The Industrial Revolution was a crucial period in the development of American business enterprise. With root base in the late 18th century, the Industrial Revolution transformed 19th century business and industry while producing remarkable advancements in transportation, industrial production, communications and energy. The resulting effect was a profound alteration of society from both an economic and cultural standpoint. This fertile environment created extraordinary business opportunities for entrepreneurs with vision and fortitude.
Encouraged by a system of federal government that promoted risk taking and minimal regulatory disturbance, business owners of the 19th century forged an American system of capitalism that remains the envy of the world. In studying powerful business innovators in the 19th century, it is interesting to notice the common characteristics they tell successful business owners from other eras. John D. Rockefeller acquired the vision to recognize that a mechanized culture would be highly determined by energy.
A devout Baptist with a penchant for business opportunity, Rockefeller built a naphtha and kerosene refinery in Cleveland in 1863. He was shrewd in controlling costs while constantly insisting that profits were reinvested back into the business. Rockefeller is credited with stabilizing the oil industry by strategically targeting the refinery segment and quickly becoming the dominant company within that sector. Controlling industry refining functions allowed Standard Oil to provide selling price stability while systematically integrating every phase of oil production from discovery through retail. Through this process, Rockefeller could save structural costs on each element in the oil delivery supply chain which led to enormous earnings when multiplied on a mass production size.
Inevitably, Rockefeller’s success brought nearer authorities scrutiny and from 1892 through 1911, a series of unfavorable court decisions led to the dissolution of the typical Oil Company. Despite these setbacks, Rockefeller continued to be a philanthropist, providing substantial amounts to the Baptist cathedral in particular. From humble origins, Andrew Carnegie described the American business owner. A Scottish immigrant, Carnegie experienced the vision and foresight to embrace the eponymous converter, a new metal technology that led to large range iron to steel conversions. Carnegie defied typical wisdom by borrowing significant sums to build a steel place in Pittsburgh where he installed the state of the art equipment.
Always vigilant in managing costs, by 1900 the Carnegie Steel Company was producing more steel than all of Great Britain. Eventually, Carnegie sold his company to J.P Morgan in 1901 for the astounding amount of 480 million dollars, making him the wealthiest man in the global world in those days. Being a philanthropist, Carnegie spent the balance of his life building libraries and funding entrepreneurial ventures while offering most of his fortune before his death.
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Joining the New York and Harlem railway as a director, Vanderbilt became Chief executive and acquired a controlling curiosity about the Hudson Railway eventually. Vanderbilt engineered some acquisitions like the NY Central, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, the Harlem Railway and the Canada Southern Railway. By controlling several lucrative runs such as the New York to Chicago line, Vanderbilt built a fortune of 100 million dollars and became a railroad icon.
Later in life, Vanderbilt became an initial benefactor to Vanderbilt University and different other charitable organizations. No one personifies the entrepreneurial nature more than Andrew Beard. Spending the first 15 years of his life as a slave, Beard overcame amazing odds to make several important innovations. While farming in Birmingham, Alabama, he was granted two patents for agricultural plow improvements that he consequently sold to financing a successful real estate business. Beard later worked in the railroad industry where a lower leg was lost by him in an incident while coupling railcars. A very dangerous process, car coupling required accuracy pin dropping that led to many reduction and incidents of limbs.
This is the first rung on the ladder in scaling a business. In addition, I find value in any publication by Marcus Buckingham almost, Seth Godin, Dale Carnegie, Gary Vaynerchuk, John Maxwell, Jay Conrad Levinson, and John Acuff. The very best advice is to gain experience. Come out of beliefs and find out by trial and error. Look for a mentor or a person willing to allow you to shadow or gain knowledge, understanding and experience from.
Read. Be considered a expert in your field. Know as much as you can and that means you are not rooked. Fake it until you make it. Everyone has to start somewhere. Usually do not play the victim, nor blame game. Stay focused on your object and stay powered compared to that one goal.