Page 97 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

factories have hundreds of pounds of material that are useless for making
piano keys because the curve in the tusk makes it difficult to secure long
pieces of ivory. Therefore, the amount from a tusk that can be used for keys
is comparatively small. This scrap ivory is of excellent quality and can
readily be used to form small objects.

Potato Chips Made Hibbard Independent

R

OY C. HIBBARD did not relish the long hours and uncertain income driving
a taxi. He realized he was getting nowhere. So he kept his eyes open for some
way to make extra money. He made many stops to pick up fares at beer
taverns, and in this way became acquainted with the tavern owners.
Sometimes they talked to him about their business in a general way. To make
people drink more beer, he learned, salty food specialties, such as potato
chips, were given free to tavern patrons. So Hibbard thought it would be a
smart idea to supply taverns with potato chips.

He obtained a machine that turned out a high quality potato chip, and made
up sample packages which he left with each tavern owner he knew. His first
sampling produced a total of fifty trial orders. The quality of the chips was
excellent, and the day following he was gratified to secure reorders totaling
seventy-five pounds of chips. Hibbard quit his job driving a taxi to devote his
entire time to his potato chip business.

Hibbard’s initial investment was about $100. He bought the machine on a
deferred payment plan, paying $85 for it. Potatoes averaged ninety cents a
hundred pounds, and grease for frying cost fourteen cents a pound in twenty
pound cans. By setting the machine up in the basement of the apartment
building where he lived, he had no additional rent to pay. He made good
money right from the start. His success was in the selection of the right kind
of potatoes. At first he used a thin-skinned cobbler, which is inexpensive, but
he later learned that all potatoes do not fry into good chips. The more
expensive Idahos, recommended by the maker of the machine, were found to
be much more satisfactory.