How to succeed despite the odds
Going in business is risky business. Consumers are fickle, suppliers may rip you off, the market can be unpredictable, and sometimes, there’s just not enough cash to fund the next big idea.
Still, some businesses have persevered—and thrived. Three well-known brands show us how:
1. Chipotle’s
It’s bound to fail, people said of Steve Ells’ Chipotle restaurant that opened its first branch in downtown Denver in 1993. “Its outlets aren’t in the busiest locations. It doesn’t serve breakfast; it doesn’t do drive-through, franchises or even advertising. Employees still cut all the tomatoes by hand.”
But Ells saw something that other fast-food joints didn’t: the health food trend.
Soon, he was talking with ranchers and farmers who raised sustainable produce and livestock, and took it from there. Health literally became wealth for this Mexican chain.
2. Burt’s Bees
Quality and a lot of sass. Though Burt’s Bees lip balm started with a really good product, it didn’t hurt that it had fantastic branding as well. In 2007, the company established “The Greater Good” business philosophy: beauty products that are good for you, good for us and good for all. The warm color scheme in its illustrated imagery evokes the all-natural and personal feel of the business and made it stand out from the competition’s sea of cool blues and greens. The welcome contrast has the company buzzing with business.
3. Marvel Comics
The creative powerhouse started in 1939 with a stable of superheroes familiar to every adolescent: Spider-Man, X-Men, Thor, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of the Galaxy. But the comic market bubble burst in 1993, and put Marvel properties in limbo. Thankfully, years of loss and indecision produced a brainwave: Why not migrate to film? Soon enough, the hits kept coming: Blade, X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil. And lately, The Avengers— one of only three films ever to gross more than $1 billion from ticket sales. The company didn’t need a superhero to soar anew: only an old idea reworked and reimagined. (from supermoney.com)
