Rose ... Miss Luo is the youngest of Jacob 10 children. She was born beautiful and petite. Miss Luo's parents were Polish immigrants who came to central America before World War I, and her father was a gambler. Losing three days at the poker table often makes a family of twelve unable to open the pot. Coincidentally, Miss Luo was born on the day of her sister's wedding, and her mother gave birth to her and became seriously ill. In order to share the burden for her mother, my sister took her little sister to a new home to raise her. This hug turned out to be a lifetime. In other words, Miss Luo was raised by her sister.
The children of the poor family have been in charge for a long time, and the eldest sister opened a small fast food restaurant in the corner of the supermarket in the town, and earned a little money to maintain the family's livelihood through hard work and hard work. In teacher Luo's eyes, Big Sister is like a great hero, a living example. She must learn to look up to Big Sister in everything. At the age of eight, Miss Luo began to work as a helper in the elder sister's fast food restaurant. By the time she is fourteen or fifteen, she will be independent. If her elder sister is not feeling well and can't come to the store to arrange things, she still manages the fast food restaurant decently. You see, Miss Luo has been so capable and strong since she was a child.
When Miss Luo 17 years old, she fell in love with a shy boy at school. Xiao Ai is an art student. When this elder sister learned about it, she decided not to agree: A girl from a poor family should try to marry a good family with a promising future and hang out with a poor artist all her life. What an incredible thing!
For Miss Luo, my sister only listens to her. At the same time, she also knows that children from poor families have to rely on themselves to change their fate, and many times they can come by themselves without their own temperament. So she gritted her teeth and decided to break up with Xiao Ai and go to Los Angeles alone, intending to find a job and settle down. Los Angeles is a big world. How cool it would be if I had the chance to make a living in Hollywood and see big stars on the screen every day! However, everyone says that it doesn't matter that Miss Luo has no education, and the possibility of entering the star workshop is very small, but Miss Luo is a strong person, and no one can stop what she wants to do. Finally, one day, I found an opportunity to visit Hollywood studios. When I came out, Miss Luo had found a job as a secretary there, which made all the little sisters who were looking for her at the door break their glasses!
Before Miss Luo got a firm foothold in Hollywood, she also moved to Los Angeles. The more adults try to stop the broken connection between these boys and girls, the less they can stop it. Miss Luo bought a beautiful watch with her earned salary and attached a note to the gift box: "I really hope you can marry me!" " "Little moxa couldn't resist Miss Luo's active attack, so she borrowed a friend's wedding dress and arranged life events. I was so angry that my sister stared at me and cried, thinking that my sister's life was over. ...
After marriage, Miss Luo continued to work in Hollywood to support her career, while studying art while doing odd jobs. Although life is dull and difficult, at least everything will be fine. One day, I excitedly told Miss Luo about one of his new ideas: making handicrafts, such as brooches, pendants, earrings, ashtrays and so on, with a new material, plexiglass (then 1936). It must be unique and creative, but the firing equipment at that time was for students to attend classes and practice, and it was not Xiao Ai's turn to occupy it alone.
In order to realize her lover's wish, Miss Luo took out all her savings to buy a kiln, turned the living room of the apartment upside down and turned it into a workshop. As a result, she drew an ultimatum from the landlord and ordered them to move out at once. No way, Miss Luo had to borrow money and rented a small room next to the laundry room as her studio. A few months later, the ingenious little moxa made a batch of samples. Miss Luo packed them in a suitcase and knocked on the gift shop door to door in the street, hoping that someone would recognize the goods and place an order.
But how can starting a business be so easy? The days have passed in the constant rejection of Miss Luo ... Fortunately, she has a natural entrepreneurial temperament, dares to take risks and never gives up. Finally, one day, she walked into an expensive jewelry store. When the shopkeeper saw the sample in Miss Luo's hand, his eyes lit up and he insisted that Miss Luo take him to meet the skilled craftsman. Miss Luo felt weak in her heart: if the jewelry store owner saw the poverty of the workshop, the business would probably be ruined, but at least she could not tell the owner, so Miss Luo had to take him to see it. I think Bole took a fancy to Maxima. The boss not only didn't dislike the poverty in Xiao Ai workshop, but also placed a big order on the spot. The young couple's workshop finally had the first customer and the first order. In this way, young entrepreneurs have embarked on the road!
But it didn't last long. Miss Luo suddenly became pregnant and was found to be prone to miscarriage. She needs to stop working immediately and stay in bed ... Although Xiao Ai is an artistic genius, she is not a good business person. After the small workshop left Miss Luo, it went from bad to worse. In desperation, Xiao Ai had to introduce several new partners. He continued to do his own design, while others managed production, channels and sales. The business of the small workshop is booming. A year or two later, the annual sales of small workshops reached several million, but Xiao Ai was never happy. Because new partners only want to increase sales in mass production, they don't care about product design innovation and quality assurance at all.
