James Cash Penney - 1875-1971, Part I
He invested in more pigs, and worked even harder because he needed to collect more slop buckets to feed the additional pigs. Eventually his business was humming to the tune of twelve pigs. Then the sky fell in. The neighbors complained about the smell and the noise, and his father ordered him to sell the pigs, even though they were not yet ready for market.
Jim asked his father, "Don't you want me to make money to take care of my needs?"
"Of course," his father told him. "But you have no right to make money at other people's expense. You must not take advantage of other people. Ever. For any reason. Sell your pigs immediately."
So Jim sold the pigs for $60–much less than he could have gotten for them a little while later. It was a time when banks had been often failing, so Jim decided to use both of the banks in town–$30 deposited in one, and $30 in the other. No use taking unnecessary chances.
But now he had to figure out how to earn more money. He was growing fast, and the money in the banks would not last long as he needed to purchase clothing to keep up with his growth–even if he was very careful.
He decided to raise and train a horse. His father would no go with him to pick out a horse, for Jim must learn to rely on himself. But James, Sr., did spend a great deal of time teaching Jim what to look for, both good and bad, what tricks sellers might try to play on him, and what would be the probable cost. Then Jim went to the stock show and came home with a very nice looking horse. His father praised him for his choice. But the two of them had forgotten to ask one question: how well does the horse do in a barn. The honest answer would have been: he's never been in a barn.
Night one in the barn: the horse kicked out the sides of the stall, and then some. Jim was sure the horse would do better as he got used to it. Wrong! Finally he had to sell the horse. And because he was honest in his business dealings he told the buyer the problem the horse had with barns, and he sold it for a loss. Scratch that economic venture!
You will find Jim's next plans in Part
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