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Sam Walton: The Bargain Baby is Born

From a farm boy living in the outskirts of Oklahoma to becoming the richest man in America in the 1980s and revolutionizing the way the country did business, Sam Walton’s legacy continues to live on. By the time he passed away in 1992, Sam Walton had amassed a fortune in excess of $25 billion and today, his brainchild Wal-Mart continues to bring in revenues of over $300 billion, making it the world’s largest retailer.

Building a Frugal Fortune: The Growth of Wal-Mart

“There’s a lot more business out there in small town America than I ever dreamed of,” said Walton. The success of his first variety store took even Walton by surprise, leading in sales and profits in the six-state region in which the Butler Brothers operated. By consistently stocking his shelves with discounted products, keeping later hours than most others, and buying wholesale goods from the cheapest suppliers, Walton managed to significantly increase his sales volume.

Lesson #1: Motivate Your Workers

“Individuals don’t win, teams do,” Walton once said. If you worked for Wal-Mart, Sam Walton was your partner, not your boss.

Lesson #2: Prioritize Your Customer

“There is only one boss,” said Walton. “The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”

Lesson #3: Catch The Fever

“If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you – like a fever,” said Walton.

Lesson #4: Get Hooked Up

“I have always been driven to buck the system, to innovate, to take things beyond where they've been,” he said.

Lesson #5: Loosen Up

“Don't take yourself so seriously,” said Walton. “Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun.”

Tearing Down Walls: How Walton Rose To The Top

Sam Walton passed away in 1992 but his legacy lives on. It is estimated that if the Wal-Mart chain was its own economy, it would rank 30th in the world, behind Saudi Arabia. The company’s revenues continue to grow at roughly 10% a year, likely surpassing half a trillion dollars in sales within the next decade. The international division of Wal-Mart is also its fastest-growing division, which indicates that the company is continuing to increase its presence around the world. If Sam Walton were alive today, he would be the richest person in the world, with twice the fortune of Bill Gates. How did a farm boy from Oklahoma accomplish all of this?

Sam Walton Quotes

Sam Walton Quotes

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