Want to get inspired to start your own journey as a sole trader? Want to learn how individuals even generations before were able to find success? Keep reading to find out more about the world’s famous sole traders turned multi-millionaire business owners, and how they grew their businesses to such a large scale.
Pierre Omidyar
Pierre Omidyar founded the AuctionWeb (later turned eBay) in 1995, as a personal venture within his field of computer programming. Based on the idea of online auctioning, AuctionWeb gained large amounts of web traffic fast, with a broken laser point being the first item sold on the site.
After noticing the site’s success and increasing demand for its service, Pierre was encouraged to upgrade his business account, from $30 a month to $250 a month. This caused him to implement a paid function for his website’s users as well, thereby eventually growing his business from a one-man small remote website, to one of the biggest consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales websites today.
In 2020, it was announced that Pierre would no longer be a member of the Board of Directors, however, will still hold the director emeritus title. Despite starting as a small computer programmer, Pierre’s success in (during the time) an unfamiliar field is a prime example of innovative and clever sole tradership.
John Willard Maerriott
Founder of the famous Marriott hotels and Marriott International, John Willard Mariott is another great example of a driven sole trader turned multi-millionaire and business owner. Starting off as merely a root beer stand in Washington DC in 1927, Mariott slowly built up his enterprise through smart sole tradership and knowledge of what the public wanted. Wanting to provide New Yorkers with a place to get a cool drink, Marriott expanded his business to a chain of Hot Shoppes restaurants, later known in 1953 as Hot Shoppes Inc.
After finding success as a restaurant chain owner, Mariott then opened up a hotel in 1957, marking the beginning of their domination as one of the biggest hospitality providers around the world. Their first hotel – Twin Bridges Marriott Motor Hotel – was opened in Arlington, Virginia and the business later went international under J.W. (Bill) Marriott Jr. (John Marriott’s son). Through his determination and polished skills as a sole trader, John Marriott is a well known role model for many of today’s business owners in the food and hospitality industry.
Sam Walton
Another famous American sole trader turned multi-millionaire business owner is Sam Walton. In 1945, Sam Walton left his position at J.C. Penney and bought a Ben Franklin store from the Butler Brothers. Determined to sell products at low prices for higher-volume sales, Walton searched far and wide for lower-cost suppliers to undercut his competitors on pricing.
With his connections and industry knowledge, Walton successfully ran his shop and sales increased by 45% within the first year. In his fifth year of running his small business, the store generated $250,000 USD in revenue. Later down the road, Walton opened his store in a new location – this time named Walton’s Five and Dime. Now the Walmart Museum, Walton had since opened up many groceries and supply stores named Walmart all over the United States and became an incredibly successful business owner, until the day he passed.
Looking to follow in the footsteps of these past sole traders? Make sure you are adequately prepared – with substantial background and industry knowledge as well as support personnel (an accountant for example) before beginning your journey as a sole trader!
About The Author
Nicole Hinton
Nicole is a freelancer & passionate blogger. She has 4+ years of experience in digital marketing and specialize in content writing, content marketing and organic search engine optimization. She has worked with many brands from Canada as well as the USA. Currently, she manages content marketing team of freelancers and doing their business efficiently.
