Recession Success Stories
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Succeeding in a Recession
Very few business owners are thankful for a recession. But for the following entrepreneurs, launching a business in tough times turned out to be a stroke of luck. Check out how these six business owners established successful companies despite economic troubles.
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Next: Wrigley -
Jason Spaceman
Wrigley, 1891
With just $32 to his name, a 29-year-old Chicago entrepreneur named William Wrigley Jr. starts a business to manufacture soap. When it sells poorly, he tries baking powder. As a gimmick, he includes free chewing gum in every package. Customers seem more taken with the gum than with the goods it is meant to promote, so Wrigley drops the other products and starts developing new brands, including Juicy Fruit and Wrigley's Spearmint.
Next: UPS -
Zyph Bear
UPS, 1907
Amid a spike in interest rates and a sagging stock market, James Casey, 19, borrows $100 to start UPS, in Seattle, in 1907. His timing is great: The Klondike Gold Rush has flooded the town with thousands of transient new residents, many of whom send and receive notes by messenger. Most services are unreliable and seedy. Casey succeeds by insisting that his delivery boys show up on time, wear tidy (though not yet dark brown) uniforms, and treat customers with courtesy.
Next: Herman Miller -
Tilo Erwin
Herman Miller, 1923
In the same year that a currency crisis in Germany spurs a recession in the U.S., D.J. De Pree orchestrates a buyout of the furniture business he runs. The deal is funded by his wealthy father-in-law, Herman Miller. De Pree renames the company after his patron and begins experimenting with the sleek modern designs for which the company is now famous.
Next: Hewlett-Packard -
Brian Solis
Hewlett-Packard, 1938
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard launch a company that is in many ways impervious to the struggles of the economy: They bootstrap it, starting with just $538 in capital and working from that now-famous garage in Palo Alto, California. At launch, they have an order in hand for their first product, an audio oscillator, ensuring cash flow. And their first client is itself a growing business: Disney uses HP's products to test sound for Fantasia.
Next: Domino's Pizza -
Greg Nicholas
Domino's Pizza, 1960
Tom and James Monaghan borrow $500 to buy DomiNick's, a pizza shop near Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The business's proximity to the school helps to define its brand. "They succeeded mostly because they were able to make their deliveries very quickly," says Stephen Litwhiler, who was one of Domino's first delivery men and is now a franchisee in Burlington, Vermont. "No one else was focusing on that at the time."
Next: Wikipedia -
wikipedia.com
Wikipedia, 2001
The popular online encyclopedia, which has changed the way people collaborate online, is shaped in two ways by its experiences during the dot-com meltdown. First, amid a dearth of venture capital funding for new Web-based enterprises, Wikipedia is set up as a nonprofit (and initially viewed as a side project). And second, founders Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger are able to expand quickly because they can borrow plenty of unused server capacity from other companies.
Next: More From AOL -
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Recent Comments
benlorgservices2 08:22:23 PM Apr 04 2009
WHATTT "RECESSION"???? There is a "Famous" Quote that goes something like this, "The Major Key To Your Better "Financial" Future Is YOU!"If you are Open-Minded, a BIG Thinker and ready to get your "own" (MBA)Massive-Bank-Account, CHECK THIS OUT!!!What Do You Have To LOSE?>http://www.casshnurface.com
steamhead 08:21:18 AM Mar 22 2009
new succes business, impregnate your woman, go on welfare, the check will be in the mail
lorengail 02:55:19 PM Feb 26 2009
Good luck!I couldn't find anyone to install a Phyll in my city!
lorengail 02:53:00 PM Feb 26 2009
Good luck with the CNG. I found one place that can do conversions for $15,000, but only on three 2008 models. Then I couldn't find anyone in my city that would install the Phyll on my natural gas line. Then I couldn't find any stations that sold CNG.Good Luck!
azlonghorns 05:33:27 PM Sep 30 2008
Anyone know anything about CNG cars? I think Pickins from Texas is right about using Compressed Natural Gas for our cars. Businesses all over the country do it for their fork lifts and trucks. They have a small compression unit installed in their natrual gas line, have their vehicles converted or order them that way and save about half on the fuel. Honda has a four door sedan that gets 36 mpg. I'm thinking of getting one and my own fueling station for my garage.
azlonghorns 05:19:25 PM Sep 30 2008
Ivtrader....you are right. It's all in perspective and how old you are and what you've seen before. These ups and downs with the economy happen every 10 or 15 years. Back in the 70's we tried to sell our home and couldn't find a single serious buyer for 5 years. We had to rent it for 3 years until the market came back. That's when a lot of builders went broke from over speculation just like now.
