I was in New York recently for a conference when I stumbled upon a nice man who was serving ice cream in a Midtown establishment. I quickly found that this personable and unassuming man was Jerry Greenfield (of Ben & Jerry’s). He demonstrated how to serve the perfect ice cream scoop. He said that you have to work from the outside in to get the softer cream to roll into your scoop. I enjoyed the Salted Caramel Core he happened to serve me, but I enjoyed the lessons that I learned from him even more!
Failure can lead to wonderful things
Jerry went on to tell me that he applied to 20 different medical schools while he was finishing up his undergraduate degree. However, he received 20 rejection letters. His dream to become a doctor did not end as he planned it. Furthermore, this did not deter the young and eager Jerry. He went on to identify other things he had interest in when he teamed up with his good friend Ben who thought it would be a good idea to start an ice cream business. Instead of going off to medical school, Jerry decided to take a $5 correspondence course from Penn State University to learn how to make ice cream. (Sounds like a pretty sound investment!) This spawned the birth of their local ice creamery when they purchased some used equipment that could make ice cream in small quantities.
Growth can be challenging; you must use creativity
As the locals in Vermont demonstrated their affinity towards Ben & Jerry’s, the company struggled to scale up. In order for them to grow their market outside of Vermont, they knew they needed to raise capital knowing they didn’t have the cash flow needed to expand. The only advertising they could afford back then was a 10 second ad on late, late night television. He wondered who would be watching this… It turns out that ice cream lovers must watch a lot of late night TV!
They went on to find a creative solution to their cash flow problem. They were able sell stock directly to the citizens of Vermont and raised the cash needed to scale their business to supply ice cream outside of the local region.
Once you make it, you may have to fight against the haters
Finally, he told a story of success with he and Ben’s company. It turns out that the ice cream distributors were being strong armed by a large international company that also sold ice cream (among many other products.) Jerry knew that in order for their company to survive they would have to fight the behemoth. They started a grassroots campaign which included some clever advertising while selling tee shirts to their supporters. Ultimately, Ben and Jerry won the battle against the large company. Perseverance and determination mixed with a clever campaign put their company on a level playing field; and the rest is history.
As I finished the salty and caramel goodness, I felt refreshed. I thanked Jerry for the ice cream and the words of wisdom that I am bringing to you. There are times where your own career may fail or stagnate, but remember these three things: 1) embrace failure and let it propel you forward, 2) use your creativity to achieve growth and success, 3) once you have success, beware of the haters. If you are getting stuck in any of these areas, be sure to contact me here on my page or set up a strategy session with me at www.timewithdoctorjarret.com . If nothing else, tell me your favorite Ben and Jerry’s flavor in the comments.
