Built for Regular Guys: The $30 Billion Rise of The Home Depot

One of the greatest entrepreneurial success stories of the past twenty years unfolded when a friend told Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank that "you've just been hit in the ass by a golden horseshoe," despite the fact that they had just been fired. The friend, Ken Langone, meant that they now had the opportunity to create the kind of wide-open warehouse store that would help spark a consumer revolution through low prices, excellent customer service, and wide availability of products.

Built from Scratch is the story of how two incredibly determined and creative people--and their associates--built a business from nothing to 761 stores and $30 billion in sales in a mere twenty years. The book tells many colorful stories associated with The Home Depot's founding and meteoric rise, demonstrates that a company can be a tough, growth-oriented competitor and still maintain a high sense of responsibility to the community, and provides great lessons useful to people in any business, from start-ups to the Fortune 500.

One of the great stories in the book is the inside account of "Ming the Merciless," the man who fired Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus. Another story recounts how Ross Perot almost got involved with The Home Depot, and there is also the tale of the banker who put his career on the line to get The Home Depot the loan that enabled it to survive. Additionally, the book describes Home Depot's first good ol' southern advertising campaign, where a spokesperson joked, "Folks, I tell ya, if these Atlanta stores were any bigger, we'd be paying Alabama sales tax."

The Home Depot is a company with a conscience. When disasters like the Oklahoma City bombing or Hurricane Andrew happen, Home Depot associates don't ask for permission to respond. They react from their hearts--whether that means keeping their store open all night or being on the scene with volunteers and relief supplies. The Home Depot doesn't just contribute money to organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Christmas in April, but also provides its people to help lead and grow these community efforts.

The book also shares great lessons from The Home Depot's success. For example, the company knows that its customers don't pay for wider aisles and a pretty store, but for a wide assortment and low prices. The Home Depot also learned from talking with Sam Walton that everyday low prices mean more sales overall. Additionally, the company's strategy for profitable growth involved redefining its U.S. market from its $135 billion traditional "do-it-yourself" base to a much larger pond of $365 billion.

Built from Scratch is the firsthand account of how two regular guys, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank, created one of the greatest entrepreneurial successes of the last twenty years. The book describes the challenges they faced in opening the first Home Depot store, the importance they placed on customer service, their commitment to giving back to the communities they served, and the strategies they used to sell their vision to vendors and build a company based on shared values.

product information: