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®, 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!

The Bear Necessities of Business: Building a Company with Heart

FROM OUR EDITORS

In an age of dog-eat-dog businesses, Maxine Clark's Build-A-Bear Workshops give consumers a warm and fuzzy feeling. They offer an interactive, family-oriented and fun experience, instead of a numbing shopping routine. Clark describes her business philosophy thus: "I do believe that it takes a village to raise a bear. In order for anything to be successful it takes the work of many people. Impeccable implementation and attention to details is required." In The Bear Necessities of Business, she draws on her three decades of business experience to explain how she has built a kinder, gentler teddy bear nation. An imaginative small business tutorial.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In The Bear Necessities of Business, Build-A-Bear Workshop founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Bear Maxine Clark reveals how she built this amazing global business from the ground up. Drawing upon more than three decades of business experience, she shows readers what it takes to create an incredible company for customers of all ages. The Bear Necessities of Business is divided into seven sections, each built around an essential element necessary to start, run, and market a thriving company. Every section contains a series of short chapters, which further expand on each required element. While primarily drawing on real-life experiences from Build-A-Bear Workshop, this engaging book also features lessons and examples from some of the other successful companies Clark has admired and/or been associated with, including Starbucks, Payless ShoeSource, and Southwest Airlines. Readers will discover the true inside story of how Clark created Build-A-Bear Workshop from the ground up-while at the same time learning the key tenets to successfully growing and managing any kind of business. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, The Bear Necessities of Business provides a model for how to run a great company, regardless of what industry you're competing in.

Maxine Clark (St. Louis, MO) is the founder and Chief Executive Bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop. A veteran of the retail industry, she has been widely recognized for her innovative work and been featured on numerous television shows, including Oprah. Clark spent 25 years with the May Department Stores Companies and later served as president of Payless ShoeSource, which she turned into the number one seller of children's licensedfootwear in the world. Amy Joyner (Greensboro, NC) is an award-winning business reporter who has written on entrepreneurship for many years. She is also the author of The eBay Millionaire (0-471-71216-7) and coauthor of Making Dough (0-471-43209-1).