Some businesses grow because of a brilliant business idea. Others grow through the determination and persistence of the owner. Many move a good idea at the right time. The sisters Shelli Gardner and LaVonne Crosby combined all of the above with a good entrepreneurial spirit to build Stampin’ Up! into a $220 million enterprise. Here is a little bit of their story. You can read the entire story by Gary Toushek.
Turning a Hobby into an Income
Sisters Shelli Gardner and LaVonne Crosby were young mothers trying to raise their families and augment their family’s income. They sold Tupperware and other multi-level products and services. They liked the idea of rubber stamps when introduced. It gave them an artistic capability when neither one could draw.
As scrapbooking and rubber stamping captured the interest of thousands of women around the country, they saw an opportunity. So, in 1988 they
- Studied the business models for Tupperware, Discovery toys and Mary Kay to sell stamps
- Established the goal to provide high-quality, wide-variety of rubber stamps and accessories
- Invested their family savings to start Stampin’ Up!
- Licensed with major rubber stamp firms to sell those company’s stamps
- Printed a 64-page catalog of stamps
- Recruited women to demonstrate the product and finalize the sales
- Allowed each demonstrator to participate as they wanted
- Designed and manufactured their own stamps in 1992
- Stopped selling other manufacturer’s stamps in 1997
- LaVonne Crosby left the business to be a full-time mother in 1998
- Ernst & Young named Shelli Gardner Entrepreneur of the Year in 1999
What We Can Learn from the Sisters
A review of what Shelli and LaVonne did can illuminate what you can do to grow your business. The sisters
- Identified a product that interested and inspired them personally
- Researched the product thoroughly and connected with manufacturers
- Bought product wholesale and resold it at a markup
- Studied various successful businesses to identify their chosen marketing method
- Adapted the method as times changed
Saturday we examine how two college students managed learning through lean & pivot
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