Secret Academy Episode - Brian SmithAbout:
A passionate author, speaker, and innovator, Brian Smith is one of the most sought after business leaders and branding experts in the country. Starting with only $500 and selling UGG boots from the back of a pickup truck, Brian’s leadership and ability to market his brand through customer service and loyalty allowed him to take his company to a record $15 million in sales in 17 years. As a media guest and inspiring entrepreneur, he is committed to teaching his breakthrough business strategies to entrepreneurs and translating personal vision into company culture and branding through his new book The Birth of a Brand.
Lesson's in Today's Interview:
- How he originally came up with the idea for UGG boots
- The birth and growth stages of a brand
- How he overcame the initial market rejection of the UGG brand
- The challenges he faced with manufacturing and production when he scaled his company from $1000 to $30K in sales and then to $400K insales
- How his friend helped him take his company to maturity
- How he established UGG as a brand not a fad
- What the turning point for the UGG brand was to truly become a national icon
- The importance of ‘letting go’ in order to allow growth
- Why "it’s not how big you are, it’s how big you are perceived to be that counts"
- What differentiates great, timeless brands like Nike from all the rest
- Why product is second to the customer service and loyalty established by a brand, and how to establish that loyalty
- Why success is a progressive climb with multiple obstacles to climb over
- How he now perceives his greatest disappointments as his greatest blessings
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