Key Idea #1: You can build a business with a simple idea.

You can build a business with a simple idea. Jill's simple idea was that most people enjoy eating at home but they don't want to go to the trouble to cook. Also, she was taught nutrition by her parents and is convinced that eating at home is more healthy than eating out. The simple idea of a bag of beans coupled with the missionary zeal to help people eat healthy is the basis for Buckeye Bean's initial success. Keep in mind, Jill is not selling a bag of beans, she is selling the experience of the family sitting down to a home cooked meal after filling the house with the aroma of cooking for hours.

Topic for discussion: If an idea is too simple, won't everyone copy it? And, hasn't someone already done it?

Possible answers: Of course, if you're a success, people will copy you. To stay in business, you have to keep moving forward, improving your product and building loyal customers. If an idea seems too obvious and simple, don't ignore it. Many times, I have looked at a product and said to myself, "that's so simple, why didn't I think of that?" Also, with difficulty, you can patent an idea. If it's a technology, it's probably not worth the patent process because things are moving so quickly by the time you have the patent someone else is already on top of the same idea. Just get it into the marketplace and build loyalty, then usage can serve as a form of protection.

Simple ideas do have redundancy in the marketplace. Somebody is serving hamburgers, but, you decide to put yours on French bread. Variations on a theme work. In fact, when Jill sold her first bag of beans, consumers could purchase many types of beans and bean soups in grocery stores. And, because Jill's product wasn't totally new, she could compare it to others to increase her sales. Jill can say, "our soup is better." She never had to explain her product. People understand bean soup mix.

Key Idea #2: A simple idea can be sold in unique ways.

Jill's idea was simple and not really unique, but, she has always sold it in unique ways. Buckeye's first bag of beans was sold from a boutique gift store, not a grocery store. Jill found a home for her products with the gift shops because she was already dealing with these shop owners. She knows their personalities, what type merchandise they can sell, and, was she confident they would succeed at selling Buckeye Beans. She never dreamed of starting her business by selling through the big grocery store chains.

Topic for discussion: People buy food in grocery stores, not gift shops. Why did Jill start with the gift shops?

Possible answers: Jill went with what she knew. As a potter she had sold her pottery through gift shops. It always makes sense to build on something you already have rather than start from scratch. The speed at which a business grows is dependent upon the relationships you have in place. Who do you know who can help move you along in the right direction? That's one reason business schools can be better for entrepreneurial training than a liberal arts education. The people you meet can help you later.

Key Idea #3 When your idea works in one marketplace, try it in another.

Jill's soups were a hit with the specialty stores, so, to increase sales she went after grocery stores, mass merchandisers, then the school fundraising niche and direct mail with a catalog.

Topic for discussion: Why is it smart to diversify markets?

Possible answer: A certain market is only so big and if you don't go after others, your company's growth will be stunted. There are really two ways to grow sales: 1) sell more to your current customers, and, 2) get new customers. Jill wanted to do both.

Topic for discussion: Why did Jill have to develop new packaging and some unique products for the grocery stores?

Possible answer: The gift shops can retail Jill's bag of beans at a higher price than can the grocery stores. So, in a strip mall you could find a grocery store with Buckeye Beans at $1.99 a bag and a specialty gift store with the same bag for $2.99. This simply doesn't work. The consumer feels cheated when the discovery is made. So, Jill invented the Aunt Patsy products for grocery stores only. And, the mass merchandisers such as PriceCostco have unique products as well. This way Jill is selling in several distinct distribution channels and everyone is happy to have the best product, price and packaging for its particular customers.

Key Idea #4: Many small businesses are successful creating sales with a catalog.

Jill's catalog is a work of art and shows the customer the personality of the company much more than any one product. Jill has a sense of humor. On the package of all the products in the cooking instruction section she says, "One cup of wine for the chef."

Her sense of humor and love of telling tall tales is played out in the catalog. This lets customers know her, so, they buy more.

Topic for discussion: What does it take to make a catalog generate sales?

Possible answer: The most important factor is the list you mail to, and, Jill has the perfect list. After over 10 years in business, Buckeye Bean has accumulated a list which is made up only of people who ask for the catalog and who buy from the catalog. If you request someone put you on the mailing list, they have a much greater chance of selling you something than does the company that mails you from out of the blue. Jill's customers are happy to get the catalog and many, many make purchases. This year she added complimentary products made by others to the catalog and those companies shared in the cost of the catalog.

Key Idea #5: It takes smart employees to grow a business.

Jill says the employees at Buckeye are astounding. She knows the company started with her idea, but, it could not grow without smart, dedicated people.

Topic for discussion: What are some of the techniques Jill uses to build this dynamic work force?

Possible Answers: Jill uses the "friends and family" hiring philosophy. She recruited her husband very early on, then never hesitated to bring friends and their family members into the company. The strength of this strategy lies in the concept of shared values. You are attracted to people who share your values, these people become your friends. Your family members usually have similar values because the upbringing, from childhood, was similar. If your parents taught you to tell the truth, then you probably tell the truth and like to be with people who tell the truth. If your parents worked hard, then you know that working hard is an important part of life. Like attracts like. Jill and Doug are hard working, fun loving, soccer playing people, so, they attract that type of employee.

In addition to hiring friends and family, Jill and Doug emphasize having fun at work. Employees laugh and even go to the trouble to play practical jokes on each other. For a company meeting the employees built a platform with a target on the front then they asked Jill and Doug to use the platform for their presentations. At the end of the meeting, the employees pelted Jill and Doug with marshmellows.

This type of activity demonstrates that the employees have been taught that it is not only OK to act silly, it is encouraged. When employees are having fun, they do better work.

Possible answer: The company has a mission statement that starts with, "We make people smile." Then is goes on to include what Doug called the "HEHE" principal. This stands for "humor, education, health and the environment." Employees respond to a mission statement they can be exicted about and that's what they have at Buckeye. Building a great team of employees is extremely difficult, but Jill and Doug have done it. Their love of life, of people and of the work they are doing is contagious.

Key Idea #6 Marketing and product development must be constantly evolving.

Buckeye started with one product and has developed dozens since the company's birth in 1983. They even go to the trouble to develop receipes which appear on the labels of the shaped pasta packages. Buckeye does not stand still in marketing or in product development.

Topic for discussion: Why was the state of Washington's 100th birthday so important to Buckeye Bean?

Possible answer: This event stimulated Jill to invent her first shaped pasta. It was the state of Washington -- just a plain looking rectangle plus the Washington state tree which is the evergreen. She took the product to a food show and customers who saw it said, "Wow, what a great looking Christmas tree." Jill never intended to get into the Christmas tree shaped pasta business, but, she listened to her customers and hit a home run by re-packaging a product that had been a huge failure. Today,you'll find many shaped pastas being developed and sold by Buckeye. Keep in mind that Jill always starts with the market, then develops the product. In other words, she wants to know who is going to buy it and how big that potential market is before she invests in the product development.

Jill says, " To start a business you have to know what you want, know how you want to live your life, and, believe in your product with passion--if you don't, no one will."

Doug says, "We're a values-added people company. Business runs on relationships, not balance sheets."

John Wargo on what type of small business could benefit from a catalog. Bruce Camber on using the Internet to go global.