The Catalog Connoisseur: Lillian Vernon Is Born
The Catalog Connoisseur: Lillian Vernon Is Born
Lillian Menasche was born in Leipzig, Germany in 1929. She was the daughter of wealthy, upper class German Jews, but would not know a life of comfort for very long. The Menasche family was forced to leave behind their impressive home and successful business and begin anew when they moved to Amsterdam, Holland. It was the beginnings of World War II and Hitler’s Nazis had taken control of the country. In 1933, after their property was confiscated, the Menasche family took refuge in Amsterdam. Four years later, they brought what little they had left with them and settled in New York City, hoping to start a new life for themselves.
With the promise of a fresh start, Menasche enrolled in New York University. She dropped out after two years in order to get married. In 1951, at the age of 22, Menasche became Lillian Menasche Hochberg and found herself pregnant soon thereafter. Four months into her pregnancy, she grew restless and bored just staying at home with little to do. She watched her husband go to work every day at his family’s dry-goods store, where he was earning $75 per week. With her growing family, she decided to come up with a business plan to help supplement her husband’s earnings.
Menasche was a young and pregnant bride determined to make a contribution to her family’s income. She launched the Lillian Vernon Corporation from the yellow Formica kitchen table in her home, taking its name from Mount Vernon, the New York City suburb where she lived with her husband. She took $2,000 of the money they had received in wedding gifts and, using $495 took out an advertisement in Seventeen magazine. After spending hours looking through ads in Seventeen and Vogue, Vernon decided to try and sell matching handbags and belts for teenaged girls, which could be personalized with two initials. The ad took up just one-sixth of the page but it might have well been the whole magazine for the impact that it would have.
After just one week, Vernon nervously asked her husband if she had received any orders. $495 was a lot of money at that time and both had been worried about such a large gamble. But, Vernon’s gimmick worked. Her husband replied, “No, you got fifty.” With that, the rest became history. Those 50 orders allowed her to quickly expand her business and within one year, Vernon had over $32,000 in sales. It wasn’t only her company that had changed. “What I didn’t realize at the time was that I, too, had been transformed,” recalls Vernon. “I had become an entrepreneurial businesswoman.”
The Catalog Connoisseur Lillian Vernon Is Born
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Lillian Vernon became a household name at a time when women were not even supposed to work outside the home. From the humble beginnings of an immigrant family, Vernon started a business in the kitchen of her small home and grew it to be one of the most well-known multi-million dollar companies in the U.S as well as the first female-owned company to be listed on the American Stock Exchange. Today, the Lillian Vernon Corporation earns almost $300 million in revenues, has over 4,500 employees and continues to be one of the country’s leading catalog retailers.
Lillian Menasche was born in Leipzig, Germany in 1929. She was the daughter of wealthy, upper class German Jews, but would not know a life of comfort for very long. The Menasche family was forced to leave behind their impressive home and successful business and begin anew when they moved to Amsterdam, Holland. It was the beginnings of World War II and Hitler’s Nazis had taken control of the country. In 1933, after their property was confiscated, the Menasche family took refuge in Amsterdam. Four years later, they brought what little they had left with them and settled in New York City, hoping to start a new life for themselves.
With the promise of a fresh start, Menasche enrolled in New York University. She dropped out after two years in order to get married. In 1951, at the age of 22, Menasche became Lillian Menasche Hochberg and found herself pregnant soon thereafter. Four months into her pregnancy, she grew restless and bored just staying at home with little to do. She watched her husband go to work every day at his family’s dry-goods store, where he was earning $75 per week. With her growing family, she decided to come up with a business plan to help supplement her husband’s earnings.
Menasche was a young and pregnant bride determined to make a contribution to her family’s income. She launched the Lillian Vernon Corporation from the yellow Formica kitchen table in her home, taking its name from Mount Vernon, the New York City suburb where she lived with her husband. She took $2,000 of the money they had received in wedding gifts and, using $495 took out an advertisement in Seventeen magazine. After spending hours looking through ads in Seventeen and Vogue, Vernon decided to try and sell matching handbags and belts for teenaged girls, which could be personalized with two initials. The ad took up just one-sixth of the page but it might have well been the whole magazine for the impact that it would have.
After just one week, Vernon nervously asked her husband if she had received any orders. $495 was a lot of money at that time and both had been worried about such a large gamble. But, Vernon’s gimmick worked. Her husband replied, “No, you got fifty.” With that, the rest became history. Those 50 orders allowed her to quickly expand her business and within one year, Vernon had over $32,000 in sales. It wasn’t only her company that had changed. “What I didn’t realize at the time was that I, too, had been transformed,” recalls Vernon. “I had become an entrepreneurial businesswoman.”
The Catalog Connoisseur Lillian Vernon Is Born
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 Lesson #2: Take It Personally
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 “One of the cornerstones of the Lillian Vernon Corporation is a ‘feminine’ value, if ever there was one: the personal touch,” says Vernon whose company has come to represent an extension of herself. By understanding... |
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Starting Small and Personal: Vernon Grows Her Company
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| The Lillian Vernon Corporation was now in business. Vernon took the names and addresses of her first 50 customers and recorded them on 3” x 5” index cards, along with their purchase history. As her company grew, she... |
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The Catalog Connoisseur: Lillian Vernon Is Born
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| Lillian Vernon became a household name at a time when women were not even supposed to work outside the home. From the humble beginnings of an immigrant family, Vernon started a business in the kitchen of her small h... |
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A Mounting Success: How Vernon Reached The Top
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| “It’s a quality you’re born with, being an entrepreneur,” says Vernon. |
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Lesson #3: Believe In Yourself
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| “It was a risk,” said Vernon. “I had a husband and I was pregnant with my oldest son. But I don't look at risk the way other people do. When you're an entrepreneur, you have to go in feeling like you're going to ... |
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Bernard ReberBack in late 1992, MS Access hit the streets. About that time the company I managed needed new software to handle their growing client base and I decided to try this new product. I had little difficulty writing and adapting a database to suit us and discovered a hidden talent for programming. A business was born. With business studies and 25 years of management experience in three different countries under my belt, I could offer a unique combination of skills and my customers agreed. From these humble beginnings my software 'invoiceit' emerged in 1999 and has since been taken to 49 states (hello Wyoming, won't you join us?), all across Canada and more than 70 other countries. From the very beginning the program included cashbook accounting, the simplest form of keeping financial business records. The Dictionary.com defines 'cashbook' as "A 'book' in which to record money received and paid out". For 'book' substitute 'simple software' and that's what I'm about. Now I have published Simple Accounting, an inexpensive spreadsheet solution which even you can master. For just $14.95 it costs less than a takeout meal! More at http://www.scrambled-card.com/simple_accounting_main.htm - Visit Bernard Reber's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) Jay Kubassek is a Canadian born entrepreneur, internet marketing genius, professional speaker, international real estate developer/investor, executive film producer, extreme sport enthusiast and a passionate supporter of several charities worldwide. In 2007, Jay's vision and dedication to help other entrepreneurs and business owners duplicate his marketing success led to the creation of his fourth company CarbonCopyPRO, an internet marketing firm already worth over 15 million dollars that has over 20 employees and contract workers with clients is 12 different countries. Jay resides in NYC with his girlfriend Jamie, three year old son Milo and dog Cooper. As executive producer he recently premiered his first film in the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. As an adventurist he is racing the 2008 Baja 1000 off-road race and is a member of the 2008 U.S. National Elephant Polo Team, The New York Blue who will be representing the US in the 2008 World Championships in Nepal. Visit Jay's Blog: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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