They all have risen to the top of businesses: restaurants, real estate, software, car sales.

You likely have seen her signs or watched his commercials. You may have eaten at his places. You might have used his software and not even known it.

You also might have wondered: How did they do it?

Surprisingly, none of these local business folks had a specific plan to conquer their world. None even had specific training in their fields.

They just worked hard, jumped on the opportunities, and did it.

Here, on Labor Day, are their stories:

Philip R. Wenger

The job: President and CEO, Isaac's Restaurants, with 19 locations and 650 employees throughout central Pennsylvania.

Rising to the occasion:  Wenger, 52, of Lancaster, opened the first Isaac's with college buddy and chef, Isaac Williams, in 1983 at 44 N. Queen St.

Though he was the inspiration for the restaurant's name, Williams only lasted about 60 days before he quit and moved to Alaska. Wenger had to fend for himself.

"I was this guy who'd never worked in a restaurant. I knew nothing about food service or running a restaurant. I'd never taken a business class."

The people came: "From the time we first opened our doors we always had big volume. Clearly, there was a market for what we were doing. There was this real opportunity downtown because all there was was McDonald's and pizza places or fine dining. Nothing in between."

How I did it:  "I knew how to manage customers and employees, not food. But if you can do that, you can learn everything else. Treat people fairly, tell the truth, come to work with a sense of energy and lead by example. If you do those kinds of things, everyone will come around."

What's important: His employees are treated well, getting benefits and good wages.

"Everything I learned was from my parents, who were missionaries and school teachers. I wanted to have a more values, humanitarian approach to the business. Too often, restaurant workers are treated like modern-day slaves."

About those birds: "We were sitting around drinking beer, trying to come up with characters that people could identify with for the sandwiches.

"At the time, John Waters' 'Pink Flamingos' (movie) was big, so we thought we could be edgy and hip by having the flamingo. Then we found an Audubon book with all the birds, and that led us to name all the other sandwiches." (Vegetarian sandwiches are named after plants and flowers.)

"There were a lot of cool and fun names. Bottom line is that some bird names are very funny, and people remember them." 

What he orders: The Bird of Paradise: mushrooms, green olives, lettuce, tomatoes, melted Swiss and Muenster cheese, on rye with mayo.

Geoff Class

The job: President of New Holland Auto Group, which sells between 3,000 and 3,500 vehicles a year.

A dream begins: As a teen in Doylestown, he regularly walked past a Ford dealership while on his way to his sales job at an Endicott-Johnson shoe shop.

"Back then, it was high-performance cars — Mustangs and Fairlanes. I'd look at the salesmen and the cars and thought there couldn't be a better job."

A dream realized: When he got out of the Army in 1969, he thought he would follow his dad into the real estate business.

"He said, 'Geoff, you look like you're 16. Nobody's going to buy a house from you. Get some experience selling and come back and see me later.' "

So Class walked down to that Ford dealership and, after about five visits,  persuaded the manager to hire him.

Nine years later, he was the general manager.

Growing and growing: In 1981, Class and Fred Beans, who owned the Ford dealership in Doylestown, bought a Ford dealership in New Holland.

They added or acquired three other dealerships over the years, and now sell  nine brands, including Ford, Toyota, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep. They also opened a service center.

How I did it: Offering a variety of brands. Taking advantage of opportunities. Training employees.

"I don't usually hire salesmen who have worked for other dealerships. I don't want a salesman telling me how they did it where they used to be. I think they should do it the way I'd like to have it done."

Class, who answers his own phone at his office, tells new salesmen to keep their mouth shut and their ears open. Listening is the key to a good sale.

About those commercials: The slogan "Where a little country means a lot of savings" led to the signature animated cows and jingle in TV commercials. Class, 62, of New Holland, himself appears in several commercials a year.

"I went into a restaurant in New Holland a few weeks ago, and a lady mooed at me."

His ride: His first car was a 1978 dark-green Volkswagen bug.

