You’ll not believe the wacky ways some people struck it rich!
Every budding entrepreneur wants to get rich as quickly as possible, that’s just the rule of business. That is surely why almost everyone starts a business, after all. And like everything else under the sun, there are rules and conventions in business that are established and longstanding, tried and trusted methods of commerce, and many new business owners follow these conventions and methods, often to success.
But there are a very few entrepreneurs that haven’t gone down the conventional route to becoming successful, these unorthodox visionaries saw an opening in the most unlikeliest places and planted their flag – proverbially speaking – right there. Against all odds, and often complete disbelief and skepticism from their peers, these pioneering entrepreneurs reached the summit of commerce, bringing with it wealth and no doubt one heck of a sense of accomplishment.
In this article, we’re going to tell the story of some of these titans of industry and innovation in the hope that their unorthodox methods and sense of belief in themselves will engage, encourage, inspire, and incentivize you to live the dream in starting your own business, and to keep going even when it seems everything is against you and success is proving elusive.
Ready to be inspired? Then let’s do this…
1. Renting Goats
We all know how relentlessly hungry goats are, always wanting something to chow down on, whatever it may be. These four-legged waste disposal units will literally eat anything you give them… and ask for seconds afterwards!
Some smart folks have actually turned this gluttony into gold by establishing goat-hiring firms. Why would anyone wish to hire a goat, you might ask? Well, believe it or not, they are used for such purposes as clearing away unwanted vegetation, eradication of invasive plant life, or even creating fire breaks.
The goats are hired for between $400-800 per acre, and some goat-hiring owners are reaping in excess of $600,000 per year.
2. Recycling E-Waste
The world creates literally tens of millions of tons of e-waste every year through discarded electronic equipment of varying kinds. These jettisoned devices contain valuable raw materials such as gold, copper, and iron that can be recycled and reused for new purposes, in addition to helping the environment.
Aurubis AG, a German e-waste recycling giant, is probably the world’s leading firm in that field, with a market cap in 2022 of approximately $3.46 billion!
3. Rocks As Pets
Yeah, you read that correctly… a rock as a pet! In 1975, an American (no surprises there!) copy editor named Gary Dahl came up with the idea of marketing rocks as pets, after a comical discussion with a friend about wanting a pet that requires no need of caring for.
In August of that same year, Dahl started selling the designed novelty rocks, and before he knew it, they were selling to the tune of 10,000 per day! So successful were they that Dahl became a minor celebrity, and by the time the fad had died out six months later, 1.5 million rocks had been sold and Dahl was a self-made millionaire!
4. Crime Scene Clean-up
A rather ghastly way to riches this, but there are people who are prepared to literally wade through blood and guts to get to riches.
Such a company is Spaulding Decon, a FL-based company that will come in the aftermath of murders, raided meth labs, and various gruesome crime and accident scenes to clean the place up.
Last year, the company was honored in Entrepreneur magazine’s prestigious Franchise 500 list, and pulled in revenue of around $6 million.
5. Letters From Santa
Santa may just be a jolly old fat guy with a snowy white beard who lives in the North Pole, surrounded by elves, and who delivers presents to good children once a year, but there’s no reason why an innovative entrepreneur can’t make some money off the old guy!
Such a person is Byron Reese, who in 2001 founded the SantaMail.org website, wherein parents can order a personalized letter delivered to their kids from ‘Santa’… for a fee, of course!
Reese sold over 10,000 letters in his first year and in a few years, he joined the millionaire’s club.
6. Domain Names
Every company with a website has a domain name, it’s an important part of their digital marketing presence. But you may or may not be surprised to learn just how valuable some of these domain names can become.
In the early days of the internet, some clever wags saw the potential of purchasing domain names and holding on to them for years – a process known as ‘domain squatting’ – while the value of that name increased year on year.
Maryland resident Chris Clark bought the domain name pizza.com in 1994 for a mere $20, and in 2008, he sold it for $2.6 million after a frenzied bidding war. Shortly before that particular investment paid off royally, the domain name of vodka.com was sold for $3.5 million. But a year earlier, a domain name sale dwarfed all others when business.com was sold for… get this… $350 million!!!
They say that good business is where you find it. So get out there and find your own pot of gold. Good luck!
