Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Doris Christopher's Million Dollar Party

By Lenora Wyanth

In 1980 Doris Christopher began hosting 'kitchen shows' where she demonstrated a set of hand-picked essential home kitchen tools. Her teaching skills and culinary know-how were well-received and the company we know as The Pampered Chef was born that year

Who can say no to a Pampered Chef party invitation? Even if you have no intention of buying any new kitchen products, you are bound to learn some new things about cooking and pick up some novel cooking techniques and tips. You will certainly leave the party with a few good recipes to try at home, regardless of the tools you have at your disposal.

Ms Christopher's good fortune depended in part on timing. She began her company at a time when there were many more women cooking at home with fresh ingredients than there are today. There was also more extra income to spend on such things as specialized kitchen tools and accessories. In 1980 there were not many choices in professional cookware available to the average homemaker.

What's in a name? The words 'pampered' and 'chef' have worked well for the company. What sounds better, a pampered chef or a spoiled cook? See what I mean? It is a catchy phrase that conjures up a nice picture of a happy cook in a well-equipped kitchen. Learning to use professional chef tools is a great way to feel like a pampered chef. Ms. Christopher had done ample research into obtaining the most useful kitchen tools she could find.

Ms. Christopher put into place a lifetime warranty policy for her Pampered Chef offerings, and this created a high level of consumer trust. She purchased high quality items that did not require frequent replacements. These are two additional reasons her company prospered.

Ms. Christopher personally trained the first generation of Pampered Chef Consultants, bringing her products and techniques to homes all across the United States and Canada. Because her company stressed family time, she set up the marketing through in-home demonstrations that every homemaker could control, thus keeping family time intact.

The very slogan and mission of the Pampered Chef is to provide the tools to keep cooking fun and easy, so there is more time to spend with family. Ms. Christopher made sure her consultants were able to advance financially through unlimited direct marketing opportunities. Every consultant was able to arrange as many Pampered Chef parties as she or he had time for.

Ms. Christopher added to her company's success through authoring books on her company history and mission. She outlined the success of her direct marketing efforts in the book Come to the Table, published by Warner Books in 1999. Ms. Christopher's success story has been featured in Fortune Small Business and on CNN-TV.

Why not pamper yourself and try out some Pampered Chef tools? Every cook deserves to be pampered. Find out how cooking can be fun and easy with the unique kitchen tools offered by Pampered Chef.

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