Burt Was Broke, Old, Bearded, & Living in a Cabin. Then He Became the Face of a Million Dollar Brand.

Burt and Roxanne almost stumbled upon the brand idea that catapulted their once small beekeeping business into the stratosphere. In fact, you could say it was staring them in the face the whole time!

So in their honor, Notes presented tonight’s free tool: 🛠️ Tool – The Burts Branding Blueprint™. Our free guide to building a real brand with no money.

Burt was living in a converted turkey coop in the backwoods of Maine.

He didn’t have running water because he didn’t want any. His life consisted of beekeeping, wandering the woods with his dog, and selling honey out of the back of a rusty Datsun pickup.

Broke, alone, kinda content.

Burt certainly wasn’t building a brand; he was happy escaping the world.

Roxanne

Roxanne Quimby was a single mom, broke, artistic, and couch-surfing. She met Burt through mutual friends, and when she saw him throwing out extra beeswax, she asked if she could take some.

Burt shrugged. Sure, why not.

They made some candles together in her kitchen and she sold them at a craft fair.

Then they brought in $200 that weekend. What??

At that time, that was more money than either Burt or Roxanne could ignore. So they made more candles. And sold more. And so they started working together.

Selling bee stuff.

Too Slow Growth

At first, they stuck to candles. But soon, Roxanne tried her hand at creating a beeswax lip balm and it outsold everything else. So they leaned into that.

Then, naturally, they added salves and lotions, launched a little catalog, and started telling a story.

And that’s when things got really interesting.

See, Burt and Roxanne didn’t just make balm. Burt looked like he made balm. His long gray beard, sun-creased face, flannel shirts, and “don’t bother me” energy made him unforgettable. Roxanne understood something that most small business owners never do: Your product might be good, but if your story is great, people will remember.

So she made Burt’s face and name the brand.

That Face!

Burt’s face went on every tin and his name became the brand:

Burt’s Bees.

And Burt’s lifestyle became the brand promise, i.e., natural, unpolished, honest. People weren’t just buying balm, they were buying a little piece of Burt.

And that’s when it exploded.

Retailers came calling, and calling, and calling. The product line grew. Orders scaled. Roxanne ran the business, Burt posed for photos and mostly kept beekeeping.

Eventually, their visions split. Roxanne wanted to build something big. Burt didn’t, he was a beekeeper, not a businessman, damnit! So Roxanne finally bought him out, keeping the brand, for $130,000.

Then she really crushed it.

Roxanne brought in outside leadership, took Burt’s Bees national, and they started to get it into huge stores like Whole Foods and drugstores.

And in 2007, Roxanne, that once broke old hippie, sold Burt’s Bees to Clorox for $925 million.

The Takeaway

Burt’s Bees didn’t win because because of the formula, it won because of the story, the brand. The point is, you don’t have to be an inventor. You don’t have to launch on TechCrunch or get a fancy logo. You don’t even need to call yourself an entrepreneur.

But you do have to have a great story. And you do. Too many small business people and entrepreneurs miss this part, but this is the key, the part that makes you human in an increasingly AI driven digital world.

Tell YOUR origin story. People will remember you.

Steal This Strategy

🛠️ Tool – The Burts Branding Blueprint™
Our free guide to building a real brand without a budget, just like Roxanne did. Product + story + scrappy plan = sales.

📖 Read – The Story of Burt’s Bees (Inc.)
My Inc. colleague tells it straight.

🎥 Watch – Burt’s Buzz (Documentary Trailer)
It’s weird, brilliant, and worth it.

📬 Look for It – The Shoestring Marketing Minute
Launching: My new miconewsletter - The Shoestring Marketing Minute. 3 sentences, 3 tips, 3 times a week, 1 minute, lotsa fun. Find the most vauable, usable, easy, low-budget marketing tactics I find. Built for people with zero ad budget, big ideas, and no time to waste.

About Steve

Steve Strauss is the best-selling author of The Small Business Bible (and 17 other books), Inc.’s small business columnist, a lawyer (non-practicing), and an entrepreneur. He sold his last venture, TheSelfEmployed.com to Mark Cuban & Zen Business. Need a ghostwriter or a newsletter for your business? Contact Steve!