Paul Could Barely Read, Yet One Desperate Move Helped Him Create Kinko's

Ironically, creating a One Person Empire usually requires a bit of help along the way, as tonight’s unexpected tale shows.

And if you need help with your own One Person Empire - started or not - I am offering a free, live Hot Seat session this Thursday. Simply reply “Hot Seat” and we will send you deets (you can also learn more about my One Person Accelerator that starts next week, here.)

Two C’s, Three D’s, and an F

That was a typical report card for young Paul Orfalea. He could barely read because of his severe dyslexia. He failed second grade, was expelled more than once, and his curly red hair earned him a nickname the other kids meant as a taunt:

Kinko.

Even so, Paul muddled through school and somehow got into college.

Paul used to pass the university library on his commute up to UCSB and noticed something interesting: Fellow students stood in long, long lines to Xerox their term papers at 10 cents a page.

Paul saw an opportunity (even if he couldn’t spell the word.)

Inspired, he talked Bank of America into a $5,000 loan, cosigned by his parents, and he rented a 100-square-foot garage behind a hamburger stand in Isla Vista. There he wedged in a single Xerox copier and priced copies at four cents each, less than half of what the library charged.

He named the shop after the nickname the other kids used to tease him with:

Yep, Kinko’s

The Magic Ingredient

Here is the part that actually built the empire:

Because Paul could not run the machine himself, he had to trust someone else to run it for him. He needed help. He understaood that. And so when business boomed and he was ready to open a second store, Paul did not just hire a manager and keep the profits, he knew he needed even better help.

So instead, inspired again, he gave the new manager a piece of the pie. Ownership in the actual store, and not just a paycheck, made all the difference. Paul called these people co-workers, and he meant it literally.

Word got around, of course. The best managers wanted in. Kinko’s grew, store by store, partner by partner, built by hundreds of small owners instead of one man giving orders from the top.

And by the time FedEx came calling in 2004, Kinko’s had:

• More than 1,200 locations

• Spread across 10 countries

• And was run by 23,000 co-workers, most of whom owned some piece of what they ran

FedEx paid $2.4 billion for the whole thing.

Moral of the story? The boy who could not read the sign above his own store had built one of the biggest copy and print companies on Earth. Turns out Kinko never needed to own it all himself. He just needed to be willing to get the help that made a difference.

Takeaway

Notice what actually built Paul Orfalea’s empire.

It was not the copier, and it was not even the four-cent price. It was the fact that he could not do it alone, so he never tried to. He gave away real ownership to the people who showed up and did the work, and in return, they built him something far bigger than he ever could have built by himself.

I coach a lot of solo entrepreneurs who hear “one-person empire” and think it means doing everything yourself, from the invoicing to the marketing to the actual work. What it really means is, yes, running a lean machine, but it also means getting help when it makes a difference, allowing you to build and grow even bigger (if that is what you want; it’s your empire after all!)

Steal This Strategy

🤝 Grow: One Person Empire. As the late, great Tim Curry said in Rocky Horror: Don’t dream it, be it. I'm ready to help when you are.

🛠️ Tool: Paul Orfalea on Turning Dyslexia Into a Business Model. In his own words, Paul explains how his dyslexia and ADHD built his management style before they ever built a single store.

📖 Book: Copy This! by Paul Orfalea. His own memoir on how a hyperactive, dyslexic brain built one of America’s most unusual and successful companies.

🎙️ Podcast: Startups For the Rest of Us. Realistic guidance for indie founders building sustainable solo ventures, exactly the audience Paul would have loved.

About Steve

Steve Strauss is the best-selling author of The Small Business Bible (and 17 other books), Inc.’s small business columnist, a lawyer (non-practicing), and an entrepreneur. He sold his last venture, TheSelfEmployed.com to Mark Cuban & Zen Business. Need a ghostwriter or a newsletter for your business? Contact Steve!