AP Photo/Papa Johns Pizza

There was an interesting and inspiring story this past week regarding Papa John’s owner John Schnatter, who has become one of the most successful business owners in the past decade with his chain of pizza restaurants.  But the story wasn’t so much about Schnatter’s success as it was his sacrifice 25 years ago.

As this post by Tracy Stapp in Entrepreneur outlines, Schnatter was forced to sell his beloved 1971 Z28 Camaro in 1981 for $2,800 to help save his father’s tavern, and start up his own pizza restaurant.  Now with 3,000 locations nationwide, it’s obvious that the sacrifice paid off.

But the question is, in these difficult times, would you part with something you loved so much in order to keep your business afloat? Would that sacrifice be something you would be willing to make to keep your dream alive?  Or would you find other ways around it, such as different financing options, cutting overhead, or even shutting down temporarily?  Are these the kind of difficult decisions small business owners are facing each day?

The great part about this piece is not only how the sacrifice paid off for Schnatter, but that he managed to get the car back, for the bargain basement price of $250,000.  If you have a similar story or thoughts on Schnatter’s sacrifice to save his business, please leave them below.

*Photograph courtesy of Associated Press/Papa Johns Pizza