Monday, September 13, 2010

Henry Ford: The Self-made Man

Ford is undoubtedly one of the leading car manufacturers in the world today. They may not have the most advanced features, but their selling point is that they bring quality cars to people at affordable prices. The Ford Motor Company has always been known for making cars available for the masses, and we all have the late Henry Ford to thank for that. Henry Ford was a self-made man, rising from poverty to becoming one the most successful businessmen in the world. His struggle to reach the top is one that makes him rightfully part of the greatest entrepreneur stories of all time.

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Henry Ford born and raised in Dearborn, Michigan didn’t come from a family of car enthusiasts or even mechanics for that matter. The Ford family had a farm in Dearborn and Ford was usually tasked to help with several farm duties. Ford however disliked helping around in the farm; instead his interest for mechanical things already showed at an early age.
At the age of 16, Ford left their hometown and went to Detroit to try his luck in the city. Following his interest in machinery, Ford took up a job as an apprentice machinist; soon thereafter became a full-pledged machinist. After this, he took on other jobs such as operating and repairing steam engines, overhauling farm equipment, part time jobs at a Detroit factory and occasionally still helping around with farm duties.   

Ford’s first big break happened in the year 1891 when he became an engineer for Edison Illuminating Company. When he landed this job, Ford knew that he would be dedicating his life to industrial pursuits. It was in this company that Ford was given the freedom and the financial assistance to start experimenting on different combustion engines. His very first completed project was the Quadricycle; it was a four wheeled self propelled vehicle. After the Quadricylce, Ford continued to create better automobiles for the purpose of selling them.
As Ford continued to create automobiles, he attempted to partner with different investors in the hopes of starting an automobile company. After his two attempts, both Detroit Automobile Company and Henry Ford Corporation closed after running for only a year or so. It was on Ford’s third attempt that the highly successful Ford Motor Company was created; he was Vice President and chief engineer at that time.

As the Ford Motor Company continued to succeed, Ford designed and produced a reliable but efficient car that would be accessible to the masses. With this goal in mind, he was able to produce the highly successful and, at the time, innovative Model T vehicle. This particular vehicle changed the means of personal transportation of people. It was very easy to manage and maintain; at the same time it was also pretty tough considering its very affordable price.

After several years, Ford Motor Company was able to build and sell over 15 million Model Ts. It was so successful that almost half of all the cars driving in America at the time were Model Ts. Even when Ford Motor Company was already in the league of big businesses, Ford continued to always think of the masses. From his designs down to the way he treated his workers, Ford always thought of what would be the best for the masses.

Henry Ford’s success story is very fit to become one of the best entrepreneur stories for the main reason that he is an epitome of hard work. His story of rags to riches is one to pick inspiration from. But above all this, what is truly admirable of the man is his humility. He rose to the top and became very successful and yet his goals were always geared towards what would be best for the masses.

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