LAKE PARK — Being an entrepreneur isn’t always easy and everyone does it a little differently. Some open online stores, while others open brick-and-mortar storefronts.

Some go all in and invest their lives into a new venture, while others start a new business as something to do on the side. Regardless of the type, entrepreneurs help drive the local economy.

John Haskins, founder of Sunburst Restaurants, grew up in Jasper, Fla., and came from “very humble beginnings,” said Cannon Campbell, owner and vice president of Sunburst Restaurants.

Haskins struggled early in life and, through hard work, he caught a break with Hardee’s, Campbell said.

Haskins started with Hardee’s in 1983, but in 1999, he branched out and founded Sunburst Restaurants and became a franchisee.

Sunburst Restaurants started as one restaurant in Perry, Fla. In 2008, the company purchased its second store in Jasper.

Haskins passed away unexpectedly Dec. 26, 2014, but the spirit lives on in his family through his only daughter and Campbell’s wife, Kristin Haskins Campbell.

“Kristin is a top-level speech and language pathologists,” Campbell said. “She really loves her job, but when she lost her father, everything changed. (Haskins) is alive through her. This woman has replaced her father who was a strong man and has doubled the company.”

Cannon Campbell and his wife, Kristin Campbell, have taken over the company since John Haskins passed away.

For Cannon Campbell, Haskins changed who he was as a person.

“He really changed me,” Cannon Campbell said about Haskins. “I came from the very intense professional tennis industry where every match you are going after everyone. He is a very laid-back person, and I think he has made me a better person when leading our 150 employees.”

Since taking over the company, the Campbells have fulfilled one of Haskins’ dreams for Sunbursts Restaurants by acquiring the Hardee’s in Lake Park.

Haskins took Cannon Campbell to the Hardee’s store in the summer of 2014.

“We are thrilled to be here to fulfill a dream that (Kristin’s) father had,” he said.

Since taking over the store in August 2018, the Campbells have worked with the Detrice “Dede” Dean, district manager for Sunburst Restaurants.

“We are excited to have Dede,” Cannon Campbell said. “She has the 20 years restaurant experience that I don’t have. It’s a culmination. She was the experience we needed to bring Sunburst to the next level.

“Coming from the professional tennis world … it’s a different world,” Cannon said. “It’s been a different world for me. It’s been seven years of taking lumps until you learn your lessons.

“When I started I wasn’t really into this. Now my passion is spearheaded by my wife’s love for this business and her desire to fulfill her father’s dream.”

More than the business being a husband-wife team, Kristin and Cannon Campbell’s daughters, Lawton, 18, and Ella, 14, work at the restaurants, he said.

“They both miss their grandfather, and they became inspired, and now work 10-15 hours a week just to help out. Oddly enough, his death has brought our family together.

“Hardee’s has really brought our family closer together. I think that’s what Hardee’s is all about. We are family people, and we just want to help the community be involved and be a part of the community. ‘Welcome home to Hardee’s’ is our motto.

“It’s like (Haskins) is still with us. If you had told me in 2014 that we would have doubled the company without him, I would have laughed. But we were only able to do it with him living through his daughter.”

Hardee’s of Lake Park, 7212 Lakes Boulevard, Suite A, 5 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday and Thursday and 5 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. (229) 559-6266.

Jason Smith is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1257.