DEBBI FIELDS

Debbi Fields is the Founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies. The business was started in 1977 in Palo Alto, California as Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chippery. The name was changed as the company began to diversify beyond the venerable chocolate chip. The company grosses over $300 million from over 1000 outlets in 9 countries. At age 20 Debbi Fields decided being a housewife wasn't enough and despite family, husband, friends and bankers who said no "with cookie breath and their lips smeared with chocolate", she managed to get a loan. Her husband Randy said she wouldn't sell $50 worth of cookies the first day. After several hours in the shop with no sales, as any good entrepreneur would do, she took to the streets! She assembled a tray of cookies and started to offer samples to the passers-by. By the end of the day, she rang-up $75 in sales. Her husband Randy, would later become an integral part of the companies growth. As the business grew, Debbi Fields was very conscious of her regular customers. She would often have coffee and cookies ready when they arrived. Making people feel special is an important ingredient in her recipe for success. In fact, it was on the advice and persistence of her loyal employees, that she open additional stores. Debbi got the baking bug and a "taste" for entrepreneurship at the age of 13 when she received her first paycheck from a job with the Oakland A's baseball organization. She found that "real" ingredients such as butter, vanilla, and real chocolate made for "real" cookies. She also learned the wonderful lesson that everyone needs to feel important. She received inspiration from her father (a welder by trade) learning that happiness was found in friends, family and enjoying what you do. Mrs. Field's has a very simple business recipe. Treat people with quality ingredients, care, and respect and you'll have a great start on success. She is an inspiration to every one of us because she is every one of us. She is not a Harvard grad nor a trust fund beneficiary. She was a simple person with a fire in her oven, tremendous values and a great idea to put smiles on patrons faces with her baking. Some statistics say that each person has several ideas in their lifetime that could be make them millionaires. Success is found in the execution of an honest idea.