Chapter: Stupid Stuff, Stupid Audience
Pet Rock is the business idea of Gary Dahl from California. In the 70’s he sold this new kind of pet that doesn’t die, never needs to be fed, walked, bathed or groomed. Dahl began by creating the company Rock Bottom Productions. He imported rocks from Rosarito Beach in Baja, California, Mexico. The package for the rock included a pet training manual and a cardboard box, designed like a pet carrier. The manual contained instructions on how to properly care for one’s pet, including how to house train a Pet Rock by placing it on a piece of newspaper and teaching it other commands including sit, stay, roll over, play dead, and come.
Dahl started selling Pet Rock’s in 1975, and believe it or not they sold like crazy. He got a million dollar profit from his sales during Christmas of that same year. He sold over five million of his rocks in a six month period. Shortly after that, the demand of his product declined, but by then Dahl had already collected a million dollar bonus from his silly idea.
Unlike most fads, the Pet Rock continues to live on and has seen resurgence on the internet. There are memorial pages, spin-offs, and one can still purchase such a pet, though new manufacturers have given their rocks new features and looks. There is also a Pet Rock USB available, plug it in and it… does absolutely nothing – as could be expected.
Possible Moral
For parents who don’t want to deal with the mess, noise, feeding, medical and pet insurance costs this must have been great. I can really imagine the face and reaction of a kid opening his presents for Christmas, hoping to get the kitten he so badly wished for – to face a box containing a cold grey piece of rock. Heart warming.
Though what’s really impressive with this story is that it only took Dahl six months to achieve his multi-millionaire status, which was mainly possible due to the extremely low production costs. His idea was simple, effective and highly successful. The Pet Rock idea gives me inspiration to create the next multi-million dollar hit. As indicated by Dahl, what’s needed is a good idea, a thorough plan, hard work, and good marketing.
Story from We All Need Heroes: Stories of the Brave and Foolish.
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We All Need Heroes
Cerita PendekHey there! Here you'll find a collection of mixed stories from my debut book 'We All Need Heroes', which celebrates people with brave and innovative ideas. The finished book is filled with a huge mix of inspirational and fun short-stories of people...
