Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

Lesson #2: Make The Best With What You Have

Julie Aigner-Clark Articles
Lesson #2: Make The Best With What You Have

“I didn’t have a video background, but my husband and I borrowed video equipment and started to shoot scenes on a tabletop in my basement,” says Aigner-Clark. “I put a puppet on my hand and plopped my cat down in front of the camera. My husband and I used our home computer to edit our first video.”

Aigner-Clark never expected to be running her own company one day, let alone a company that was at the top of its industry. But that is exactly what she found herself doing when her homemade children’s educational video became a wildly successful hit.

She had borrowed video equipment from a friend in order to make the very first Baby Einstein video. She had used her own basement as the set for the film. And, she had invested $18,000 of her own money into the project to develop, design, and package the product. It was money she had taken out of her and her husband’s lifelong savings, but together, they had deemed it a worthwhile investment.

Aigner-Clark did not go out in search of the best videographer she could find. Nor did she seek out bank loans or venture capital investments. Aigner-Clark wanted to make the video with whatever means she had available to her at that time. Whether it was her own time, money, or resources, Aigner-Clark was determined to do it on her own, and save costs in the meantime.

It was a successful strategy. “In the first year, with one title, we made $100K in revenue,” says Aigner-Clark. “This was nearly five times my teaching salary.” But, even as the company continued to grow, Aigner-Clark insisted on maintaining her hands-on and frugal approach to running her business.

Under Aigner-Clark’s leadership, the company never had more than eight employees working for it. Even when sales crept into the $20 millions, Aigner-Clark maintained her small tight knit family of staff. She personally did everything from designing the popular Baby Einstein logo – rather than hire a professional graphics designer – to packaging and sending out the videos. A friend of hers helped design the package for the product, while yet another of Aigner-Clark’s friends helped her put together the music for the videos. Those two friends stayed with the company until the end.

“By the time we sold the company in 2001, we had revenue of over $20 million in sales for the year, with just ten videos and a handful of books,” says Aigner-Clark. “The company was still just my husband and me – we had five employees and a couple of consultants.”

Aigner-Clark understood the importance of keeping costs low and using all her available resources in the early days, until her business was well established. She leaned on her family and friends for support, and carried out much of the operations by herself. But, it was in doing so that was able to get the company off the ground and running even when others might not have thought it possible.





Lesson 2 Make The Best With What You Have

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
Kim Castle
With nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website

George Ludwig
George Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

Famous Entrepreneur Video
Julie Aigner-Clark Video - To celebrate Moms' ingenuity, Whirlpool brand announced its third annual Mother of Invention Grant Program, a competition that recognizes the entrepreneurial spirit of moms by awarding them the tools they need to turn an idea into a viable business.For the third year, Julie Aigner-Clark, creator of Baby Einstein, will be a guest judge and program collaborator.
Famous Entrepreneur Video

Julie Aigner-Clark Picture Julie Aigner-Clark Newsletter
Get our free newsletter to learn more about Julie Aigner-Clark and other famous entrepreneurs!

Name:
Email:





Evan Elite Authors
Casey Gollan  
Linda Richardson  
Jay Kubassek  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Testing and Measuring Icon Testing and Measuring
Franchise & Distribution Icon Franchise & Distribution
Personal Leadership Icon Personal Leadership
Business vs Personal  Icon Business vs Personal
Think Networking Icon Think Networking
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
The Top 10 Guy Kawasaki Posts - Best Posts for Entrepreneurs
The Top 10 Guy Kawasaki Posts
Best Posts for Entrepreneurs
 
Top 50 Social Media Blogs
Top 50 Social Media Blogs
Top 50 Social Media Blogs
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Alice Ocran Cape Coast, Ghana,
Alice Ocran
Cape Coast, Ghana
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Jeff Roick, $1.4 to $6.5 Mil in 2 years
Jeff Roick
$1.4 to $6.5 Mil in 2 years
Travis Hartley, 426% Growth in 2 Years
Travis Hartley
426% Growth in 2 Years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
Benjamin Franklin, P. Gazette
Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com
Jeff Bezos
Amazon.com
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
David Allen, Getting Things Done
David Allen
Getting Things Done
Seth Godin, Ideavirus Author
Seth Godin
Ideavirus Author
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Tell PSR Stories
By Michael Shays
     Achieving a Customer-focused Culture
By Michael Shays
     Share the Pain and Share the Gain
By Michael Shays

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More popular articles
- Online Sales Force Automation
More Information