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3M and the Post It note
2007-03-26 07:10:00
Pull open your desk drawers or scan your eyes across the surface of your desk. What do you see—a computer monitor, a pen holder, or maybe a Dilbert (or Far Side) calendar? Do you see any products made by the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company? I bet you or your coworkers have a least a few, of what were formerly called, Press and Peels. Or maybe you know them better as Post It notes made by the, now more popularly named, 3M Company. Did you know that Post It notes were an invention that took many years to sell? Spence Silver, one of the 7,000 scientists who made a career from 3M, was excited about his low stick glue. You could stick it to a piece of paper and then pull the paper apart without tearing or damaging the text. But Silver couldn’t find an application marketable for his magic adhesive. It was colleague and church choir singer Art Fry who came up with the magic application for the revolutionary adhesive. Fry was irritated how the page markers he used...
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The Kellogg Company: The story of a cereal filler
2007-03-23 07:04:00
The breakfast cereal was discovered by accident. In 1894, brothers John and William Kellogg were working at America’s most prestigious sanatorium (a place to come eat a vegetarian diet, exercise, and revitalize your body). They were working on new ways to create a breakfast of boiled bread when a thin rolled sheet was left out for two days. What remained were thin flakes the brothers baked and eventually served to their customers with milk. Their elite clientele would leave still tasting the delectable breakfast treat and would request mail orders of the cereal shipped to their homes. John, the doctor, refuted the idea of lending the Kellogg name to a commercial enterprise. Eventually he was won over by his business savvy brother, William. They called their invention Granose. What was born out of the Battle Creek Sanatorium was a mail order foods company called Sanitas Nut Food Comp any . “I’m not interested in selling corn flakes by mail,” William said, “I want to sell t...
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MAJOR MILESTONE: 1,000 Daily Readers!!!
2007-03-21 06:08:00
Hey everyone - Taking a timeout from our normal format today to just share with you how excited we are about the response we've been getting from SBT. We've reached a major milestone this week. It's hard to believe that this site is now being seen by a 1,000 TYCOONS PER DAY! Thanks to everyone who has been returning and spreading the word. Please continue supporting SBT by visiting our advertisers! This helps us continue providing this content for free. And we're offically seeking out the right companies interested in advertising their products and services to 30,000 entrepreneurs per month! If you or someone you know is looking for a hot demographic with savvy readers, please contact our advertising experts: info@smallbusinesstycoon.com Thanks! -SBT
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Liquid Paper's long road to success
2007-03-20 07:14:00
Many entrepreneurs quit on their ideas if they haven’t achieved instant success within the first six month. For this reason, over 99% of small businesses never see the end of a calendar year. If you’ve ever used a typewriter, you’re probably thankful that Bette Nesmith Graham continued to developer Liquid Paper for over a decade before hiring even a single employee. Twenty years after the first bottle was sold, Graham sold her company to Gillette for $47.5 million. The idea for Liquid Paper started as a secret method to fix blotchy mistakes on her boss’s documents. Graham worked for Texas Bank & Trust as an executive assistant. One day when workers were painting the bank windows for the holiday season, Graham had an idea: she could mix a paint that matched the paper and could cover up those embarrassing mistakes. And that’s why she called her product Mistake Out. Soon others in the office were learning of Graham’s practical solution and were ordering bottles for their...
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The story of Sony and the Walkman
2007-03-19 06:52:00
In January of 2007, sales of the Apple portable music player, iPod, reached a staggering 88.7 million units. Apple struck gold with their cleverly designed portable music system. Author’s note: my household has two of them (a 4GB mini and a 60GB). But we wouldn’t have iPods today if Akio Morita, co-founder of Sony , hadn’t given us the revolutionary portable music system known as “The Walkman ”. The Walkman was not an instant success. Sony sold only 10% of its initial mass production. There was simply no demand for portable music in 1979. But Morita was convinced that the Walkman would eventually catch on, so he continued pushing the Walkman holding news conferences allowing members of the press to try the Walkman for themselves. “The public does not know what is possible—we do,” said Morita in his autobiography. Originally founded as Tokyo Teletech, Morita dreamed up the fictitious “Sony” moniker out of (nearly) thin air. He even had the logo printed in Roman letter...
