Entrepreneur Secrets – Could you do what Duncan Hines did?
July 10, 2016
By Jerry Bellune
Entrepreneurial opportunities are everywhere.
It’s in our DNA as a nation. Take Duncan Hines.
He was a salesman traveling 40,000 miles a year.
He started keeping notes on good places to eat.
He was a demanding guest who:
1. Prized exceptional cleanliness and service.
2. Inspected kitchens and watched the cooks.
3. Only noted those which passed his acid test.
His friends started asking him where to eat.
He would tell them and that triggered others to ask.
He sent his “where to eat’ list with Christmas cards.
That triggered even greater demand for the list.
To discourage this, he charged $1 for his list.
That triggered even greater demand.
So he found a publisher and sold it as a book.
That led to other books on lodging and cooking.
Col. Harlan Sanders was one of his discoveries.
Entrepreneur Roy Park saw an opportunity.
He talked Duncan into using his name on products.
Now you’ll find Duncan Hines’ name in the stores.
He may never have baked a cake but he has a cake mix.
Hines died a wealthy man in 1959. His name lives on.
Our friend Mark Powell told us this story.
Mark writes a column for our newspapers.
He calls it “Holy Cow! History.” It’s a great read.
I tell you this because I want you to think about it.
What did Hines do that you might do?
How can you turn your expertise into a service?
What do you know that others want to know?
What’s the best way to package and market it?
Can you run it like a business and make it succeed?
Can you find ways to build a profit margin with it?
Don’t tell me you can’t do it. That’s not smart.
Kick yourself if you feel this way about your future.
Do you want to make the most of opportunities?
Email me for details about our STAR funshop.
You’ll discover what we’ve done to succeed.
You’ll also discover what others have done.
This will give you a blueprint for greater success.
Email me at [email protected]
Next: Change the rules of the game
Want to share this with a friend? Be my guest.
We only ask that you tell them where it came from.
Invite them to send me their email address.
They can reach me at [email protected]
I’ll email this strategy letter to them each week.
©2016 The Bellune Company, Inc.
Neither MidlandsBiz.com nor The Bellune Company, Inc. makes any warranty as to the results that may be achieved from using this information. ©2015 The Bellune Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Requests for permission to reprint or circulate may be obtained by emailing [email protected]
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