Why Ruth Handler Ignored the "Experts" (and Why You Should, Too)

My own daughters would play with their Barbie dolls for hours, and we probably still have well over 50 of them out in the garage someplace. They loved them for the same reason Ruth Handler thought they would. What is that? Read on!

By the time the mid-1950s rolled around, Mattel was nothing special, a meh toy company in a crowded market. Ruth and Elliot Handler’s little company was manufacturing picture makers and plastic ukes out of a converted garage.

But then Ruth noticed something small that everyone else ignored.

Something that would change the world.

Ruth watched her daughter (yep, Barbara) playing with the paper dolls Ruth had brought home from Europe, for hours. Barbara wasn't interested in the baby dolls that were so common at the time, instead these paper dolls were of women - stewardesses, nurses, etc.

Barbara didn’t want to practice being a "mommy," she wanted to pretend to be a grown-up, a career woman, or a traveler. She was practicing being an adult.

Ruth realized that the entire toy industry was obsessed with selling "protection," but what girls like her daughter actually wanted was "projection."

The Big Risk

Ruth wanted Mattel to create a woman doll with an adult body. When she brought the idea to the Mattel board, the reaction was icy.

The room full of men hated it.

They thought a doll with a woman’s body was too suggestive and were certain no mother would ever buy it for her child. And anyway, it would be too expensive, too big of a risk.

But Ruth didn't flinch.

She pushed Mattel to bet the farm, putting $25,000 into development. That was a massive, expensive gamble for a mid-sized company with no clear payoff in sight.

Even crazier, they bet their entire marketing budget on a brand-new, unproven medium: television. They bought up every available second of sponsorship on the first season of Mickey Mouse Club. It was a "burn the boats" moment. If the doll flopped, Mattel was likely finished.

The Big Bet

The Barbie doll launched at the 1959 Toy Fair in New York, and at first, it looked like the board was right. The professional buyers walked right past the booth, shaking their heads. They thought Ruth was crazy.

But then, the television ads hit the airwaves.

The girls saw what the "experts" couldn't. They didn't see a "suggestive" doll; they saw the chance to play with their own future dreams and selves. Mattel sold 350,000 dolls in that first year alone.

The "nothing" company exploded into a cultural powerhouse.

The Big Payoff

Today, Barbie, of course, is a multi-billion dollar empire.

But it sure didn't start that way. It started because one woman had the guts to ignore the experts and bet on her vision of why a little girl was playing with paper dolls on her bedroom floor.

P.S. I’m opening up a couple of spots this week to work with me 1-on-1. If you’re tired of sounding like everyone else, or if your marketing is landing with a thud, I can help. I’ll ghostwrite your next campaign or social posts, craft you your own magnetic newsletter, or we can spend an hour tearing your current strategy apart. I don't do "consulting." I do results. Shoot me an email at [email protected] with the word GROWTH, and let’s chat!

The Takeaway

Barbie, and Ruth’s, lesson is about trusting your own entrepreneurial vision even when you are the only one in the room who sees it. Ruth didn't just find a new product; she held her ground against a board that told her she was wrong. In your business, the path to a million-dollar breakthrough just may require that you too are the only one who believes in the bet.

You have that vision for a reason, right?

Steal This Strategy

🎥 Video — The Very First Barbie Commercial (1959) Watch the exact television ad that bypassed the "experts" and went straight to the kids to build an empire.

🛠️ Tool — One‑Person Empire Blueprint (Free Download)
Our one‑page business model: How to start, monetize, and simplify. Free to subscribers of Notes to an Entrepreneur!

📖 Book — Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business by Paul Jarvis
A smart case for why staying small can be a better way to grow.

📚 Read — The Small Business Bible by Steven Strauss My definitive guide for building a business that can thrive in any market by focusing on what actually works.

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!