Yes, I know. Last month was “love month,” and we’re supposed to be moving past the flowers, chocolates, and sappy love notes to more pressing matters. But my daily position knee-deep in small business marketing has made me look at commercialism a little differently, and occasionally, you find something playing out in real life that teaches a valuable lesson.

The hottest gift from last month’s Valentine’s Day season was not any of the usual jewelry or sparkles. News stories showed shoppers flooding Target and other box stores to wait in long lines for shipments to arrive. Grown women were fist-fighting and pulling hair in the aisles. It looked like the week before Christmas with parents risking felony assault charges for Tickle-Me Elmos, but this time they were scrambling for the last limited-edition Valentine’s Day Stanley cup.

The Stanley cup phenomenon makes most of us sane and practical people shake our heads. I mean, who needs to keep 40 oz of water cold for a month and wants to lug around a 5-pound cup all day? And especially with a $70+ price tag…? But, while I roll my eyes at the ridiculousness of it all, my wife currently has three and couldn’t care less about my practical arguments. Stanley has found a niche, and the business is booming, taking a 100-year-old company to heights they never thought imaginable.

The Stanley Company was founded in 1913 by William Stanley Jr., who had a vision to serve the working-class man by keeping his soup, coffee, or other liquids hot or cold until his lunchtime on the job site. He invented the first vacuum-sealed, steel thermos with the removable cup top that many of our grandfathers carried to work for years. And for most of the century the company has been in existence, they’ve catered just to that target market—blue-collar men, hunters, and fishermen. As a result, their best sellers have been standard thermoses in black, grey, and camouflage. In 2016, the company’s annual revenue was a respectable $75 million worldwide, but soon one small suggestion would grow that number ten-fold.

In 2017, the wife of a Stanley executive had an idea. She wanted one of Stanley’s famous thermoses custom-made for her in a lighter color and a little more “lifestyle” friendly. He obliged, and soon the wife was getting compliments left and right from friends, even collecting orders. So, soon to follow came the launch of The Quencher - a less “macho” cup coming in a full spectrum of colors. With no small thanks to social media influencers and trendy FOMO marketing among Millennials, Stanley went from the $75 million in revenue in 2016 to $750 million in 2023. Incredible growth, all due to one idea that caught on.

Here's where the questions come for us. Obviously, we have a success story here, and hindsight is 20/20. But let’s go back to 2017. Imagine that boardroom meeting when this radical idea was floated to do something almost completely different than what their company had done for 100 years in business. “Hey guys, let’s scrap what we know and target a completely new market because my wife says it’ll sell.” How do you think that conversation went? What were the questions, objections, and fears that were brought to the table? Can you imagine?

“What will our long-time customers think of this?” “This isn’t who we are…” “My grandaddy started this company, and he’d be rolling in his grave to see us selling pink thermoses…”

Think about how easily this goldmine of an idea could have been squashed by a room full of decision-makers who loved their company and wanted the best for it. But in their love, they could have held it back from its next phase of evolution.

Change is hard and can be scary, and I believe the objections Stanley execs overcame to become one of the fastest growing companies in America are the same ones that keep so many contracting companies in a rut. We love our companies and want the best for them. No one wants to lose the identity and vision their grandfather or grandmother instilled into ABC Air two generations ago when it started, but our love of our company can also be what’s hurting its future growth the most. New ideas, new markets, and expanding capabilities are VITAL to your growth and survival, and far too many are shot down by the decision-makers who want to keep the status quo.

I often hear things like, “We don’t need to put too much trouble into the website; people know who we are.” “My customer base is loyal, and they’ll keep supporting us without a retention program.” “I don’t think we need to add on a new service. It’s best to just stick to what we know.” I shudder to think of how many business and LIFE-changing suggestions have been brought to the table in contractor staff meetings just to be laughed at and dismissed.

In my experience, most business owners—especially those in the in-home service contracting space – are not the most bold, innovative, or aggressive. In this industry, it can be easy to just sit back and wait for your slice of the market-share pie to fall in your lap. And because of that, it usually doesn’t take huge, revolutionary change to get HVAC or plumbing contractors to the next level. You don’t need to hold brainstorming meetings for hours trying to invent a better mousetrap. Likely, all you need is the willingness to investigate new target markets and new ways to communicate with them. And most importantly, you need to love your company enough to quit shooting down good ideas just because they’re new or uncomfortable.

The good news is, you don’t have to start from scratch. If you need help developing some new tactics or just need a fresh set of outside eyes to evaluate what your doing and make some simple suggestions, Hudson,Ink is here to help. Give us a call at (800) 489-9099 or shoot an email to [email protected] to schedule a call with one of our trained contractor marketing coaches. The idea that changes your financial future could be just a phone call away.