The Bear Necessities of Business: Building a Company with Heart - Paperback

by Maxine Clark (Author), Amy Joyner (With)

Build-A-Bear Workshop(R) is one of the most successful retailing concepts in recent history. Starting with just one location in 1997, the company now operates more than 200 stores worldwide.

Leading the way is Maxine Clark, the company's founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Bear. Clark is widely recognized as one of the nation's leading and most creative entrepreneurs. In The Bear Necessities of Business, she reveals how she built this amazing global business from the ground up, while arming you with the tools you need to start, run, and market your own company in today's tough competitive environment. While primarily drawing on real-life experiences from Build-A-Bear Workshop(R), Clark also offers wisdom gained throughout her entire thirty-plus-year career, including lessons and examples from some of the other great companies that do so much right.

Straightforward and accessible, The Bear Necessities of Business is divided into seven parts, each built around an essential element that will allow you to stand apart from the crowd. The short, accessible chapters show you everything you need to:

• Get your business started
• Become a great boss
• Connect with your customers
• Add value to the overall experience
• Effectively market your company
• Plan for future growth
• Give back to your customers, employees, and community

Best of all, these principles can be applied to any industry and are proven to work whether your target audience is children, teenagers, baby boomers, seniors, or any age in-between.

Whether you're looking to start a new business, improve an existing one, be a better manager, or hire the best employees, The Bear Necessities of Business contains the insights and information you need to succeed. Even if you work for some-one else and have no plans to strike out on your own, you'll still benefit from the advice found in this book. After all, the best employees--and those who consistently rise to the top--are those who think like entrepreneurs

Front Jacket

Praise for The Bear Necessities Of Business

Maxine Clark has written a powerfully effective book that will help you build an organization that's more competitive, more inventive, more productive, and simply more fun to work in.
----William C. Taylor, Founding Editor, Fast Company magazine

The Bear Necessities of Business is pithy, accessible, fun, and very smart. Maxine Clark is the twenty-first century's Walt Disney. Whatever business you're in--or dream of building--this chock-full-of-wisdom guide is a must-read.
----Susan W. Bird, founder and CEO, Wf360

The spirit and passion Maxine Clark has for bringing dreams to life is now in your hands. Every chapter is stuffed with the secrets of what has made her so successful in every aspect of business. Her mentoring and the words in this book are a big part of the magic of my success.
----Denise Chapman Weston, President and Director of
Imagination, MagiQuest

A must-read not just for aspiring entrepreneurs, but for seasoned managers as well.
----C. K. Prahalad, coauthor, The Future of Competition

This book provides a 'how-to manual' for all those budding entrepreneurs with an idea they want to see blossom into a booming business.
----Martin Sneider, Adjunct Professor of Retailing
Olin School of Business, Washington University

Back Jacket

Praise for The Bear Necessities Of Business

"Maxine Clark has written a powerfully effective book that will help you build an organization that's more competitive, more inventive, more productive, and simply more fun to work in."
----William C. Taylor, Founding Editor, Fast Company magazine

"The Bear Necessities of Business is pithy, accessible, fun, and very smart. Maxine Clark is the twenty-first century's Walt Disney. Whatever business you're in--or dream of building--this chock-full-of-wisdom guide is a must-read."
----Susan W. Bird, founder and CEO, Wf360

"The spirit and passion Maxine Clark has for bringing dreams to life is now in your hands. Every chapter is stuffed with the secrets of what has made her so successful in every aspect of business. Her mentoring and the words in this book are a big part of the magic of my success."
----Denise Chapman Weston, President and Director of
Imagination, MagiQuest

"A must-read not just for aspiring entrepreneurs, but for seasoned managers as well."
----C. K. Prahalad, coauthor, The Future of Competition

"This book provides a 'how-to manual' for all those budding entrepreneurs with an idea they want to see blossom into a booming business."
----Martin Sneider, Adjunct Professor of Retailing
Olin School of Business, Washington University

Author Biography

Maxine Clark is the founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop(R). A veteran of the retail industry, she has been widely recognized for her innovative work and is regularly featured in the media. Clark spent more than twenty years with The May Department Stores Company and later served as president of Payless ShoeSource, which she turned into the number one seller of children's licensed footwear in the world. Since 1997, Clark has focused her attention on Build-A-Bear Workshop(R), a retail store that lets customers create their own stuffed companions. The first store opened in 1997, and there are now more than 300 locations worldwide.

Amy Joyner is an award-winning business reporter who has written on entrepreneurship for many years. She is a small business expert as well as author of The eBay Millionaire, The eBay Billionaires' Club, and The Online Millionaire, all published by Wiley.