Leverage Your Platform
TwoTen Magazine heard from the Robertsons of "Duck Dynasty" about the union of business, family and faith. In the article below, read how Willie Robertson and the family utilize their fame as the first family of fowl to shine the light of the Gospel from their headquarters in Monroe, Louisiana into living rooms all over the world...
After wrapping up its third season as A&E's most watched program, they have launched into celebrity status and recently appeared on the Country Music Channel's CMA Awards Show, and numerous talk shows. Yes, they are full-fledged celebrities! The history of their family and the struggles that they have endured to launch their business are filled with plot lines not even Hollywood could dream up.
Born on the Bayou
With its headquarters in Monroe, Louisiana, the Dynasty started in 1972 when the patriarch of the family, Phil Roberston, had a dream of starting a duck call business. By that time, he’d sown all of his wild oats, and then some.
In addition to being a skilled outdoorsman, Phil was an excellent athlete in his younger days and was the starting quarterback for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. Not bad, considering the second string quarterback was Terry Bradshaw, who went on to win four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Phil turned down a shot at the NFL, because it interfered with hunting season. He went on to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in health and physical education.
Phil was only seventeen when he married his high school sweetheart, affectionately known as Miss Kay. She was only sixteen and pregnant with their first son Alan. Their family quickly grew as Jase and Willie were born in quick succession. Miss Kay had her hands full in trying to raise three young boys and trying to keep her husband away from the bottle and out of trouble. Unfortunately her efforts were in vain. After getting into a barroom brawl, Phil fled the authorities and left his family for a few weeks, living in the wild until the situation cooled down. While Phil would be civil for a while, he always slipped back into his reckless ways.
During one drunken episode, he told Kay to get the boys and to leave, that he was sick and tired of them and wanted to be left alone. Kay did just that. After a few months, she found him crying in his truck in the parking lot where she worked. He begged Kay to take him back. She agreed, on the condition that he quit drinking. He honored her request and set out to rebuild the relationships that had been broken with her and the boys. Not long after that, when talking with a preacher who Kay had sent to talk with him, he gave his life to the Lord, was baptized, and he had a new lease on life and has never touched a bottle since.
Phil and Kay were able to purchase a remote piece of land near the Ouachita River in Louisiana with two small houses on it. Phil thought that he could earn a living from fishing the river. The three boys loved having constant access to the outdoor life and helping their father with the fishing business. Willie learned his business skills early in life by selling fresh fish to the local markets.
The Call of the Wild
Phil had a unique talent for being able to call ducks and earned the nickname “The Duck Commander.” Manufactured duck calls hadn’t changed much since they first started being mass produced in the late 1800’s, and Phil had some ideas on how they could be improved. With the help of some friends, Phil produced the first prototype of his version of the duck call. Excited by the success of the prototype, Phil borrowed $25,000 to buy a used commercial-grade lathe and put up a sign on his shop labeled “Duck Commander Worldwide.”
Alan, Jase and Willie became the production line along with Phil’s brother, Si, in the fledgling business, and orders started coming in. Every aspect of the business was run out of their house with the kitchen phone ringing with interested buyers from all over the country, even around the world.
To read the rest of this article and find out how the Lord's provision allowed the Robertson family to transform itself and its business into what it is today, subscribe to TwoTen Magazine for free here.
