Bert and John Jacobs believe life to good. So that is
exactly what they named their now thriving company, but it was not always that
way. In 1989, the brothers began selling t-shirts door to door and on the
streets. As they tell it on their website, the early years were something less than
profitable. They lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and as two single
guys at the time, they say “chicks were not impressed.”
Searching for an answer, but ever optimistic, they found it
in the form of a drawing on their apartment wall that served as a kind of early brand and logo called “Jake.”
Bert and John recall;
“Jake's contagious grin, simple as it was, seemed to express
everything the Jacobs brothers believed in.
One fateful September day, they printed up 48 Jake shirts
for a local street fair in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They laid the shirts out
on their rickety card table. By noontime, all 48 of those tees were gone. A star
was born.
Soon Jake was introduced to local retailers, and his simple
message of optimism was embraced like nothing the brothers had ever seen. As
demand for product soared, Jake's team grew, and the Little Brand That Could
began to spread across America.”
Today, Life is Good has 260 employees and continues its emphasis
on simplicity, humor and humility.
The more you learn about this company, you will find, they have a whole lot of heart and an abundance of love.
Life is Good is based in Boston and during the Boston
Marathon, the company had several employees in the crowd promoting the
company’s brand. One was seriously injured.
In a story for Inc. Magazine Chief Optimist Bert Jacobs says, their
employee was badly burned, but grateful he survived and knew that others were
much worse off. (Sounds like a perfect employee for Life is Good to me.)
Bert continues; “The
day after the attacks, our employees started asking whether we could do
something to raise money for the victims and their families. I said no. I felt
like we had to get our own house in order, to feel like it was OK to get back
to work, before helping somebody else. But we're a brand about the power of
optimism. We should be leaders of the spirit when bad things happen. So by
Sunday, I changed my position and said we should make a T-shirt.”
Make a
T-shirt they did. Bert tells Inc., “We looked at what was already out there. A lot of "Be
Strong" and "Boston Strong," that tough Irish mentality. I don't
knock that. But it's almost like they're suppressing emotion: We're so strong,
let's just move on. Life Is Good focuses on what's right in the world.
No matter how you slice it,
this was a hate crime. But instantly afterward, all these people--the first
responders and the people who helped people on the street and opened up their
homes and ran to the hospitals to give blood--performed acts of love. So we
created a shirt that says "Boston" on the front and "There is
nothing stronger than love" on the back.”
The company’s sales plummeted
after the attacks, and Jacobs says the T-shirts helped to head the company and
sales bounced back because of the t-shirt. “We
have 260 employees, and there is not a single person who did not touch that
shirt. From start to finish, we got it out there in just under 30 hours. We're
not built to turn something around that fast, but our people figured it out.
They worked day and night. We're proud of their hustle,” said Jacobs.
In fact, according to Jacobs, the T-Shirt may be their fastest selling product ever with over 70,000 units sold in the first week. Life is Good had a goal of raising $50,000 to $100,000 and now it looks like they could hit a half a million. All proceeds are going to One Fund Boston.
In fact, according to Jacobs, the T-Shirt may be their fastest selling product ever with over 70,000 units sold in the first week. Life is Good had a goal of raising $50,000 to $100,000 and now it looks like they could hit a half a million. All proceeds are going to One Fund Boston.
Life is Good’s good works are
not limited to the tragedy in Boston. Fox News reports, has raised
over 9 million for kids in need.
Without a doubt, Bert and John Jacobs and the entire Life is
Good team emulates the Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi model. They focus on core
principles like Belief, Enthusiasm, Heart, Attitude, Passion, Purpose and
Imagination. What they call optimism. They believe that by focusing on and
staying true to their core values, that success will find them and it has in a
big way.
Life if very good for Life is Good.
Click here to learn more about the Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi model.
Be Great!
MB
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