At this time, Miss Luo is already the mother of two children. When she heard that Xiao Ai was unhappy, she suggested that Xiao Ai transfer his shares to the new partners, who would find another chance to make a comeback. After listening to Miss Luo's suggestion, I went to negotiate with my partner. I didn't expect the other party to keep him, but offered ten thousand dollars to let Xiao Ai leave at once. For 10,000 yuan, you can buy a company with annual sales of several million, which happens to be the shares of 1/4? ! Xiao Ai was sure that she didn't listen to wrong, so she came back and told the teacher Luo about it in detail. Miss Luo was poised and said word for word: "Deal, let's start over with this 10 thousand yuan!" "
The authorities' calculation of life is wrong. Those partners thought they had found the biggest bargain in the world, but let go of the core genius designer of a startup company in vain. The following year, the company declared bankruptcy.
Miss Luo and the young couple began their hard work day and night again. In order to focus on the designed products, Miss Luo holds several positions. She is the wife, mother, salesperson, supervisor, buyer and truck driver of the company. What a coordinated entrepreneurial partner!
Starting a business is not easy. Although sales are increasing and the number of employees is increasing, the company is still unable to make ends meet and always has a deficit. There is no way. In the absence of venture capital and angels, Miss Luo had to beg for money from her brothers and sisters. Miss Luo patted her chest and promised: The first thing is to pay back the loan first. If she doesn't pay, she and Xiao Ai will take turns doing odd jobs in their brothers and sisters' homes for life. Finally, a slightly affluent sister lent Miss Luo 654.38+ million, and the young couple smashed all the money into the startup company.
After nearly 65,438+00 years of polishing, Miss Luo has designed, produced and sold countless kinds of products, including artistic photo frames, small furniture for children to play at home, music boxes, tripods, toy guns, etc ... Although there are no earth-shattering killer products, this startup company has developed into a small-scale and high-profit professional toy manufacturer. When Miss Luo took the money she earned to see her brother and sister, she gave two choices: one was to repay the loan with interest, and the other was to convert the loan into debt or share in the company. Brothers and sisters want to listen to teacher Luo's advice. Miss Luo said, of course, it is debt-to-equity swap. If you agree, I can let you use this money to buy half of the shares in this company now. Brothers and sisters actually obeyed and agreed. A few years later, the 654.38+ 10,000 yuan they lent to Miss Luo became a 50% stake in Mattel, the world's largest toy company!
……
Miss Luo had a premonition. Intuition tells her that every little girl in the world has a "big girl" hidden in her heart, an idol, a type she hopes to grow up to be, right? Just like Miss Luo's big sister when she was a child, if there was a doll like a big sister at that time, Miss Luo would definitely put it down. So, why can't dolls look like adult girls? Why can't we give them a graceful figure? Why can't we turn them into beautiful women with various styles and fashionable clothes?
Look at the dolls for girls in the market at that time. They were stuffed with flannel, with big and stupid heads, round and fat bellies, straight arms and legs, and the same thickness from top to bottom ... so stupid and ugly, no matter what proportion, fashion, taste, production technology and so on, they were just dolls for girls to play with ... Of course, the more subtle and profound meaning is that girls are.
When girls and boys play games, they are really doing "role-playing" and rehearsing their future growth experiences. Which girl doesn't want to be beautiful in the future, know how to match clothes, know how to dress in fashion, and show her personality and style? ! Miss Luo is more excited when she thinks about it. She wants to give a doll with the appearance of a "big girl" to little girls all over the world. Hehe, this is a great big market. There has never been such a product on the market. Is it that no one thought of producing such a product, or is Miss Luo's idea really a bit too backward?
In fact, in the 1950s, this simple idea was not so convincing. Everyone is an antique. Before an idea came true, no one believed Miss Luo's bizarre and even fanciful idea, when they didn't see thousands of little girls in Qian Qian eagerly reaching out and hugging their "big girl" dolls. Innovation is really an extremely difficult thing! People can only look at the past and think they are smart. Who can really see the future?
Every little girl has a "big girl" hidden in her heart, for sure! Miss Luo firmly believes in her intuition, and she wants to create a colorful "big girl" world in the world of little girls! So she told Xiao Ai the idea with great interest. Unexpectedly, I have always listened to this idea, but I poured cold water on Miss Luo: "Don't be whimsical, not to mention whether little girls like' big girls'. People who buy dolls are all money in adults' pockets. Who will buy these female toys for children? ！” Miss Luo almost fainted with anger.
The next day, in order to prove that he was right, Xiao Ai took Miss Luo to the design department of the company and explained her thoughts in front of everyone. As a result, everyone opposed it, and no one thought Miss Luo's idea was worth a try. Then I dragged Miss Luo to the company's assembly line. Most workers here are mothers with children. Xiao Ai explained Miss Luo's idea to everyone, and then asked if anyone would like to buy such a toy for her daughter. As a result, the whole audience said, "No!"
Miss Luo is usually resolute, approachable and prestigious in the company. What happened today? Actually, her idea was opposed by 100%, and she didn't even hear a word of flattery. Is it because everyone was drunk and I woke up alone, or is Miss Luo's idea an idea that has never been proved, or it may be an idea that doesn't hold water at all?
