My name is Evan Carmichael and I believe that the fastest and most effective way to build a business is to model the strategies of people who have already done what you’re trying to do. I call it Modeling the Masters. My last post with 30 comments was: How to Give Something Extra, Build for the Long Term, and Believe in Yourself like William Wrigley Jr.

Today we're going to look at how a young man who couldn't hold down a steady job and couldn't get his mind off of hunting and fishing turned his passion into a business and would later be called one of the Top Ten Entrepreneurs of the 20th Century by the Wall Street Journal. This is the story of L.L. Bean and the top 3 lessons that you can learn from his success.

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"Sell good merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings, and they will always come back for more." - Leon Leonwood Bean

Leon Leonwood Bean (November 13, 1872 – February 5, 1967) was an inventor, author, outdoor enthusiast, and founder of the company L.L.Bean. As a young man, Bean couldn't hold a steady job and drifted from place to place. He would much rather be out hunting and fishing than working for someone else. After a series of outdoor expeditions, Bean returned home with his feet soaking wet because there wasn't a good shoe that could keep them dry. He set out to solve the problem by visiting a local cobbler and creating a new shoe for outdoorsmen. He called it the Maine Hunting Shoe.

Bean got a list of hunting license holders, set up shop in his brother's basement, and drafted a letter to be sent by mail to his list. Bean wrote: "Outside of your gun, nothing is so important to your outfit as your foot-wear. You cannot expect success hunting deer or moose if your feet are not properly dressed." The letter was a success and he sold 100 pairs only to have 90 of them returned because they broke apart. Bean refunded his customers the money, took out a loan to modify the design and began selling again.

By the time Bean died in 1967, company sales had passed $4 million per year and the Wall Street Journal named him one of the Top Ten Entrepreneurs of the 20th Century. Today, with over $1.7 billion in annual sales, L.L. Bean remains one of the most successful family-run businesses in the U.S.

Action Item #1: Care for Your Customers

If you want people to keep buying from you and tell their friends to buy as well you need to care about their well-being and provide as good an experience as possible for them. This is especially true in industries where there isn't really that much that's different between what you're offering and what your competitor is selling. The differentiating factor that will make customers want to buy from you is the customer service and the experience that you give them.

Bean's name became synonymous with outstanding customer service. One of his policies was the 100% money back guarantee with no expiration date. No matter how long ago you bought his products, Bean would refund you all of your money if you weren't completely satisfied. He'd even pay for the postage for you to mail it back to him. Knowing that his customers were hunters and fishermen who often needed equipment in the middle of the night, Bean also threw away the keys to his store in Freeport and kept it open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to give them a better experience. It's only been closed twice in its history.

According to Bean: “No sale is really complete until the product is worn out, and the customer is satisfied... A customer is the most important person ever in this office – in person or by mail.... Above all, we wish to avoid having a dissatisfied customer. We consider our customers a part of our organization, and we want them to feel free to make any criticism they see fit in regard to our merchandise or service."

Action Item #2: Be Your Target Market

One of the best ways to do market research and really know if you're on to something or not is to be your own customer. Does your product or service work as you would like it to? Would you be willing to pay money for it? Does it solve a real problem? The more you're a part of your target market the better chance you have to create a product or service that will really sell. You'll know because it helps make what you're currently doing better, faster, or somehow more effective.

Bean's passion was hunting and fishing. It's what led him to create the Maine Hunting Shoe and kept him inspired to continue growing his business. Whether his executives wanted to launch a new fishing rod, shirt, or tent, Bean insisted on personally testing all of his products because it had his name on it and it needed his personal seal of approval. After the failure of the very first Maine Hunting Shoe, he always took his products out into the real world to make sure they worked before they were sold even when his team around him advised that there were better uses of his time and "someone else" could do it. If it worked for him, he knew his customers would like it because he was one of them.

Bean once wrote in his catalogue:  “It is no longer necessary for you to experiment with hundreds of flies to determine the few that will catch fish. We have done that experimenting for you.” Bean continued being a part of his target market for as long as he could hold a fishing rod and lace up his boots.

Action Item #3: Network

Entrepreneurs aren't often great at promoting themselves and networking. Many of us are happiest when we're working on a new product or providing a service instead of getting out there and selling. But getting your product or service into the hands of the right people can often make or break your company and you need to be an effective networker to make sure they know what you've got!

Bean was always an outdoorsman at heart but he knew how to network and promote his business. After the avid hunters started buying his products Bean made a point of connecting with high profile people to introduce them to his company. Everyone from Franklin Roosevelt to Babe Ruth to John Wayne found out about his products and began using them. Bean also sponsored high profile athletes like the 1932 Macmillan Arctic Expedition team who wore his boots on their expedition.

But you didn't have to be famous for Bean to let you know what he did. As one local writer from Maine wrote of Bean, “If you drop in just to shake his hand, you get home to find his catalogue in your mailbox.”

True Story

When Bean first threw away the keys to his store and invited hunters and fishermen to come visit the store whenever they wanted, he installed a late night bell to allow people to ring for assistance. Customers who arrived late at night would see the bell and a sign that read: “Push once a minute until clerk appears.” Pushing the bell would bring a watchman and often even Bean himself to come help the customer, no matter what time of day it was.

More Quotes

"Above all, we wish to avoid having a dissatisfied customer."

"We consider our customers a part of our organization, and we want them to feel free to make any criticism they see fit in regard to our merchandise or service.

"A customer is the most important person ever in this office – in person or by mail."

What Do You Think?

What do you do for your customers to show that you care? How have you become a part of your target market to create new products and services? What part of L.L. Bean's message impacted you the most? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts if you leave a comment below!

Evan Carmichael

To learn more check out my list of L.L. Bean articles or my website, EvanCarmichael.com.