From Self-Made to Millionaire [Add Story]
The latest issue of Fortune magazine published the self-narrated stories of 11 self-made millionaires. They are distributed in various industries such as finance, IT, media, retail, express delivery, sports, etc. The companies they created have now become famous companies in the world. Reading their stories carefully, we found that these amazing entrepreneurs have one common characteristic, that is, they all started with ideas. With their own whims, they dared to think and do things that others thought were impossible, and they were persistent. to one's own beliefs. They have created millions and billions of wealth and even had a crucial impact on the development of certain industries and fields. From the bold decisions to mine the first pot of gold to the business strategies during the rapid expansion of enterprises, the performance of these outstanding leaders in the process of creating wealth may bring deeper inspiration to people.
Never give up on occasional inspiration
While other computer manufacturers around the world are experiencing the pain of sluggish sales, Dell Computers continues to prosper. While its worldwide shipments increased by 18% in the second quarter of 2002, shipments by other manufacturers fell by 4%. Michael Dell, 37, has been in charge of the Dell Computer Company he founded for nearly 20 years. CEO. Dell Computer was founded in 1984 with a registered capital of only US$1,000. By 2001, its sales reached US$31 billion and it had 36,000 employees worldwide. In 2002, Dell ranked 131st among Fortune magazine's Global 500 companies.
Why can Dell maintain such rapid development? The "direct model" of selling directly to customers and the "market segmentation" method of classifying customers are its two magic weapons. But in fact, it all came from the accidental inspiration of its founder, Michael Dell, when he was a teenager.
When Michael Dell was a child in the 1970s, his parents were talking about topics such as inflation and the oil crisis at the dinner table, which made him have an interest in business since he was a child. Interested. When he was 12 years old, he embarked on his first business venture. In order to save money, he no longer wanted to buy stamps from auctions. Instead, he persuaded his neighbors to entrust the stamps to him and then listed them for sale in professional publications. Stamp advertising. Unexpectedly, he made $2,000. This made Michael Dell feel the power and gains of "direct contact" for the first time, that is, the benefits of no middleman. At the same time, he realized that if you have a good idea, it is definitely worth taking some action. After tasting the sweetness of direct sales when he was a teenager, Michael Dell made full use of this "direct model" in his later entrepreneurial attempts.
When he was in junior high school, Michael Dell owned an Apple computer and quickly shifted his interest to the business opportunities behind the computer. Soon, he noticed more business uses of the IBM personal computer. He eagerly learned everything about computers, used the money he earned from selling newspapers to buy computer parts, modified the computer, sold it at a profit, and then modified another one. During this period, he discovered that the selling price and profit margin of computers were very irregular. For an IBM personal computer that costs $3,000, the parts can be purchased for only $600 or $700. Moreover, most people who run computer stores do not know much about computers and cannot provide technical support to customers. At that time, he had already bought identical computer parts, upgraded the computer, and sold it to people he knew. Then, Michael Dell came up with an idea: as long as his sales volume is more, he can compete with those stores. Because there are no middlemen, the computers he modified not only have a price advantage, but also have better quality and service. The advantage is that it can provide computers with different functions according to the direct requirements of customers.
Shortly after he became an unconventional freshman at the University of Texas, driving a white BMW he earned from selling newspapers and carrying three computers in the back seat, he realized that computers would become the dominant technology of the 20th century. The most important tool of the century is facing a big opportunity.
At that time, all major manufacturers in the computer industry, including Apple Computer and IBM, chose to sell computers through dealers, but Michael Dell wanted to provide customers with better value and service through direct sales, a more efficient method, and hoped that Become the best in this industry. In 1984, Michael Dell dropped out of school and opened his own company in an office of about 93 square meters in Austin, named "Dell Computer Company."
The funds that supported Michael Dell's tinkering with computers as a student came from a part-time job selling newspapers that he started at the age of 16. That summer, he was responsible for acquiring subscribers for the Houston Post. The newspaper agency gave him a thick phone number book and asked him to make phone calls to sell to customers. But Michael Dell soon discovered in his sales pitch that there were two types of people who were almost certainly willing to subscribe to the newspaper: those who had just gotten married, and those who had just moved into a new house. Then, after investigating, he found that couples must register their addresses with the court when they get married. In addition, some companies will compile a list of loan applicants according to the housing loan amount. So, he tried to get information about these two types of people in the surrounding areas, and sent letters directly to them to provide information about subscribing to newspapers. In this way, Michael Dell earned $18,000 that year, which not only enabled him to buy more computers, but also inspired him to create the market segmentation strategy of "knowing customers better than customers" in the future.
