The University of Mississippi Entrepreneurship Society hosted a talk with businessmen Thomas and James Duff in the Duff Center on Thursday, April 24.
The Duff brothers, owners of Duff Capital Investors and Southern Tire Mart, have been the only members of the Forbes 400 Richest Americans list from Mississippi since 2009. The pair funded the construction of the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Technology and Innovation, which opened on campus this year.
The brothers began their talk by discussing their success in business and their entrepreneurial journey, which began with Southern Tire Mart. The business was originally owned by their father, Ernest Duff, until it was sold in 1998. The brothers bought it back in 2003, turning it into America’s largest truck tire dealer and retread manufacturer. Revenue exceeded $3.5 billion in 2023, the Duffs said.
Beyond the informational value of the insights provided by the talk, the Duff brothers’ campus visit piqued interest in the political arena. Thomas Duff formed a political action committee last December to help elect Mississippi Republicans this year, raising speculation about his political future. Thomas Duff has publicly mulled over a possible 2027 gubernatorial run.
However, Thomas Duff was not interested in commenting on the subject on Thursday.
“I want the best for our state,” Thomas Duff said. “Anyway I can serve our state, that’s what I want.”
The brothers gave advice to aspiring entrepreneurs on campus.
“Being an entrepreneur is kind of like riding a bull,” Thomas Duff said. “It can be exciting at times, sometimes a little too much and you sure as hell have to hold on because things can go up and down.”
James Duff encouraged students to keep pushing forward in their business ventures, even after failure. According to him, it is important to be as involved as possible in the workings of the company.
“Being engaged and showing up is about 70% of the battle,” James Duff said. “It’s hard to win and be successful if you don’t show up or if you don’t know who you’re talking to.”
The duo consider taking care of people to be an often overlooked aspect of business — whether those taken care of are customers or employees.
“Our job is to take care of that customer better than he can take care of himself,” Thomas Duff said.
The Duffs do not utilize typical employee agreements. Instead, they believe in treating employees well to retain them, and each year, their company has a turnover rate of about one or two managers.
The brothers grew up in Columbia, Miss., and continue to operate in their home state. They strive to support young Mississippians, especially in the field of business.
“We thought we could make a better, bigger impact on Mississippi,” Thomas Duff said. “Mississippi has given us a lot, and we feel like we need to give back to Mississippi.”
Although many university students leave Mississippi for out-of-state jobs, James Duff encouraged business students to stay in Mississippi for their career. He said it is necessary to keep improving the Mississippi business environment. One of the Duff brothers’ goals, they said, is to create more in-state opportunities for UM business students.
“We love the youth and the vigor and the growth that’s happening here,” Thomas Duff said. “I hope Ole Miss students realize that their education can compete with anybody’s.”
The president of the UM Entrepreneurship Society, junior finance major Luke Himmer, set up the event to help grow the club and give students an opportunity to learn from the Duff brothers.
“Hearing from them gave (students) some great bits of advice on how they operate their company and how they found success,” Himmer said.
He said the Duffs discussed the “mentality of an entrepreneur.”
“By the way they’re talking, you can tell they control the room,” Himmer said. “You can tell they get along with people really well, and that’s something to aspire to.”
Luke Henderson, a senior entrepreneurship major, said he enjoyed the talk, and it was a valuable opportunity for students interested in business.
“It’s good getting connected with people in Mississippi,” Henderson said. “These are the types of meetings where you can find potential investors.”
Henderson said the Duff brothers seemed down-to-earth and offered important lessons in entrepreneurship. The best piece of advice, he said, was to get to know your customers and cater to their needs.
Freshman professional sales major George Sabatino also attended the event. He said he admired the brothers’ relationship with each other as business partners and family members. To Sabatino, the Duff brothers’ advice on action stood out.
“In this world, with so much information, you get analysis paralysis, and it’s too easy to not take action,” Sabatino said. “The main point was you have to be doing something because doing something is better than doing nothing.”
