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  #1  
Old January 5, 2001, 10:26 AM
Bob Beckman
 
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Default Interesting business success story!

Here's a story of business success that incorporates much of what we discuss here on SOWPUB.

While standing at the coffee machine yesterday, I engaged an attractive young lady in conversation about her job in HR. It turns out Bonnie's an outside consultant and works for the fun of helping people get jobs in this mega hi tech corporate environment!

I was intrigued, so asked about her background. Her family were refugees from Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge genocide of the mid-seventies. They arrived here with the clothes on their backs and lucky to be alive. She was about 10 years old.

Somehow, the father got work and Bonnie studied marketing at a local small college. While in school, she and her uncle started an unskilled labor temp agency, providing crews to do manual labor jobs at construction sites, etc. Bonnie was the sales person who cold-called construction businesses for work. (There's the face-to-face sales experience advocated by Gordon and Dien!).

The company grew and they sold it for a nice profit after a few years. This enabled Bonnie to finish college at age 26. She then met a boyfriend who apparently swindled her out of her share of sale profits. He left for SE Asia and left her with a lot of bills, broke, and demoralized. (Karma caught up with him, as he got swindled in Asia a few months later and lost it all!).

Bonnie was living with her parents, and her father(seeing how demoralized she was) suggested she take a hot bath using an herbal mixture that had been in the family for generations. Apparently it's a mix of healing herbs and soothing oils, all natural and environmentally safe. The result was amazingly effective and stress reducing. Bonnie liked it so well, she gave it to friends as presents (like the trail mix of JDB).

She kept getting more requests for the herb mix, so she borrowed a couple of hundred bucks from her father, bought some dehydrators and started making the stuff in quantity in her parents' basement. She was able to parlay this into a $5000 small business loan and increased her output to over a hundred dehydrators, manned by her family and friends!

This led to more sales, through Mary Kay reps, party plans, etc., until she met a backer through a satisfied client. This guy was retired, rich and looking for a business to grow. It grew to a current volume of 1.6 million packets of the mixture per year, all whole-saled and private labeled (a la Harvey Brody) in stores like K-mart, Walmart, Macy's and others.

They bought an old factory in Philadelphia and have a fulltime staff of about 100 people. Bonnie writes marketing letters and collects a share of the profits monthly while living in Northern VA. Her partner runs the business. They continually turn down offers to buy it for a seven figure price.

She's 34 now and is a wonderful person to work with. She enjoys her freedom and HR consulting work. Her hubby is a computer guy and is happily ssupportive of her success.

This story, to me, embraces the philosophies of Thoreau and Emerson noted here below, and highlights the old Acres of Diamonds principle that riches can be found right under your nose (in this case, literally:-)).

It underscores both Taylor and Gordon's posts about TAKING ACTION, and is a companion piece to Duane's and others' posts below. There's a world of opportunity out there - all we gotta do is pick out a niche and make it happen. And there are no excuses - if a former refugee child can do this, so can we in our own area of choice.

Food for thought for me, anyway!

Bob
  #2  
Old January 5, 2001, 10:28 AM
Bob Beckman
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Interesting business success story!

I forgot to mention that the herbal company has no website or presence, producing and marketing an entirely non-cyber product to the real world:-)
  #3  
Old January 5, 2001, 12:30 PM
Mike Bailey
 
Posts: n/a
Default Bob Great Story

The main reason that someone like her can be so succesful is that they recognise the opportunities out there, coming from somewhere like Cambodia to the west they notice and rejoice in the new lines of communication open to them. Decent telephones, faxes, next day postal delivery, transport system, business assistance etc etc. Things that we are born with so may take for granted , people from lesser developed countries see as a godsend and make full use of.

Have you got contact details as that kind of product is big here in the UK and I would love to help them market it over here

Mike (unstressed) Bailey
  #4  
Old January 5, 2001, 08:28 PM
Bob Beckman
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Bob Great Story

Sorry, Mike. I asked her and the company already has international representation and prefer to remain in the background. Maybe you can find a competing aromatherapy product in Europe and lock up the rights and tap into the burgeoning market.

Take care,
Bob
  #5  
Old January 5, 2001, 01:58 PM
Boyd Stone
 
Posts: n/a
Default The whole deal on face-to-face selling

Hi,

First, Gordon, thank you very much for including me in your list of 10 people to watch. Without bragging, you're right about me: I can tell it's time for what I do to 'click.' It'll be hard to track me, however, as I'm going to be keeping my profile in stealth mode as required by my avatar.

Here's my theory on why so many successful face-to-face salesman later achieve high success in business:

...because lighting the fuse, getting the old ball rolling, getting up to speed, hitting the ground running, is normally hard to do, and succeeding at face-to-face selling is a way of lighting that fuse and getting that ball rolling. "Nothing succeeds like success" in other words. Face-to-face inspires you to add more successes to your track record.

Just my two cents.

Best,

-Boyd
  #6  
Old January 5, 2001, 06:05 PM
Dien Rice
 
Posts: n/a
Default Thanks Bob, your post is an inspiration! Here's what it reminded me of....

Hi Bob,

What a great post! She's an inspiration... :)

When I read that story, it reminded me of another story I read recently....

This one is about a lady who started to make homemade dog treats for her dog, "Einstein".

She first got a recipe for dog treats out of an old cookbook her mother found. Then, she read more about dog nutrition, and she started experimenting with the recipe to make it more delicious and nutritious.

"Einstein" loved it, so she reasoned her friends' dogs would too, so she started giving out her dog treats as gifts to dog-owner friends. Her friends' dogs loved it too, so her friends encouraged her to start a business!

And "Einstein Enterprises" was born.... :)

I've included a link to the full story below....

Thanks Bob! She's a real inspiration, thank you for sharing her story.... :)

- Dien


The story of Einstein Enterprises, maker of quality doggie treats! :)
 


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