Bob (Robert) Sherwood, Owner
Biography
The Making of an Entrepreneur
Bob’s passion for entrepreneurial life started back in his hometown of Council Bluffs, Iowa. One of the early lessons he learned about business was from his father who owned a heating and air business. He told Bob never to work for an hourly wage if possible. Bidding the project was the way to go, he told Bob. It’s a lesson he never forgot.
After working for his father in his teenage years at the age of eighteen Bob met another group of people that would change the trajectory of his life. Working on his pilot's license at the local airport he kept meeting accomplished businessmen who had their own private planes - and jets. Young Bob spent a lot of time at the airport with these fellow aviators listening and learning everything they had to teach about life and business success. It was his first school of business.
Perhaps the biggest factor that has driven Bob’s business acumen ties back to his passion for competition. Bob was a three-sport athlete in high school, captain of both the wrestling and football teams. He was good enough to wrestle and play baseball on the collegiate level at Northwest Missouri State College. Bob didn’t like losing, and that drive to win carried over when he entered the business world.
It could be said Bob’s first venture was founding the Delta Chi Fraternity at Northwest Missouri State. He purchased the house, and wrote the fraternity contract. It was the first fraternity without hazing written into the bylaws and the young pledges came in droves. Bob rented out the rooms, threw the best parties, and the Delta Chi Fraternity and house remain to this day.
Business Accomplishments
Bob graduated college from Northwest Missouri State in 1971 and jumped into the world of entrepreneurship by bringing the first pizza restaurant to Harlan, Iowa. Godmother’s Pizza did well enough that Bob opened up three more restaurants in Denison, Glenwood, and Red Oak, Iowa.
After six years in the pizza business Bob sold his restaurants and got into cable TV. He was the national marketing director at TCI for nine years. His markets included Omaha, Nebraska, Chicago, Illinois, and Gary, Indiana. It was the early days of cable T.V., but Bob could see the wave coming.
To this day Bob holds the Guinness World Record for most television subscriptions sold.
After a decade in the cable TV business Bob moved on to his next ventures. In 1988 he founded and built the first Dairy Queen in a convenience store. That has never been done before, and again Bob’s nose for a good business model paid off. Around the same time Bob brought the first non-touch car wash to the midwest - another enduring winner that’s become a staple today.
Success in those ventures led to more opportunities and Bob opened two Sherwood Quick Pic convenience stores - one in Council Bluffs, Iowa and the other in Omaha, Nebraska.
Just after the stores opened Bob founded Home-One Roofing in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The roofing company remains in business after 35 years with an A+ rating.
Real Estate Experience
Bob’s first experience in real estate started by buying the first few properties at the Bent Tree Golf Club in Council Bluffs, Iowa. His property was the first house to go up, then he built and sold four more. Today the club is home to 140 homes.
Seeing opportunity in the real estate market Bob founded Sherwood Country Estates, a 120-acre housing development in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Today, Sherwood Country Estates has developed 55 residential homes for the local people.
Family
Bob is happily married to his wife Kristy Sherwood. Kristy was a special agent with the U.S. Government for 47 years. They have three children - Tonya, Bret, and Ashley - and three grandchildren - Ellie, Liam, and Connor.
When Bob’s not working he spends time traveling abroad and playing golf. Every year the family spends a few months in Europe, and hasn’t missed Oktoberfest in Germany for 30 years. Outside of Europe you might find the Sherwoods riding elephants in Thailand or scuba diving in the Bahamas.