Are you feeling like giving up on your business?
You better think twice.
Every big business had to start out somewhere,
right? Some have come from more humble
beginnings than others, launching with no more
than some basic equipment, a couple employees,
a garage space and a big idea. Whether you’re a
business or finance student hoping to follow
your own path to entrepreneurial success or
already working in your own garage on the next
big thing, these stories of companies that rose
from obscurity to be multi-million (or billion)
dollar industries can be a big inspiration. They
may very well help you finally realize your dream
of getting out of that garage and onto bigger and
better things.
1. Apple
Today, consumers will wait in line for hours just
to get their hands on some of Apple’s latest
products, but once upon a time this electronics
giant was a mere blip on the technology
industry’s radar. Back in 1976, Steve Jobs, Steve
Wozniack and Ronald Wayne started a business
out of a garage in Cupertino, CA, putting together
one of the first prototypes of their personal
computers. Over the next decades, the company
would introduce several more models, including
their Macintosh line in 1984, arguably what
turned them from a struggling startup into a fully
fledged business. Today, the company
manufactures much more than computers, has
almost 50,000 employees and brings in revenues
of over 14 billion each year.
2. Google
Google might be a household name today, but
back in 1998 the search engine giant was just
starting out. Their corporate headquarters? A
Menlo Park, CA garage. For the next five months,
Google’s staff of three would work out of this
garage, perfecting their search algorithm,
indexing web pages, and raiding the refrigerator
of their friend’s attached home. By the next year
the company had outgrown the garage and
eventually moved into what is today known as the
Googleplex. To celebrate their 8th birthday,
Google purchased the garage and intends to
preserve it as a lasting legacy to the humble
beginnings of their business.
3. Mattel
Mattel wasn’t always the toy maker we know it as
today. When the Handler’s got their start in the
1940’s in a Southern California garage, they were
making picture frames, not toys. Ruth Handler
began taking the scraps of wood from those
frames and making doll furniture, a side business
which proved quite successful. Because of this,
the entrepreneurs decided to change their focus
to toys instead. In 1959, they introduced the first
Barbie, and afterwards became a household
name. Today they’re home to big names in the toy
business like Fisher Price, Hot Wheels, American
Girl and a number of board games.
4. HP
Back in 1939, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard
decided to establish their own electronics
manufacturing company. Based out their garage
in Palo Alto, CA, with an initial investment of only
$538, the two helped establish the technology
hub that would become Silicon Valley. When they
started out, they made everything from high-tech
electronics to agricultural products but by the
60’s were homing in on the tech market
exclusively. Today, the company is an electronics
giant, with some of the highest quality personal
computing products on the market. They have
opted to preserve the garage where they got their
start, making it into a museum.
5. Amazon
In 1994, Jeff Bezos laid the foundations for what
would be the online retailing giant Amazon in his
garage, hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow
garage entrepreneurs HP. With a strong
foundation, the company grew very quickly, and
before long was in need of a much bigger space
to house their operations. Today, there are few
people who haven’t shopped with the online
retailer, buying everything from food to
televisions to electronic media. This small
business had become one of the leading retailers
in the world, with billions of dollars in sales each
year
6. Disney
While he would go on to build an animation and
entertainment empire, Walt Disney’s first studio
was a tiny, one car garage in Hollywood. There he
worked on a variety of animation products,
setting up a makeshift studio in the space, while
he waited to see if his Alice in Wonderland pilot
would be picked up by any major distributors. It
was, and the company quickly moved out of the
garage into a proper studio. These days, Disney is
an entertainment giant for kids and adults alike
with movies, theme parks and products around
the world. That tiny garage was almost torn down,
but the dedication of a few interested citizens
helped to save it and interested visitors can go
there today to see where it all began.
7. Microsoft
In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded
Microsoft, with just a few resources and an
available garage space. Unlike Apple who
developed both software and hardware, Microsoft
homed in on the software market. Working with
IBM, the company licensed their first OS for a
mere $80,000. Later, they would go on to
develop more sophisticated operating systems
that would evolve into those we know as
Windows today. The business would grow to be
one of the most profitable and powerful in the
world, dominating the personal computing
market.
8. MagLite
Anthony Maglica started his dream of owning a
business by working long hours to earn the
money it would take to put a down payment on
his first lathe. Working in a Los Angeles garage,
he began to design and build precision parts for
industry, aerospace and the military. By 1974, he
was incorporated as Mag Instrument and the
company was gaining a reputation for the quality
of their products. In 1979, MagLite released their
first flashlight, the product they are best known
for today. It would help them to become a
household name and secure their place in the
market.
9. Yankee Candle Company
Unable to afford a present for his mother, young
Michael Kittredge created his first scented candle
from some melted crayons in his garage.
Neighbors saw the candles and began purchasing
them from him, eventually motivating the high
school student to found a business with two high
school friends. Kittredge sold the company in
1999 after a cancer scare, but it has gone on to
even greater success and is now sold at many
major retailers and a number of its own
standalone stores.
10. Harley Davidson
It makes complete sense that a company selling
vehicles would get its start in a garage or
outbuilding, because that’s where those products
eventually end up. Harley Davidson did just that,
starting out in 1901 with a small business that
built engines for bicycles. Of course, it wasn’t
long before they started developing the
motorcycles for which they are known, and in
1903 they had already released their first racing
bike, constructed in a small wooden shed.
Buoyed by the popularity and speed of their
motorcycles, the company expands, constantly
rethinking the best ways to build a bike. Today,
they’re still known for producing some of the
biggest, best motorcycles on the market and have
become a household name.
I hope that you just changed your mind. Keep dreaming big.
Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your website and in
ReplyDeleteaccession capital to assert that I acquire
in fact loved account your weblog posts. Anyway I'll be subscribing for your augment or even I success you get admission to persistently rapidly.
Here is my site - how to work from home online