My favorite company serves corned beef

Besides Next Step, I'll put Zingerman's at the top of the list for favorite companies. (www.zingermans.com)

Haven't heard of it? It's the best deli I've ever been to. I can still taste the corned beef; in a good way! I am now a reuben convert.

Why is this favorite business? Because of how they've grown it. The owners, Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig opened this deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan in March of 1982. The reason? They couldn’t find a good corned beef sandwich there.

Within 10 years, their reputation had spanned epic proportions. Big franchise people approached them, wanting to take Zingerman's all over the country. Most people would have taken the ride and gotten rich.

Instead, Paul and Ari stopped and thought.

These surmised that nobody would ever care as much as them about a sandwich. Did they really want sub-standard Zingerman's sandwiches across the country?

The answer was no.

Instead they created a vision for a company that included opening a community of businesses around the Ann Arbor area. And they have succeeded!

The called their vision the “The Zingerman’s Community of Businesses.”

Today, their businesses include a catering business, a bakehouse, a creamery, a coffee company, a restaurant, a catering business, mail order, a training company and more to come.

Ari and Paul still steer the mother ship, but there is a managing partner(s) for each business.

It's literally the coolest business in America - just ask Inc. Magazine!
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20030101/25036.html

I met these guys last month at one of their ZingTrain seminars (www.zingtrain.com)
It was the best training I have ever received.

It really added some clarity to Next Step’s future for me. Every successful entrepreneur at some point reaches a point where they ask themselves, "Do I sell? Do I raise money? Do I get into bed with evil venture capitalists?

My questions were answered.

Look for "The Next Step Family of Businesses" coming soon to your area.