"Every little girl has a big girl in her heart", definitely, definitely, definitely! ! ! Miss Luo firmly believes in her intuition. No matter what others say, I will try. I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just! Miss Luo's strong nature broke out again. She is as stubborn as a little girl. Haha, isn't this the nature of entrepreneurs who are bent on their own way and opinionated? Without this heroic nature, where can there be innovation? What business are you going to do?
As a result, in the uproar of the company, Miss Luo forcibly launched her own crazy adventure plan. She ordered the designers to design a "big girl" image in her mind completely according to her own meaning: oval face, big eyes, curved eyebrows, upturned nose, tall chest, thin waist and slender limbs ... The fuselage design was changed over and over again, and finally it was finalized as measurements 39-2655. Miss Luo ordered the production part to adopt the best materials and the latest technology, and the details of each dress should be realistic, even the eyeliner on the face should be meticulously drawn; She also ordered the marketing department to invest heavily in TV advertisements ... Inadvertently, Miss Luo found that Barbie, her eldest daughter, liked painting, and the pictures were full of images of "big girls". Miss Luo has collected a thick stack of Barbie paintings, which will prove that Miss Luo's idea is right and that "every little girl has a big girl hidden in her heart"!
Miss Luo got excited again and finally decided to name the brands of these dolls after her daughter: "Barbie".
Although Miss Luo has spent a lot of effort and spare money in the company, no one around her believes that this toy named Barbie will become a hot commodity. Therefore, it is ultimately up to the market to decide. For Miss Luo, everything is ready at this time, except the east wind.
1959 in early spring, the annual international toy fair was unveiled at the toy center in midtown Manhattan. Thousands of toy orderers from all over the world braved the cold wind to gather here ... "Barbie" also made a beautiful appearance. Miss Luo specially rented the most conspicuous booth and carefully arranged it. She also rented a hotel suite across the street, removed all the beds and furniture in the room and set up a private exhibition room. Miss Luo goes out in person and waits for him here.
At that time, the United States was promoting the "moon landing plan" everywhere, so the most popular models in the exhibition hall were spacecraft, rockets and astronauts. In sharp contrast, Barbie stood alone in the spotlight, and few customers came to ask questions. Even if someone asks questions occasionally, they all look suspicious, puzzled and even disdainful. Obviously, the situation is not good.
Miss Luo has obviously been unable to conceal her anxiety. As time goes by, there are fewer orders. Even old customers who have always had a good relationship, few people are willing to try to book some small batch samples of Barbie dolls. It seems that the defeat has been decided. However, Miss Luo is still waiting for the last glimmer of hope. On the last day of the exhibition, one of her most important clients will come to this private exhibition room to meet her. That man is the purchasing director of Sears, the largest department store chain in America. With thousands of Sears stores, he can have sex and control the life and death of any toy.
This man has arrived. Miss Luo greeted her with a smile on her face. With a cordial handshake and a warm hug, she tried her best to explain Barbie's positioning, design and details to the visitors. Finally, the dark blue curtains in the back room were gradually opened, and a limited edition Barbie wedding dress was placed in the middle. In the spotlight, Barbie is like a proud princess, with a snow-white mop skirt on the curved stairs and jewels shining on Barbie's crown and wedding dress.
Miss Luo's heartbeat is in her throat. She prayed eagerly: yes, yes, yes ... but instead, she only heard a heavy answer: "no!" "
After a crushing defeat, Miss Luo's adventure ended in failure at the new york International Toy Fair. Dragging her tired body, Miss Luo returned to her office in Los Angeles amid everyone's snickers and jeers. She also believes that Barbie is a doll that nobody wants. What "every little girl has a big girl in her heart" is an idiotic dream. Nobody wants that doll. Reality is before us. Everyone is awake, and I am drunk alone. Don't be wishful thinking Live in the moment! Dissolve Barbie design team quickly, let them return to their original posts, what to do, call the production line to stop, cancel the scheduled production plan, and avoid the company from suffering more losses. ...
Just when Miss Luo came back to reality from her dream, she knocked on the door out of breath and said, "Manager Luo, Manager Luo, we are all wrong ... Barbie's order came like snowflakes ...! "
"Ah" Miss Luo was overjoyed. ...
It turned out that Barbie's media advertisement was put in after the International Toy Fair. Although most dealers didn't order Barbie dolls at the Expo, little girls and young mothers from all over the world rushed to toy stores to snap up Barbie dolls after seeing their advertisements in TV newspapers. This lively situation made the merchants blindsided ... Hehe, everyone, including smart dealers, was not only blindsided, but also deceived. Facts have proved that only the market has a vision.
Miss Luo stood up, picked up an "unwanted" Barbie from the counter, pushed open the window and looked at the horizon. The window of the distant high-rise building was also opened, and the little girls reached out from the window and screamed: Every little girl has a big girl hidden in her heart!
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