. I visited him in his home where he lived with his wife. He was in his mid-forties, jet black hair, brown eyes and a friendly smile. He made a great first impression. His assignment was calling on the contacts I had made while in Chicago. His job was to sign up companies who agreed to sell our products. For myself, I was excited about the possibilities for expanding our company into the manufacture of electronic equipment and marketing in both the U.S. and Canada.
“NOTHING IN YOUR BUSINESS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR REPUTATION. A GOOD REPUTATION IS UNQUESTIONABLY ONE OF THE BUSINESS OWNER’S MOST TANGIBLE AND MARKETABLE ASSETS. YOU CAN’T SIMPLY BUY A GOOD REPUTATION, YOU CANNOT BUY TRUST. IT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU EARN BY HONORING YOUR PROMISES. IT’S IMPORTANT TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR PARTNERS OR INVESTORS YOUR HONEST ASSESSMENT OF THE COMPANY. IT’S ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO DISCLOSE POSSIBLE PERILS THAT YOU ENVISION WHICH MIGHT PUT THEIR INVESTMENTS AT RISK.”
SID BARON
While I could visualize unlimited opportunities, my elation was tempered by the fear of failure. After all, we were still in bootstrapping mode which required us to self-fund any new ventures. We held a Motivating Sound Inc. corporate meeting in order to let the board know that if we began receiving substantial orders we were undercapitalized to expand our manufacturing facilities, our staff and our inventory. Because my efforts to obtain additional financing were unsuccessful, to survive required us to operate with the expectation that our dealers would pay their invoices promptly. Without that cash flow we would not be able to fulfill our obligations and could easily fail resulting in the loss of our investors’ money.
After the meeting the stockholders expressed their appreciation at being informed about the condition of the company and for my candor. They told me not to worry about the money they invested and that they trusted me completely. That night I went home and fell into bed. As I prayed for peaceful slumber my mind raced in a thousand different directions—searching, hoping, and praying for some miracle that would make it possible for the company to survive and become successful. I had not yet fully learned that a mind under stress does not function well. As a pilot I had learned to treat stress with a calm, confident composure and never to panic because panic leads to disaster. But instead of sleeping soundly, I woke up drenched in perspiration.
The next morning at work, Linda, our secretary, called on the intercom: “Sid, Bill on the phone from Dallas, Texas. Line three.”
I picked up the receiver. Bill needed me to come to Dallas and make some calls with our factory representatives to help them close a sale with a large grocery chain interested in the on-premise Modern Merchandiser system.
It was a very hot day when I arrived in Dallas. The factory reps that I had talked to while promoting our Motivating Sound merchandise in Chicago, were picking me up. Being from Holland and now living in Washington State, I was not exactly used to hot weather. It had been a grueling hot day with temperatures reaching just over 100 degrees. After a two-hour sales call we got into our car, which was parked in a hot asphalt parking lot. It was like squeezing into a hot oven. But I survived. After two days I had a purchase order in my pocket for a dozen Modern Merchandiser units.
It always took a few minutes before the air-conditioning system in the car reduced the temperature to a comfortable level. I had spent the entire day making calls with two key people from the firm representing our company.
Early that evening my business associates and I drove to a fancy restaurant for a nice dinner. The two salesmen were in their mid-thirties and had territories that covered three states, including Texas. As a result, they were used to spending evenings in bars and restaurants. Their lives, as sales reps, involved traveling five days a week and spending weekends with their wives.
That night we were sitting in the restaurant lounge ordering our first round of drinks. The night before I had learned that it was the custom for each member of the party to order a round. This meant when it came my turn I was expected to order a round. It wasn’t until after the third round of drinks that dinner was suggested.
Fortunately I’ve always had a strong dislike for the effects of alcohol. As soon as I began feeling a little woozy I stopped drinking. In order to be one of the boys, I had to do a little faking to stay sober. Whenever the others looked at me or asked me a question, I took a sip. However, when their attention turned to the game playing on the TV, I poured part of my drink onto the floor. Soon the puddle under my chair grew larger.
I was pretty familiar with the lifestyles, customs and morals of some traveling salesmen. It was well known that traveling businessmen had options. For that reason I wasn’t too surprised when they asked if I wanted them to arrange for a sleeping companion for me. And, I have to say, I felt the devil’s hot breath in my ear, but I declined.
