Posted by: Troy White
May 6, 2008
Issue #411

Cowboy Capitalism …

In this issue:

• Saddling up controversy and making it pay and pay and pay …

• Big money formula for getting them to buy more, refer more, and have more fun …

• Leveraging rumors to build your business … 

• And Much More!

Fellow Business Builder,

Last Wednesday night was a great night. 

Not only was it our 9th wedding anniversary, it was also the grand re-opening of Cowboys bar in Calgary … which we were glad to be at.

Cowboys is owned by Paul Vickers, one of the speakers at my Wild West Marketing and Wealth event in June.  Cowboys is also where Kari and I first really started ‘dating’ - is our regular haunt during Calgary Stampede week - and is a world renowned establishment that many celebrities have frequented over the years.  It is also the place where Paul Vickers first met up with his wife.

The reason I bring up Cowboys is to make sure you understand their incredible model for success, media attention, BIG money ($100 million in 10 years – from one bar) and some serious raving fans.

Again, if you refer to last week’s article, you will see how important it is to take ideas from one industry and MAKE THEM FIT your own. 

Major breakthroughs happen here

Some of the things I have seen Paul do with Cowboys:

Become a master of the media.  Paul is a serious businessman that knows what the media wants (controversy), and then he makes sure he delivers it to them.

When Prince Harry was temporarily posted near Calgary for training with the British Army, he and a few others decided to visit the infamous Cowboys one night and took an immediate shine to Cymbalisty, one of Cowboys’ bodacious bar staff.  Harry is Cowboys’ third prince. (The others were Prince Albert of Monaco and the artist formerly known as Prince.)

Cowboys has a saying that is plastered across its walls which says quite a lot about both their staff and their patrons:

‘Through these doors walk the most beautiful women in Alberta.’

There is a rumor that goes around about Cowboys that feeds the controversy, feeds the media’s interest, and furthers the mobs of customers walking through their doors with wallets full of cash they want to spend.

The rumor is that when a waitress is hired for Cowboys, they sign a simple contract. In that contract it states that after one year of service, Cowboys will pay half (or all, depending on which rumor you listen to) of their breast augmentation.

Now, whether or not this is true is beside the point.

What really matters is how brilliant this is! 

Many women say they detest Cowboys and what this policy stands for. 

Yet, when we were there last Wednesday, the patrons were, by a significant margin, more women than men. They were dressed more provocatively than most of the Cowboys’ waitresses. And they were definitely out to get as much attention as they could for their natural “assets”.

Also note: The waitresses there are among the highest paid in the world (they make upwards of $1,000 a day during the Stampede in tips) … so they are not complaining too loudly about the “unethical” policy in their contract.

So, those that complain the loudest are obviously not telling the truth, not patrons anyhow, and are helping matters more than hurting them with their complaints.

Men love the place for both the waitresses, the patrons (remember how they dress and act?), and for the all around fun atmosphere Cowboys has. 

Let’s do the math here:

One rumor (true or not) + female patrons out to make a point they are more gorgeous than the staff + men who don’t really care who wins that contest + an environment that fosters bottled up fun (and ample ways to spend your money) = one VERY profitable business (and media magnet)

The media absolutely LOVES Cowboys for rumors like this. Wednesday night, there were local and national television cameras everywhere (for the first night of the four-night grand opening – another one of his masterful marketing moves). 

More media attention = more paying customers.

Paul is also a master at experience marketing.  He is a very successful man and a very well-known celebrity in his market.  And he calls in his cards when he needs to.  Again, Wednesday night, I counted a dozen or so well-known Canadian celebrities there in attendance. 

How would I know they were there?  They announced it over the intercom!  Again, very smart move. Every time someone well-known walked through the front door, the doorman (they are the size of NFL linebackers and meaner) tell the DJ who it was and they would loudly say, “ _ insert celebrity name here ___ is in the house.”

Everyone loves being in a restaurant, bar, or business that is frequented by celebrities.  It helps build the mystique around the place, it draws in crowds of new patrons, and is a claim to fame that smart businesses leverage to the Nth degree.

Here is Paul’s newest tool for building on the experience …

When I was chatting with Paul, he kept looking at me and saying “You Are a Legend … your name is on the wall” and pointing over to his new Legend Wall. At first I didn’t understand what he meant, until I walked over to have a look.

He actually put my name on a brass plate in the center of his new Legend’s Wall.  I still am not quite sure what I did to get my name up there. When I talk to him next, I will ask him. 

The point is – if your name was up there – would you not tell people to go and check it out next time? 

Of course you would … so am I.

Could you not use a Legend’s Wall in your business? Surprise your clients with free publicity … give them notoriety for something they helped you with or did for you?  With a little creativity, you certainly could.

Paul is also a master at leveraging ideas and making even more money. 

First, he took the ideas that have worked so well for him at Cowboys and started an environmental company years ago.  He uses similar marketing approaches as Cowboys (minus some of the more scantily clad ideas) – and has built this company into a HUGE success story.  They were recently featured on The Discovery Channel for their incredible business model and community efforts.

He has also leveraged the Cowboys’ ideas into his other businesses – and they are many - restaurants, bars, and entertainment businesses located across Canada.  Plus, he is taking his marketing model and franchising it worldwide.  It works – its duplicable – and it’s highly profitable.

And it’s something you should be finding ways to steal ideas from!

Look around your city, province, state, or country – what businesses are getting the media attention? 

Which ones are controversial?

Which ones are making a pile of money?

Then borrow some ideas from them and make them fit your own business!

Success leaves clues – don’t ignore them.

If you want to see more of the photos from this infamous club, visit www.cowboysniteclub.com – and sign up to view the galleries. (Yes, they make it a little more difficult to view the photos – for reasons you will soon see.)

Love the Cowboys’ business model or hate it … The fact is that it is a brilliant business model and the ideas used to make the money they do CAN be applied to your business. 

What can you do to spice up your business image, get some controversial media attention, and build a more enduring model that can be replicated over and over again? (Paul is presently franchising the Cowboys model across the world.)

As they proudly say …

… It’s the most fun that you can have with your boots on!

Paul is a very generous guy in his business knowledge and has offered me some incredible advice and ideas with my upcoming marketing summit.

He even offered to bus in all of the attendees to Cowboys on the Cowboys’ bus, give them VIP passes to get in the door without lining up and without a cover charge … which will make for an evening to be talking about for years to come (watch for photos)!

I realize that this example is quite unique, the ideas generated somewhat unusual – but the question to you is …

How CAN they be MADE to work for you?

To your success,

Troy White
Editor, Small Business Mastery
Supplement to THE TOTAL PACKAGE™

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A Final Note:

If you have specific subjects you would like addressed, or have any comments on what you have seen here, please submit a comment below and I will see how I can help.

"Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”

–Napoleon Hill

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2 Comments »

1. Comment by deanna — May 7, 2008 @ 9:34 am

   Troy,

   Thanks for a great post.  I really enjoy it when you highlight the marketing strategies of successful businesses.  You help me to think more creatively - and I always end up learning so much!

   Thanks!
   Deanna

2. Comment by Troy White — May 7, 2008 @ 5:10 pm

   Thanks Deanna,  I really do enjoy working with people and businesses that love to be creative in their marketing.  Well, creative – mixed with real world testing and measuring.  Amazing how little it does take to stand out from the crowd!  Troy