July 1, 2026
The summer before my senior year of high school, I landed a job as a delivery boy for the local Lowrey Organ Center. As a band kid, working in a music store felt like winning the teenage lottery — a far better fate than flipping burgers like most teens.
The store, a former Lowrey Mall Development location, had been sold to its manager, a music education major with almost no business training. He signed his life away to Norlin or LMD or Lowrey — and the business struggled from day one.
Even as a teenager, I noticed something: the store didn’t have a long term plan. It was surviving month to month, hoping for the next sale, the next promotion, the next miracle. That stuck with me.
Through college, I worked my way up: part time delivery, part time sales, full time sales, and eventually the youngest General Manager in the industry. When offered the Sales Manager position, I declined telling the owner I’d accept General Manager with check signing authority. He agreed.
My first full year running the store, gross revenue dropped nearly $100,000 — but net profit increased by more than $20,000. I focused on inventory turnover and selling off the “white elephants” that had accumulated over the years. Once granted access to the books, the biggest problem jumped off the page:$60,000 in back rent owed to the DeBartolo Corp on a 2,000 sq. ft. store with a $2,500 monthly lease. Big money in 1988!
I still remember the phone call.
“Hi, I’m the new GM of M&B Inc. I see we have a past due balance. I’d like to speak with someone about this and work out payment arrangements.”
“Who are you?” they asked.
“I’m the guy who’s going to get you paid.”
Over the next few months, I negotiated a plan: small payments on top of staying current, plus a balloon payment 18 months out. I even delayed receiving my manager’s override compensation until that balloon was paid. I wanted to dig us out of the hole.
The owner took the balloon payment, bought a boat, filed Chapter 7, and moved the store to a free standing location a mile away. I never received the override.
Another New Jersey dealer — one who owned seven mall stores — took over the location and kept me on as a branch manager. I spent the next few years running two of his stores and honing my management skills under industry consultant Bob Zadel.
Zadel taught me what real management looked like: systems, discipline, consistency, and long run thinking.
My dream was to move from branch manager to regional manager. It never happened.
The store where I had spent six years — the original location under my first boss — quickly became the #2 location in sales volume and #1 in gross margin dollars. There was a monthly bonus for top salesperson and top manager. I routinely generated the most gross profit dollars and watched the bonus go to a manager with higher sales volume but less GP $. That still irks me 35 years later.
When I pointed it out, the owner replied, “Take some short deals at the end of the month.”
Short deals never made sense to me. They were sugar highs — good for the moment, bad for the business. I ran stores for the long run, not the end of month scoreboard.
My college degree was in MIS — Management Information Systems — a blend of business and technology. Many of my classmates cashed in during the dot com boom. And in the background, my maternal grandfather owned a commercial printing company. I could have stepped into a family business at any time and earned far more than in the music industry. Printing is an easy sale. Every company needs it.
But I believed — and still believe — that success comes from taking the long view.
I managed with the spirit of an owner for both bosses. I made decisions for the long run, not the end of month scoreboard. The idea of taking short deals to puff up monthly numbers at the expense of future profit never aligned with my values. I trained my people to think long term, to build relationships, and to protect margin instead of chasing volume.
Ironically, within a few years Hale P & O shrank from eight locations when I left to the two stores I had managed — the ones run with a long view philosophy.
The compensation plan at Hale was draw vs. commission with overrides and bonuses for branch managers. When I was transferred from my original location to a lower volume store, my income dropped. They called it a promotion. It wasn’t. Eventually I asked to be transferred back as a salesperson. The answer was no.
That was the last straw.
I called Bob Zadel and told him, “I don’t need to do this. I have options.” I resigned — to Bob — even though he was only the consultant.
Around the time I resigned, my grandfather was in hospice. I spent a lot of time with him and also helped my uncle with the family printing business. A few industry reps dropped my name and I interviewed with several prominent dealers, but nothing got the juices flowing. I wasn’t excited. I wasn’t inspired. And I wasn’t willing to jump into another situation where I’d be managing someone else’s problems.
Eventually, I decided to start my own company.
With a small amount of savings and a little family backing, Royal Music was born.
This journey shaped how I see retail, leadership, and the responsibility of running a store. It taught me the long view, the value of integrity, and the importance of building something that lasts. It taught me to manage like an owner even when I wasn’t one. And it taught me that the right philosophy can outlast the wrong circumstances.