Research shows that if you keep cows cooler… they eat more and produce more milk. Carey Smith learned this while employed at a company that sold large fans for barns. He foresaw industrial applications and founded a small manufacturing company in Lexington, Kentucky in 1999.

It was called HVLS Fan Company. Their first commercial fan spanned 20 feet. HVLS was an acronym for High Velocity Low Speed.

Descriptive yes, boring absolutely.

But once it embraced its uniqueness, the company began its transformation into an international industry leader.

Smith shared with Inc, “When we answered the phone ‘HLVS Fan Co.,’ the people on the other end of the line would pause for a few seconds because those letters meant nothing to them. Then they’d ask, ‘Are you the guys who make those big-ass fans?'”

It began with some micro-weirdness with a donkey in their marketing. But soon after they leaned in and lopsided the name of the company:

BIG ASS FANS

Not everyone appreciated it.

A postmaster refused to deliver postcards. A councilman wanted a billboard removed. The Lexington Airport rejected their request to advertise.

The company stuck with the weird name.

Carey Smith sold the company for $500 million in 2017. Ain’t that some big ass bucks!

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn

Stan Phelps walks the walk. He stands out in the sea of sameness by modeling his own Differentiated Experience (DX) message: Differentiation isn’t just about what you say, it’s about what you do and, more importantly, how and why you do it. Stan leverages his unique collection of 5,000+ case studies on customer, employee, and brand experience to engage audiences with informative learning-based experiences. He believes purposeful DX wins the hearts of employees and customers, and differentiation ultimately boosts loyalty, retention, referrals, and results.

Find Stan’s in-person and virtual keynotes, workshops, and Goldfish tank programs at StanPhelps.com.