Brothers John and Bert Jacobs did not even think that the small T-shirt business they started in 1989 while they were still in college would be a multimillion-dollar company today. Back in those days, they wanted to earn money by selling the T-shirts they themselves made. Their company Life is Good continues to deliver the promise attached to their company name – with products that provide joy, passion, hope and optimism, in a simple message. The main character in their design is called Jake, a stick figure that sports a big, wide grin and wears a red beret. Together with the picture is the company slogan, Life is Good.
Championing optimism
Their company philosophy is simple: express pure and simple joy just like a child and embrace life with optimism. Speaking at the Big Show event hosted by the National Retail Federation last Tuesday, Bert Jacobs said that the letters they received from two physically-challenged children in the early days of their business provided them with inspiration. The letter also showed them that when there is optimism, one’s focus could shift from seeing what is wrong with the world to what is right and good with it. For him and his brother, their customers helped to write their success story, with their products’ simple messages helping write the stories of those that wear or receive them.
The retail business
For the customers of Life is Good, they not only sell T-shirts and other products, they sell hope and optimism as well. The simple messages on their products provide customers with hope. In today’s retail business, the current practice is not just supply and demand, they are also expected to infuse entertainment and education for their businesses to stay interesting and relevant. Brands today should be bigger than the products they sell. Several years back, the product is the focus, now the brand must represent a culture and about what a company is all about. The culture that the brand represents must penetrate all aspects of the experience a product gives each and every customer. In this era when all types of products are available everywhere, what stands out are the products and brands that go an extra mile.
Bert and John: Their story
The brothers started their business with $200. They were doing part-time jobs while finishing their college studies in Boston in the late 1980s. They have their artwork, which they printed on T-shirts that they wanted to sell to connect with people. They first started by hawking their shirts on the streets of Boston before selling them door-to-door and eventually to the college students staying in dorms. They managed to buy an old van that became their store, warehouse and their home for about five years. The van allowed them to travel further to sell their apparel and meet a lot of people from all walks of life. While trying to keep their expenses low by sleeping inside their van or looking for dorms and lounges where they will be more comfortable, they subsisted on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. In one of their road trips they had a philosophical discussion about the media general focusing on what is wrong, preying on people’s fears because those things sell. After deliberating, John started creating what would eventually be their signature character, Jake. His red beret is a symbol of open-mindedness, with sunglasses so he looks cool and a wide smile to indicate that he finds several reasons to be happy and optimistic.
They placed that drawing on their wall during their traditional keg party after coming back from their road trip. Someone commented that Jake has figured out what life is all about. It was an anonymous comment which the brother summed up into “life is good.” They printed that on the shirt, went out and sold almost one shirt every minute. That became the start of their company, which they founded in 1994. The retailers provided more creative ideas, putting Jake in different fun and every day activities, leisure pursuits and hobbies.
For the Jacobs brothers, customers’ feedback is what inspires them. During their interview with BizJournals, this is what they said:
“Let your customers inspire you. To their surprise, the founders would often find that many of their customers were not people whose lives were perfect, but those who faced some type of adversity. For example, they got a letter and photo of twin boys wearing their t-shirts: they had been born premature, weighing only one pound. One was blind and the other was missing a leg. One of the boys wrote: “If you ask us what helps us the most, it’s having fun together. You’re lucky to have a brother too. I hope you two do things together.” That made the Jacobs brothers think about “gratitude” as a superpower and the concept that instead of saying you “have to” do something, consider that you “get to” do something, even as simple as buying groceries or washing clothes, things that are difficult if you’re blind or getting around with a prosthetic leg.”
Photo Credit: Life is Good Logo
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Google+
LinkedIn
Email