What a great visit to Rural King today! 🧡

A huge thank you to Seth, General Manager of the Mount Zion Rural King, for taking us behind the scenes of a business we all know—but showing us just how much strategy goes into everything we see.

And the best part? Seth is a former CEO student! He started working at Rural King at 16 and has worked his way up to General Manager. He shared that many of the lessons he heard in CEO years ago are things he now uses every day. Talk about full circle!

We learned how incredibly seasonal Rural King is and how every space in the store is valuable real estate. Seth walked us through decisions involving displays, pricing, customer flow, inventory, theft prevention and creating an experience—from dog treats at the entrance to chickens and bunnies. 🐶🐥

Their team has also reduced nursery spoilage by an impressive 70% from last year—a great example of how businesses continually evaluate, adjust and measure results.

But Seth’s biggest lesson wasn’t about inventory or sales. It was about PEOPLE.

👉 Get good at interacting with people—you’ll do it your entire life.
👉 Build relationships with employees and customers.
👉 Put your people first.
👉 Be people-driven and focus on the positive.

We are especially grateful to Rural King for being an investor in Mount Zion Illinois CEO. Their financial support, time and willingness to share their expertise are investments directly into our students and our community.

Thank you, Seth and Rural King! There’s something pretty special about a former CEO student helping develop the next generation of CEO students. 🧡