When it comes to great business leaders we often think of those who started or led enduring companies, such as Jack Welch of General Electric or Sam Walton of Wal-Mart. This week the world lost a truly phenomenal business mind when William Zehnder passed away.

Zehnder was well-known in Central Michigan as Mr. Frankenmuth. He is credited with the concept of turning a small town in to a leading tourist attraction.

The story dates back to 1941 when Zehnder took over the management of a small hotel along a state highway in rural Michigan. His soon-to-be wife worked at Fischer's Hotel across the street, something that would lead to Zehnder's purchase of that hotel in 1950.

Depression hit, causing Zehnder to lose money during 1957 and 1958. His financial backers urged him to sell one of the two hotels in order to raise money to sustain the other. Zehnder fought the common business practice of downsizing or retreating when business is bad and took the exact opposite approach. Instead of taking a survival position, Zehnder decided that it would be better to aggressively look for new customers. He tapped into a long-held dream of establishing a living cultural model based on the Province of Franconia in the Kingdom of Bavaria, from where most of the town's forefathers had emigrated.

Zehnder's dream started to surface when the Fischer Hotel reopened as the Bavarian Inn in 1959. The new hotel, sporting the architecture of Bavaria, opened with a genuine German festival including ethnic entertainment and food. Despite the economy, people flocked to see this unique concept and share in the German culture.

Over the balance of his life, Zehnder worked diligently to assist others in the town to adopt the same motive for their buildings. It proved to be a huge success. Today the town of Frankenmuth with its 4,000 residents play host to over 3 million visitors every year. In fact, tens of millions of people have learned about the Bavarian culture through the town's festivals, shops, and restaurants for over half a century.

Lessons to be learned from this exceptional entrepreneur:

1. Do not go with the flow. If everyone is going in one direction, head the other way and you go faster.

2. Be proud of your heritage - no matter what it is. Display it with pride and others will want to experience it.

3. Invite others to join your journey. Zehnder showed others his vision. They liked it and followed. It paid off for all.

The Zehnder legacy will live on for many generations to come through his wisdom and knowledge that commerce and culture are a recipe for success.