Famous Quote
'If you have to sum up the idea of Playboy, it is antipuritanism. Not just in regard to sex, but the whole range of play and pleasure.'
Growing Up
At a very young age, Hugh Hefner was in the publishing business. While in high school, he wrote articles and illustrations for the school paper. He then started his own magazine called Shudder, which focused on short stories, comics, and book and movie reviews. He also set up a members only club for readers with a five cents per year membership fee. Upon graduation, Hefner joined the U.S. Army and was put to work as a clerk where he spent the next two years.
When he left the army, Hefner tried to fulfill his passion and find a job in publishing. He was, however, unable to get hired as a journalist and his idea of selling a comic strip named 'Fred Frat' about university student life was also turned town. To make money, Hefner ended up taking uninteresting jobs such as working at a cardboard-carton manufacturer.
Not willing to let his dream job pass him by, Heffner continued searching and eventually landed a position with Esquire magazine where he learned the ins and outs of publishing and marketing a magazine. Unfortunately, Esquire decided to move to New York City and close down in Chicago, leaving Heffner once again unemployed.
Hefner's intuition told him that there was an opportunity to be had in publishing a magazine for men that focused on sex. His plan was to publish pictures of nude women – a move which had not been widely attempted for fear of being prosecuted for the distribution of obscene material through the U.S. mail. Hefner was not concerned about the legal implications and had a big plan to get the word out about his magazine.
Starting The Business
Before she became famous, Marilyn Monroe posed nude for a calendar photo. Everyone in the publishing world knew about the picture but no one dared print it because of the legal risks. Hefner decided that he would take the risk and use the picture for the inaugural edition of his new magazine, Playboy in December of 1953.
At 27 years of age, with a startup investment of only $600 and some credit from his printing company, Hefner went to work. The first issue sold for 50 cents each and had a press run of 53,991. The entire issue was quickly sold out giving proof to Hefner's market opportunity prediction.
While Playboy had been known for its nude pictures, Hefner also strove to add well-written content and attracted the likes of Tennessee Williams to author articles for him. By 1960, the magazine's circulation topped the 1 million mark.
Building An Empire
With a profitable magazine flourishing for him, Hefner decided to expand his business into other areas. Two of his more successful ventures were Playboy Clubs, a chain of nightclubs, and a number of London casinos.
In the 1980s, however, Hefner fell upon hard times. Ronald Reagan's election victory reflected the conservative nature of Americans at the time which affected Playboy's sales, the company was forced to close its London casinos due to numerous complaints, Hefner himself was turned down by the New Jersey Gaming Commission for the license to run his newly built $150 million casino, and in 1985, he suffered a stroke.
In 1988, Hefner handed the reigns of the business over to his daughter, Christie who turned the business around. Christie changed the focus of the magazine, which would now feature more content on fashion and entertainment. In addition, she launched Playboy TV and a pay per use Website. Through Playboy, Hefner challenged the rules and societal norms and changed the way sex was seen in America.
Evan is an entrepreneur and international speaker. At the age of 19, he became an owner and Chief Operating Officer in Redasoft, a biotechnology software company. The company quickly grew to over 300 organizations as clients, including NASA and Johnson & Johnson, in 30 countries. He started Evan Carmichael & Associates with the goal to give entrepreneurs the motivation to follow their passion and the strategies they need to succeed. Evan has delivered over 100 keynote presentations to entrepreneurs in North America, Europe, and Asia. He has been interviewed by newspapers, radio stations, and television stations including CHUM FM, CityTV, Global TV, OMNI TV, Enterprise, and the Toronto Sun. Evan's website, http://www.evancarmichael.com is the world's #1 website for small business motivation and strategies.
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