Imagine being so bad at your job that you accidentally become a billionaire. This is the story of William Wrigley Jr.
In the 1890s, yuh boy Willy was out in the hot sun trying to sell soap. He was all about doing the most, so if you bought a bar of soap, you got a free can of baking powder thrown in. Doh ask meh why, ah doh know, he just did.
The problem was, apparently nobody back then liked to bathe, because they ignored the soap and only wanted the baking powder. But my boy didn't get discouraged. Most people would've been offended, but William just shrugged and said, "No scn, I'll just become a baking powder salesman."
To stay ahead of the competition, he started giving away two packs of chewing gum with every can of baking powder. Nobody wanted homeboy's baking powder anymore. They just kept asking for the chewing gum.
At this point, we boy Willy said, "Watch nah, allyuh raising my blood pressure," forgot the freebies, and just started selling gum instead.
Talk about failing upward. William Wrigley Jr. went on to build one of the most iconic chewing gum brands in the world.
"The lesson here is simple: know when it's time to pivot, and don't be out here trying to sell soap to people who doh bathe."
If you made it this far, reward yourself.
Go to my Instagram — @kirkpadmore — and leave a passive-aggressive comment about my lighting. Same handle on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok.
Critique My Lighting on Instagram