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RED BULL Brings Pop!
2007-03-16 08:00:00
Source: 100 Great Businesses So you want be a big shot? You think you’ve got the smarts, the fortitude, to be a CEO? Here’s a little test we’ve put together for you. Put yourself in the shoes of Red Bull President, Dietrich Mateschitz. How would you turn the following dire situation into a billion dollar beverage empire? Focus groups say your product is disgusting. The Ministry of Health is dragging its feet giving your “energy” drink a safe thumbs up. Consumers are wary of your products synthetic ingredients. How do you turn this company into a success? Maybe your nine-to-five job isn’t so bad huh? Rewind back to 1982: According to company history, Mateschitz was sitting in a hotel in Hong Kong sipping on a sweetened energy drink which eventually would give birth to the fizzy energy drink boom of 2001. Desperate to take the recipe back to Austria, Mateschitz forged a partnership convincing the owner of Hong Kong’s TC Pharmaceutical Company to license him the dr...
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Hallmark: When You Care Enough...
2007-03-15 08:00:00
Excerpted & paraphrased from 100 Great Businesses Imagine starting a mail order business while sleeping in a single bed in the YMCA. Joyce C. Hall , at the age of 18, did exactly that—aggressively selling postcards to anyone who would (and wouldn’t) buy them. Hall dreamed that he would be successful enough to eat a baked potato with three pieces of butter everyday. Today, the privately owned Hallmark company produces annual revenues in the neighborhood of $4 billion. The company, started by an eighteen year old fighting starvation, now produces 23,000 new and redesigned cards every year. It’s not surprising that a man from such humble beginnings would be one of the first to introduce radical new policies such as paid vacation, employee insurance, and paid bonuses. Hall sold postcards from his room at the YMCA, all the while maintaining a client facing image of “The Leading Postcard Dealer”. When postcards began to decline, Hall and his brother, Rollie, came up with a ...
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Callaway's Romance with Big Bertha
2007-03-14 08:00:00
Excerpted & paraphrased from 100 Great Businesses I will venture to say that if you’ve ever played a single game of golf in your life, you know exactly what I mean when I say I picked up a new “Bertha”. Anyone who’s been on the course has seen the oversized heads and has heard the crisp sound of a ball sailing three hundred yards from the tee box. But have you ever wondered how this unusual club with its bizarre name found its way onto your local golf course? It all started back in 1982, when sixty-two year old Ely Calla way bought a struggling business called Hickory Stick. Callaway, a wealthy tycoon who couldn’t stand the idea of retirement, was intrigued by these throwback clubs which sported a wooden shaft just like the clubs Callaway remembered from his childhood. One year earlier, Ely had sold his winery for $14 million dollars. Investing in something that he was passionate about, golf, seemed like a great way to invest his money. Taking charge, he relocated the co...
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The Baby Einstein Sensation
2007-03-13 08:00:00
Turn Your Idea or Invention Into Millions! Excerpted & paraphrased from 100 Great Businesses In 2001, entrepreneur Julie Aigner-Clark had sold “Einstein ” to Disney for a whopping $25 million dollars. That’s an incredible amount of money—even more amazing when you consider that Baby Einstein started as a silly basement experiment. Aigner-Clark was looking to make an education video that would expose her daughter, Aspen, to music, art, and literature. She had rounded up her daughter’s favorite toys and had set out to film them in her home made studio. Her husband, Bill, saw the potential. He pushed her to invest $10,000 of their own money into producing more videos. Soon they were approaching targeted retailers that would carry her product at a higher price without burying them on the lower shelf behind items with bigger brands and marketing budgets. Baby Einstein initially ran on an “all cash” and never fell into debt. This sometimes meant sacrifices such as skipping...
