Lesson #3: Go Ahead and Get Your Hands a Little Dirty
Article Overview: Bean might have been an entrepreneur, and a successful one at that, but in his heart he was a hunter, and a fisherman, and an all around outdoorsman. He felt more comfortable in the woods of Maine than in the corporate boardrooms of the city. It was his passion that gave birth to the company, and a passion he never lost. It might have been for that reason that Bean insisted on being hands on and putting his personal touch on everything the company did. From talking to customers to putting new products through trial runs, Bean could always be found right there in the middle of all the action.
Free Download - L.L. Bean Quotes By Leon Leonwood Bean
Lesson #3: Go Ahead and Get Your Hands a Little Dirty
Bean might have been an entrepreneur, and a successful one at that, but in hishearthe was a hunter, and a fisherman, and an all around outdoorsman. He felt more comfortable in the woods of Maine than in the corporate boardrooms of the city. It was his passion that gave birth to the company, and a passion he never lost. It might have been for that reason that Bean insisted on being hands on and putting his personal touch on everything the company did. From talking to customers to putting new products through trial runs, Bean could always be found right there in the middle of all the action.
In 1927, the L.L. Bean catalogue expanded its range of offerings to include fishing andcampingequipment, in addition to its already successful boots. The copy beside those new products read: “It is no longer necessary for you to experiment with hundreds of flies to determine the few that will catch fish. We have done that experimenting for you.” And, although many customers might not have known it at time, it was the company’s founder who was actually out there in the woods personally testing each of those products.
Colleagues told Bean not to waste his time, business advisors told him they had other people who could do it for him, but for years, Bean insisted on personally testing any new product the company was planning on selling. He took the L.L. Bean fishing rods to the waters to see how they performed; he wore the L.L. Bean shirts in the L.L. Bean tents to see how well he slept on a night out camping. He gave the okay to products he liked, and sent the ones he did not straight back to the drawing board.
It was Bean’s own creativity and innovation that led the Maine Hunting Shoe to evolve into a wide range of L.L. Bean products that included the Maine Chamois Cloth Shirt, Bean Moccasins, the Zipper Duffle Bag, and Bean Cork Decoys. His other ideas included all-wool socks and a duck hunter's coat that had sewn-in mittens. He also personally designed the Deer Toter, a reconstructed bicycle that could be used to easily transport dead deer.
Whether it was because he did not trust others to put their products through the appropriate testing, or simply because he loved doing it himself, Bean took his products out into the real world to see the results. It was that dedication that helped create a line of practical products and a commitment behind those products that was unmatchable.
It was also Bean’swillingnessto put a product through the ringer as many times as it took to get it perfect that explains the company’s strong performance even to this day. He knew that once he got a product right, he would never have to touch it again. And that is why theappearanceof most L.L. Bean products has remained consistent for decades.
In the years since Bean’s death, L.L. Bean executives have not been as willing to be so hands on as the company’s founder once was. But the philosophy behind that practice nevertheless remains strong: take the time to care about the products as if you were going to need them yourself one day. For Bean, he actually was.
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And last, I would say it's a wonderful Life (with Jimmy Stewart).
Dan Kennedy Marketing Methods
- We haven't sent out the physical letter yet as the person owning the list wanted to make modifications to the letter that we knew would work well but the List owner had a point - it didn't reflect her personality so her clients would know it didn't come from her.
Lesson learned for me. We're back to the drawing board with the list owner more involved in the development of the letter and emails.
I should have known better being a Business Analyst in my day job that you never leave the end-user out.
So Evan we haven't had the opportunity to test any of it yet but it's been a fun process for me to stand back and look at.
Re: Who inspired you to start?
- Hi Evan,
I was inspired by Mr. Bill Gates ever since I was a student learning Computers. But I was motivated for Internet as my Business, when I read his book "The Road Ahead" in 1995. It was in this book that Gates laid out his vision of an interconnected world built around the Internet.
Based on the premise that life will be transformed by the convergence of inexpensive computing and inexpensive communications, Gates drew from his experience at the center of the personal computer revolution to give insights on the growth, evolution and impact of technology.
I had always looked up to Bill Gates as my idol. When I read this book, it made me more focussed on Microsoft and Internet, The Internet was one of the upcoming things in this time. So I took over to the Internet as my primary business.
Regards,
Book: Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead But Gutsy Girls Do
- Book: Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead But Gutsy Girls Do: Nine Secrets every career woman must know
Kate White
1995
Foy years Kate White lived as a good girl - a rule follower, a people pleaser, a busy beaver - until she was passed over for the job of editor-in-chief of a magazine she had been running for months. She finally realized that being gutsy, not good, was the only way to succeed.
A gutsy girl :
1. Breaks the rules
2. Has one clear goal for the future
3. Does only what's essential
4. Doesn't worry whether people like her
5. Walks and talks like a winner
6. Asks for what she wants
7. Faces trouble head on
8. Trusts her instincts
9. Takes smart risks
This book has NO table of contents, but above are the chapter headings.
A good book, although I really wish they'd stop talking about "girls" and start talking about women.
Books for Women Entrepreneurs
- There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here.
It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new.
In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment!
1. The Old Girl's Network
2. Mother's Work
3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women
4. Pitch Like A Girl
5. Workplace Warrior
6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer
7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery
8. She Wins, You Win
9. Napoleon On Project Management
10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do
11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years
12. The One Minute Millionaire
13. Talking From 9 to 5
14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions
15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success
16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded
17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful
18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End
19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide
20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen
21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business
22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker
23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business
24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises
25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy
26. The Promotable Woman
27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it
28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home
29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
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