Stealing the Show: How Barnum Made a Success of Himself
Stealing the Show: How Barnum Made a Success of Himself
Chances: “If you hesitate, some bolder hand will stretch out before you and get the prize,” Barnum once said. From mortgaging his own self to risking jail time, Barnum had no qualms about taking the chances he saw as being necessary for success. He refused to follow the safe path, and instead opted to navigate his own career route. In the end, it was the very chances he took that enabled his success.
Promotion: Much like Richard Branson in today’s business world, Barnum was known for his ‘skyrockets’ – his term for publicity stunts. Before Barnum, Jenny Lind was nothing but an aspiring singer. With Barnum’s help, this ‘Swedish Nightingale’ became an international success. When Barnum ended his connection with her, she once again became a flop. Whether it was a singer or a circus, Barnum was a marketing master who knew what it took to get people talking.
Focus: In his early career, Barnum lacked focus and floundered as a result. Once he committed himself to his museum and the circus, he devoted all his energies to realizing their success. From debt to multiple fires, it was this focus that allowed Barnum to withstand the challenges and stay the course to success.
Value: “A man who is known to be strictly honest, may be ever so poor, but he has the purses of all the community at his disposal,” said Barnum, “for all know that if he promises to return what he borrows, he will never disappoint them.” Whatever he had to go through to put on a good show, Barnum was willing to do it so as to never disappoint his customers. In doing so, he was not only preserving his integrity, but also building a solid reputation and thereby gaining valuable word of mouth advertising.
Respect: “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them,” said Barnum, “and they will do better by you than if you always treated them as if you wanted to get the most you could of them for the least return.” Barnum understood that part of providing an unforgettable experience for his customers was to treat them courteously and with respect. After all, a happy customer was a returning customer.
“We are all, no doubt, born for a wise purpose,” Barnum once wrote. “Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed.” Barnum is the founding force behind of the most famous circuses in the world. During his time, his success was such that everyone from presidents to queens to celebrities was calling him their friend. He found the vocation intended for him by nature, and much to the delight of people the world over, shared it with them all.
Stealing the Show How Barnum Made a Success of Himself
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His association with ‘freaks’ and clowns has often led to him being overlooked as a businessman, but Barnum was indeed one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the 19th century. He started with nothing but determination, and used that to build a brand and an empire that continue to thrive today. How did he do it?
Chances: “If you hesitate, some bolder hand will stretch out before you and get the prize,” Barnum once said. From mortgaging his own self to risking jail time, Barnum had no qualms about taking the chances he saw as being necessary for success. He refused to follow the safe path, and instead opted to navigate his own career route. In the end, it was the very chances he took that enabled his success.
Promotion: Much like Richard Branson in today’s business world, Barnum was known for his ‘skyrockets’ – his term for publicity stunts. Before Barnum, Jenny Lind was nothing but an aspiring singer. With Barnum’s help, this ‘Swedish Nightingale’ became an international success. When Barnum ended his connection with her, she once again became a flop. Whether it was a singer or a circus, Barnum was a marketing master who knew what it took to get people talking.
Focus: In his early career, Barnum lacked focus and floundered as a result. Once he committed himself to his museum and the circus, he devoted all his energies to realizing their success. From debt to multiple fires, it was this focus that allowed Barnum to withstand the challenges and stay the course to success.
Value: “A man who is known to be strictly honest, may be ever so poor, but he has the purses of all the community at his disposal,” said Barnum, “for all know that if he promises to return what he borrows, he will never disappoint them.” Whatever he had to go through to put on a good show, Barnum was willing to do it so as to never disappoint his customers. In doing so, he was not only preserving his integrity, but also building a solid reputation and thereby gaining valuable word of mouth advertising.
Respect: “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them,” said Barnum, “and they will do better by you than if you always treated them as if you wanted to get the most you could of them for the least return.” Barnum understood that part of providing an unforgettable experience for his customers was to treat them courteously and with respect. After all, a happy customer was a returning customer.
“We are all, no doubt, born for a wise purpose,” Barnum once wrote. “Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed.” Barnum is the founding force behind of the most famous circuses in the world. During his time, his success was such that everyone from presidents to queens to celebrities was calling him their friend. He found the vocation intended for him by nature, and much to the delight of people the world over, shared it with them all.
Stealing the Show How Barnum Made a Success of Himself
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very informative and interesting
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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