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Pixar's 5 Success Secrets
2007-03-12 08:00:00
Excerpted & paraphrased from 100 Great Businesses Nurture talent Pixar President Ed Catmull was once asked what he would prefer—a great idea, or great people. The answer, he said, was obvious: great people, because if you gave a good idea to the wrong people, they’d screw it up, but if you gave the wrong idea to the right people, they would fix it. Critical Questions: How are you investing your time into finding the right talent? Experiment Pixar is always working on short films as prototypes of new technology and innovations in their field. The fruits of these experiments can be seen in the fibers of hair on the character Sully in their 2001 film, Monster’s Inc. Animating each individual hair on the lovable character was the result of new techniques discovered through trial and error and the result was a furry masterpiece. Critical Question: Are you making a habit of (safely) pushing the envelope? Make the Details a Priority A single fifteen minute scene has been known to...
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Support Small Business Tycoon!
2007-03-02 12:19:01
Please visit our advertisers! Thanks, -SBT
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A True Leader
2007-03-02 12:19:01
By Martin L. Johnson, Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work A few years ago, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, where I was employed, purchased Norand Corporation. Pioneer's sales representatives in the field used Norand hand-held terminals to upload daily sales information and download new price and sales incentive information. Pioneer bought so many of these hand-held terminals, the economics made the purchase of Norand look interesting. Owning Norand also allowed Pioneer to explore high-technology markets outside agriculture. But after a few years, the emerging laptop PC technology made the hand-held units obsolete. Pioneer sold Norand at a loss. Pioneer always took a given percent of the annual profits to divide equally among all employees, so our profit-sharing checks were lower than if Pioneer had not purchased Norand. Additionally, my Pioneer stock was lower than it had been before the purchase of Norand. I was not pleased. The CEO of Pioneer, Tom Urban, made annual formal visi...
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The Brilliant Lessons of Michelangelo
2007-02-28 18:16:01
By Tom Russell The artist Mich elangelo often stirred up the opposition of the contemporary artists of his day. Many of them envied his magnificent abilities. One example was the architect Bramante. Pope Julius retained Michelangelo to build him a splendid tomb. Michelangelo gladly accepted the project and spent eight months in a marble pit personally cutting and selecting the most perfect stones. When he returned, he found the pope had second thoughts. Bramante had turned Pope Julius against the project. The Pope cancelled it. Later the idea for another special project entered the Pope's mind. Bramante saw the project as a time consuming trap for which there would be little public recognition. Bramante recommended Michelangelo for the job. The great artist saw the trap. He knew what Bramante was up to. He wished to turn the project down but did not want to refuse the Pope's request. So Michelangelo went to work. He spent many years doing the slow and tedious labor the project...
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Market Yourself
2007-02-28 06:15:01
By Neil Eskelin Rejection and job searching go hand in hand. As a writer, I can tell you something about disappointment. I had enough "reject" slips from New York publishers to start a bonfire. Then one day, an editor said, "Yes," and my world was drastically transformed. Ken Taylor began re-writing the Bible in a contemporary translation and had more than 60 rejections. He finally decided to self-publish "The Living Bible" and it became one of the greatest best-sellers in publishing history. If you're qualified for a particular job, never stop interviewing -- even if you return to the same companies five or six times. Meanwhile, you need to accept an interim position to keep yourself gainfully employed. When you add lack of funds to job rejection, it's a double-whammy. Never overlook working for a "temporary" employment agency. It gives you a chance to demonstrate your skills to a number of companies and can open some exciting doors. As a last resort, start free-lancing your s...
