Jim Marshall - 7 Business Lessons

Jim Marshall (aka the Father of Loud) was the founder of Marshall Amplification, established in 1962.

Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom is the company's origin and home to this day.

Jim was the master and pioneer of the "Marshall sound" that was driven from the need for something much BIGGER and LOUDER than anything that existed at that time. The Marshall sound brings the sizzling distortion and crunch of rock music.

Like any good entrepreneur, this was a process of experimentation, knowing what your target customer wants (to solve their problem) and never giving up.

The product (after six attempts) was something special that his guitar playing customers of the era desired, including those from big named bands like The Who and Deep Purple who helped create it. This uptake was soon followed by some well known early adopters - Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. And on it went to the many others in Rock n' Roll's Hall of Fame who are hugely brand loyal and influencers in their own right such as Slash and John Frusciante, from Guns N' Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers acclaim.

Jim didn't stop there, he diversified his market offering using the cash feeder of amplification to bring in additional product lines - speaker cabinets, head / ear phones, and later by acquisition drums and bongos.

In 2005 I went to a guitar show in London with a couple of friends. We came across the Marshall stall and I saw Jim there proudly representing his brand, he was 81 at the time. I needed an amp to keep up my noodler efforts at learning guitar, still suboptimal to this day if I'm honest but, with my love of music, I do appreciate people who can play guitar even more now!

I thought to myself, man ... I should buy that amp right here, right now and ask Jim if he'll sign it. Then, immediately thought to myself, no - he won't sign it, he'll think I'm going to flog it on Ebay at a profit, given I was trading a lot of antiques on Ebay at the time for kicks.

I put that negative thought to one side and bucked up the courage to walk over to Jim with my new kit and plonked it on the table saying hi. He gave me a huge handshake with a big grin and we had a nice chat. He proceeded to sign the black amp cloth with a white pen, the first pen failed him (you can see it in the first 'J' per the pic) and two faithful assistants jumped into action at lightning speed to hand him a new one. Jim carried on and told me he needed to put OBE after his name now with a warm laugh. He was awarded this honour two years prior in 2003. No surprises there when you read of the man he was and what he achieved in his lifetime enriching the lives of millions.

So what are some of the business lessons we can take from Jim?

1. Do something you love and are passionate about.
2. Understand and get close to your target market.
3. Listen to and work closely with your customer. You need to solve their problem, customers don't care about your problems.
4. Expect to experiment with trial and error to get it right. The entrepreneurs that succeed are the ones that get back up after being smacked down and failing at first.
5. Stay current, avoid disruption and diversify your market offer where it makes sense to build on your original success.
6. Be proud of your brand, company, community and what you represent. Jim was 81 when I met him on the front lines, impressive.
7. Be humble and be generous to help those less fortunate than you if you are successful. Jim was well known for his generous charity work donating millions of pounds to healthcare and in the local community of Milton Keynes.

Jim sadly passed away in 2012 at the age of 88 and I still have this Marshall amp (a small representation of his business creation) proudly displayed in our bedroom at home. It reminds me of a very special time in good company, especially when my wife's not using it as a clothes horse!