Affordable Buying Group

Early Inspiration

My first job as a cashier at my uncle’s Chevron gas station in Spring TX was in 1995. He taught me to work hard because I was expected to wear multiple hats to run the store. Slacking off was not an option. There isn’t a task at a gas station that I haven’t done myself, including, but not limited to:

• Running the cash register, which is the easiest job at a gas station.
• Filling 100 ice bags daily while keeping an eye at the gas pumps in case someone drove off without paying.
• Working 9-hour shifts and sometimes 19 hours from open to close if an employee called in sick.
• Making fresh coffee every hour and keeping the coffee bar clean at all times in between customers.
• Mop & sweep the floor. Mop and broom were my best friends at the job because they helped to keep the store clean.
• Cleaning gas and diesel pumps and nozzles so they didn’t smell like gas.
• Stocking groceries on shelf and filling the coolers.
• Ordering products, groceries, cigarettes, soft drinks, and counting inventory every month. We didn’t have scanners or back-office software in 1995. Everything was entered manually, and I did it.
• Ordering gas from fuel distributor by measuring underground tanks using the wooden gauge stick.
• Closing shift reports, counting cash, and making bank deposits.

If someone thought this was exhausting, we soon added check cashing services and Church’s Chicken restaurant to the list and we had no time to sit back and relax. Work was never-ending and all-consuming. Fast forward 3 decades later, and it’s still the same. Work is abundant and opportunities are endless, thanks to advancement in technology and innovation. We are able to accomplish more in far less time than we did 30 years ago. I am very blessed and fortunate to have a laborious upbringing that instilled the value of hard work early in life and enjoy the fruits of labor later in life.

First Steps

I was working as an IT consultant before starting Affordable Buying Group. With the help of good friends at PepsiCo and Dr Pepper Snapple Group that paved the way for me to take a chance and start Affordable Buying Group under their wing. Not knowing the potential of what was to come, I was overwhelmed by the positive response I received from local gas station owners and convenience store operators that I decided to walk away from IT profession and just focus on growing Affordable Buying Group membership base and supplier contracts.

Growth and Expansion

Building a team of like-minded personnel and passionate workforce is the most important aspect of running a successful co-operative buying group because I want everyone on the team to have a say in business. If a staff member is afraid to speak up about his ideas or opinion, this might not be the best fit for him or her. I like to hire team players who are passionate about customer service and have a knack for the retail industry and possess previous convenience experience. These traits are not easy to find as this is a niche market that is evolving very fast. There are new products being introduced into the market every year. New categories are being launched and CPG companies are investing heavily in R&D to innovate new brands that would disrupt the segment by being first-to-market and capture the customer base. That’s why it’s not easy to find help that thinks outside the box and come up with new creative ideas to bring to work. That’s why I look for entrepreneurs that will take my company forward, and not looking for employees who are not flexible and adaptable to continuous change.

Vision and Mission

While we have tremendous opportunity to grow and improve our services and offerings, we work closely with local DSD distributors in food, beverage, novelty accessories and confectionery items that finds a niche in retail industry. You have to be in love with the business if you’re going to enjoy it day-in and day-out, and I consider myself lucky to be running a thriving co-operative group that has stood the test of times in face of strong competition and economic nosedive from the pandemic. I often find myself lobbying for the convenience retail industry at state level to stay abreast with the latest laws that will affect the future of our industry. My goal is always to deliver value-packed incentives for my members while having fun along the way!

After 14 years of operating Affordable Buying Group, I feel just as energetic and enthusiastic about the business opportunities as I did on day 1. Today I feel like we are just getting started and barely scratching the surface of a vast universe of opportunities that lie ahead of us. But the success does not come easy without difficulties.