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Creating Opportunity
2007-02-26 18:14:01
By Jim Rohn An enterprising person is one who comes across a pile of scrap metal and sees the making of a wonderful sculpture. An enterprising person is one who drives through an old decrepit part of town and sees a new housing development. An enterprising person is one who sees opportunity in all areas of life. To be enterprising is to keep your eyes open and your mind active. It's to be skilled enough, confident enough, creative enough and disciplined enough to seize opportunities that present themselves... regardless of the economy. A person with an enterprising attitude says, "Find out what you can before action is taken." Do your homework. Do the research. Be prepared. Be resourceful. Do all you can in preparation of what's to come. Enterprising people always see the future in the present. Enterprising people always find a way to take advantage of a situation, not be burdened by it. And enterprising people aren't lazy. They don't wait for opportunities to come to them,...
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Weekend of Feb 24th/25th
2007-02-25 06:13:01
Greetings Tycoons: Another great week! Once again pageviews and visitors have grown ENORMOUSLY!!! Thanks so much to all of you who have been spreading the word. We'll be back on Monday with fresh content to inspire and equip your small business. And I don't want to give away too much, but we're working on some more great tools to help with your business planning. But there will be more info on that in the future! Enjoy your weekend! -SBT Have you signed up for our free Newsletter full of tips, great articles, freebies, and more??? Did you try out the Business Simulator?
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Sam Walton: 10 Rules for Building a Successful Business
2007-02-23 12:10:01
Excerpt from The Book of Business Wisdom Edited by Peter Krass Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, grew up poor in a farm community in rural Missouri during the Great Depression. The poverty he experienced while growing up taught him the value of money and to persevere. There's a lot more business out there in small town America than I ever dreamed of. Sam Walton After attending the University of Missouri, he immediately worked for J.C. Penny where he got his first taste of retailing. He served in World War II, after which he became a successful franchiser of Ben Franklin five-and-dime stores. In 1962, he had the idea of opening bigger stores, sticking to rural areas, keeping costs low and discounting heavily. The management disagreed with his vision. Undaunted, Walton pursued his vision, founded Wal-Mart and started a retailing success story. When Walton died in 1992, the family's net worth approached $25 billion. Today, Wal-Mart is the world's #1 retailer, with more tha...
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Business Simulator V1 Released!
2007-02-22 18:08:01
The Business Simulator is a tool for trying out your business plan to see if it will turn a profit and is possible with the resources you have available. When planning your business you need to think about (at least) four major factors: 1. Product development 2. Workforce 3. Goals 4. Sales Download You can download the Business Simulator for free here. We are now going to show you how to use the simulator to try out your business ideas! For our demonstration we’ve come up with a fictional scenario about a family who wants to start a business selling soap to health and wellness stores. We’ll call this company “Suds International”. Here is how the members of Suds International would use the Business Simulator to test their business plan: Product Development Suds International has decided on three different offerings: a small, medium, and large box of commercial grade soap. Here’s how the company president (we’ll call him John Doe) has setup the simulator to plan his product ...
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A Leader's Impact
2007-02-22 06:07:01
By Brian CavanaughExcerpt from Sower's Seeds of VirtureAll things very quiet on this bank of the Chickahominy. I would prefer more noise. General George McClellan In September of 1862, the civil war tilted decisively in favor of the south. The morale of the northern army dipped to its lowest point of the war. Large numbers of Union troops were in full retreat in Virginia. Northern leaders began to fear the worst. They saw no way to reverse the situation and turn the beaten, exhausted troops into a useful army again. There was only one general with the ability to work such a miracle. That was General George McClellan. He had trained the men for combat and they admired him. But neither the war department nor the rest of the cabinet members saw this connection. Only president Abraham Lincoln recognized Gen. McLellan's leadership skills. Fortunately, Lincoln ignored the protests of his advisors and reinstated McClellan back in command. He told the general to go down to Virginia and...
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Abandon Yourself!
