Wrigley's Gum: From earning $1.50 a week to world's richest man

Hey rebel solopreneurs

Ever had that moment when you're staring at your screen, wondering if your digital product will ever take off?

Maybe you've got a fantastic course that's not selling, or a beautiful Notion template that's gathering digital dust.

Everyone's telling you the market is too crowded, right?

Well, grab your favorite snack (maybe some gum? 😉) because I've got a story that'll make you grin from ear to ear.

It's about William Wrigley Jr., a kid who got kicked out of school, failed at selling soap, flopped at selling baking powder, and even bombed at his first gum business - only to turn his fourth attempt into a billion-dollar empire.

Talk about never giving up!

Ready to discover how a "troublemaker" turned into a marketing genius who'd make today's social media gurus look like beginners?

Let's dive into this juicy story!

1: 🎯 The rebellious beginning: when everyone wrote him off

Born in Philadelphia during the height of the Civil War in 1861, William Wrigley Jr. started hustling early.

At age 9, he landed his first gig - feeding a horse for fifty cents a month.

Here's a detail that'll make you smile: He actually wanted to clean the horse too, but his dad said no - little William was so tiny he couldn't even reach high enough to brush the horse's back!

But school? Oh boy.

William was like that kid who couldn't sit still during a Zoom call - times ten!

His teachers couldn't handle him.

His parents were constantly getting called to the principal's office.

And then came the incident that got him expelled: in his biggest prank yet, he threw cream pies at his school's signboard, completely ruining it.

The school administration, who had put up with his mischief until then, finally lost their patience.

That was the last straw - they kicked him out for good!

His dad, running a small soap factory, probably felt like pulling his hair out.

When William got expelled, his father decided to teach him a lesson: "Your school life hasn't been a success. Let's see how work strikes you."

The punishment? Stirring huge vats of boiling soap for 10 hours a day in sweltering heat.

For $1.50 a week! That's like working full-time today and getting paid enough to buy one coffee! ☕

2: 🌊 The early adventures: when life was a rollercoaster

Hold onto your seats, because young William's story gets wild!

At age 11, he pulled a total plot twist that nobody saw coming - he ran away from home to New York City!

Life in the big city smacked him with a major reality check.

With no money and no place to live, he hustled hard.

During the day, he sold newspapers on street corners.

At night, he slept wherever he could - sometimes on store doorsteps, sometimes in empty wagons.

Talk about gutsy!

He managed okay during summer, but then - plot twist again! - winter hit New York with its freezing temperatures.

Even William's unstoppable spirit couldn't beat the cold.

Smart kid that he was, he swallowed his pride and headed back home to Pennsylvania.

His parents? They were angry, sure - but also relieved to see their son back safe!

They put him back in school, though that didn't last long (remember that cream pie incident we talked about? 😉).

But did this adventure break his spirit? Nope!

At 13, he marched up to his dad and said, "Make me a salesman!"

His dad probably rolled his eyes so hard they could've gotten stuck, but eventually agreed.

A teenage William drove a red horse-drawn wagon through bustling cities, selling soap with a smile that could light up Times Square.

He wasn't just selling - he was learning.

He figured out that if you treat people right and adjust prices to help them out, they'll keep coming back.

(Hello, customer loyalty 101!)

3: 🎪 The plot thickens: when everything went wrong (but actually right)

By age 18, William had saved up some money from his soap-selling adventures.

Then he heard the news that was electrifying the entire country - gold mining was booming on the West Coast!

Stories of overnight fortunes were spreading like wildfire, and William, with his appetite for adventure and big dreams, couldn't resist.

Here comes another plot twist: Without a second thought, he packed his bags and set out to chase those golden dreams out West.

But fate had other plans... But oh boy, did that plan backfire!

But his gold-mining dreams crashed hard in Kansas City.

During a stopover, disaster struck - he lost both his money and his train ticket west!

Completely stranded in a strange city with empty pockets, William had to start from absolute zero.

Again.

Instead of giving up, he rolled up his sleeves and did what he'd always done - hustle.

He landed a job at what he called a "dingy doughnut and coffee shop," earning $15 a week.

But here's where it gets interesting - even in this setback, he found an opportunity to learn.

While serving customers, he started studying how they ate.

He noticed something fascinating: people who were sad chewed their food harder, while happy folks swallowed faster.

Talk about turning a crisis into a chance to understand human behavior!

After saving enough money to head back home to Pennsylvania, William's life took a sweet turn.

One day in 1885, he met a young lady named Ada Foote.

The two quickly fell in love, and William, now 23, didn't waste any time - he proposed, and Ada said yes!

On September 17, 1885, they tied the knot.

Ada was just 16 (yes, marriages happened much younger back then!), but their union would prove to be a strong foundation for everything that followed.

