Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header
Share for a Cause









The Inside Scoop: How Ben & Jerry’s Achieved Success

Ben Cohen Jerry Greenfield Quote


Article Overview: They turned their $5 for an ice cream making course into a successful multimillion dollar business, and they had a lot of fun in the process. But, Ben & Jerry’s isn’t just about the delicious ice cream. From taking a stand against nuclear weapons to discussing America politics and corporate social responsibility, founders Cohen and Greenfield are taking the vision for their business to the wider world. How did two anti-corporate hippies become millionaires and respected business leaders in the 21st century?

Free Download - Ben & Jerry Quotes By Ben Cohen Jerry Greenfield
Name: Email:

The Inside Scoop: How Ben & Jerry’s Achieved Success

They turned their $5 for an ice cream making course into a successful multimillion dollar business, and they had a lot of fun in the process. But, Ben & Jerry’s isn’t just about the delicious ice cream. From taking a stand against nuclear weapons to discussing America politics and corporate social responsibility, founders Cohen and Greenfield are taking the vision for their business to the wider world. How did two anti-corporate hippies become millionaires and respected business leaders in the 21st century?

They Were Progressive: “There are a lot of people who are going into business who are frustrated,” says Greenfield. “[People think] if you try to have a business that tries to give to the people, it takes away from your ability to be successful financially.” Ben & Jerry’s proved that business doesn’t have to be all bad. They were able to both make a profit and give back to the community, and turn the business world on its head in the meantime.

They Made Work Fun: Halloween parties, Valentines Day Parties…there is scarcely a holiday that goes uncelebrated by the Joy Gang at Ben & Jerry’s. Cohen and Greenfield bet that by investing in its people – its most important resource – they would in turn invest more of their energy into the company. The gamble paid off.

They Used Their Imaginations: Nothing about Ben & Jerry’s was unoriginal. From its clever and unpretentious marketing to its product flavours, the company took every opportunity to make use of the creativity of its owners and customers alike. Because no one ever knew what to expect from the dynamic duo, they kept going back for more.

They Built a Great Team: “Our biggest disagreement was about chunks,” recalls Greenfield. “Ben came up with the flavours and I did the manufacturing, and he wanted bigger chunks and I wanted small ones with greater distribution. He said people didn’t care if you got a chunk in every bite as long as you knew that fairly soon you’d get a chunk.” Cohen and Greenfield were not without their conflicts, but with a shared commitment, they managed to work together towards their goals in an inspired partnership. “He recently admitted I was right,” jokes Cohen.

They Didn’t Back Down: They never would have thought that a corporate giant like Pillsbury could ever be afraid of them - two young hippies - but they did know that they would never be afraid of the corporate giant. When Cohen and Greenfield were challenged, they stood up in the face of their enemies and challenged them right back. It was this determination and strength that would come to define the company.

The story of Ben & Jerry’s represents the story of the American dream. Through nothing but hard work and passion, two youths who were disenchanted with corporate America, became two of the most respected corporate executives in the country. They stayed true to their vision, fought for what they believed was right, and were generously rewarded.

Related Articles
  Legal Marketing: Use Twitter to gather competitive intelligence
  Renewing Resolutions
  How You Can Generate Traffic To Your Website Without The Migraine Headaches Of Guessing How
  Customers don’t care about you unless you’re naked. They just don’t.
  Silence is NOT Golden

Home > Famous-Entrepreneurs > Ben Cohen Jerry Greenfield > The Inside Scoop How Ben Jerrys Achieved Success
Article Tags: multimillion dollar business, scoop



Related Forum Posts
Re: What I'm reading this weekend - Sept 24, 2010 Re: What I'm reading this weekend - Sept 24, 2010 - Hi Evan, Another place where I could put the Zen ebook would be on my "Inside The Tiger's Cave" blog where I try to connect Japanese themes with online business...
Re: Alexa Ranking Goals Re: Alexa Ranking Goals - Thanks for the monthly update Evan! And congrats to everyone who has gained. Also, not that I am worried about it, but I am showing my site as under 265,000 right now so that would put me in the Goal Achieved category instead of the gaining momentum! I'll make my new goal 200,000 for next month.
Re: THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD...RIGHT NOW!!! Re: THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD...RIGHT NOW!!! - Success = Thinking (Head) + Heart (Feeling / Interest) + Hand (doing/ action). Success - H3 Robert
Books for Women Entrepreneurs 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
Celebrity Response Celebrity Response - I have no clue how to get a product to a celebrity in the mannor you are speaking of 9but I have heard of those gift basket for celebrities). I did a loan for a client who began her home based business with a website she just threw together. She said she had the site for a year and never really paid much attention to it and one day decided to just start givng it her full attention. Inside of a few months she was contacted by a celebrity who purchased a product....well word of mouth must have flew as more and more celebrities were purchasing her products...and then she was asked to go on a talk show regarding her quick succes ( i suppose). I guess she just got lucky, but i am sure interested in hearing if anyone knows about this. I will be watching this post carefully.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.



Featured Article


Bottom Footer
Share for a Cause












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:
Popular Articles

LISTENING SKILLS IN COACHING

Presenting Yourself With Impact at Work

Unharnessing Creativity in Business

Suggestions

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.