2007-02-20 12:04:02
by: Neil Eskelin, Source UnknownIt is of no use for one to drink when many thirst. Alexander the Great Alexander the Great, the Greek king, once led his troops across a hot, arid desert. After nearly two weeks of marching, he and his soldiers were near death from thirst, yet Alexander pushed ahead. In the noonday sun, two of his scouts brought what little water they were able to find. It barely filled a cup. Alexander's troops were shocked with he poured the water into the burning sand. The king said, "It is of no use for one to drink when many thirst." Treating those who report to you as partners or associates will not work if it's only a scheme of a strategy. It must be a genuine heart-felt expression. When we truly believe in the potential of people, they rarely disappoint us. That is one of the messages of Max DePree, in his perceptive book, "Leadership is an Art." He recommends becoming "abandoned to the strength of others -- of admitting that we cannot know or do everyth...
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Wisdom For Your Business
2007-02-19 18:03:01
Knowledge and wisdom are unattainable traits but we must continue after them as if they are within our grasp. We can only retain a small percentage of the data available to us. We can only be wise when compared to others who are not. Where are you turning for wisdom? Wisdom is what's left after we've run out of personal opinions.- Cullen HightowerSeek council with experienced men and women that are willing to share the secrets of their mistakes and victories. Be a sponge ready to soak up the lessons learned and apply this input to your business. Their advice should cause you to make small adjustments in your plans. You should take action from the words they say. Apply the knowledge immediately and write it down in your blog (If you don’t have a weblog yet you should set one up over at TypePad.com). What book is currently on your nightstand? Are you reading at all? I make it a regular habit to go to my local mega bookstore and scan the business, technology, and inspir...
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Happy President's Day Weekend!
2007-02-19 06:02:05
The Tycoon is on the road this weekend and will be back Tuesday with your small business fix! In the meantime, enjoy the splendor of knowledge in our archives and don't forget to visit our new Community Portal. Check out these great resources from this week's series:
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Recovering from Failure: Lead With Perseverance
2007-02-19 06:02:05
"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson Sometimes we don't get far enough to actually fail. We shrivel up when our fictional expectations come up short. Have you ever thought that it may take you five years to create stability in your small business? What if you spend another five years working the sales pipeline? Are you prepared to make that kind of commitment to reach your dreams? If your team is struggling to find the time you might be forced to carry the flag alone through a difficult season or two. Are you prepared to look at the same faces that once were so full of hope but now appear downtrodden and ready to cash out? Can you keep your crew together or will you find yourself alone at sea? Your character and the durable qualities of your company will be forged in how you deal with these moments. If you are struggling to keep your team from following your direction turn to a resource such as 21...
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Recovering from Failure: Spark Your Creativity
2007-02-19 06:02:05
If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative - Woody Allen Success Through Failure In his book Success Through Failure, civil engineer Henry Petroski reminds us that setbacks teach us more than triumphs. Failure can inspire you to take the road you may have never seen otherwise. Sure these lessons can be painful but what's important is building your enterprise by making smart decisions and following through with hard work. Your ideas may be causing friction! Great innovators have long yearned to create ripples in the calm waters. You may be one of those who swim against the current. Take this opportunity to step outside yourself and apply what you've learned to your initial ideas. Invest in a dry erase board! You are now more powerful than before and soon you'll be planning with experience and a new sense of purpose. Failure can give you inspiration Failure can be a sign that you're causing friction ...
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Recovering from Failure: Find Honor In Failing Gracefully
2007-02-19 06:02:05
It is not a disgrace to fail. Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world. - Charles F Kettering When Life Gives You Lemons Great companies are forged through trial and overcoming adversity. They became great companies because they build the resilience to withstand these trials. What's important is that you remember that you are not the only one to face unimaginable odds. Author Alex Tresniowski relates 21 inspiring experiences of ordinary folks and then shows exactly how anyone can make the most of the vast stores of strength residing within us all. Heartwarming and life-affirming, When Life Gives You Lemons promises to arm readers with the tools and the resolve they need to make the most of hard times. Remember that failure is an expected obstacle along the noble road. It might sting at first but that sting is merely your pride fighting against you. You'll have to eventually let it go in order to turn your dreams into reality. Don't be afraid to tell your closest...