It was just before midnight when I took the elevator to the fourteenth floor of a big Dallas hotel. It had been a long two days in the city and I was beyond being tired. I’d been away for a while and I was longing for the comforting arms of my wife.
In my briefcase was an order for sixteen of our electronic Modern Merchandiser units and it was the first order for the inventory we had acquired from the defunct Salem, Oregon factory. I tossed my briefcase on the bed, pulled off my jacket and tie and sank in the deep-cushioned chair.
During the previous week I had spent several days at the electronics show held at the huge McCormick Place in Chicago. My vision of building Motivating Sound, Inc. into a successful nationwide corporation had not been an idle pipe dream. With the help of competent people, success was now within reach. Except, that is, for adequate capitalization. We did not have that. But there was something else. Something so important, that a virtual tornado of conflicting thoughts tumbled through my consciousness. I needed time to think.
Here I was, having spent nearly two weeks away from my family, chasing the dream of unlimited opportunities. What was I sacrificing? What was I gaining? What would I be losing?
Or could I have both? Here I was subjecting myself to enormous stress. I needed to talk to my Heavenly Father, which I did frequently. This night, especially, I needed to calm the turmoil of my mind. With that I went to bed.
My working days often exceeded sixteen hours, especially during the time of the relentless stress brought on by searching for ways to survive. I had worked hard to build the businesses. Now Motivating Sound Inc. threatened to become lost in imminent bankruptcy. My family and employees relied on me to find a way for the business and paychecks to continue. To make matters worse, I was informed that our best dealership in Canada had declared bankruptcy and, worse yet, had not paid the several thousand dollars it owed us. We didn’t have the capitalization to survive such a devastating blow.
It was also when an eye specialist, treating the loss of vision in one of my eyes, explained that it was his preliminary diagnosis that I had multiple sclerosis (MS). Before then I knew nothing about MS. But what I heard from others didn’t sound good. As my vision gradually started returning, I decided to ignore it. What I could not ignore was that, barring a miracle, our company would have to declare bankruptcy. But, by literally working day and night searching for a way to avoid bankruptcy, I succeeded in selling most of our inventory to our Vancouver B.C. distributor. That gave us just enough money to pay our debts, return all the money to my friends who had invested in the company and also a very small gain.
“WHEN IT GETS DARKEST, THE STARS COME OUT.”
AUTHOR UNKNOWN
Losing other people’s money had always been my greatest fear. Fortunately, I was able to avoid that. The good Lord had answered my frequent prayers and I was grateful. We dissolved Motivating Sound Incorporated. Failure is always painful but it need not be fatal unless we refuse to learn from it and use the bitter lessons with a determination not to repeat the same mistakes in future endeavors.
I don’t think anyone ever starts a business with the expectation that it’s going to fail. But it happens. It happened to me and I can never change that. But I determined that I wouldn’t allow it to destroy me.
I had long known that we were seriously undercapitalized for our ambitious undertakings. However, I was relieved because we were able to pay all our corporate debts including our investors. Besides, I still had the retail store and the radio station as well as the Lynden Travel Agency which we had started in our efforts to get our business closer to the break-even point. The travel agency was operated by my associate and good friend, Rook VanHalm. We remained good friends and still get together for lunch regularly to this day.
I began dreaming and planning all the things I could do to expand both the retail as well as our broadcasting business. I could not have known the life-threatening problems that were yet to come.
The Musical Instrument Show and Convention brought me to the huge Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. I had invited two music teachers from Lynden school to attend with me. It was part of my plan to broaden and expand our retail business by adding musical instruments. Though I knew nothing about them, early in life I became acquainted with band music through my late father who, in 1922, had been the founder and first director of the Dutch Bicycle Show Band Crescendo which later became world famous.
