SOWPub Small Business Forums  
 

Click Here to see the latest posts!

Ask any questions related to business / entrepreneurship / money-making / life
or share your success stories (and educational "failures")...

Sign up for the Hidden Business Ideas Letter Free edition, and receive a free report straight to your inbox: "Idea that works in a pandemic: Ordinary housewife makes $50,000 a month in her spare time, using a simple idea - and her driveway..."

NO BLATANT ADS PLEASE
Also, please no insults or personal attacks.
Feel free to link to your web site though at the end of your posts.

Stay up to date! Get email notifications or
get "new thread" feeds here

 

Go Back   SOWPub Small Business Forums > Main Category > Original SOWPub Forum Archive
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

View Poll Results: -
- 0 0%
- 0 0%
Voters: 0. This poll is closed

 
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Prev Previous Post   Next Post Next
  #2  
Old April 15, 2003, 04:51 PM
Sandi Bowman
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: The Inside Secrets of "The Pampered Chef"...

> I recently had the privilege of sitting in
> on a lecture featuring the founder and
> chairman of “The Pampered Chef,” Doris
> Christopher…

> It was one of the most enlightening talks on
> entrepreneurialism and growing a business
> I’ve ever heard.

> Here are some of the highlights…

> Doris claims she isn’t an entrepreneur in
> the classic sense. She isn’t a risk taker.
> She didn’t know anything about business when
> she started. She isn’t interested in
> starting more businesses.

> Doris was a teacher by trade until she
> married and starting having children. It was
> her wish to be a stay-at-home mom BUT ALSO
> have the ability of earning extra income.

> She was an economics teacher in school who
> also loves to cook. She especially loves
> kitchen “gadgets”. Her kitchen was full of
> them… But unlike other people she knew how
> to use them correctly. Friends visiting her
> house would marvel at her “gadgets” and the
> amount of time they saved Doris in the
> kitchen.

> The idea hit Doris…Why not put on home
> parties showing and selling kitchen gadgets?
> She borrowed $3,000 from a life insurance
> policy to start the business, which
> consisted of 71 different products that
> would be carried in six large trunks. By the
> way, this $3,000 is the only money she ever
> borrowed to fund the business.

> She spent a long time putting her first
> Kitchen Show together. Finally the night
> arrived to go out and do it. She remarked
> how it poured that night, literally
> drenching her to the bone. On top of that
> the big trunks she carried her products in
> were too big. They couldn’t be carried
> through the doors. The hand to be pushed
> through awkwardly. While she was doing this
> she thought, “This was the stupidest thing
> I’ve ever done.”

> Needless to say, at this first home party
> she sold $175 worth of products and had four
> more parties scheduled… and “The Pampered
> Chef” was born (as a side note the average
> Kitchen Consultant today sells $525 worth of
> products during an average home party).
> Doris said that she didn’t do surveys or
> marketing studies or even a business plan.
> She just did what she felt was right and
> natural for the business.

> That’s not to say she was doing everything
> herself because her husband was a source of
> support. He helped where he could and didn’t
> complain. He would go out on Saturdays and
> help deliver the products Doris sold during
> the week.

> Doris admits she was scared to death. But
> she knew what she was doing was the right
> thing.

> Her “business” consisted of 400 square-feet
> in her basement amongst the pipes and bugs.
> This served as her headquarters until 1983.

> Another woman approached her in 1981 to be a
> “Kitchen Consultant” but Doris didn’t feel
> she was prepared for that commitment. Her
> husband pushed her to do it. She did and
> soon had 12 women working as independent
> Kitchen Consultants.

> Doris remarked, “How each consultant brought
> something new to the business.”

> After spending a few years making the
> deliveries on Saturday’s, they struck upon
> the idea of using UPS to deliver the
> products. This allowed the business to
> expand well beyond its home base of Chicago.

> Doris says, “I never imagined people outside
> the mid-west wanting to be consultants”.

> At the 10th anniversary of the company the
> statement was made that it was the goal of
> the company to have 600 consultants…at the
> time they had 300.

> At one point in the 90’s they actually had
> to stop recruiting consultants in order to
> let the business “catch-up”.

> Along the way they hired employees also, but
> these folks are never referred to as
> employees. They are “Co-workers” and
> everyone is on a first name basis.

> Today the “Pampered Chef” has 75,000 Kitchen
> Consultants worldwide. And their main
> building is over 700,000 square-feet in
> size.

> Today they have approximately 200 items, 15
> of which are holdovers from the original 71
> Doris took on her first Kitchen Show.

> Today the “Pampered Chef” has annual sales
> of over $700,000,000.

> Notes:

> When it comes to the “Secrets” of her
> success, Doris says, “Look at all the
> business books listed at Amazon, there are
> no secrets.” Her success can be attributed
> to 3 things:

> 1. “Working hard with determination and
> persistence.”
> 2. “Have total focus.”
> 3. “Commitment to the highest standards in
> your work.”

