In 1951, when I started Lillian Vernon Corp. from the yellow Formica Kitchen Table in my apartment in Mount Vernon, a suburb of New York City, I spent hours looking at the advertisements in popular women's magazines, such as Seventeen and Vogue. I was trying to figure out what type of products appealed to readers of these magazines.

Eventually, I decided to sell two simple products -- a monogrammed handbag and matching belt for teenagers -- by placing an ad for $495 in Seventeen. From that single ad, I received a response that astounded me: 50 orders! I immediately set about recording the name of each customer on a 3" x 5" index card, as well as other basic information, such as the customer's address and whether he or she placed a repeat order. I kept updating those cards, trying hard to eliminate duplicate names.

I didn't realize it then, but everything I ever needed to know about selling I was learning at my kitchen table: I was learning how to identify, find, and keep customers. In pouring over the ads in the magazines, I was conducting my first exercise in market research, determining whether there would be a demand for the products I wanted to sell. On my index cards, I was keeping a record of just who my buyers were, what types of orders they were placing, and eventually, whether they would continue to buy my products.

Inc.com