Comments on: Busy As A Bee

By: Ted Mininni

Ted Mininni — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:25:31 +0000

Thanks, Stephen, for hitting the proverbial nail on the head here: “good products, dynamite branding and consistency” make for a potent recipe, don’t they? The beauty part of this is that all businesses can do this, large and small, and in so doing, carve out their own niches.
Sunil: you’re absolutely right in saying that the business environment in the U.S. has always been conducive to entrepreneurship. But take heart: many new cottage industries have sprung up in India and other parts of the world thanks to low cost, small business loans that banks with foresight are providing. Keep the great ideas flowing and viable small businesses will continue to sprout all over the world.

By: Sunil S Chiplunkar

Sunil S Chiplunkar — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 03:28:21 +0000

Entrepreneurship is the essence of prosperity and well being of a society. If the entrepreneurial spirit is to shine, a facilitative society is required. And this exists in USA. A facilitative society like USA encourages and facilitates endeavors of individuals. In many societies in lieu of help one encounters discouragement and obstacles to individual endeavors. And this can take the fizz out of most entrepreneurs.
Keep such great posts coming on. In this flat world or global village you will see that such good work will go round a lot faster. http://www.pharmaceuticalshealthcare.blogspot.com – Sunil S Chiplunkar

By: Stephen Denny

Stephen Denny — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 20:52:33 +0000

Burt’s Bees has two things going for it: good products and dynamite branding, consistently presented. You know what you’re getting with them. The packaging is consistent. Quick: describe Burt’s Bees sunscreen — I’ve never seen it, if it exists, but I’ll bet each of us could describe the packaging, the scent, the container, the performance, and the back story behind it.
Good for them. And with $175M in the back pocket, I’d have a few ideas, too.

By: Ted Mininni

Ted Mininni — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 17:42:42 +0000

Thanks Paul, Claire and Mario for your input. I appreciate it.
Paul: I agree. Companies, large and small, are becoming more and more interested in sustainability. This trend is going nowhere but “up”.
Claire: Thanks for contributing an example of another “small” business entrepreneurs might take a good look at.
Mario: Thanks for giving Daily Fix readers the name of great book they might refer to to examine how small start-ups with a unique vision can carve out a niche for themselves.

By: Mario Vellandi

Mario Vellandi — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 17:23:38 +0000

I remember being at a consumer products co. and after some competitive shopping where I bought a Burt’s pack (among other brands/categories), we noticed this was essentially the only gender-neutrally positioned personal care brand with a great value at $10. A lot of insight for us at that time.
I can’t think of any specific ‘great company’ names, but I do remember the book “Small Giants” by Bo Burlingame (of Inc. mag) is a wonderful book with stories of companies striving to make a great product/service, workplace, (insert other noble ethic), while happy being smaller fish.

By: Claire Ratushny

Claire Ratushny — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 16:45:40 +0000

This story presents us with a great example of effective business development and marketing while maintaining values and a real mission. Having worked as a marketing manager in the natural product industry for years in the recent past, I can think of many examples of “inspiring business models” Daily Fix readers might research for great ideas.
My own favorite brand is Stonyfield Farm. Readers might want to take a look at what Gary Hirshberg has done to build the world’s largest organic yogurt brand for real inspiration. http://www.stonyfieldfarm.com. Please forgive me if it seems like I’m plugging this product, but I really do eat it every day of my life!
This little company started out with a commitment to sustainability and a pledge to educate consumers about nutrition a few years ago, and now enjoys distribution in many channels. It’s not such a little company anymore. Even with its great growth, the company unwaveringly supports organic farming and environmental initiatives while maintaining very high product standards. They also continue to add efficacious probiotics and better calcium absorbability to their yogurt.
Is there room for more Stonyfield Farms out there? You bet there is. Get inspired all!

By: Paul Barsch

Paul Barsch — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 16:23:55 +0000

Sustainability, and environmentally friendly has been “in” and will continue to be. Moreover, although I’m not a user of the Burt’s product, there must be something to it (the stuff obviously works).
Ted, I think this Burt’s example shows the “pursuit of the authentic” is alive and well. Thanks for sharing.

By: Ted Mininni

Ted Mininni — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 14:25:29 +0000

Thanks for weighing in, Harry and Mack. You’re both right. Harry: I believe that entrepreneurship is alive and well in this country. Many great opportunities exist. I’m hoping that Roxanne’s story will inspire more people to live their dreams and launch businesses with vision.
Mack: You’re absolutely right. Burt’s Bees always operated on a shoestring marketing budget and relied heavily on WOM to create a following. By staying true to the brand, Burt’s Bees built a loyal core group of customers who in turn, continued to build the brand.
Readers out there: can you give us any other examples of inspiring business models you’re aware of?

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 14:14:52 +0000

This is a great story about an entrepreneur who naturally understands that building a business based on values of its leader(s) leads to great success, both financially and responsibly. Thanks Ted!

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 14:10:28 +0000

Ted I believe at one time, Roxanne said they didn’t spend a penny on advertising, their growth was totally via word of mouth. They make sure to give samples of Burt’s Bees to all the stores where they sell their products, so the salespeople are familiar with it, and will recommend the products to customers.
Great to hear about companies leveraging social media to create word of mouse about their products, even more impressive to hear about the people that worked grassroots and word of mouth marketing before the term ’social media’ had ever been uttered.