Enterprise Rent a Car
In 1957, Jack Taylor invested his life savings to form the Executive Leasing Company. It was a car leasing business that had 7 cars. Business was OK, nothing fantastic. 5 years later, and now with 17 cars, he pivoted to the car rental business.
In his new business, he had to do something different than his competitors. The biggest market for car rentals was at airports. When you fly, you need a car. At the time, the large car rental companies had the airports occupied, preventing a new start-up like him from getting in. He used his previous location in a car dealership and rented to customers who needed cars while theirs were being worked on in the shop. The competitors focused on the airports and travel destinations and he focused on serving customers where they lived and worked.
The business had another problem. Car rental businesses all sell the same thing. Cars and they all have the same cars. Enterprise couldn't magically get better ones than its competitors. They also had fewer cars. One way he could outcompete them was by providing customers with extraordinary service. Treat the customers well and they will come back. Simple, but powerful.
Despite these initial challenges, Enterprise is now the largest car rental company in the world.
Some of my quick takeaways are:
Pivot your business. If it’s not working out as well as you thought or if you see a better opportunity, do something different.
My main takeaway is to treat customers well. This simple business strategy is powerful.
If you want to hear someone better tell this story and a few other good business stories check out this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNNJpf_hicE&t=234s