“A LIFE WITHOUT OBSTACLES, RISKS AND PROBLEMS WOULD BE BORING”
SID BARON
At the convention we spent a busy afternoon looking at the various factory displays filled with every musical instrument imaginable. Neither myself nor music teachers Gary and Holly had ever seen so many beautiful and shiny instruments in one place. I respected those two teachers who, in a short time, had excelled in turning the Lynden Public High School music department into one of the best in the county. As we sat enjoying a drink and a good discussion in the restaurant of the Marriott Hotel after a delicious dinner, I said: “Gary, you are a semi-professional trumpet player who often plays at weddings and parties. What is your favorite brand?” Without hesitation he said, “Yamaha is, in my opinion, the very best.” He went on to say his personal trumpet was a Yamaha and that he’d like his students to get Yamaha instruments. However, the Bellingham band instrument dealer didn’t sell them. After thinking for a few seconds I asked Gary if I could negotiate with Yamaha to have them appoint me as a dealer. Gary said he would recommend Yamaha instruments to all his beginner students as well as their parents. The following day I signed on as the exclusive Yamaha musical instrument dealer for Whatcom County.
As I continued to wander through the various exhibits, I was attracted by the sound of beautiful organ music. I walked to where the music originated and was met by an impressive display of Thomas Electronic Organs. The person demonstrating was none other than Bob Ralston from the Lawrence Welk Show which was popular on TV at the time. Ralston was an attractive young man who seemingly switched from rousing polka music to waltz and then classical Bach without any effort. My heart skipped a beat as I thought about the possibility of adding electronic organs to my store inventory.
Before long, after negotiating credit arrangements with the suppliers, our electronic retail store was full of merchandise including musical instruments, electronic organs and pianos. I did not lack confidence in my ability to sell and make my customers happy. Instead, my major worry was that I knew nothing about music. Though my dad had been an accomplished musician, band and choir director, I never showed an interest in learning music. To sell electronic organs effectively I needed to be able to demonstrate how easy it was to learn to play. Over time, during the few spare minutes I could find in the day or evening, I learned how to demonstrate Thomas organs to beginners. For those who were already accomplished on the keyboard I asked Jerry, who was general manager of our radio station, to do the demonstrations. Jerry was quite accomplished on the organ and played in churches and was in demand as an organ soloist. Having a well-stocked store allowed me to concentrate on serving an increasing number of customers with a good variety of merchandise.
Working six days a week, plus being responsible for the radio station on Sundays, made me very busy. It was enjoyable and, best of all, I no longer needed to worry about being unprofitable and near bankruptcy. Negotiating the Thomas organ dealer franchise had been a good move. As big ticket items they also had excellent profit margins. The Thomas factory representative called on us regularly and we brainstormed many promotional ideas. Though we were located in the small town of Lynden, I learned that we did better than many big town dealers. One day the rep suggested that I might consider having Bob Ralston come to Lynden and entertain an audience while demonstrating Thomas organs. During the 1970s the Lawrence Welk Show was very popular and Bob Ralston was one of its well known stars. It was costly to have a man with the stature of Bob Ralston come to town. But the idea was exciting and I couldn’t let it go. I looked into the availability of a large facility with a stage that could accommodate at least a half dozen organs and seating for close to a thousand people. With the help of Mr. Jones, the factory representative, we managed to make arrangements for the concert.
I was ecstatic that we had booked someone famous to come to Lyndon and, even though the date was about four months into the future, right away began planning promotions for the huge event. Within days I had 2500 five-dollar admission tickets printed. Until they ran out, every customer who came into the store was given an admission ticket stamped with FREE in large letters. Even if a customer didn’t make a purchase they were happy because they received something for free.
To promote the concert I used direct mail, purchased radio spots and ran newspaper ads until my supply of tickets was almost gone. I was betting that many ticket holders would not come since there wouldn’t be enough standing room.
On the day before the concert it was nearly seven o’clock p.m. when I literally dragged my weary body three blocks along the sidewalk from 525 Front Street, where our store was located, to our home at 211 Front Street. Margaret and the children had been eagerly awaiting my arrival. They were hungry and Margaret had tried her best to keep the food warm. She then looked at me as I sagged into my chair at the head of the table. With a somewhat alarmed expression on her face she said: “Hon, what’s the matter? You look sick.” I looked at my dear wife and said: “I’m more than just tired but I don’t think I’m sick.” With that the children seemed relieved. I explained that maybe a little food would make me feel better. However the next morning, when I awoke, my body was numb from head to toe, my hands felt cold and my feet were hot. Somehow I managed to get dressed. Margaret tried to talk me out of going to work. I told her I normally wouldn’t go in when I wasn’t feeling well, but this was such a big day. Bob Ralston and his wife were coming and I had to introduce him to the audience that evening. We were also going out for dinner with them after the concert. I told her it was something I couldn’t get out of doing. Though she understood, my condition still had her worried. Then she stood up and said, “You are my life.” Hearing that I stood, hugged her and, with an emotion-laden voice said, “You are my life.” An hour later she dropped me off at the store. That day, my loyal employees brought much of our store’s organ inventory to the concert hall. There they displayed the various models of organs on the stage along with colorful signs.
