A business lesson from Ben Franklin
February 19, 2018
By Jerry Bellune
Historians do Ben Franklin a disservice.
They write about him as a successful inventor, scientist, diplomat and printer.
It was Franklin’s success as a printer that gave him the money and time to pursue his interests in science, politics and diplomacy.
Franklin was not the first printer in the colonies and had plenty of competition among printers in Philadelphia.
What made him different was his vision to see that he could create a printing empire using business principles that economists came to refer to as vertical and horizontal integration.
Paper was expensive and had to be imported from England. Franklin helped set up paper mills and partnered with their owners to assure his printers a ready supply of paper. He did that with ink, manpower and all else printers needed.
He formed partnerships with other printers to allow him to drive down prices and fuel the growing literacy of the colonists.
From humble beginnings as his brother’s printing apprentice in Boston, Franklin became wealthy in Philadelphia.
He looked for opportunity in every challenge. Success allowed him to pursue other interests.
What can we learn from Franklin?
• Look for partnerships and alliances to strengthen your position in your market.
• Find opportunities in all challenges.
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