MP Review: “The Bear Necessities of Business: Building a Company with Heart”
3 of 5 Petals
Maxine Clark, founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Bear, has come a long way since that first Build-A-Bear opened at The Saint Louis Galleria in 1997. Today her company boasts more than 200 stores worldwide. In her book, The Bear Necessities of Business: Building a Company with Heart, Ms. Clark sets out to share her secrets to success with anyone interested in building a business. While her guidelines are couched within her own story of rising through the ranks of Payless Shoe Source and leaving to start Build-A-Bear, anyone looking for a strict business profile will be disappointed.
The Bear Necessities of Business should be viewed as a text book for any business owner, large or small. The book is structured into 7 parts, which are then broken down into subsections:
- Getting Started
- Being a Great Boss
- Connecting with Your Customers
- Creating an Incredible Experience
- Using Essential Marketing Strategies
- Growing Your Business
- Giving Back
Each Chapter is littered with what Maxine calls Bearisms, which are inspirational quotes. The tone of the book can be a little hokey at times, as Ms. Clark is an extremely positive person with a child-like persona.
However, anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit would be well served to pick up a copy of her book to understand how she has come so far. Ms. Clark has great respect and admiration for other child-centric business and advertising campaigns such as Disney World® and The Happy Meal™. One of the most inspiring elements of the book comes in the form of her explanation of answering every email that is sent to her and encouraging others to do the same. This book is filled with the great anecdotes, lessons, and examples that every aspiring entrepreneur loves to hear.
In addition, 100 percent of the proceeds from the book will be donated to Build-A-Bear Workshop® Bear Hugs Foundation, which supports meaningful philanthropic efforts for children and families through financial and in-kind support for health and wellness programs and educational and literacy programs. Basically, you are doing a good deed by going out and purchasing this book!
Although this book is a great read and does offer a lot of insight to people of all ages I was hoping for less of a textbook and more of an in-depth perspective on how Build-A-Bear became such a huge phenomenon. With that said, I recommend this book as a strong read for a great deal of practical business advice.
Arlen Marmel is founder of Teez Whiz
Leave a Comment