When Anne Beiler -- founder of Auntie Anne's Soft Pretzel -- spoke to the Rotary Club of York members, she talked about her journey from Amish housewife to entrepreneur to business icon.
She admits that she had no idea what to do when she started her business. "I didn't have financing. I didn't have a business plan. I didn't have an education." But her business grew and today Auntie Anne's is the world's largest mall-based franchise with almost 1,100 stores around the globe.
But Anne only had an eighth grade education, the maximum available for an Amish child. She felt she needed to -- wanted to -- get her high school diploma. She told the 250 people in the audience that she achieved that dream of a GED a few years ago -- three days after she was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from a college for her business achievements.
Hey--it's never to late to get educated. I earned a Bachelor of Science at age 46. Congratulations to Anne on all her achievements.