Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1913-07-16
BIG BUSINESSES
NOT "MARVELOUS"
Opportunities Today aia Better
Than When Wanamaker Be-
gan His Career.

This article tells how your small or
medium sized business can be doubled
or trebled or Quadrupied.
1T tells how and why Wanamaker
became a Merchant Prince
Doubling your business will not In
volve as much risk as letting it stand
still.
1t viii not involve more work for
You personally.
II should not take up as much OF
your time as your present business de-
:laeSds.
Big business are not marvellous"
It Is simply this way:
Yo1 take no special notice OF o
b1ainsss until it becomes very large.
Then, as you look at 1t superhcial1y
and as q whole, 1t appears extremely
complex. Fundamentally 1t may be
almost identical with your OWE small
business The difference Is just q
matter OF multiplication.
You say that John Wanamaker Is
q truly wonderful" man. He is. But
you let yourself get such an exagger-
.ated ides Of Mr.. Wauamakers men
tai processes that you greatly under
rate your own capacity and the limit
less opportunities for proftably uil-
fixing that capacity.
Don't Make Wrong Comparison
If you happen to be a merchant with
q small store OF Columbus avenue, do
not compare with the John Wana-
maker Of today; compare with the
John Wanamaker OF the day when he,
too, had but small store
You say: But times were differ
ent then"
We admit that.
But, fortunately for you, the differ
ence is in your favor. There are
more people to patronize you There
are better and quicker and cheaper
methods of securing patronage in any
line Of business.
While, times" in some ways, were
different when Mr. Wanamaker start
ed, human nature was the same. Phil
adelphia, even then, was an old and
large city. There were plenty OF
stores without Mr.. Wanamaker's
Nearly every merchant in every line
felt that he had about ali the COM
petition he could stand and great
deal more than he really ought to
have Hundreds OF merchants had
faileI in the old city because they
couldn't stand the competition.
Nj. Waramaker started III a small
way and developed from day TO cay
and week to week. Any merchant
can do precisely the same thing now.
How Mr.. Wanamaker Did 1t.
If New York city had ten million
Inhabitants, instead Of five million,
there would be about twice as many
stores and the pressure of compe-
tition would be just about the same
as 1t is today-iust about the same
as it was in MI Wanhmaker's early
days, when there were fewer people
and fewer stores.
Mr. Wanamaker didn't do anything
magical. He didn't put money into
newspaper advertisements and expect
the advertisements to bring magical
results.
Here is just what he did: Bought
carefully, displayed his goods advan-
tageously, trimmed his show windows
attractively, instructed his clerks to
adhere to his own square-deal policy,
and then he started with moderate
amount Of newspaper advertising.
which brought him moderate returns.
returns. He was just plain, practi-
cal business man. But he was per-
sistent. He grew with his business.
When months advertising showed
q. fair margin Of profit he increased
his appropriation the following month.
The fact is that the Wanamaker busi-
ness grew just about the same as
thousands of other businesses, except
that Mr.. Wanamaker kept up the
steam pressu-e-the newspaper ad-
vertising-every business day, while
the multitude of merchants competing
with him advertised infrequently and
indifferently.
You Can Do the Same Today.
It would not be logical to say that
all businesses in any one line could
be doubled But pick a half dozen
stores at random-or a half dozen
wholesale houses or manufacturer
and the business of each probably
can be quickly increased one hun
dred per cent. to one thousand per
cent.
No matter who or where youNare,
we now pick you, at random, and Say:
II you have small or moderate sized
business there are about ten chances
to one that you are not making any
where nearly as much net profit out
OF it as could easily be made by prop
ieriy revising your methods.
We are dwelling upon these points,
:Eays q writer in Facts, to emphasize
the fact that big businesses are not