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Recovering from Failure: Identify Leadership Problems
2007-02-19 06:02:05
"Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led." - Warren G Bennis A single glimmering benefit of failure is that it can shine a light on problems that, in moderate success, might have gone undetected. Look at failure as an opportunity to rethink your business and to make small shifts in direction to overcome the obstacles in your path. Good to Great An example of this kind of situation might be when a company fails to attract any attention--fails to spread the word. This can be a dilemma to hang your head in shame, or better it can be a clear sign that your company's marketing strategy is need of help. Has your company had this problem? In his book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Other's Don't author Jim Collins and his army of researches combed through some of the most successful companies in the world to find what secrets could be found in their rise to the top. The Organized Executive Failure may also help you find where you may ...
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8 Ways To Stay Motivated: Get a Plant
2007-02-19 06:02:05
It sounds like a ridiculous idea, but caring for a living and breathing creation can be a symbolic representation of your business might be just the thing to keep you accountable. Put it in your office and if you don’t spend enough time working your plant will grow weary and die. If your plant is lush and green then you know you are watering and tilling the soil of your own development. Tips & Freebies! Ferns make ideal indoor plants. They are virtually indestructible given a little sunlight and regular maintenance. You may want to consult the following article from Wikihow called Choosing a Good Office Plan t. Go Deeper! Find more about the value of putting greenery into your living environments in How to Grow Fresh Air. Give your plants love and your best efforts and you will benefit from their development.
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8 Ways To Stay Motivated: Reevaluate Your Priorities
2007-02-19 06:02:05
If your business plan is in a rut it might be because you’re exhausting your efforts on the wrong activities. Have you spent too much time working on a clever web site design and not enough time polishing the offerings? We all have a perfectionist inside of us that might need to be put aside allowing more urgent tasks to find light in the foreground. Tips & Freebies! Make a list of your current tasks and categorize them by priority and by complexity. For example, creating a compelling web site might be a high priority but an extremely high level of complexity. Is it really worth putting this at the top of your list? Go Deeper! If you would like more help creating the most efficient list of tasks for you and your team members, we suggest purchasing a copy of Getting Organized: Learning How to Focus, Organize and Prioritize. Remember to spend your time on the tasks that are going to get your business the furthest.
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8 Ways To Stay Motivated: Find a Mentor
2007-02-19 06:02:05
Who do you see as a successful business owner? Most of us can think of someone who created a successful company. Even if your mentor’s company doesn’t do the same kind of business your company does, they may have faced many of the same challenges you are currently facing. Your mentor may love your ideas and may come up with some helpful advice to set your business up for the best chance of success. On the other hand, a mentor may also douse your ideas with cold water. You’ll have to use your own judgment on what to do with this kind of response. But would you prefer to change paths now or after you’ve spent hundreds, or even thousands of dollars on a doomed idea? Tips & Freebies! Your mentor is a person and may not have much time to discuss your ideas. Give him or her an offer he or she can’t refuse. Free coffee from a local favorite coffee bar might be a good start. If you are computer savvy you might offer your services to your mentor in exchange for his or her tim...
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8 Ways To Stay Motivated: Experience a lot of Victories
2007-02-19 06:02:05
If your list of tasks looks something like “Make a million dollars then move to mansion in Hawaii” you might find success in inserting some practical milestones in between now and early retirement. Give yourself something that you can achieve in a week, a day, or even an hour. Once you’ve achieved your milestone, write it down. Do you have a journal or a blog (web log)? A blog is a quick and easy way to write down your thoughts and give yourself kudos for your recent accomplishments. “Today I successfully designed our new letterhead. It looks great!” This seems pretty easy but can really keep you moving from one task to another. Tips & Freebies! You don't have to be a software guru to install a blog. There are plenty of hosted solutions on the web that will give you a great place to tell your story. We recommend you try TypePad.com for your blogging needs! Go Deeper! Blogging isn’t just a fun hobby or a way to keep you motivated. It can also be a powerful tool for ...
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