Then we held our grand opening. The doors opened and... nothing happended. No customers. Well, okay a few but where were the lines with the people out the door? How was it possible that in 110 degree weather, the lines were not going around the block? They did at other Jamba Juice stores i saw, In fact, the store that spurred my interest in Jamba Juice in the first place were in less heat-intensive climates with customers waiting in long linesin the cold rain no less. Surely Jamba Juice was the ideal franchise with a perfect product for the wilting heat of Arizona. Where were the customers?

Here is where it gets ugly. I will never forget the day i had to make the call, the one to my partner telling him that we needed to infuse money, we couldn't make payroll. I had employees to pay and no money to may them. My food distributor refused to send my product unless it was COD. One year later we were forced to close our first location and relocate. Three months after that we had to close our second. I was frustrated, depressed, and embarrassed. 18 months into it and $500,000 in the hole with a huge cash flow problem.

One day, I had completely had it. I was at rope's end. I left work early to seek help from a book. Surely with all the marketing books out there I could find some help! As i was looking through the bookshelves at the bookstore I came accross one of the first editions of Guerrilla Marketing. what in the world is Guerrilla Marketing and who is this Jay Conrad Levinson? I sat down on the floor in the bookstore and began to read.

To be truthful, this is the one book that helped me save my business. It was what i read in that book, the first edition of Guerrilla Marketing, and the principles I applied that helped me turn the corner at Jamba Juice.

My story actually turned out to be a success story. Our roots, hard work, and marketing finally took hold and we built the brand in Phoenix. Year after year the company's average growth was 6% per year in the 450 stores in 22 states. For three years straight, our five stores doubled that. Yes! doubled! With 12% growth on average, including during the tough year that followed September 11th. It was a tough road buy we turned the loss of $500,000.00 into a thriving package of stores we later sold for several million dollars. How? By applying Guerrilla Marketing principles. After Jamba I teamed up with "The Father of Guerrilla Marketing" Jay Conrad Levinson to co-author Guerrilla Marketing Strategies for the Franchisee and Small Business. We didn't stop there! We went on to created a 7 audio CD self study course and conduct Guerrilla Marketing workshops accross the country.