Oct 23, 2017
We are big believers in the imagination and initiative of entrepreneurs. Hamilton Perkins is one of them. The founder and president of Hamilton Perkins Collection, listen to our conversation about how he saw something. An idea emerged. From it came a very innovative company, an e-commerce retailer, creating designer travel bags at an affordable price, while holding his entire company to the highest standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. His mission is to recylce "all" of the bottles going into those land fills.
"Only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, the rest ends up in landfills or the environment. We're doing something about it. Each of our bags is made up of 17.5 recycled plastic bottles."
Here is a sample of his bags. Pretty fantastic aren't they?
Hamilton is a remarkable entrepeneur and as you listen to his journey you are going to want to find his bags and buy one for you!
He was really upset by the looks of this:
He wanted to turn this waste into something of great beauty. And he did.
Hamilton Perkins Collection has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, The Washington Post, and Money Magazine. Hamilton Perkins Collection has hosted trunk shows at Bloomingdale’s and was the winner of the 2016 Virginia Velocity Tour business pitch competition hosted by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
He has also served in a leadership capacity with various non-profit organizations and has been recognized for his volunteer work and service hours assisting low-income populations.
Hamilton is also a contributing blogger for The Huffington Post.
In this episode, Hamilton Perkins and I discuss:
- Hamilton’s educational and former retail background
- How Hamilton used persistence to make his product a reality
- How Hamilton incorporated fashion with purpose to create a meaningful product
- Hamilton’s process of finding and deciding which materials are best to build his recycled product
- Hamilton’s hands-on involvement and relationships with the collection centers in Haiti
- The new buying patterns Hamilton Perkins Collection is encouraging by pursuing e-commerce before brick and mortar
- How Hamilton Perkins Collection is utilizing media in technology to connect with their customer base, ensuring a community-tailored product
- Why Hamilton Perkins Collection is leading with impact rather than solely an interesting product
- Combining a visually compelling marketing strategy with the product’s story and purpose to run a successful crowdfunding campaign
- How Hamilton Perkins Collection took all data into account to gauge what their consumers truly wanted and the best way to get it to them
- How Hamilton Perkins Collection is tackling scalability at the beginning of popularity
- Hamilton’s view on patience and gratitude to push passion
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Hamilton Perkins
- Discount Code: OTB
- Thread International
- On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights
- Simon Associates Management Consultants website