In a recent survey on our Facebook fan page we asked an important and timely question: What is the best Halloween Candy?  We offered several choices including Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Twix, Milky Way, M&Ms, Snickers, Twizzlers, Butterfingers, Dum Dums.  Those that completed the survey also had the option of adding their own selection if their favorite wasn’t listed.  The favorite candy by a long shot….Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  At RE/MAX Prestige we delve into important issues like this one because on our quest to be the most amazing real estate company in the entire world…we study what makes for other enduring products and services in the world?  Where did the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup come from?  How does it relate to our goal of being the best?

Harry Burnett “H.B.” Reese was born on a farm in York County PA in 1879.  He grew up working on the farm.  In 1900 he married and went on to have 16 children.  In 1917 HB went to work on a dairy farm owned by The Hershey Company…yes the famous chocolate making company.  HB was inspired watching everything that the Hershey Company did and at night he would go home and experiment with his own chocolate candy inventions in the basement of his house.  His very first candy bars were named after his kids, including The Lizzie Bar and The Johnny Bar. H.B. tried selling his experimental candy bars around the region, but to no avail.  Then he invented the “penny cup” a chocolate cup filled with peanut butter that was sold for a penny.  The heavenly tasting chocolate bite was an instant hit.  Local stores bought them by the box and soon he left the Hershey dairy farm and formed H.B. Reese Candy Company. Due to the economic constraints of the war and limited availability of materials, he chose to solely concentrate on his peanut butter cup line.  Although the H.B. Reese and Hershey relationship was contentious, it’s interesting to note that Hershey bought the H.B. Reese Candy Company some 40 years later.

What does this all teach us about greatness in the real estate world?  I think the most important lesson here is that if you want to build an enduring business, like we continue to do at RE/MAX Prestige, you must do so with passionate people.  Our agents live and breath real estate, just like H.B. did with chocolate.  When you are passionate about what you do…only great things can come of it.

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