The 4 Most Audacious Entrepreneur Moves of All Time
#1 The Golden Ticket of Milton Hershey:
(image source: hersheypa.com)
Milton Hershey was an American confectioner, philanthropist and founder of the Hershey chocolate company.
Today the Hershey Company hires 14,800 employees and makes $7.146 billion in revenue.
At the age of 19 against his parent’s wishes, Hershey decided to move to Philadelphia to start his own caramel company but the business was never able to generate a profit and was forced to close 6 years later.
Hershey refused to give up. He travelled through Denver, New York, Chicago and New Orleans to find fortune each time but was unsuccessful. He returned home at age 28 with no money and was seen as a disgrace by his family. But he still refused to give up.
He started a new business with an associate and moved from making caramel to chocolate.
After 10 years of failure, he finally met the success he had always wanted. His company expanded year after year and became a reference in the industry.
My experience has shown me that people who are exceptionally good in business aren’t so because of what they know but because of their insatiable need to know more. ~ Milton Hershey
#2 How Ted Turner turned bad luck into tremendous success
(image source: stopthecap)
Ted Turner is the founder of CNN and Turner Broadcasting System. He gave $1b to the United Nations and currently has a net worth of $2.2b.
Turner had a lot of bad luck growing up. He got expelled from university, had his parent divorced, got divorced by his wife and had a sister who developed terminal lupus.
He went to work for his father outdoor advertising company when his father then killed himself because he couldn’t pay off the company’s debts. At the age of 24 he took over the company, and turned it into a profitable business. From there he started building his empire. He had all the odds against him but was determined to be successful.
You should set goals beyond your reach so you always have something to live for. ~ Ted Turner
#3 In the force George Lucas believed in
(image source: laddiemovie)
George Lucas is one of the film industries most financially successful. Independent director and producer his fortune is estimated at $5.2b. He’s best known for his Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies. But his first films didn’t get any good return on investment. As a result he found it difficult to find support for his latest movie called Star Wars.
To get the movie into production he agreed to own a licensing right so he could profit from many toys, T-shirt…at that time movie studios didn’t see licensing as valuable so they agreed. The money that he got from the licensing right alone, allowed him to finance the film himself and build his fortune.
According to Lucas his first 6 years of business were hopeless. He had a lot of doubts and thought that Star Wars was too wacky.
You can’t do it unless you can imagine it. ~ George Lucas
#4 Amadeo Giannini the world boldest banker of all time
(image source: elconfidencial)
A.P Giannini revolutionized the banking world by providing services to the little borrowers. Giannini passed away in 1949 at the age of 79, by that time his bank that he founded, the bank of America, had become the largest bank in the world with more than 520 branches in over 300 cities.
Before Giannini you could only get a loan if you already had some money. Hard working immigrants like his parent couldn’t qualify and Giannini wanted to change the system.
He set up his bank across the street from a popular bank and began making loans to people other banks wouldn’t give a chance.
When the massive earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906, all the banks in the city closed down. People couldn’t access to their funds at the time they needed the most. Giannini would lend them money based on a hand check to help them rebuilt their lives.
He also helped Walt Disney that nobody believed in and others projects like the Golden Gates that were considered too crazy to invest in.
Be the first in everything. ~ Amadeo Peter Giannini
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