Today, he drives new cars, swapping them out every four months. Since 1981, he's driven about 90 different cars.

His all-time favorite? A silvery-blue 1988 Ford Turbo Coupe Thunderbird.

Marilyn Berger

The job: Owner of Berger Real Estate, partner in Lime Spring Farm in East Hempfield Township, partner in  the Northgate condominium project in Lancaster.

Not just real estate: After she married her late husband, Larry, in 1952, the couple bought her husband's parents' store, Berger's Confectionery on Maple Avenue, which sold candy, ice cream, subs and other food. She later opened and managed a beauty shop, La Bergerie.

She also has owned several restaurants, along with her husband and other partners, including: the Horse Inn, the Paddock Inn (which later became East of Eden and now is the Waterfront), and Molly's Pub. She also owned Emily's Gallimaufry, a high-end children's clothing and gift shop, in Lancaster.

She's now a partner in Northgate, a condo and commercial development project on North Queen Street; and Lime Spring, a historic farm off Marietta Pike used for weddings and other events, where Berger would like to put a restaurant.

Home work: She got into real estate in late 1960s because she loved to look at houses on weekends. Her first sale was a house on Atkins Avenue that went for $10,200.

Over the years, she's built a reputation for selling high-end homes, attributing that to following her clients as they traded up.

She knows some so well that she once sold a house to a client who never walked through it.

How I did it: She attached herself to people who succeeded. They were willing to teach her the ropes. Then she worked like crazy.

Usually up by 5 a.m., she leaves home early. Her husband used to jokingly say to their four kids in the morning, "Do you know where your mother is?"

About that energy: "If I could give one bit of advice to anyone who hits retirement age, it's continue to work. This isn't a dress rehearsal. You've got to keep going. You don't get another opportunity."

And don't ask her age.

"Age is a number, and mine is unlisted."

The first thing she does: The Manheim Township resident starts her day by making the difficult phone calls, letting clients know if an appraisal didn't go as they hoped or if they have competition for a home. "I do those things you want to get out of the way."

What a workaholic does for fun: Watches cooking shows (but doesn't do a lot of cooking herself). She loves Paula Deen.

Charlie Crystle

The job: Founder, CEO of Chilisoft; co-founder and former CEO of Mission Research; founder of Focus; co-founder of Lancaster Organics with wife, Amy.

Chilisoft, which he eventually sold to Sun Microsystems in 1997 for a reported $70 million (though Crystle says that wasn't his profit) created software for running applications on the Web.

Crystle, 43, of Lancaster, and two partners founded Mission Research in 2002. The company developed Giftworks, fundraising software used by nonprofits; and Saleswork, customer management software for small businesses.

Focus is developing software that helps people cut out digital distractions in their work life.

Lancaster Organics is developing a way to use organic produce that would otherwise be discarded.

Bumps in the road: "I give myself mixed reviews for Mission Research. I tried to do too much and got burned out. We were trying to launch a retail software product in the fall of 2008 and it didn't go well. When it came time to shut down, I decided it was time to move on, though I am still an investor.  When I left about 18 months ago, we had about 10,000 customers. It's a good solid company." 

How I did it: "I really don't know. My degree is in English. I'm self-taught in computers. But I have always been interested in solutions and what's possible.

"I am not a great programmer, I'm the opportunist. I identify the market, define the product. Certainly with Mission Research, I got the resources together, managed and marketed the sales strategies."  

The I-made-it moment: "I remember signing with a venture capitalist (in Chilisoft) on a Sunday night at around 11 at a bar in a casino in Las Vegas.  Nov. 16, 1997. The deal was worth $1.4 million. The next round was over $3 million. It was a pretty cool experience — very intense."

About all that technology: "I think we've become so reactive we are drawn into a black hole of social media. You know, I lost my cell phone for a couple weeks in January. It was great. No  interruptions! I loved it." 

Words to live by: Tenacity pulls you through.

cstauffer@lnpnews.com
jholahan@lnpnews.com