By: Pranita Dhungana
Benjamin Franklin is remembered for his political career, most notably for being one of the Founding Fathers of America, but did you know that he was also one of the most successful entrepreneurs of his time? His entrepreneurship spans across multiple industries, most prominent of which are printing and newspapers.
early life
Franklin was born in 1706 in Boston to a working-class family. Although he enjoyed much success and prosperity later in life, Franklin had a very modest upbringing. His later entrepreneurial success can likely be traced back to his upbringing because several members of his family were entrepreneurs. His father was a candlemaker, one of his brothers had a printing business, and another brother owned and operated a newspaper.
Even though Franklin earned a number of honorary degrees from esteemed universities, he had only two years of formal education because his father could not financially support it. However, Franklin was an ardent reader, and self-educated on diverse topics. He began working for his father at the age of 10. At age 12, he began working in printing as his brother’s apprentice. At age 15, he began working for his brother’s newspaper, occasionally contributing to the newspaper under the pseudonym of “Mrs. Silence Dogood.” His writings were very well-received for being witty and intelligent.
printing career
At age 17, Franklin ran away to Philadelphia. This was the beginning of what was to become a wildly successful entrepreneurial career.
Franklin started as a printer’s apprentice in Philadelphia. The business acumen he had collected in the printing business from a young age, and his honesty and ambition inspired confidence in his friends, who helped him fund his own printing shop. Unlike today, printing used to be a capital- and labor-intensive work at that time, but Franklin ensured to deliver on time no matter how much work that required. His diligence and growing reputation attracted more customers in Philadelphia, which was a significant town then.
Not only was Franklin skilled in printing, but he was also a skilled businessman, which elevated his printing business to the heights of success. For starters, Franklin understood the importance of personal branding. He crafted his image with great care as a diligent, down to earth man. He intentionally dressed plainly, and never participated in activities like fishing or shooting. In order to convey that he was not above his business, he would make it a point to use a wheelbarrow to transport his printing supplies himself. His carefully crafted image gained him credibility, as well as the liking of customers.
Similarly, as a new business owner, Franklin knew the value of networking. He organized weekly community meetings for tradesmen and artisans, called “The Junto.” The purpose of these meetings was to discuss how to serve mankind, but also to exchange business affairs. In fact, these meeting participants often sent business each others’ way.
Franklin also understood how to minimize competition and expand his business beyond Philadelphia, for which he is credited with having established the first franchise system in America. During those days, a printing apprentice could set up his own shop at age 21 if they could fund it. Franklin did not want more competition to enter the market, so he set up a basic franchising system. He rented printing shops with fully funded equipment, and handed the shop to an apprentice in exchange for one third of profits for six years, after which the franchisee could purchase the equipment from Franklin. This system expanded Franklin’s business to other colonial cities.
What truly put Franklin’s printing business on the map was his contract to print money for Pennsylvania. When the Pennsylvania Assembly was debating raising the limits on the amount of paper money in the colony, Franklin wrote an anonymous pamphlet that swung the debate in favor of raising the limit. He then came up with an ingenious way to prevent counterfeiting – using unique leaf prints. Consequently, he was awarded the lucrative contract to print money for Pennsylvania. Later, he also secured contracts to print money for Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland.
newspaper career
Franklin also ventured into the newspaper business. Franklin purchased the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729. The newspaper was so popular that it has been dubbed the colonial equivalent of The New York Times. Franklin often contributed to the newspaper. He continued his witty, conversational writing style from his “Mrs. Silence Dogood” days, and devoted ample space to gossip and sensational crimes, all of which contributed to the newspaper’s popularity. It is of note that Franklin engaged in some less than exemplary business practices to purchase the Pennsylvania Gazette. Before purchasing it, he published some scathing reviews of the paper, which led to decreased circulation, and consequently, a lower purchase price.
Franklin’s keen business intelligence helped him see that there was a gap in the newspaper market. Almost a third of the settlers in Pennsylvania were German-speakers, but there were no German newspapers. Therefore, Franklin launched the Philadelphische Zeitung, the first German-language newspaper in America.
Franklin’s most successful publishing venture was the Poor Richard’s Almanac, a yearly almanac published by him under the pseudonym of Poor Richard. It contained a calendar, meteorological and astronomical information, and witty maxims penned by himself that are quoted to this day. “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Sound familiar?
scientific career
By age 42, Franklin had made enough money to retire. Upon retirement, he devoted himself to scientific research, most famous of which is on electricity. His findings on electricity were of great value to future scientists. Among his various experiments, he flew a kite into a lightning storm to prove that it is a form of electricity.
He also invented the lightning rod, which is a simple metal device placed on top of a building with a metal wire running to the ground. In case of lightning strikes, the metal rod conducts the lightning to the ground, thus protecting the building. This method of protecting buildings is in use to this day. Some of his other inventions are swimming fins, bifocal glasses, odometer, and a new type of heating stove. All of his inventions improved the quality of life in some way.
Notably, Franklin did not patent any of his inventions because he believed that the benefits of scientific progress should be shared by all. He stated in his autobiography: “As we enjoy great advantages from the invention of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.”
Franklin thought of himself, first and foremost, as a printer. He was one of the most successful printers of his time, and is a model example of successful entrepreneurship. Not only did he master his craft, but he also acutely observed his community, and came up with ingenious ways to meet the needs of the people, which is what made him such a successful entrepreneur.
This article would be remiss without mention of Franklin’s ownership of enslaved people, who contributed greatly to his businesses’ success. He later freed the people believing that slavery was evil, and founded an anti-slavery society before his death.
Sources:
cliffordjones.com/2018/01/benjamin-franklin-entrepreneur-and-small-business-owner
https://www.forbes.com/sites/keithkrach/2022/09/20/7-insights-on-americas-most-successful-revolutionary-entrepreneur-benjamin-franklin/?sh=4a825d976072
https://owlcation.com/humanities/Benjamin-Franklin-Founding-Father-Entrepreneur-and-Scientist
https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/benjamin-franklin
http://www.benfranklin300.org/etc_article_entrepreneur.htm
https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/entrepreneurs-who-changed/9780744036114/Text/022-025_Benjamin_Franklin.xhtml