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William Harley

Guest post by: Zeeman Haus

Article Overview: Of all the truly remarkable small business success stories, the story of William Harley is one that inspires and moves people to action. Born in Milwaukee, WI in 1880, William S. Harley became lifelong friends with his neighbor Arthur Davidson. The product of their friendship would impact several generations, inspire a strong subculture and in some ways a nation: the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. In 1901 William drew up plans for what he called a "bicycle motor." In essence this was a small motor meant to be attached to a bicycle and propel it. No motors really existed at the time so all parts for this motor were handmade at a friend's shop by Arthur and Bill Davidson. This is starting from the ground up on the level of extreme.

William Harley

Of all the truly remarkable small business success stories, the story of William Harley is one that inspires and moves people to action.

Born in Milwaukee, WI in 1880, William S. Harley became lifelong friends with his neighbor Arthur Davidson. The product of their friendship would impact several generations, inspire a strong subculture and in some ways a nation: the Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

In 1901 William drew up plans for what he called a "bicycle motor." In essence this was a small motor meant to be attached to a bicycle and propel it. No motors really existed at the time so all parts for this motor were handmade at a friend's shop by Arthur and Bill Davidson. This is starting from the ground up on the level of extreme.

In the meantime while all of this R&D work was going on, young William was in the midst of an apprenticeship as a draftsman at the Barth Mfg. Co. in Milwaukee. Splitting time between work and his side project with the Davidson brothers left him with very little time for anything else. All evidence that survives to this day indicates that the three viewed this project as a hobby, but one that could turn into something else.

In 1905, two years after completing his apprenticeship with Barth, William left for college in Madison, WI. His thinking was to acquire more mechanical knowledge to further the development of what would later become an American icon. He kept in touch with his partners and through a better understanding of mechanics gained in college, the first prototype V-twin was born in 1906.

Harley graduated in 1907 with a degree in mechanical engineering, but Harley-Davidson did not have enough of a following for him to work full time for the company so he took a job with Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Works in Milwaukee. This job was not to last though, in 1908 William left his fulltime job to work for Harley-Davidson as their engineer and treasurer. His pay cut at the time was over 50%, but his conviction that the "time was right" was enough to aid him in this decision.

Growth was slow for the small company, but they offered a sturdy product and Harley was constantly improving the engine and design of their motorcycles. By the outbreak of World War 1, Harley-Davidson Motorcycles was introduced to the army. Though the US had used their bikes some prior to WWI, the motorcycle designed and built by three friends from Wisconsin proved itself on the French Battlefield to be adaptable and durable. Harley-Davidson had their first big client: the US Government. Military men came back from the war and purchased a Harley. Soon there weas order upon order for the relatively new company and the rest of their story reads like a fairytale; fame and fortune followed.

The story of William S. Harley is inspirational and allegorical on several levels:

• He saw a market for something he loved doing.
• Harley put in the time education wise to get the tools he needed.
• He worked two jobs when needed to keep himself afloat until he could do his business fulltime.
• When he moved into his role as a fulltime engineer for his own company he accepted the downside of making less money at first.
• He understood his market and the need for improvement and acted on these.

The story of William Harley is not a purely American one, for entrepreneurs it is an example and the story for and of all of us.

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Article Tags: arthur davidson, bill davidson, business success stories, harleydavidson, neighbor, william harley
Referred by: http://7inchlcdtv.com/



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Re: Google Custom Search: Let Visitors Search YOUR Site Only - Hi William, Yes, a clear layout or site architecture, menu bars and site map all help visitors to navigate your site. They are like the CONTENTS pages of a book. A custom search tool is more like the INDEX, except that it is the reader and not the writer or publisher who enters the search terms. If you have an extensive site, a toolbar is a great way to allow the site visitor swiftly to discover whether or not your site has what he is looking for.
Re: Network Marketing Business - Hi Salvador, I am William from Germany.About network marketing business,My friends are also interested in this type of business and A lot of people interested in a network marketing business who call me ask what are the advantages of network marketing and opening up their own store. There are many advantages but the two largest is cost to start and portability.so I prefer you learn as fast as properly networking business then you start your own business.Thank you.
Re: Networking - [quote="2william":1iytxx5u]hi ! i’d like to know more about how else internet may improve your business. More than sell your products online, what is another profitable tool that you find here?[/quote:1iytxx5u] William: The internet is not only a place to make sells, it's also a spectacular place to generate hype around your product. Through SEO tactics, social networking accounts, and regular maintenance, you could have a thriving community that is buzzing about your product or service. This will in turn, create sales and create awareness about you and your business.


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