Wilson Harrell – “Entrepreneurs are born, not made, but the thirst for freedom is the spark that ignites.”
Born in Georgia in 1919, world-renowned entrepreneur and marketing guru Wilson Harrell was a man of strong convictions. On his big business trip, he lived a glamorous life throughout. Not everyone knows that Wilson was a fighter pilot in World War II and received the Purple Heart, the Air Medal with Four Oak Leaves, and also the Presidential Citation.
It all started with Wilson Harrell & Company started by Wilson himself after the war. The company distributed Kraft products to the huge military market, and before long the company’s sales reached $200 million. But Wilson had other ideas, he sold the distribution company, then bought Formula 409, a household cleaning products company, for $30,000 and turned it around. He later sold the company for $7 million and bought 60 food and brokerage companies whose total sales exceeded $500 million.
In all, Wilson started more than 100 companies and transformed many of them. He was voted America’s Number One Columnist for 1995 and 1996 by the American Business Society for his monthly contribution to Success Magazine. Wilson was also the previous publisher of INC. magazine. In addition to being the founder and president of the Council of Growing Companies, a national organization, Wilson was also the leader and voice of the business movement in the United States. His book “Only for Entrepreneurs” was a bestseller and remains one of the most admired in this genre.
In his book, he spoke of the hunters and farmers of the caveman era. He reasoned from science and a variety of studies that genes are passed on and entrepreneurs are often the children of entrepreneurs. At some point thousands of years ago, entrepreneurs were the hunters of our world, while farmers tend to be the employees.
He enjoyed great success in life and died in 1997 at the age of 78 from lung cancer.
“If you want to be an entrepreneur, make sure your goal is to be free to do something right. Leave a mark on the sands of time. And make sure you give your employees the freedom to make contributions, earn rewards, and even make mistakes.” “.
– Source – “Just for Entrepreneurs” by Wilson Harrell.