Bob Ralston and his wife arrived shortly before the start of the program. He introduced us to his wife, who was dressed in an authentic Friesian costume—which was very beautiful. I recognized her dress because the Dutch province of Friesland was where I was born. I had no idea that Bob Ralston’s wife was born in the same small province, which was known for speaking its own Friesian language rather than just a dialect. It was fun speaking with her in my native language. In the excitement I forced myself to forget about my weariness and numbness. The place was packed and Bob put on a wonderful concert after which he received a rousing standing ovation.
The following day our store was crowded with customers. It was Saturday and I was working alone from opening until closing. The only thing I could feel good about was that I sold several Thomas organs that day. When it was finally time to close I locked the front door and began to shuffle toward home.
As I walked in the direction of our home a car pulled up behind me. The window rolled down and I heard a familiar voice. It was my dear wife Margaret who said in broken English: “Will you ride wit me in my karr?” It brought a smile to my face together with pleasant memories of long ago. The children loved to tease me about my unconventional Dutch immigrant way of asking a girl for a date. That was exactly what I had asked her one Sunday evening many years before after a church service. We could not have known then that it would be the beginning of a lifelong relationship. Margaret parked the car in front of the house and we covered the short distance up the sidewalk in silence. After dinner as we sat in our living room Margaret said: “Sid I know you’ve been feeling awful lately, especially the last two very busy days. But I know you and you haven’t been feeling well for some time. I can tell even though you don’t complain.” “You’re right hon,” I said. “I think I know what it is.” Margaret was looking at me with a worried expression on her face waiting for me to explain. “Six years ago when I lost vision in one eye the doctor told me that the problem was in my optic nerve which could be a first indication of Multiple Sclerosis.” I went on to explain that while my vision came back it most likely was a warning sign. But rather than slow down I worked harder and put in more hours than ever.
I was truly burning the candle on both ends. I knew that I had MS and was worried. As things deteriorated, I made some telephone inquiries to people I knew were dealing with MS and learned about a specialist at the University of Oregon Medical Center named Doctor Roy Swank. Dr. Swank had recently retired from being the head of the Medical Center’s Neurology department where he had devoted most of his life as a research scientist specializing in Multiple Sclerosis. The next Monday, Margaret and I walked into the office of Dr. Swank. He offered us a chair and with a warm smile gave us a welcoming but firm handshake. He was of average height and build with fine facial features and twinkling eyes. “Okay Sid,” he began, “tell me why you think you have MS.” I told him about the loss of vision some years ago and the numerous tests which had all been inconclusive. Then I told him about my first hospitalization with an infection of unknown origin and subsequent hospitalizations because of serious urinary tract infections. He nodded his head with understanding when I told him about my extreme weariness and extensive numbness throughout my body. Then he listened intently before explaining, “Sid there is no test that will, beyond the shadow of a doubt, confirm that a patient has MS. There is always the possibility that a patient’s symptoms closely mimic MS. But based on the symptoms you’ve described, I know that you have MS and that I need not subject you to additional tests.”
Dr. Swank proceeded to tell us that many of his years of research had been devoted to helping MS patients survive this mysterious and incurable disease. There was no ambiguity in his words when he explained that I needed to reduce the stress in my life and that both Margaret and I needed to assume responsibility for my survival. He said, “Sid, if you follow the recommendations I provide you with, you will feel better five years from now than you feel right now.” I said “Okay, Dr. Swank. But I would rather have you wave a magic wand or give me a magic potion if that would cure me more quickly. Five years is a long time.” I assured him we would do whatever we needed to if it meant surviving the disease with minimum incapacitating damage. Dr. Swank smiled approvingly and said that there were two characteristics that were very important in managing MS. Through listening to and observing me, he felt I had both those characteristics. Naturally I was curious and asked what those characteristics were. He answered, “An optimistic spirit, and an easy laugh with a good sense of humor.”
