June 21, 2010 issue
Amish climb the ladder of success — as they define it
By Daniel Burke Religion News ServicePage:
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Some of America’s most successful entrepreneurs have never been to high school, don’t use electricity and would sooner love their competitors than sue them.
Many Amish have traded their plows for other business ventures, with remarkable success. — Photo by Dale D. Gehman
For generations, the Amish have tended farms tucked away in rural communities like Lancaster, Pa., motivated by a faith that urged them to be in the world, but not of it.
But as housing subdivisions and strip malls suck up farmland, many Amish have traded their plows for profits — with remarkable success.
There are nearly 9,000 Amish-run small businesses in North America, according to Donald Kraybill, a professor at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College and a noted expert on the Amish and other Anabaptists.
And whereas 50 percent of small businesses fail within the first five years, only 10 percent of Amish-run enterprises have gone belly up.
Despite church strictures against electricity, the Internet, motor vehicles and many forms of advertising, Amish businesses have landed contracts with companies like Kmart and Ralph Lauren, developed nationwide networks of retailers and crafted kitchens for customers from coast to coast.
“The phrase ‘Amish millionaire’ is no longer an oxymoron,” Kraybill said.
Amish expert Erik Wesner explores this surprising success story and offers tips on what other entrepreneurs can learn from the “plain people” in his new book, Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive.
Wesner first encountered the Amish as a traveling book salesman in the Midwest.
“The business owners were the busiest of anyone,” Wesner said. “They only had 10 minutes to talk to me. But when I did talk to them, they bought books.”
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Comments
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nearly ten years ago i visited wayne county ohio and stayed in an amish home. their business acumen startled and impressed me. the family bought one raw material, and ran three independent businesses. it has taken me ten years to find a way to apply what i learned in wayne county. this amish business family has inspired me, and is the inspiration for my own success in a farming venture.
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