“You don’t always need a new idea. Just fix a problem that everyone else ignores.”
By Ken Sams
Last year a company owned by a guy named Beaver made over $275 million on $15.3 BILLION in revenue by rethinking the worst place in America: the gas station.
In 1982, Arch “Beaver” Aplin (the 3rd) was 24, fresh out of Texas A&M with a Bachelors degree in Construction Science, working construction with his dad, when he noticed something obvious but strange: The grimiest places in town, the gas stations, were always full.
The bathrooms…? Deplorable.
The food…? Even worse.
The service? Rude and barely intelligible.
But the cash registers? Ringing nonstop.
That’s when Beaver had a radical yet strikingly simple idea: What if you built one that didn’t sctually suck?
He borrowed $250,000, bought a patch of land in Lake Jackson, and opened the first Buc-ee’s.
From day one, he obsessed over what everyone else ignored:
• Bathrooms so clean they became famous
• Brisket cooked fresh every hour
• 50+ gas pumps – no semis allowed
• Staff trained like luxury hotel employees
• Buc-ee merch: everything from T-shirts to baby clothes, all with a highly recognizable beaver emblazoned in full color.
He wasn’t building a gas station. He was building loyalty. Buc-ee’s didn’t just get traffic…It got fans. Loyal, often fanatic fans.
And while other chains cut corners, Beaver doubled down on quality – every single time.
He didn’t chase fads.
He chased the highest standards.
And he refused to lower them.
Today, Buc-ee’s is one of the most profitable private companies in the country. All because one guy paid attention to the place the rest of the world looked away from.
Today, Buc-ee’s employs over 10,000 people with highly competitive pay and benefits, and is ranked the 25th largest private company in America. ‘Merka !!
Proof that if you want to make a difference, you don’t always need a new idea. Just fix a problem that everyone else ignores.
