By Cynthia E. Griffin | SPECIAL TO SACOBSERVER.COM

LOS ANGELES (NNPA) — "There's something very gratifying about starting a business, but I don't want to run one." That sentiment is one gourmet cookie entrepreneur Wally "Famous" Amos learned the hard way.

Wally "Famous" Amos, who lost one cookie business, is now president of his newest business—Aunt Della's Cookies, which he created in tribute to the aunt who introduced him to chocolate chip cookies.

After opening his first store in the world in 1975 in Hollywood to exclusively sell chocolate chip cookies, Amos saw his company grow in five years into a $10 million enterprise.

"Then I made some mistakes. I wasn't responsible, and didn't work on putting a good team together," says Amos, who lost his cookie empire by 1988. "And those people on the team who knew what they were doing ... I didn't always listen to them. So it fell apart, and I had to start selling pieces, and you know there are only so many pieces.

"That happens to so many entrepreneurs. They think they have all the answers, then wake up one morning, and realize they don't," he added.

Amos, however, didn't let it stop him. Relying on the belief that there is no such thing as failure, only learning experiences, he dusted himself off and, after a brief respite, launched another cooking company in 1991. But a previous agreement with the new owners of Famous Amos prohibited Amos from putting his name and likeness on other food products, and ultimately his new venture landed the New York resident in the middle of a lawsuit.

While Amos was engaged in a legal battle, he launched Uncle Noname Cookie Co. in Hawaii, where he was living.

"But (selling cookies) really wasn't working," said Amos, who found himself talking about his new company on a New York radio show.

"Lou Avignone heard the interview and called me to say hello, and thank me, because he was a distributor of Famous Amos cookies. When I found out he was a distributor, my ears perked up because I was looking for a distributor for Noname."

Amos and Avignone decided to go into partnership, with the cookie guru serving as the front man and Avignone handling the day-to-day operations of the company. But even with additional help, the cookie continued to slide, and the company ended up staring bankruptcy in the face.

Amos and his partner then refocused the company on selling fat-free muffins, renamed the business Uncle Wally's Muffins, and today are at the helm of a corporation that in 2002 had sales of $18 million, employed more than 100 people and built its own 43,000-square-foot bakery on Long Island in New York.

Amos believes that one of the main reasons the company is successful is because he took his ego out of the picture.

"I'm Mr. Outside, and Lou is Mr. Inside," Amos said. "I can't do the day-to-day stuff. I discovered that in losing Famous Amos. I was attempting to do everything. I thought I was the center of attraction. But I wasn't. You really do need a team."

Amos said he has no formula for finding a team. Avignone called him because of a radio talk show, and the president of his newest business—Aunt Della's Cookies, which he created in tribute to the aunt who introduced him to chocolate chip cookies—used to work at a Wal-Mart where Uncle Wally's Muffins were sold.

The key, said the entrepreneur, is peopling your team with individuals who will remind you, when necessary, where your strengths lie.

What's next on Amos' agenda?

One last business, he said.

"It's not even something new," he said. "It's something we've been kicking around since 1987. My wife Christine is an artist, and in 1987, she developed chocolate chip character dolls Chip and Cookie."

"We've started and stopped, and started and stopped, and now it looks like we're going to find somebody to bring them to television," he said. "We talking with an animation and television production company, and they're very exciting about the characters."

This story comes special to the NNPA from WAVE Community Newspapers.