A Giant of Enterprise: Madam C.J. Walker’s Enduring Legacy
ENTREPRENEUR STORY

A Giant of Enterprise: Madam C.J. Walker’s Enduring Legacy

Entrepreneurs do more than build businesses. They create ever-expanding opportunities for others. As Walker’s company grew, she recruited and trained thousands of women to become sales agents. At a time when professional opportunities for women were limited and opportunities for black women were especially scarce, Walker’s organization offered a path to economic independence. Her agents learned how to sell products, manage accounts, speak to customers, and run small businesses of their own. Many earned incomes that gave them greater freedom and stability than they had previously known.A creative and intuitive salesman, Wrigley began including two free packs of chewing gum with his soap – a way to set himself apart from his competition and endear himself to customers. Despite tight margins, Wrigley made the gum trick work. The business grew fast.
Failure is feedback.
ENTREPRENEUR STORY

Failure is feedback.

Almost without exception, entrepreneurs buck this instinct to shy away from risk. It’s not that they’re gluttons for punishment. Rather, entrepreneurs have a superpower: they see failure as feedback. To the entrepreneurial mind, falling short of a goal produces all kinds of inputs. Those inputs let us adjust the factors within our control, help us shape our judgment, and influence our future decisions. A creative and intuitive salesman, Wrigley began including two free packs of chewing gum with his soap – a way to set himself apart from his competition and endear himself to customers. Despite tight margins, Wrigley made the gum trick work. The business grew fast.
A Pack of Gum and Some Soap – How the Wrigley Empire was Built
ENTREPRENEUR STORY

A Pack of Gum and Some Soap – How the Wrigley Empire was Built

When William Wrigley Jr. arrived in Chicago in 1891, he had a dream of making it big. Wrigley had come to town with just $32 in his pocket, hoping to sell enough soap from his father’s company to start his own business. A creative and intuitive salesman, Wrigley began including two free packs of chewing gum with his soap – a way to set himself apart from his competition and endear himself to customers. Despite tight margins, Wrigley made the gum trick work. The business grew fast.