I recently went one on one with Maxine Clark, founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Maxine: When I was growing up, I didn’t know the word entrepreneur, even though my dad owned his own business. I remember seeing his occupation on a loan application sitting on his desk; it said business owner. Still, that was not my goal. Mine was to be a civil rights attorney, but I got waylaid when I went to work to pay for law school and found my boundless curiosity was the engine that I needed to be successful. It was my high school journalism teacher, Mrs. Adams, who challenged me to step out into the unknown. She honed my nose for news and my creative instincts to create a new version of the school newspaper and, as the editor, to challenge the status quo through my weekly editorials. I joined the May Dept. Stores company in 1971 as a way to pay for law school and found my calling! I rose rapidly through the ranks and ultimately became the President of Payless Shoe Source, its largest and most profitable division. In 1996, May spun off Payless as a public company, and I took that opportunity to venture out into the unknown—to create my own business though I had no idea what that business would be at that moment.  

Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas? 

Maxine: One day I was out shopping with my next-door neighbor who was 10. We were looking for the latest Beanie Baby, and when we couldn’t find it, Katie suggested, “We could make these.” She meant go home and do a craft project, but I heard something different and the idea for Build-A-Bear Workshop was born. Less than a year later, we opened our first store in the Saint Louis Galleria.

Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea? 

Maxine: The idea created a Willy Wonka-like explosion in my head. I added every fun idea I had from field trips and travels to Disneyland and then tested it on kids. They were so excited! Everyone doesn’t have to love it to be a “good” idea, but getting feedback is very helpful.

Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level? 

Maxine: I was a retailer for 20+ years prior to starting Build-A-Bear, so I knew how to write a business plan, how to scale, and how to select real estate. My best advice is to write that very detailed plan. The first person you have to convince it is a good and viable idea is yourself. If you aren’t convinced, why should investors or customers commit to your product? In that plan, dream the dream supreme, and then figure out how to do it on an affordable budget. 

Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips? 

Maxine: Always delight your customers and your associates.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level? 

Maxine: A leader is someone who creates the canvas with the business idea and lets others color in between the lines and add new lines. Every idea does not have to be yours. If you create a great brand, your customers and associates will be excited to add their magic, as well as spend money in your business!

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams? 

Maxine: Be authentic—be who you say you are because as a leader, everyone is watching. You set the example for all your employees. Ask questions. You don’t have to have all the answers!

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders? 

Maxine: Show up! You can’t build a company without being present, and you can’t improve your community or your country if you do not engage. 

Welcome diversity of people, generation, and thought. You can’t possibly have every idea or understand all of your customers. 

Leave room at the table for ongoing input and improvement. Change is not the enemy

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Maxine: Retailing is entertainment and the store is a stage, and when the customer has fun, they spend more money!

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share? 

Maxine: I was 48 when I founded Build-A-Bear Workshop in 1997, inventing the perennial mall-based retail experience that has become so ubiquitous across the world—proof that you’re never too old to become an entrepreneur! In 2004, after only seven years, I had the golden opportunity to take the company public on the NYSE with an IPO valuation of $150 million at the age of 55. It was a major milestone that helped me open hundreds of stores across the country and create zillions of smiles and find homes for over 225 million stuffed bears. 

Since then, I’ve had the privilege of uplifting minority and women entrepreneurs through my work with the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and in other entrepreneurial programs in the same way my own teachers helped me lead a fulfilling entrepreneurial career.

Additionally, I’ve committed myself to improving K-12 public education by creating places and spaces where people can live, work, play and thrive through but the Clark-Fox Foundation and Delmar DivINe, respectively. 


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally-recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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