They settled down in Pennsylvania, where William continued working as a salesman for his father's soap business for the next five years.

But don't worry - his entrepreneurial story was just getting started!

4: 🚀 The business begins: when $32 changed everything

1891 rolls around, and William's got this crazy idea.

With just $32 in his pocket (barely enough to buy a week's worth of groceries back then!), he moves to Chicago with Ada and their daughter Dorothy.

He borrowed $5,000 from his uncle (with strings attached - hello, cousin as business partner!) and started a soap business.

But plot twist - nobody wanted his soap.

Like, nobody.

It was giving major "zero subscribers" energy!

But then... BOOM! William had his first genius moment.

"Everybody likes something extra, for nothing," he realized.

He started giving away free items with soap purchases, beginning with 65,000 red umbrellas he bought in bulk at a bargain price.

Sure, the umbrellas weren't perfect - the dye ran when it rained (oops!) - but people loved getting something extra.

When he ran out of umbrellas, he switched to coffee pots, pocket knives, and fishing tackle.

He carefully tracked which freebies customers liked best, saying "I have both made and lost many thousands of dollars through their use.

A fellow can't always guess right, but the balance, in the end, is on the right side."

This premium strategy turned his soap business around!

5: 💡 The pivot king: when the side dish became the main course

Now this is where it gets really good.

William started giving away baking powder as a freebie.

People loved it more than the soap!

Most folks would've stuck to their original plan, but not our William.

He thought, "Hey, if they want baking powder, I'll sell baking powder!"

Then he started giving away chewing gum with the baking powder.

And wouldn't you know it? The gum became more popular than everything else!

Back then, gum companies were using some pretty unappetizing ingredients: spruce tree bark and paraffin (a waxy petroleum product with no taste or smell).

These primitive gums could hold flavors like licorice for a few minutes of chewing, but then... bland city!

William had first noticed chewing gum during his soap-selling days, when he learned that Native Americans had long used spruce gum for relaxation.

But he wanted something better.

After extensive research, he discovered chicle - a natural latex extracted from tropical sapodilla trees.

This was his breakthrough!

While others were using chicle mainly for other products, William saw its potential for gum.

When he convinced his supplier, Zeno Manufacturing, to try making gum with chicle instead of paraffin, the results were amazing - the flavor lasted way longer than anything else on the market!

When he decided to switch to making gum, people thought he'd lost his marbles.

And they had a point - there were already about a dozen gum companies dominating the market.

But Wrigley believed in his vision and decided to jump in anyway.

(Sound familiar, entrepreneurs? 😉)

6: 🎪 The bold gamble: when crazy turned into genius

1893: William launches Wrigley's Spearmint and Juicy Fruit.

He even designed the logos himself! (Early DIY branding, anyone?)

But then the 1907 financial crisis hit like a ton of bricks.

His competitors were cutting advertising faster than an influencer deleting old tweets.

Sales dropped.

The economy tanked.

Everyone was saying the gum business was done for.

His friends and colleagues thought he'd completely lost it.

Here's why: he took the biggest gamble of his life, mortgaging literally everything he owned to borrow $250,000 (an enormous sum back then).

In just three days, he used that money to buy up $1.5 million worth of advertising space at panic prices.

Everyone warned him he would lose everything and bankrupt the company.

When they questioned his judgment, Wrigley calmly replied, "I thought I knew what I was doing."

His reasoning? "They were missing something that looked to me tremendously like an extraordinary opportunity."

While his competitors were cutting back in fear, he saw the chance to dominate.

(Spoiler: Within months, his company exploded from a regional Midwest business into a national powerhouse.

Sales skyrocketed from $170,000 to over $3 million in just two years, making Wrigley's Spearmint the biggest-selling gum brand in America!)

7: 🌟 The innovation factory: when different became brilliant

1899: Six major gum companies invite William to join their trust.

It's like getting invited to an exclusive mastermind group!

But William looked at their offer and said, "Thanks, but I'll do my own thing."

Everyone thought he was nuts.

Going against six giant companies? Alone?

But William had other plans:

• Put gum by cash registers (hello, impulse buys!)

• Pioneered direct marketing in 1915 by thumbing through phone directories and mailing free four-stick gum packages to 1.5 million addresses. It was such a hit that by 1919, he did it again on an even bigger scale - sending free gum to every single phone-owning household in America (over 7 million homes!). His clever reasoning? If they could afford a telephone, they could afford his gum!

• Plastered ads on every train, bus, and billboard in sight (by the 1920s, his ads were in all 62,000 public vehicles across America!)

• Kept his message simpler than a "Subscribe now" button

The results? His sales shot from $170,000 to over $3 million in just two years!

