Giving Back to the Roots of Their Success

“What we did in our business was because of the deep inbreeding of principles that we got from growing up in small towns in North Dakota and from our education at Dickinson State University,” is how Jerome Strom relayed the success of he and his late wife Rosie Ann in building Yale Investment Company. “Don’t promise what you can’t deliver.”

He and his wife met at DSU, at the time a small teacher’s college where 85% of graduates ended up teaching. The Stroms also followed this tradition, teaching in Oregon and then in California. They started a restaurant, Jerry’s Burgers, which they ran for 10 years. In 1974 they saw a need for supplemental retirement income, starting Yale Investments. Their specialty was income producing property, primarily apartments.

Even though the Stroms were making their living in Palo Alto, they never forgot their roots. They have given back, providing the largest scholarship fund at DSU, sponsoring the entrepreneurial conference and providing funding for other projects. This giving back is something I find often with small town individuals. They never seem to forget where they came from and are very generous in giving back.

Mr. Strom’s philosophy in business was particularly inspiring to me, “Find a need within your own community. Find a way to be of service to people who live there. Meet their needs and you will find the rewards are more than you can imagine.”