Struggles and Triumphs · Chapter
In Business for Myself explained
Barnum recounts his early ventures into business, starting with a fruit and confectionery store in Bethel using a small capital of $120.
What happens
Barnum recounts his early ventures into business, starting with a fruit and confectionery store in Bethel using a small capital of $120. He describes his success on opening day, his expansion into lottery ticket sales, and the formative influence of his store on his character. The chapter also covers his clerkship in Brooklyn and New York, his bout with smallpox, and his courtship with Charity Hallett, including a humorous anecdote about writing a love letter for a friend.
Themes in this chapter
Self-Made Success and Entrepreneurship
Barnum details his first independent business venture with a small capital, emphasizing his ambition and speculative nature.
Financial Wisdom and Economy
He describes careful purchasing strategies, large profits on opening day, and the lottery agency as a profitable sideline.
Family and Domestic Life
Barnum's relationship with his grandfather and his courtship with Charity Hallett are central to this chapter.
Characters to notice
- P. T. Barnum
Narrates his early business ventures, clerkships, and courtship with Charity Hallett.
- Charity Barnum
Referred to as 'Chairy' Hallett, the tailoress whom Barnum courts during this period.
- Phineas Taylor
Barnum's grandfather, who offers rent-free space for the store and lends a horse and sleigh.
- Jack Mallett
A young apprentice who asks Barnum to help write a love letter to Lucretia.
- Miss Lucretia
The recipient of the love letter written by Barnum, Shepard, and Mallett.
Key passages
“My total capital was one hundred and twenty dollars, fifty of which I had expended in fitting up the store, and the remaining seventy dollars purchased my stock in trade.”
Barnum started his first store with $120 total capital, spending $50 on fixtures and $70 on inventory.
Highlights his modest beginnings and entrepreneurial spirit.
“I had the satisfaction of reckoning up sixty-three dollars as my day's receipts. Nor, although I had received the entire cost of my goods, less seven dollars, did the stock seem seriously diminished; showing that my profits had been large.”
On opening day, Barnum earned $63 in receipts, nearly recouping his entire inventory cost, indicating substantial profit margins.
Demonstrates his early business acumen and success.
“I told him that if he wanted any article of necessity in my line, I should not object to trust him for a short time, but it struck me that a pocketbook was a decided superfluity for a man who had no money; I therefore declined to trust him as I did not see the necessity for his possessing such an article till he had something to put into it.”
Barnum refused credit for a pocketbook to a man with no money, reasoning that such an item was unnecessary without funds to put inside.
Illustrates his practical and witty approach to business.
“My grandfather would, at any time, let me have a horse and sleigh, always excepting his new sleigh, the finest in the village, and a favorite horse called 'Arabian.' I especially coveted this turnout for one of our parties... 'Yes, if you have twenty dollars in your pocket,' was the reply. I immediately showed the money...”
Barnum cleverly secured his grandfather's prized horse and sleigh for a sleigh ride by showing he had the $20 his grandfather thought would be an impossible condition.
Shows his resourcefulness and determination in courtship.