Create a strong team
As Michael Dell said when explaining why the company can grow at an unprecedented rate, for a company, the most important assets and The biggest threats come from employees. After digging out the first pot of gold, the strength of team spirit has become an important factor affecting the further development of the company. Similarly, Fred Smith operates the FedEX brand through the management of "people."
In 1971, Fred Smith (Fred Smith), who was born in the U.S. Marine Corps, started his express transportation business after retiring, although this business was not optimistic at first. But today, FedEx has established the world's leading fast delivery network, with operations in 211 countries around the world, more than 660 cargo planes and approximately 95,000 trucks, and employing more than 215,000 employees and independent contractors around the world. On average, every day Processed 5 million shipments. Fred Smith's creative move was to pioneer the overnight delivery method, so he is known as "the man who created a new industry." Since the founding of FedEx, many airlines, telecommunications companies, and financial companies have followed suit.
In Fred Smith’s view, the secret of FedEx’s brand management is to put “people” first in everything. Within FedEx, both new courier salesmen and senior managers all call their chairman Fred. In FedEx China, this title is "Shi Weide", which is full of Chinese flavor. Fred Smith believes that a successful entrepreneur must be able to communicate smoothly with employees. "I don't want employees to be thinking about how to do the minimum amount of work without getting fired," he said. "I want them to be thinking about how to do the best job possible, and the key to that is communication and Feedback.
Employees want to know what is expected of them and what they should do, and they want to know what's on it and what it means for them. We have a lot of reward programs, a lot of profit sharing, a lot of internal promotions, just to tell people they're doing a good job and you have to communicate with your people and make sure they understand what they're doing. Meaning. We always tell our employees: You are in the most important business in history. The items you are delivering every day are not sand and rubble. It may be someone's pacemaker for a heart attack. , drugs to treat cancer, parts for F-18 aircraft, or legal evidence that determines the outcome of a case." He believes that a sound corporate system is helping him become a successful entrepreneur.
"I believe that the dedication of employees comes from the organization's management's precepts and deeds about the obligations to their subordinates." Fred Smith practiced it and spent a quarter of his time solving personnel problems. His main goal is to empower his employees to handle and decide on all matters as much as possible. He said: "When employees know that they are highly expected by the company, that outstanding achievements will be rewarded, and that the company will accept their suggestions and allow them to implement their ideas at work, I believe that the employees' work results will be extraordinary. "To let employees know what the company expects of them, Frey Smith advocates that the company provide training courses for all employees. At any time, three to five percent of FedEx employees are receiving training. The annual training expenditure is about 155 million US dollars, making it one of the largest investments in training in the United States.
In addition, Fred Smith attaches great importance to promoting talents from within, and employees who are confident that they can do their jobs often become outstanding managers. Within FedEx, there are many employees who originally worked as unloaders, machinery maintainers, parcel distributors, courier operators, drivers and inspectors, and have been promoted to management due to their outstanding performance. David Robert, who joined the company on a part-time basis in 1976, was continuously promoted due to his enthusiasm, hard work, and dedication. He is now the senior vice president of the U.S. Operations Department. He does everything himself and is well aware of the scope of work performed by his 60,000 employees. He said: "I have always put myself in their shoes, which allows me to take into account the feelings of employees when making decisions."
In addition to equal and extensive promotion opportunities, FedEx has also established a series of reward systems. Every employee understands that as long as they work hard, they will have the opportunity to be rewarded. In addition, Fred Smith also invented a program that was most popular among employees, that is, all FedEx planes were named after employees' children. Employees would hand over their babies' names to the company in order to have their precious sons or daughters' names spray-painted on the planes, and each time a new plane was added to the fleet, lots would be drawn to determine which baby would be named after the plane.
Fred Smith is well versed in management. He knows how to rely on the strength of all employees to grow and develop the company, and he has successfully created the warmth and cohesion of a big family within FedEx. In 2002, FedEx's annual turnover was US$19.6 billion, ranking 246th among Fortune magazine's 2002 Global 500 companies. HOWARD H., who once served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee. BAKER JR. Commented: "FedEx's unprecedented success depends on many factors, but the most important thing is the teamwork spirit and attitude displayed by all employees."