> Along the way Doris stuck her thumb in the
> eye of two principles often held with great
> reverence in the entrepreneurial community.
> 1. Multiple Streams of Income-She remarked
> that they had opportunities to take the
> business in different directions at many
> points in time. Such as when they were
> offered the chance to distribute other
> product lines. But she always felt by doing
> this it would take their focus away from
> their core business. Or in the late 90’s
> when they put up a web site, everyone
> thought they would start selling direct to
> the consumer and bypass the Kitchen
> Consultants, which did not and would not
> happen according to Doris. She knows what
> the “Pampered Chef” does well and doesn’t
> deviate from that path. Repeatedly
> throughout the lecture she talked about how
> important focus was in the growing of their
> business. I know from my perspective that
> focus is more of a problem with most
> entrepreneurs and not a lack of finances. I
> use to think multiple streams of income was
> where it was at but over the past few years
> I’ve changed my mind completely on the
> subject. Most people do not have the
> capacity, and not necessarily financial but
> mental and managerial, in order to create
> several successful business units at the
> same time. How often does Multiple Streams
> of Income end up being Multiple Streams of
> Mediocrity?
> 2. Doris never had an “Exit Strategy”. Even
> though she sold the business to Warren
> Buffet in 2002, she insisted (which I’m sure
> he supported fully) that she stay on as the
> head of the company. She said, “I’ll never
> retire” and added, “Why exit something that
> you love doing?” Warren Buffet said he
> shared the same point of view. This one hit
> me hard… “Exit Strategy” is such a
> fundamental belief in the entrepreneurial
> community but if you are doing something you
> love how could you just jettison it and go
> on to something else? And if you can do it,
> how connected to the business could you have
> been in the first place and how much did
> that hamper your ultimate success?

> Incentives still work. The “Pampered Chef”
> uses with great success incentives like
> trips. They started using them in the late
> 1980’s and are still a powerful tool today.
> We’re not so educated or cultured that free
> trips aren’t effective as a sale’s tool.

> Doris had mentors along the way. She allowed
> and welcomed the help of others. Quite often
> today I see small businesses stay “small”
> because the owner thinks they know all the
> answers. Impossible. The fastest way to grow
> a business is using the skills and insights
> possessed by others. What doing everything
> yourself limits is your paycheck.

> When I first received my invite for this
> lecture, the card gave some background
> information on the “Pampered Chef”. I looked
> it over and read the annual sales volume of
> $72,500,000 and thought, “That’s pretty
> impressive”. Yesterday before the lecture I
> was re-reading the card and it suddenly
> occurred to me that I had left out a “0”,
> and the sales were $725,000,000. That is a
> huge figure no matter how you slice it and
> it speaks highly of Doris’ management style.

> Her core beliefs fully supported her core
> competencies. She believes companies go
> wrong when the two no longer support each
> other. Many entrepreneurs I come in contact
> give very little thought to their core
> competencies… not too mention their core
> beliefs. Their entire focus is “making
> money” and they don’t care how they get
> there or what they sacrifice.

> “Hard work is necessary,” according to
> Doris. You can’t fake it. I guess I can’t
> imagine someone sitting around in the
> underwear growing their business to ¾ of a
> billion dollars per year. If I would have
> had the time I would have asked her about
> what she thinks of the folks trying to get
> rich without sacrificing anything. But, I
> already know how she would have answered.
> If you think about this, the concept Doris
> put together is extremely simple. And that
> is why is so darned profitable. Now look at
> this…

> Doris did not manufacturer any of the
> products she sold. All she did is show
> people how to use existing high quality
> products more efficiently. This is where she
> created value. Yes the products she sells
> are very good products. Are they the best
> out there? Probably not. But the value is in
> the showing how to use them. This is what
> people pay money for. The high quality of
> the product is just an adjunct. The Kitchen
> Consultants put on a show, they entertain.
> Remember people will spend their last dollar
> to be entertained.

> Are you boo-hooing how your business is
> going or how the economy sucks so badly that
> you can’t start a business? Doris pointed
> out that when she started her business in
> 1980 the prime lending rate was 15% and
> inflation was double digits. Unemployed was
> several points higher than it is right now.
> But people still bought expensive kitchen
> gadgets. Do you still think it’s a bad time
> to start or grow a business?

> Doris knew nothing about sales and
> marketing. She didn’t wait to find the one
> book or audio program to “inspire” her to
> greatness. The only thing she knew was how
> to use kitchen tools better than most and
> had the ability to teach others how to use
> them too.

> I’m sure I’ve missed some other key points
> from the talk, no matter how fast you write
> you can never get everything. But I think I
> got the main points and those main points I
> gladly give you the reader and hopefully
> they make your entrepreneurial life a little
> easier.

> Take care,

> Mike Winicki

Thanks, Mike, for sharing with us. I'm relieved to hear that I'm not the only one disillusioned with the multiple streams of income thing. I tried the multiple this, that, and everything else...even related ones...and y'know what? When I concentrated on one site, one product, I finally made a bit of money. Best of all, I stopped having to work every day, 18 hours a day...much to my, and my family's, relief.

Very interesting post.

Sandi
 


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are Off
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Forum Jump

Other recent posts on the forum...


Seeds of Wisdom Publishing (front page) | Seeds of Wisdom Business forum | Seeds of Wisdom Original Business Forum (Archive) | Hidden Unusual Business Ideas Newsletter | Hotsheet Profits | Persuade via Remote Influence | Affia Band | The Entrepreneur's Hotsheet | The SeedZine (Entrepreneurial Ezine)

Get the report on Harvey Brody's Answers to a Question-Oriented-Person


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:40 AM.


Powered by vBulletin Version 3.6.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.