I liked Dr. Swank and, as we left, asked if he minded if I told a joke. After assuring me it was okay, I told him the following:
To celebrate the end of World War ll, Prime Minister Churchill was invited to attend a warm and dignified reception with the Queen. They were driven in a classic 1934 Bentley to the edge of central London, where they changed to a magnificent 17th century carriage hitched to six white horses. They continue on toward Buckingham Palace, waving to the thousands of cheering Brits. All was going well until suddenly the right rear horse lets fly the most horrendous earth shattering fart ever heard in the British Empire. The smell was atrocious and both passengers in the carriage used handkerchiefs over their noses. The fart practically shook the coach, but the two dignitaries of State did their best to ignore the incident. The Queen then turned to Churchill and said, “Mr. Prime Minister, please accept my regrets. I am sure you understand there are some things that even a Queen cannot control.” Churchill, trying to be proper replied, “Your Majesty, do not give the matter another thought… until you mentioned it, I thought it was one of the horses.”
“THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT MY LIGHTHEARTED SENSE OF HUMOR WAS AND IS A VERY IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IN SURVIVING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS.”
SID BARON
From “How I survived Multiple Sclerosis and Thrived for more than 40 years”
Dr. Swank was holding his stomach and he couldn’t quit laughing. “Okay Sid,” he said, “I want to see you once a year and I’ll never let you leave without telling me another joke.”
Margaret and I stayed overnight in a Portland hotel. Before leaving for Lynden the next morning I went to a bookstore and bought a book on how to become a good delegator. I knew that my stress-filled business life would have to change if I didn’t want to become totally disabled. Diet-wise, Margaret knew that her choice of ingredients and food preparation would also change drastically.
From Portland heading north on I-5, Lynden is about 300 miles away. Margaret was reading the MS book written by Dr. Swank and Barbara Dugan, his nutritionist. We were mostly silent because I was lost in contemplation. I needed to accept the fact that I had an incurable disease and that there was a possibility that no matter how I changed my life, my eating habits and my work, there were no guarantees. There was a likelihood I could soon become totally disabled and bound to a wheelchair.
Suddenly I realized that my consciousness had filled me with a storm of negative thoughts. I am a firm believer that there is nothing positive about negative thinking. For many years I had been blessed with boundless energy. The thought that I would someday lose my health and energy had never entered my mind during all of my working years. Yes, I realized that we usually take the blessings of our lives for granted. Then, completely unexpected, life throws everyone a curve-ball. It might not be what we wanted but we have to deal with new realities. To do that we have choices to make. We can either decide that the damage of being hit by that curve ball will be completely devastating or we can dig deeper into our inner self and decide that we will do everything we can to survive. I still had a burning desire to make my ventures successful. Would I still be able to accomplish that with fading energies and the knowledge that I had an incurable disease? Yes, by the grace of God, I could!
If you focus on the negative you end up burying your dreams and passions of life. In doing so you would be burying a big part of yourself and who you are. That would be a form of dying.
I walked into my store wearing gloves. Not because the weather was cold but because my hands were plagued with a combination of numbness, a tingling sensation and feeling cold. I knew the cause for my relentless stress was selling merchandise to customers all day long, oftentimes without breaking for lunch. Now I was in the process of reducing my stress. This required me to appoint Mary VanderPol, who was a pleasant, outgoing and engaging person, as the primary salesperson in the store (to this day we still are friends with Mary and her husband Marv). One day Mary came into my office and hurriedly said, “Sid, someone is looking at an organ.” Electronic organs were big ticket items and we had agreed that I would wait on any prospective organ customers. I quickly got up from my desk and removed my gloves before greeting the prospective buyer. She was an attractive lady, probably in her mid-thirties, with beautiful black curly hair combined with slightly olive skin and stunning greenish-blue eyes. I noticed what appeared to be a very expensive diamond wedding ring. Mentally combining that knowledge with what appeared to be expensive clothing, I steered her in the direction of a fairly high-end Thomas organ.
