Off The Clock: Mr. Goodcents’ Joe Bisogno Thrill of the Hunt
Hunting lets Mr. Goodcents’ Joe Bisogno bond with family, friends and colleagues in the great outdoors.
By Maya Norris, Managing Editor -- Chain Leader, 8/1/2007
 Joe Bisogno recently arranged for football players from the Kansas City Chiefs to join him and franchisees on a hunting trip in Kansas, where they hunted for doves and pheasants.
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Hunting is one of those hobbies that allows Joe Bisogno to mix business and pleasure. The founder and CEO of 120-unit Mr. Goodcents Subs & Pastas gets to share his love of hunting with family and friends as well as business associates while catching some exotic prey along the way.
During hunting season, from September to March, Bisogno hunts once a week on one of his five farms in Eastern Kansas or at hunting grounds in the Midwest with his family including his sons, Joe, 25, and Nick, 18; his daughter, Melissa, 27; and grandson, Dominic, 11. They hunt for a variety of game, from doves and pheasants to deer and elk.
Call of the Wild
Bisogno is so passionate about hunting that he has not only taught his own family about it, but he also teaches children. "I actually encourage moms and dads to go take the kids hunting on the farms so we can keep the tradition of hunting alive."
When he and his son Nick teach kids about hunting, they emphasize safety. They take the kids to a hunting safety course, which is required by the state, before they handle a rifle. As they’re hunting for rabbits, squirrels and deer on his farms, Bisogno constantly reminds them to make sure the safety is on their weapons and point their guns either up or down, not sideways.
Bisogno also hunts with colleagues. For example, he recently surprised a group of franchisees who came to company headquarters in DeSoto, Kan., for a meeting. He had some football players from the Kansas City Chiefs join them on their hunting trip. "They’ll talk about that the rest of their life," he says. "So for me that’s the reward I get. I get to give back to the folks that work real hard."
After-School Special
Bisogno traces his love of hunting back to his childhood in Metuchen, N.J. His next-door neighbor, Frank White, taught his own sons and the 9-year-old Bisogno how to scout, track, shoot, trap and skin small and big game.
They often hunted for rabbits, pheasants, quail, deer and bears, but it was their trapping skills that proved profitable. After school, the boys trapped muskrats and raccoons and then sold the fur and leather at auction for $1.50 to $3 a pelt. But when Revlon opened in nearby Edison, the boys started selling their muskrats to the cosmetics company for $5 each. "Muskrats have a special oil in them that really allowed the cosmetics that you ladies use to spread and help maintain your youthfulness," Bisogno says.
Great Rewards
Bisogno no longer traps muskrats, preferring to hunt for more exotic big game. His most prized catch is a red stag he shot with a bow and arrow in New Zealand in 2005. He hopes to snag a rare antelope in September in New Mexico. The locals refer to the antelope as Flat Top because its horns stretch horizontally as opposed to the vertical horns of most antelopes.
But hunting is more than just about the prey Bisogno catches. "For me it’s the camaraderie and getting in the outdoors," he explains. "I think that you really get to know people well."
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