Mrs. Fields to discuss the makings of a cookie empire Dec. 9There may be no story of stardom more delicious than that of Debbi Fields - founder, baker, chief cookie lover and former chairman of Mrs. Fields Cookies.
Fields will share her pursuit of the American dream as part of the Indiana State University's University Speaker Series at 7 p.m. Dec. 9 in Tilson Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.
Fields' entrepreneurial, operational and managerial experience came from building a company from scratch, starting in 1977. Fields has since sold the $450 million company, which is a market leader among fresh-baked cookie stores.
A 20-year-old housewife with no business experience, Fields decided to pursue her dream and convinced a bank to finance a business concept that had never before been proven and appeared - on the surface - to have little likelihood of success.
On Aug. 16, 1977, Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery opened its doors to the public in Palo Alto, Calif. Twenty-plus years later, Fields' role expanded from managing one shop to supervising operations, brand name management, public relations and product development of her company's 600-plus company-owned and franchise stores in the United States and 10 countries.
She wasn't just forward thinking in her business concept, though. As one of the first companies to take advantage of dramatic computer technology advancements in 1989, Fields led Mrs. Fields Inc. into the computer age, streamlining operations and production schedules with a state-of-the-art computer system. Her program is used as a model for business efficiency at Harvard Business School.
Today, she sits on the Le Bonheur Foundation and has served as the 2010 "GO RED" chair for the American Heart Association in Memphis. Fields was the recipient of the Golden Gavel Award, Toastmasters' highest honor, which is awarded annually to an individual who demonstrates consistent self-improvement, success and leadership. Fields was also inducted into The Society of Entrepreneurs.
She has been selected to participate in a nationally televised show airing in 2013 as a judge, mentor and coach for the entire season of this innovative, awe-inspiring entrepreneurial show. Fields is also hard at work in her kitchen creating hew newest cookie book, "The Best of Debbi Fields Cookie Jar," a collaboration involving each of her five daughters to make this a family infused all-time favorite. She also summited Mount Kilimanjaro in the fall of 2011 and resides in Memphis, Tenn., with her husband and children.
Fields is the author of two cookbooks published by Time-Life. The first, "Mrs. Fields' Cookie Book: 100 Recipes from the Kitchen of Mrs. Fields," has sold more than 1.8 million copies and was the first cookbook to top The New York Times bestseller list. The second, "I Love Chocolate Cookbook," sold more than half a million copies. She hosted "Great American Desserts," which aired nationally on public television, and the name of her third book, "Debbi Fields' Great American Desserts," published by Simon and Schuster.
Photo: http://photos.indstate.edu/Other/Media-Services/Submitted-Photos/Staff-… - Debbi Fields
Contact: Jennifer Cook, assistant director of Hulman Center facilities, Indiana State University, 812-237-3770 or Jennifer.Cook@indstate.edu
Writer: Betsy Simon, media relations assistant director, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-7972 or betsy.simon@indstate.edu