- Income Ivy
- Posts
- His soap business was dying, until...
His soap business was dying, until...
The promotional item worth $23 billion
Hey there,
Ever notice how your side projects sometimes work better than your main business?
Here's something that might surprise you: William Wrigley Jr. moved to Chicago in 1891 to sell soap. That was his entire business plan. Soap.
But customers didn't care much about his soap. They kept asking about the free chewing gum he gave away as a bonus gift.
Within two years, Wrigley completely abandoned soap and went all-in on gum. That "throwaway" promotional item became the world's largest chewing gum company, worth over $23 billion today.
The thing is, Wrigley almost missed it. He was so focused on his soap business that he nearly ignored what customers were actually buying.
Wrigley's soap business nobody wanted
Picture this: You're a young entrepreneur in 1891. You've moved to Chicago with big dreams. You're going to sell soap and baking powder.
That's William Wrigley Jr.'s story.
His soap wasn't special. The market was crowded. Competition was fierce. So Wrigley did what many struggling businesses do: he offered free gifts to sweeten the deal.
First, he gave away baking powder with soap purchases. People liked the baking powder more than the soap.
So Wrigley pivoted. He started selling baking powder instead, giving away chewing gum as the promotional item.
Then something weird happened.
Customers started buying baking powder just to get the free gum. Store owners called asking if they could just buy the gum directly.
Most entrepreneurs would have ignored this. They'd think: "I'm in the soap business" or "I'm in the baking powder business."
Wrigley thought differently: "I'm in the business of selling whatever people actually want."
By 1893, Wrigley stopped selling soap and baking powder entirely. He focused 100% on chewing gum.
Wrigley's became the dominant gum brand in America. The company now generates billions annually. All because Wrigley noticed his "free gift" was more valuable than his actual product.
Avon's door-to-door book failure
David McConnell started the California Perfume Company in 1886 to sell books. He was a traveling book salesman going door-to-door.
Nobody wanted his books.
To make his pitch more appealing, McConnell started giving away small vials of perfume he'd mixed himself. Something to make the long sales pitch more pleasant for housewives.
The books still didn't sell. But the perfume? Women kept asking where they could buy more.
McConnell had a choice. Keep pushing books that nobody wanted, or pivot to the perfume that people kept requesting.
He chose perfume.
Better yet, he realized something brilliant: The housewives who loved his perfume could sell it to their friends. He created one of the first direct-sales networks, eventually renamed Avon.
Today Avon generates over $9 billion in annual revenue across 100+ countries. All from a "free gift" McConnell used to sell books nobody wanted.
Tiffany & Co.'s stationery store detour
Charles Lewis Tiffany opened a stationery and fancy goods store in 1837. He sold office supplies, umbrellas, decorative items.
Jewelry wasn't even the focus.
Tiffany just kept a small selection of jewelry alongside the stationery because wealthy customers occasionally asked for it. It was a side offering to complement the main business.
But something became clear over time: Customers spent way more money on jewelry than stationery.
The margins were better. The customers were wealthier. The repeat business was stronger.
By 1853, Tiffany completely transformed the business. He stopped being a stationery store and became America's premier jewelry retailer.
That pivot created one of the most iconic luxury brands in history. Tiffany & Co. is now worth over $15 billion.
All because Tiffany noticed where customers were actually spending money, not where he thought they should spend it.
The side project signal everyone misses
Here's what these three understood: Your customers know better than you do.
Wrigley thought he was selling soap. Customers wanted gum.
McConnell thought he was selling books. Customers wanted perfume.
Tiffany thought he was selling stationery. Customers wanted jewelry.
The market tells you what it wants. Most entrepreneurs just aren't listening.
They're too attached to their original vision. Too invested in the business plan. Too proud to admit their "real" business isn't working.
Meanwhile, the thing making money gets ignored because it wasn't part of the plan.
Watch where money flows naturally
These founders all noticed one pattern: Customers spent more freely on the "side" products than the main offerings. Money flow reveals desire better than surveys ever will.
Notice what creates unexpected demand
When people ask "Can I just buy this?" about your bonus or side offering, that's a massive signal. Unexpected demand usually means you've stumbled onto something valuable.
Compare margins and repeat business
Wrigley's gum had better margins than soap. Avon's perfume generated more repeat orders than books. Tiffany's jewelry created wealthier, more loyal customers. The numbers don't lie.
Ask what customers actually talk about
Pay attention to what generates conversation and word-of-mouth. If people mention your free bonus more than your main product, you've found something.
Your side project might be your real business. You just haven't admitted it yet.
Maybe you started a business doing X, but customers keep asking about Y. Maybe your "freebie" gets more engagement than your core offer. Maybe the thing you spend the least time on generates the most revenue.
That's not a distraction. That's a signal.
The businesses that last aren't the ones that stick stubbornly to their original plan. They're the ones that pivot when customers show them a better path.
But here's the challenge: You can't spot these patterns if you're not showing up consistently enough to see them.
Wrigley noticed because he was talking to customers daily. McConnell discovered it through constant door-to-door interactions. Tiffany saw it from daily store operations.
Consistent visibility reveals hidden opportunities.
What if you had a system that kept you in front of your audience daily? Where you could test different offers, messages, and products without betting everything on one idea?
That's when patterns become obvious. That's when your customers start telling you what they really want. That's when side projects reveal themselves as main businesses.
Because the next Wrigley moment might already be happening in your business. The question is: Are you present enough to notice it?
What's your side project?
P.S. - Wrigley took 2 years to notice customers wanted gum instead of soap. How long will you wait to spot your hidden goldmine? >>Start showing up systematically here. Only 50 kits left at this price.