My name is Evan Carmichael and I believe that the fastest and most effective way to build a business is to model the strategies of people who have already done what you’re trying to do. I call it Modeling the Masters. My last post with over 2,300 views was: How to Stick to Your Vision, Evolve Your Brand, and Trust Your Instincts Like Ralph Lauren

Today we're going to look at how a young man started his business with his life savings of $32, moved to a new city, changed his business twice, and eventually found his winning ticket and built a multi-billion company. This is the story of William Wrigley Jr. and the top 3 lessons that you can learn from his success.

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"I have sometimes been asked what single policy has been most profitable in our business. I have always unhesitatingly answered, restraint in regard to immediate profits. That has not only been our most profitable policy, it has been pretty nearly our only profitable one." - William Wrigley Jr.

William Wrigley Jr. (September 30, 1861–January 26, 1932) was a U.S. chewing gum entrepreneur and founder of the William Wrigley Jr. Company in 1891. He was 29 years old when he used his life savings of $32 to move to Chicago and start up his own soap manufacturing business. He started manufacturing and selling soap but with poor sales, Wrigley began offering a can of baking powder for free with each soap purchase.

Soon, Wrigley realized that his baking powder was more popular than his soap, so he switched to manufacturing baking powder full time, and instead offered free chewing gum as a bonus. And, in an all-too familiar pattern, Wrigley quickly saw his chewing gum bonus become more popular than the baking powder so he switched businesses again.

Wrigley passed away in 1932 at the age of 70. The company he founded went on to become the number one maker of chewing gum products in the world, with over 16,000 employees and revenues in excess of $5 billion in 2007. In 2008, Wrigley was acquired by Mars, Inc. for $23 billion.

Action Item #1: Give Something Extra

People love free stuff. It can either be used as an incentive to get them to buy more or as a surprise to reward their loyalty with you. If you're able to give something little away for free that your competitors don't it can be a great way to build a relationship and win the ongoing business of your customers. It also doesn't have to cost much, or even anything at all - focus on the high perceived value items instead of actual cost.

William Wrigley didn't have much money to start his business but he had what most successful entrepreneurs have - enthusiasm, energy, and creativity. He used his talents to differentiate himself from all the other soap manufacturers. He asked himself what he could do to make people want to buy from him instead of going to his competition and by listening to his customers, he came up with the idea of giving away free premiums whenever someone bought from him. It not only increased his sales, he also used this strategy to end up in a completely new, and vastly more profitable business.

According to Wrigley: “Everybody likes something extra, for nothing.”

Action Item #2: Don't Focus on Immediate Profits

As entrepreneurs we're often strapped for cash and looking for ways to make our businesses pay off right away. The trouble is usually the quick cash grabs are detrimental to the long term success of our businesses. Whether it's discounting your price to drive short term sales, taking on business that doesn't align with your goals but pays well, or working with unprofitable customers because you get money right away, usually the short term influxes of revenue don't help us build our businesses into sustainable companies.

William Wrigley always took a long term approach with his business. By giving away free extras, many thought Wrigley had lost his mind and would soon be out of business. Instead, Wrigley realized that he had to plant the seeds for his company's long term success, even if it meant sacrificing his profitability in the short run.

According to Wrigley: "I have sometimes been asked what single policy has been most profitable in our business. I have always unhesitatingly answered, restraint in regard to immediate profits. That has not only been our most profitable policy, it has been pretty nearly our only profitable one." - William Wrigley Jr.

Action Item #3: Believe in Yourself

You won't get very far in business if you don't believe in what you're doing. You have to know that the product or service you're selling is really going to help people and it's your job to help them realize that. If you can't get excited about what you're selling then it's going to be really hard to get other people excited about it.

William Wrigley believed in his ideas and wasn't afraid to take bold steps that hadn't been tried before. In 1907, the American economy was in a recession and Wrigley decided he would launch a new flavour of gum, Spearmint. His competitors had tried and failed to make Spearmint successful but Wrigley believed he could do it. His strategy was to almost triple his advertising budget despite the tough economic times and he bought up over $1.5 million in advertising for $284,000 because advertising prices had fallen in the recession. The result? His revenues soared and Spearmint soon became the best selling gum in America.

According to Wrigley: "A man's doubts and fears are his worst enemies. He can go ahead and do anything as long as he believes in himself."

True Story

Always thinking about how to promote his products, in the 1920s, William Wrigley placed cards promoting his gum in every bus, subway, and train car in the entire country. On top of that, he twice sent four sticks of gum to every person in the phone book across the U.S., reasoning that if someone had a telephone, they could afford to buy his five cent gum. He was right. By 1922, the company was selling over 10 billion sticks of gum each year.

More Quotes

"Everybody likes something extra, for nothing."

"Even in a little thing like a stick of gum, quality is important."

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

What Do You Think?

Do you firmly believe in yourself and what you're doing? Have you ever tried giving extras away to boost your sales? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts if you leave a comment below!

Evan Carmichael

To learn more check out my list of William Wrigley Jr. articles or my website, EvanCarmichael.com.