Smith-Felver & Prime, Ltd.

Robert … the long version!

Editor’s note: Robert graduated from a small high school in Pennsylvania, where he was seemingly academically deficient, yet very athletically gifted. But perhaps he should tell the story in his own words. It’s a long read, but he teaches us the true meaning of perseverance.

Athlete, entrepreneur, seeker…

Obviously my parents decided something had to be done. My father, an engineer, and my mother, a former elementary teacher decided on a prep school, and off I went. What followed was a two-year stint at The Peddie School. I loved Peddie and that’s when my score changed: Books 8 – Varsity Letters 6.

Win some, lose some.
Lessons learned? Opportunities are always available! Especially from loses. The Peddie Prep football team was State Champion my first year. What a powerhouse! But my second year provided another “growth” opportunity. Imagine losing a football game by the embarrassing score of 75 to 12. And another, 60 to 3. Those were real character builders. But I did kick a field goal. The only one I was ever called upon to execute. Lucky? I don’t think so.

After graduating from Peddie, I was accepted into the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where I majored in Economics, and minored in Marketing. I also played in a big-time football schedule: Army, Navy, California, Michigan, Notre Dame and more.

There are good days and bad
There is nothing like being vilified on a full-page spread in the Philadelphia Inquirer to keep a guy humble. That’s what I got for throwing a cross-field interception to the United States Naval Academy’s weak side end (who easily proceeded to score a touchdown). Penn beat Navy anyway, 9 to 6, on Ed Gramigna’s field goal.

Undaunted, I proved myself the following week when given the opportunity to be the key running back in Coach George Munger’s single wing formation against Notre Dame. I responded to the 100,000 spectators in Franklin Field, Philadelphia, screaming for “Flash Felver,” and scored a crucial touchdown. The following newspaper story that week was different. Unfortunately, Penn still lost 21 to 19 when All-American Johnny Lattner tiptoed 91 yards right along the sideline on the following kick off, and scored the winning Notre Dame touchdown.

Flash learns how to type faster than a speeding bullet.
While at Penn, I entered the Marine Corps Platoon Leadership Training. It was a personal plus for me, but in addition to big-time football and Wharton academics, I was overwhelmed. I temporarily dropped out to reassess priorities and was drafted into the Army. The Marine Corps training helped me turn the negative, created by the books-football combination, into an Army leadership positive. I spent a busy two years working in Regimental Headquarters, Army Electronic Proving Ground, in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and added more to my repertoire. One was Morse Code; the other was typing.

Imagine being killed twenty-one times in one weekend
Time away from the military, on evenings and weekends was spent choreographing and participating in gunfights in and around the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. It has been reported that I was exceedingly skilled with military weapons, and a superbly proficient gunfighter with a colt .44 single action hogleg. The tourists loved the action. But then – perhaps I was not so proficient, because I was killed twenty-one times, in gunfight-re-enactments, on one tourist-pleasing weekend. I was young enough and tough enough to take the falls. Ouch!

When my military time was up and I was back at Penn, I changed my course of direction and study, and enrolled in Penn’s English Department. And of course, picked up my football eligibility once again. Unfortunately a two-year hiatus from football training, severely injured both hamstring muscles, and the damage finally finished my football career. College study would not feed the first baby and there was only one decision to make.

It was time to go to work.
I set out in the guise of an entrepreneur; organizing, managing and assuming risks by creating a quilting patchwork of business and enterprise. I was seeking success, self-improvement, and a way to extend service to others.

I joined Pelmor Laboratories, Inc., a high-tech company in the rubber and plastic industry. My work soon involved developing, producing, training and selling products and technology to the aircraft industry and others. But in a few years, troublesome corporate inner workings and company politics became quite intolerable. So the seeker surfaced again.

Direct, one-on-one marketing caught my attention, and I became a door-to-door salesman (when such solicitation was still allowed). This is the toughest sales job in the world, and I pushed myself everyday. I teamed up with a partner and I began promoting high-quality health and nutritional products made by Nutri-Bio, Inc.

“Boy, I was in for a shock! I had no mentor. No training. No know-how! Just me. It was a disaster! But with a family; if it was to be, it was up to me.”

I dug in my heels and refused to quit. Bit by bit, I tenaciously turned failure into success. Soon I had developed and trained my own sales team for my New Jersey State Franchise. Unfortunately the California corporation, and it’s program, was based in the old methods of multi-level marketing and within a year of my joining, it all came tumbling down.