She explained that her only experience with a keyboard was some years ago while in high school when she took a few piano lessons. The Thomas organ had caught her attention due to its exclusive “Color-Glo” feature which made it very easy to learn. Her goal was to get her children to learn how to play but now that they were teenagers and busy with friends, she exclaimed that it was probably too late to get them started. I nodded with complete agreement. Sitting on the organ bench I said, “Mrs. Davis this is one of the most popular models. I wish I could give you an impressive demonstration but you’re ahead of me because you learned to read music and I can’t read a note.” Flipping the switch to the “on” position, all the while maintaining eye contact, I said, “I’ll demonstrate how easy it is to play this amazing Thomas organ.” The music book showed the notes in various colors that matched the colors that were lighting up inside the keys. I paged through the music book and found “When the Saints Go Marching In.” I didn’t tell her that it was the only selection I had learned to play. She was fascinated with the demonstration. “Okay, Mrs. Davis. I’m going to play it again, but this time I’m going to play it quite different. I’ll change the flute sounds to saxophone and trumpet sounds.” While explaining I pushed various keys, known on an organ as “stops.” I also played it a little louder by pressing heavier on the pedal. Mrs. Davis commented that it was like pushing on the gas pedal of a car. It was a good analogy. I then added drums and other percussion sounds. I joked that if she felt like marching along, that was okay. Being in the mood for showing off, and having noticed her low cut dress showing off her cleavage, I knew she couldn’t be shy. At this point I played, “When the Saints Go Marching In” with all the flair, power and percussion at my command. I could tell my prospect was impressed since she tapped her toes with the rhythm of the marching band music.
By the time I finished she couldn’t refrain from clapping her hands and saying: “Mr. Baron, it’s hard to believe you didn’t have any music education. How long did it take you to learn to play like that?” I looked straight into her eyes and said, “Honestly, Mrs. Davis, it took me one afternoon to learn. This is an instrument every member of your family can play in a very short time.” She remarked how impressed she was, but that she didn’t dare ask how much it cost. I soon realized that the trickiest part of closing a sale had arrived—the part that made my heart beat faster. Especially as I mentally calculated the profit margin on the sale of a $2600 electronic organ. It was the 1970s and $2600 was a heap of money. I explained that when one calculated the fun each member of the family could have by playing this organ, then the 36 monthly payments would really seem like a bargain. (This was during a simpler time, before the advent of TV games, cell phones and texting.) I could tell my prospect was thoroughly sold and invited her into our closing office. She offered a down payment of $1000 and said she’d be able to pay the balance in twenty-four months.
At that time the bank would immediately pay us the full amount of the contract and then collect the payments as well as 9.5 percent interest on the balance. A few months earlier I decided that because our business was doing well, I would be able to handle our own financing in the form of an in-house conditional sales contract which allowed the customer to make payments directly to the store. When the customer made a purchase I would pay the store the full amount of the sale. I would then receive the monthly payments plus the interest. Margaret was in charge of preparing and mailing the monthly statements. That marked our entry into the financing business.
Back then I could never imagined that, at the time of this writing, Baron Credit Corporation would still be in business.
My wonderful employees all helped in reducing my stress level. Rook, my friend and partner, operated the Lynden Travel Agency. Jerry managed KLYN-FM, which was increasingly gaining listeners as well as advertisers. The retail store performed well but, as we approached the 1980s and the increasing appearance of large chain stores, the writing was on the wall as the retail world became more competitive. In addition changes in technology were multiplying. We made the transition from vacuum tubes in radios, TVs, amplifiers and other electronic equipment to solid state components. But our service department was seriously affected by the changing technology.
In the early 1980s the Federal Communications Commission required the break-up of AT&T. This resulted in allowing competition in the telephone business for the first time. In response, we decided to phase out our electronic repair shop and get involved in the sales and service of commercial telecommunication systems. To house our major business activities, I succeeded in purchasing the building we had rented for many years. A year later I purchased the adjoining building. This was ideal for relocating the growing travel agency. The upper floor of that building included four apartment units which made it possible to supply some of our broadcast station personnel with very affordable housing. This was my first entry in owning commercial real estate.
