0816_TOEFL-Test-and-Score-Manual-1997

Great Ideas and Insights from VIPs ● 285
After four management changes between 1985 and 1988, his original
cookie venture was eventually acquired by an investor-backed conglomerate.
The Famous Amos brand is still around. In fact, the hunky,
romantic lead in Burlesque, starring Cher and Christina Aguilera, holds a
box of Famous Amos cookies in front of his private parts during a funny
seduction scene.
After Amos sold the company, the new owners filed suit to keep him
out of the cookie business. He fought back in court, eventually winning the
right to use his name for other ventures, including a line of dolls named
“Chip” and “Cookie.” In 1993, he started Uncle No Name’s bakery.
Amos and his partner, Lou Avignone, now bake “Uncle Wally’s” muffins.
The company, based in Shirley, New York, sells small-portioned, fatfree
and sugar-free muffins.
“Now, I’m the muffin man,” Amos told me. “I didn’t plan it.
Circumstances created it. And you have to go with what works. . . . I believe
if you have an idea and focus on achieving your goal, your whole energy is
focused on doing it, and ideas just come to you.”
He told me his management team runs the business while he focuses
on marketing and promotion.
“You never know what the hell is going to happen. Life is unpredictable,
yet we spend much of our time trying to predict it. I have no regrets.
I’m still feeling good. And, for Uncle Wally’s, the future looks fantastic.”
GREAT
IDEA
Lillian Vernon—Advice from
the Mail-Order Queen
When I interviewed Lillian Vernon about 15 years
ago, I thought, “I hope I have as much energy and
look as great as she does when I’m older!”
Like many small business owners, Vernon started her business on her
kitchen table. It was in the early 1950s. She was pregnant and needed to
earn money, but working outside the home was frowned upon. Since her
father was in the leather business, she thought she might make money by
selling fashion accessories.