From picking cherries and mowing lawns as a child to starting a property management company while in college, Brent L. Bishop always wanted to run his own businesses.
After earning a degree in business management and finance from Brigham Young University, Bishop and two business associates founded a financial consulting firm called Franklin Co. — a business that later evolved to produce the well-known Franklin Day Planner.
But despite his early successes, Bishop again decided to strike out on his own. While traveling on business in New Orleans in 1989, Bishop saw his first "one dollar price point store." He realized the Intermountain West had no such stores, so despite a lack of retail experience, he and real estate developer Paul Jensen decided to start their own chain.
After 2 1/2 years of planning and working, the first Greenbacks opened for business. The company has now grown to include 52 stores in seven states, with almost 900 employees.
Bishop, who serves as president and chief executive officer of Salt Lake-based Greenbacks Inc., has tried to develop a retail format that combines the best elements of a party store, variety store, convenience store and discount store into one, easy-to-shop neighborhood store . . . with everything priced at $1.
Bishop hopes to develop 25 to 30 additional Greenbacks stores per year in the future.
And in a further attempt to differentiate his company from competitors, while also building loyalty and a sense of purpose among employees and helping the community, Bishop has established the Bringing Hope for Single Moms Foundation.