I had no plans for getting into any other real estate ownership beyond what was required to house my current businesses. Clearly, I didn’t have a crystal ball. However, what I did have was an incurable disease. Even though my multiple sclerosis was largely in remission, occasional attacks of serious fatigue reminded me that I would never again have the energy I had taken for granted for so long. While I was adhering closely to Dr. Swank’s advice, I had done enough research to know that the possibility of becoming disabled could never be ruled out.
Though we had done well the past few years, I knew there were changes on the horizon and that business would become more challenging. If my health permitted, I knew I would continue to do well. But I also needed to analyze the future just in case I was not able to continue working. While remaining a positive optimist, at the same time I needed to be pragmatic. Envisioning a worst-case scenario, I knew my family was far from being on “easy street.” Of my various businesses, the most personally fulfilling was the radio station. It gave me an opportunity to employ young high school seniors and, in many cases, serve as a mentor—which is something I firmly believed in. It was something I could do for others that was more important than what I could do for myself.
The radio station also gave me a “voice” in the community. We always broadcast the Lynden Public and Christian high school games. I also enjoyed preparing my daily three-to-four minute segment called “Another Point of View.” The weekly interview program featured various people from the community and was always stimulating. We not only covered politics but also topics that dealt with why marriages fail, death, parental wisdom, the importance of faith and other important issues. The program allowed listeners the opportunity to call in their viewpoints. I believe the radio station provided me a platform for applying creative new ideas. From the first day KLYN-FM became operational I knew I would never have to retire because owning the station would always allow me to choose broadcasting activities that would keep my brain in gear and avoid cognitive decline.
“I BELIEVE ONE OF THE MOST CRUCIAL QUALITIES FOR ENTREPRENEURS TO SUCCEED IS SELF-MOTIVATION. WITHOUT BEING SELF-MOTIVATED YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND YOURSELF PUTTING THINGS OFF AND AS A ENTREPRENEUR, YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED.”
SID BARON
Those thoughts never took into account that I might have to deal with an incurable disease that often rendered patients unable to continue working resulting in the possibility of living in poverty. Now, in my late forties, I needed to add a worst-case scenario to my contemplations. Prayer was always a regular part of our family life. But I was still responsible for doing all that was possible to maintain my health and the economic well-being of my family. No matter what the future held, I knew my faith would never fade. By this time our older children were getting married and our family financial obligations were declining. Neither Margaret nor I ever had a need to live “high on the hog.” We were happy living modestly. Though I was still relatively young, if I weren’t able to work anymore we’d soon be poor. A net worth of around two-hundred thousand dollars would soon dissipate especially with the rampant inflation the country was experiencing at the time. It was at that point when I first began to wonder what the value of my radio station might be. I pleasantly discovered that the value of the radio station was such that if I sold it I could be a millionaire.
I had always assumed complete responsibility for taking care of my wife and family. By selling KLYN-FM, I would no longer need to worry about our family finances. The decision was not easy. For many years I have often wished I still owned the radio station. A few years later I sold the electronic telecommunications business to my oldest son Jim and employee Phil Bratt who still successfully operates Baron Telecommunications. After a closeout sale, the retail store was history. My good friend and partner Rook Van Halm continued to manage the Lynden Travel agency for many years until it too was closed.
I call this section of the chapter “toward the end of an era.” Now I was retired and could finally take life easy. I also wouldn’t need to worry any more about being incapacitated by MS. Yes, my physical energies were not what they used to be but my mental energies were unaffected. I could never succeed in putting my brain in neutral. That’s the reason I want to tell you about…
The changes in my business life didn’t happen overnight. Margaret and I discussed every idea I proposed. We were doing all we could to help me survive MS but we both knew there would be no guarantees. Because we understood what poverty was, we weren’t anxious to live our remaining life in that condition. Selling the radio station provided for our financial needs and the gradual disposition of the other business activities allowed me to live a “stress-free” life.
Humor is very important in reducing stress and improving health. But as long as we still have entrepreneurial or ambitious dreams there is still stress in our lives. Dreaming, thinking or planning what you might still be able to accomplish is positive stress. Worrying about all the things that could go wrong is negative stress.