Insisting on unique perspectives
Another essential element for becoming a super rich man is not only having a unique perspective and vision, but also having the perseverance to stick to your own opinions. The Pleasant Company, founded by Pleasant Rowland, was the first company to recognize that there was a gap in the market for girls aged 7 to 12, and it also made black and Spanish products that children of all colors loved. baby. The Happy Company's contribution to the world was that it clearly demonstrated the connection between knowledge and customer tastes and made the combination of learning and play fashionable by bundling dolls with related book series. As Roland's business grew, in the 1990s you could see girls before the age of 12 not only becoming hardcore consumers of books and dolls, but also becoming widely involved in the music and entertainment industries.
Some people may think that 45 is too old to play with dolls. But this is a historic beginning for Happy Roland. Roland's middle-aged entry into the children's toy industry not only made her a hero in the hearts of little girls across the United States, but also turned her into a giant in the toy industry. Everyone thinks that little girls abandon their dolls after they are over 6 years old. But Roland doesn't think so. She believes that girls between the ages of 7 and 12 are a consumer group that has been ignored by toy manufacturers, and there is a huge business opportunity of billions of dollars.
After the launch of "American Girl", a matching series of dolls and books for girls in this age group, "American Girl" has become the No. 1 doll in the U.S. market after Barbie with sales of 82 million dolls and 7 million books. Two of the best-selling toys. Happy Company's 2001 sales: $350 million.
But Rowland insists it was these books that opened the door to "American Girl's" success. Each of the 8 "American Girl" dolls comes with 6 accompanying books telling her story. The details of happy life in colonial America, teaching girls how to grow up during the Depression...the wonderful combination of these books and dolls brings another world to girls. While selling well, the "American Girl" magazine founded by Rowland also has more than 650,000 subscribers. "A chocolate cake rich in vitamins" - this is how Roland describes this wonderful combination of magazine, history and profit. She knew mothers were looking for a product that would appeal to girls as children but also allow girls to be little girls for a little longer.
Before she founded Happy Company at the age of 45, Roland worked as a primary school teacher, a television reporter, a textbook writer and the publisher of a small magazine. She describes the beginning of a career that would later influence a generation of American girls: "In 1984, my husband and I attended a traditional event in Colonial Williamsburg. What I thought was just going to be a small, happy vacation, But in fact, it turned out to be one of the most treasured experiences of my life. I loved sitting in the high-backed pews of the church and remembering that George Washington had been here and that Patrick Henry had spoken here. I loved the clothes, the families, the everyday life - it all fascinated me. I remember sitting on a bench in the shade and couldn't help but think about the history lessons being taught to children in school. How boring and sad it would be to not have more children visit this living history classroom. I asked myself what could be done about this.
In the following. I wanted to buy a doll for my two nieces, ages 8 and 10, but I was shocked by the abundance of Cabbage Patch dolls in the Christmas market. I thought they were ugly, but Barbie wasn't what I wanted. I'm sure I wasn't the only American woman to feel depressed that Christmas. Combined with my Williamsburg experience, an idea suddenly occurred to me. My friend wrote a postcard - it is still in the archives of Happy Company. I wrote: What do you think about making a set of books for 9-year-old girls about different historical periods, with costumes from different eras? Dolls, and some accessories that can be used for children to perform? I am not making new toys, but just miniaturizing the beautiful memories of Colonial Williamsburg into books and dolls that children will always love. ”
After Roland's idea took shape, she immediately spent a week creating a detailed business plan that included a series of books, doll clothing styles, production lines, etc. Later, although Roland's idea was so unique, her business idea became a huge success. In the next four years, the brand value of "American Girl" rose to $77 million just by mailing advertising catalogs and word of mouth. In order to expand the brand, Rowland and her happy company launched baby dolls and supporting books for younger girls. In response to children's requests, they created more fashionable dolls, "American Girl Magazine", and information on how to communicate with others. books. Over the next five years, "American Girl" sales grew at a rate of $50 million a year, eventually reaching $300 million.
After witnessing the successful implementation of his business plan step by step, Roland sold Happy Company to Mattel for US$700 million in 1998. Now, the successful and happy Roland is enjoying the comfortable retirement life at home that her bold attempt and decisive decision brought about.
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