THEY LIED ABOUT THE MOUSETRAP... Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door is a phrase attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson in the late nineteenth century. It turns out that its not that simple. Many a person has had a better idea, only to wander in the wilderness for decades wondering why there was not even one shy knock at the door. There are actually THREE STEPS that must be in place before unlimited success can be obtained: 1. Have a BETTER idea - not simply as good as most and better than some, but the BEST idea that it can be. 2. Fully appreciate the SIGNIFICANCE of what you have. 3. Determine the most EFFECTIVE way to communicate the quality of your idea to the people who can help you. Once all three steps are in place, then... STAND AWAY FROM THE DOOR! John Pemberton of Atlanta created Coca-Cola as French Wine Coca to be a headache remedy and The Ideal Brain Tonic sold in pharmacies, prepared in plain tap water at the soda fountain, which existed then for sarsaparilla and juicy drinks. Jacobs Pharmacy was his first client. The story goes that some soda jerk accidentally put in sparkling water instead of tap water, and the customer said, I dont know if it helped my headache, but it tastes great! Pemberton, in poor health and worried that he would leave his family penniless when he died, sold 2/3 of his interest for $2,000 to Asa Candler. Pemberton died thinking he had invented a so-so headache cure. Asa, however, recognized Coca-Cola to be a soft drink, and marketed the fire out of it accordingly. He came up with some truly innovative, even revolutionary for the times, advertising and promotions. One day, Asa walked into Biedenharn Candy Co. in Vicksburg, Mississippi and sold Joseph A. Biedenharn some Coca-Cola syrup for Joes soda fountain, and the rest is history... ALMOST. Joseph was frustrated that he had a great drink, but people werent coming into his store. He watched the traffic pass by on the sidewalk, the buggies and wagons drive by on the highway (Washington Street was the old Highway 61), and the passengers coming and going at the train depot and steamboat landing a block below. And then Joe got the idea to bottle some Coke, pack the bottles in ice in the wooden cases, load them in wagons, and take them to the hot, thirsty people instead of wishing for the people to come to him. He even made arrangements with the trains and steamboats to pick up his filled cases and return his empties for refilling on the way back through town. Joe sent two cases of bottled Coke in his Hutchinson-style bottles to Asa at the home office in Atlanta (wouldnt you love to have THOSE today!) and told him his idea. Asa replied that it was nice, and Joe was free to pursue it, but he didnt see bottling being viable for the company. Asa said that Coca-Cola would ALWAYS be sold at soda fountains... period. (That same scene would be played out decades later when the Ben Franklin Stores told Sam Walton that there was no future for deep discounting.) Three men from Chattanooga heard what Joe was doing with bottling and went to Asa Candler to buy the world bottling rights to Coke. Being a Christian, Asa wouldnt swindle them, since there was NO future in bottling Coke. They offered him $10,000, and he refused. So they offered him $5,000, and he refused. They offered him $1,000, and he refused. FINALLY, they offered him $1.00, and he accepted simply to get them out of his office, but conscience wouldnt allow him to cash the check. Those three men bought the world bottling rights - everywhere except the Biedenharn locations - for a dollar check that was never cashed. 1. Pemberton had a BETTER idea... but he died, never realizing what he had. 2. Candler knew the SIGNIFICANCE of the product... but he demanded that the people come to the product. 3. Biedenharn seized on the better idea, fully appreciated the significance of the product, and EFFECTIVELY took the product to the people... and THEN the rest is history. By the way, in addition to all the money Joseph and his family made during his lifetime, the family later sold their bottling plants back to the company for over $300,000,000. Visit the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum (biedenharncoca-colamuseum/) to see for yourself - and go to the large soda fountain in the building out back, too. You might also check out The Biedenharn Museum and Gardens of Monroe (bmuseum.org/) where Joseph spent most of his life after Vicksburg. © Jimmie Douglas
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 15:31:42 +0000
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