PIZZA WITH AN ENTREPRENEUR
Date: Tuesday, April 19
Time: 11:45am - 12:45pm
Student Lounge (Located just outside the Finance LaB on the 2nd floor of Riverfront)
Come and get lunch and listen to a short presentation by Rick Tromble, an entrepreneur, a successful business owner and a gentleman farmer. We will also have a Q&A session.
ABOUT RICK TROMBLE
Rick Tromble is an entrepreneur, a successful business owner and a gentleman farmer. Tromble’s business journey began with an idea, a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan—Flint. After graduation, he implemented his plan to build a drive-thru convenience store in Lapeer, called “Pop Stop,” where people could buy drinks and snacks. He secured an SBA loan, and after successfully operating the business for just six months he sold it for a considerable profit.
He went on to purchase a cluster of retail stores after is success with his Pop Stop store. Tromble went on to sell these stores to several of the employees. After selling his second store, he went on to purchase a Taco Bell in Venice, Florida in 1988. After some struggle, his franchise was successful which lead him to add 65 more locations. Tromble and his wife went on to purchase more failing franchises and turn their story around.
In 2005 Rick and Michele embarked on another business idea: hay for horses. Michele Tromble, an equestrian, began to board horses as they sold off several of their restaurants. The Tromble’s began to grow hay on their property in Cheboygan with the hopes of getting high quality hay to Florida.
Over the years, Tromble hadn’t given up on his original idea to own a car dealership. He’d investigated buying dealerships in Michigan and Florida, but nothing worked out. Finally, in 2005, while shopping for some trucks for his farm, he made contact with his local Ford dealership. While negotiating with the dealer over the price of several trucks, Tromble made an inquiry about buying part of the dealership. Before it was over, he had purchased one third of the dealership. Five years later, in 2010, he became a partner in a Toyota and
Chrysler dealership.