goodnightmyson 03:17:36 PM Sep 24 2008
IF YOU ARE INVOLVED IN ECONOMICS , FINANCE, STOCKS ETC., YES YOU ARE CONCERNED. WE PLACATE HOW HORRIBLE AMERICA IS DOING AND HAS DONE, THUS PEOPLE ACT ACCORDINGLY. IT'S CALLED ADVERTISING TO PREPARE FOR AN ELECTION. WHEN MANY ACT LIKE A RECESSION, YOU SEE THE SYMPTOMS AND IT ESCALATES. NOW, IT IS VERY SERIOUS.CONGRESS, AND WE HAVE HAD A DEMOCRAT CONGRESS FOR 2 YEARS HAS NOT ACTED DRILLING , NUCLEUR POWER OR COAL. THIS IS ALLPART OF THE PROCESS OF BEING INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT ON OURSELVES.IN 1994 CLINTON VETOED DRILLING ETC. ETC. CLINTON WANTED TO GIVE EVERYONE A HOME. THUS THE BEGINNING OF THE MONOPOLY OF FREDDIE MACK AND JENNIE MAE. THE ANTI TRUST LAWS WERE INNORED AND HUGH SUMS OF MONEY WERE MADE. NO MONITORING ALLOWED!!!!!DOBBS MADE THE MOST AND HE IS HEAD OF THE BAILOUT. WHAT A JOKE!!!!!OBAMA MADE THE SECOND MOST AND JUST HAPPENS TO HAVE A 3 MILLION DOLLAR HOME AT $840 A MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BAILING THEM OUT ANDTHE COSTS OF ALMOST $5000 PER PERSON IS SERIOUS. TH
honeypeep27 08:11:44 PM Sep 16 2008
HEY EVERYBODY! I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I AS A BUSINESS OWNER HAVE MADE MORE MONEY THIS YEAR SO FAR , MORE THAN I EVER MADE SO WHAT IS ALL THIS NONSENSE THAT BUSINESS IS BAD?? MY BIZ IS BOOMING ... KA...CHING!! KA CHING BLING BLING!!
dterraman 06:34:24 PM Sep 16 2008
ahh, but I drink monvie too..jacked on the juice!! www.mymonavie.com/MyKisa
dterraman 06:30:37 PM Sep 16 2008
I like shaklee, and have bought those products for 7 years
Recent Comments
benlorgservices2 08:22:23 PM Apr 04 2009
WHATTT "RECESSION"???? There is a "Famous" Quote that goes something like this, "The Major Key To Your Better "Financial" Future Is YOU!"If you are Open-Minded, a BIG Thinker and ready to get your "own" (MBA)Massive-Bank-Account, CHECK THIS OUT!!!What Do You Have To LOSE?>http://www.casshnurface.com
steamhead 08:21:18 AM Mar 22 2009
new succes business, impregnate your woman, go on welfare, the check will be in the mail
lorengail 02:55:19 PM Feb 26 2009
Good luck!I couldn't find anyone to install a Phyll in my city!
lorengail 02:53:00 PM Feb 26 2009
Good luck with the CNG. I found one place that can do conversions for $15,000, but only on three 2008 models. Then I couldn't find anyone in my city that would install the Phyll on my natural gas line. Then I couldn't find any stations that sold CNG.Good Luck!
azlonghorns 05:33:27 PM Sep 30 2008
Anyone know anything about CNG cars? I think Pickins from Texas is right about using Compressed Natural Gas for our cars. Businesses all over the country do it for their fork lifts and trucks. They have a small compression unit installed in their natrual gas line, have their vehicles converted or order them that way and save about half on the fuel. Honda has a four door sedan that gets 36 mpg. I'm thinking of getting one and my own fueling station for my garage.
azlonghorns 05:19:25 PM Sep 30 2008
Ivtrader....you are right. It's all in perspective and how old you are and what you've seen before. These ups and downs with the economy happen every 10 or 15 years. Back in the 70's we tried to sell our home and couldn't find a single serious buyer for 5 years. We had to rent it for 3 years until the market came back. That's when a lot of builders went broke from over speculation just like now.
goodnightmyson 03:17:36 PM Sep 24 2008
IF YOU ARE INVOLVED IN ECONOMICS , FINANCE, STOCKS ETC., YES YOU ARE CONCERNED. WE PLACATE HOW HORRIBLE AMERICA IS DOING AND HAS DONE, THUS PEOPLE ACT ACCORDINGLY. IT'S CALLED ADVERTISING TO PREPARE FOR AN ELECTION. WHEN MANY ACT LIKE A RECESSION, YOU SEE THE SYMPTOMS AND IT ESCALATES. NOW, IT IS VERY SERIOUS.CONGRESS, AND WE HAVE HAD A DEMOCRAT CONGRESS FOR 2 YEARS HAS NOT ACTED DRILLING , NUCLEUR POWER OR COAL. THIS IS ALLPART OF THE PROCESS OF BEING INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT ON OURSELVES.IN 1994 CLINTON VETOED DRILLING ETC. ETC. CLINTON WANTED TO GIVE EVERYONE A HOME. THUS THE BEGINNING OF THE MONOPOLY OF FREDDIE MACK AND JENNIE MAE. THE ANTI TRUST LAWS WERE INNORED AND HUGH SUMS OF MONEY WERE MADE. NO MONITORING ALLOWED!!!!!DOBBS MADE THE MOST AND HE IS HEAD OF THE BAILOUT. WHAT A JOKE!!!!!OBAMA MADE THE SECOND MOST AND JUST HAPPENS TO HAVE A 3 MILLION DOLLAR HOME AT $840 A MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BAILING THEM OUT ANDTHE COSTS OF ALMOST $5000 PER PERSON IS SERIOUS. TH
honeypeep27 08:11:44 PM Sep 16 2008
HEY EVERYBODY! I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I AS A BUSINESS OWNER HAVE MADE MORE MONEY THIS YEAR SO FAR , MORE THAN I EVER MADE SO WHAT IS ALL THIS NONSENSE THAT BUSINESS IS BAD?? MY BIZ IS BOOMING ... KA...CHING!! KA CHING BLING BLING!!
dterraman 06:34:24 PM Sep 16 2008
ahh, but I drink monvie too..jacked on the juice!! www.mymonavie.com/MyKisa
dterraman 06:30:37 PM Sep 16 2008
I like shaklee, and have bought those products for 7 years
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