Just like you're building your email list one subscriber at a time, William built his empire one stick of gum at a time.

His motto? "Tell 'em quick and tell 'em often."

(Sounds like great advice for your newsletter, doesn't it?)

He had this brilliant insight about advertising that's perfect for your digital business: "There is no such thing as getting a business so established that it does not need to advertise.

Babies who never heard about you are being born every day, and people who once knew you forget you if you don't keep them reminded constantly."

8: 🌍 The empire builder: when thinking big paid off

William didn't just build a company - he built landmarks!

The Wrigley Building in Chicago, completed in 1924, was a stunning 27-story tower with a magnificent clock that became an instant hit.

More importantly, it sparked the development of what would become Chicago's premier commercial district - the "Magnificent Mile" - now home to upscale shops, luxury stores, fancy restaurants, and high-end hotels.

The Wrigley Building became such an iconic symbol of Chicago that it still appears in countless movies and TV shows!

When he tried selling gum in Britain, people turned up their noses.

"Chewing gum is distasteful!" they sniffed.

Instead of wasting time, he pivoted to Canada and Australia.

(Know your audience, right?)

Being a lifelong baseball fan, Wrigley first bought a stake in the Chicago Cubs in 1916.

By 1921, he'd gained total control of the team and its ballpark (then called Cubs Park).

Like everything else he touched, he went all-in - investing over $5 million to make it the best stadium in baseball.

He added permanent bleachers, expanded the box seats, built an upper deck, and officially renamed it Wrigley Field.

When other team owners were playing it safe, he made two bold moves that changed baseball forever: he was the first owner to regularly broadcast games on radio (while others feared fans would stop coming to the park), and he introduced "Ladies Day" to bring women to baseball (an idea others laughed at).

His vision paid off big time - in 1929, the Cubs shattered the major league attendance record AND won the championship!

9: 👑 The people's champion: when doing good became doing great

Just as things were soaring high, October 1929 brought devastating news - the stock market crashed, marking the start of the Great Depression.

Factories closed across America, and countless people were thrown out of work, forced to roam the streets hungry and homeless.

While other business leaders were cutting corners to survive, William showed his true character.

During these darkest years:

• Donated buildings to house the homeless (including turning one of his big buildings on Chicago's west side into salvation army sleeping quarters)

• Introduced the 5-day work week (in 1924!)

• Provided medical care and life insurance to employees

• Kept gum at 5 cents when competitors raised prices

• Gave his employees company stock

He turned Catalina Island into a paradise, importing exotic birds and plants, building infrastructure, and making it a Hollywood hotspot.

World War II threw another challenge his way.

After Pearl Harbor in 1941, shipping came to a standstill and quality ingredients became super scarce.

Wrigley had to make a tough choice - he decided to send ALL of his premium gum to American soldiers (turns out the Army found it helped soldiers stay calm and energized!).

Back home, he created a temporary brand called Orbit using the ingredients he could get.

But here's the really clever part: instead of hiding that Orbit wasn't up to his usual standards, he gave it totally different packaging without the signature Wrigley arrow.

And get this - he kept advertising his premium brands even though he couldn't make them!

His billboards showed an empty Wrigley's Spearmint wrapper with a simple message: "Remember this wrapper!"

When the war ended and his original brands came back, people were so excited that sales shot way past what they'd been before the war.

Now that's what we call keeping the faith! 😊

🎉 The Happy Ending

By 1922, that expelled school kid was selling 10 billion sticks of gum yearly!

The company he built? Today it makes over $5 billion annually, with brands like Extra, Orbit, and our old friends Juicy Fruit and Doublemint.

His secret? "What I've accomplished has been done, because I've enjoyed every moment of the battle."

When asked about the most important factor in his success - was it the product? The long hours? The marketing? - his answer might surprise you: "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."

(Sound familiar? It's just like choosing to build your email list before rushing to sell, or focusing on delivering value before pushing premium templates!)

Over his desk hung a sign that perfectly captures what we need as digital entrepreneurs: "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

And boy, did he live by that!

His colleagues said they never saw him worried - even in crises that had others "running around in circles," he stayed as calm as if he were on a Sunday picnic.

🌟 Your Turn!

Next time you're wondering if your digital product idea is "too different" or if the timing is "all wrong," remember William Wrigley Jr.

He turned soap into baking powder into a gum empire - all because he wasn't afraid to try new things!

Your "crazy" idea? That "saturated" market?

They might just be your ticket to success.

After all, who would've thought a school dropout with $32 would build a brand that's still going strong over 100 years later?

Remember: The market isn't too crowded - it's just waiting for someone who dares to be different!

Keep zoooming! 🚀🍧

Your "partner in rebellion with the status quo" vijay peduru