Lesson #3: Become an Experimental Entrepreneur
Lesson #3: Become an Experimental Entrepreneur
Earning just $3 a day at the time, little might have changed for Kellogg had it not been for one experimental night, when he kept himself busy in the test kitchen of the Sanitarium. He had prepared a large mass of wheat dough, boiled it and then pressed it into large sheets. It was business as usual until Kellogg decided to try something different.
One night, Kellogg left the dough out overnight before he rolled it. The next morning, when he returned to the kitchen, he tried to roll it into a flat sheet, but it would not take. Instead, the dough broke into flakes. Kellogg did not know why it had happened, but he was sure about one thing: he was going to make the most of it.
Whereas anyone else in that kitchen that day might have simply thrown out the flakes, disregarding them as a recipe gone bad, Kellogg decided to try his luck. He served them the next day at the Sanitarium and they were a huge hit. Now, he not only had a new, popular recipe on his hand, but a developing business. By 1896, he had sold 113,400 pounds of corn flakes simply by word of mouth.
But Kellogg did not just leave it at that. He continued to experiment with different recipes and ingredients, such as oat and barley. He tried adding sugar to his flakes, something that was strictly prohibited by his brother at the Sanitarium. He conducted lengthy experiments, trying whatever he could think of to expand his product line and boost his business.
Kellogg was an insomniac, whose sleepless nights were made all the more difficult thanks to his thorough, near-photographic memory. He would spend his nights going over the previous day’s experiments in excruciating detail, and scribble down notes and ideas for the next day.
Not every idea Kellogg had was a valuable one or one that could be taken to market. He conducted much test market research and decided which products to run with and which to stop. But what distinguished Kellogg from many of his competitors was that he never stopped trying to come up with new ideas. It was precisely this cycle of innovation and experimentation that kept him a household name for decades.
Soon Kellogg found his products more popular than even he expected. As back orders piled up, he began running “apology ads” in national magazines. He asked customers to “stop buying, and give your neighbours a chance.” The result was only an increase in orders pouring in.
In the beginning, everyone, even his brother, was telling Kellogg to forget his flaked cereal in the face of rising competition. But Kellogg continued to experiment and perfect his recipe, and proved it could be a hit.
Lesson 3 Become an Experimental Entrepreneur
Like this article? Share it with your friends
“I was so overloaded with work that I am conscious that very little, if any of it, was performed satisfactorily,” recalled Kellogg of his days working for his brother. “I did the work as business manager of the Sanitarium and got no glory and very little money.”
Earning just $3 a day at the time, little might have changed for Kellogg had it not been for one experimental night, when he kept himself busy in the test kitchen of the Sanitarium. He had prepared a large mass of wheat dough, boiled it and then pressed it into large sheets. It was business as usual until Kellogg decided to try something different.
One night, Kellogg left the dough out overnight before he rolled it. The next morning, when he returned to the kitchen, he tried to roll it into a flat sheet, but it would not take. Instead, the dough broke into flakes. Kellogg did not know why it had happened, but he was sure about one thing: he was going to make the most of it.
Whereas anyone else in that kitchen that day might have simply thrown out the flakes, disregarding them as a recipe gone bad, Kellogg decided to try his luck. He served them the next day at the Sanitarium and they were a huge hit. Now, he not only had a new, popular recipe on his hand, but a developing business. By 1896, he had sold 113,400 pounds of corn flakes simply by word of mouth.
But Kellogg did not just leave it at that. He continued to experiment with different recipes and ingredients, such as oat and barley. He tried adding sugar to his flakes, something that was strictly prohibited by his brother at the Sanitarium. He conducted lengthy experiments, trying whatever he could think of to expand his product line and boost his business.
Kellogg was an insomniac, whose sleepless nights were made all the more difficult thanks to his thorough, near-photographic memory. He would spend his nights going over the previous day’s experiments in excruciating detail, and scribble down notes and ideas for the next day.
Not every idea Kellogg had was a valuable one or one that could be taken to market. He conducted much test market research and decided which products to run with and which to stop. But what distinguished Kellogg from many of his competitors was that he never stopped trying to come up with new ideas. It was precisely this cycle of innovation and experimentation that kept him a household name for decades.
Soon Kellogg found his products more popular than even he expected. As back orders piled up, he began running “apology ads” in national magazines. He asked customers to “stop buying, and give your neighbours a chance.” The result was only an increase in orders pouring in.
In the beginning, everyone, even his brother, was telling Kellogg to forget his flaked cereal in the face of rising competition. But Kellogg continued to experiment and perfect his recipe, and proved it could be a hit.
Lesson 3 Become an Experimental Entrepreneur
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
|||
Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
|||
Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
|
||
 | ||
 |
| 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. |
 |
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
 |
 Article Marketing Innovative Thinking Emotional Intelligence Customer Focus Tax Splitting Example |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Marketing Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
 |
Top 50 Productivity Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
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!
|
|
|
