Page 18 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

investment in the enterprise came to be a standing joke in the community. In
fact, Patterson’s old associates made so much fun of the cash register, he
offered the seller of the stock a bonus of $2,000 to release him from his
contract. However, the seller wouldn’t take it back as a gift! When his offer
was refused, Patterson made up his mind that he would go into the business
and make it a success.

Perhaps it was fortunate that Patterson knew nothing about manufacturing.
For, if he had, he probably would not have touched the proposition. He would
have known the difficulties of running a business without an established
demand for the product. But Patterson didn’t know that “it couldn’t be done.”
In December, 1884, he changed the name of the concern to the National Cash
Register Company and from then until his death at 78, he “slept, ate and
drank” cash registers. No one else could see a future for cash registers, but he
refused to change his vision just because others could not see ahead. He
started absolutely from scratch. He had to improve the cumbersome old
machine; he had to find and develop a market; he had to create advertising to
sell his product; he had to develop salesmen to do the selling. One might say
that he invented modern salesmanship, because until that time, most selling
was just order taking.

By 1888, the company was beginning to make itself a power. It weathered the
panic of 1893 and later depressions. Patterson worked day and night against
almost insurmountable odds. There were times when, had he admitted to
himself the possibility of being bankrupt, he would have failed. He wouldn’t
recognize failure—he could not fail. By constantly improving his product, his
sales methods, and his manufacturing facilities, he built up in Dayton a
world-wide business that has earned millions of dollars for the Patterson
family. It shows what a man with an idea and a lot of “guts” can do.

How J. C. Penney Made His First $1,000

J

AMES C. PENNEY’S first job paid him $2.27 a month. Thirty-two years
later, he was the successful head of a great business, with more than 1,000