We saw the problems and we refused to sell products using their multi-level model – no siree, not in our territory! My partner and I were the only retailers in the entire United States who sold products directly to retail customers, not to other wholesalers. The President of Nutri-Bio, Inc., Earl Schoaf, called us to California to create and direct a retail program to go across the country, but it was too late. The FDA closed it all down.”

At the same time, I had opened, and was operating one of the few fully stocked and professional dive shops in the Eastern United States. The company, Diver Down Associates, provided the latest and best equipment available, plus SCUBA Training and light salvage work. I was also one of the first certified SCUBA Instructors in the United States. Evenings and weekends were very busy with water time.

But it was time to move again. So I added another patch to my life-business quilt and looked for the next stepping stone.

Now, with so many marketing and sales tools in my toolbox of experience… I thought, “Why not be a one man gang once again and become a manufacturer’s representative?” My first client put me back into the aircraft industry, and I was supplying products and services to Bendix Aviation.

Carpet slippers… what an idea!
Not satisfied to do one thing at a time, I also built another team. This team was researching and developing a line of products from recycled indoor/outdoor carpeting for the Rudoler Brothers who were wool-reclaimers, in Philadelphia, PA. My responsibility included creating and marketing products from carpet skrim, or scrap. I would develop new products, as well as direct the creation and development of equipment and machinery to fabricate the items I was envisioning and prototyping.

Too much, too soon.
For a while everything was happy time. I created an all-enveloping marketing-plan, and a huge assortment of concepts and product-ideas. I was busy working to set up business in the manufacturing zone on the Mexican/United States Border. I was actively I seeking outlets for products in Asia and Europe. And introduced one unique, new product concept, with samples to Ozite Carpeting itself, visiting their offices at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. The president went wild, called in all his marketing people and wanted to know why in blazes they hadn’t the brains to think up a product like this. Then he gave us a massive order. I almost fell over!

Unfortunately, we were in the start-up phase. The order was so huge it was impossible for us to produce. I was just too inexperienced to bring such a huge order to conclusion on time. The research, product models, machinery prototypes along manufacturing profiles and models, etc., created us right out of business. The whole program became a physical and financial beast, and inoperable.

Ballet, baseball and beauty pagents
So how about a new direction? Recreation? I loved sports, so I partnered in building and operating a community recreation and special programs environment for children, and young adults. I created a wholesome, friendly and fun-filled atmosphere of year round programs. It started with a few teenagers, and in just a few years, was servicing well over five-hundred families in the community. We did all kinds of sports, crafts, dance, a baby-sitting program for mom’s who wanted to go to the grocery store sans kids, and I oversaw everything. It was like summer camp year ’round. At the same time I began to promote it by doubling as a magazine feature writer, and free-lance photographer.

After a few years, an advertising agency heard about me, courted and eventually hired me as their Public Relations Director. But it to was to be short lived. The agency was in serious difficulty and, within a year, closed. Luckily – the biggest, best and shiniest stepping stone was right in front of my eyes. Another of the agency’s creative associates was Mop Prime.

Once again, out of turmoil came direction. Mop and I joined our creative skills and in July of 1978, opened our own marketing communications agency, Smith-Felver & Prime, Ltd. You can read more about that on the About Us page.

Fast Forward to 1991 when I was invited to introduce Smith-Felver & Prime to a new LeTip chapter (Central Bucks, PA). I joined on the spot. A few years later I resigned because I wanted to start my own chapter. After getting LeTip’s blessing, I didn’t open one chapter, I opened two: LeTip of Doylestown, PA and LeTip of Middle Bucks, PA. Both are extremely successful today.

I had my wish. I became the first President of LeTip of Doylestown, and Mop and I continued growing the agency. Before long, I was named a Chapter Ambassador and expanded my networking skills to include supporting existing chapters, and launching more new ones. Once again, another very important stepping stone appeared.

In 2001, LeTip International offered me the position of Executive Director. I had a passion for the company that did so much to help small businesses across the country, so this was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I became a member of the corporate Executive Team; and my responsibilities include assisting all Regional Directors, as well as, building the Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware Region. I am still at it, love it and the members.

My mission is very clear
I accepted this huge responsibility because I believe in free enterprise. I want to help every chapter, and every member, in my region, and elsewhere, on their path to success. I am determined to do everything humanly possible to accomplish this goal, utilize every thread of information garnered throughout my career in sales, marketing, communications, and relationship-building. I will always endeavor to provide members with new ideas, new tools and new techniques to grow in today’s rapidly changing business climate. My focus is to further the Guiding Principle of LeTip International… to intentionally help one another prosper through mutually beneficial relationships and this create an economy that rewards everyone. Join me in my quest and let word-of-mouth referrals help you on the path to success!