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Wal-Mart is one of the most popular chain stores in the United States today and has effectively spread all over the globe in recent years. All of that is a result of the efforts of one man – Sam Walton. Sam Walton is an entrepreneur that built Wal-Mart up from nothing and into a force to be reckoned with in the retail industry. As such, he provides a perfect and timeless plan of how anyone else could follow in his footsteps. Here is the history of the entrepreneur that changed the retailing world forever.

The Young Walton

Samuel Walton was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma on March 29, 1918. He was actually born on a farm and into an agricultural family that worked the land for a living. As such, they struggled and often did not know where the next penny was coming from. This may be why Walton got little education behind him but decided that farming was not the life for him before he reached double figures. The entrepreneur’s father agreed with him and moved the family away to take a steady job.

Sam Walton did well in sports when he did attend high school but had little interest in academic pursuits. He did not have time for them as a result of the Depression and took on small jobs himself to help his family out. As a result of the hardship the family faced yet again, Walton vowed not to be in that situation again and chose to go to the University of Missouri to study economics in order to prepare for his future entrepreneurial ventures. He funded his education himself by working any and all jobs that he could.

The Path To Wal-Mart

Upon graduating from college, Sam Walton got a job at JCPenney in Des Moines. There he learned the ropes of management before enlisting to fight in World War II. Although he remained in the US during his stint in the army, Walton reached the rank of captain. In 1945, he made the decision to leave and pursue his own dreams of owning a department store. At the time, he only had enough money ($25,000) to start a smaller store, but the entrepreneur in Walton knew it was just a start. The store in Newport, Arkansas did well purely and simply because he had a huge range of products that were all affordable. He also worked long hours so everyone who would buy something would be able to come in around work.

The entrepreneur soon found that there were ways and means to make a lot of money and he actually pioneered the idea of buying goods wholesale for a low price and elevating the selling within an affordable limit. Although he had to move on shortly after, Walton only moved as far as Bentonville and opened the first Walton’s Five & Dime. More followed and Walton’s entrepreneurial empire began to grow. There were 16 stores in the chain by 1962. It was that year that the first Wal-Mart store opened.

Wal-Mart was a massive success because it epitomised the values that appealed to the nation – low prices, quality products and excellent ranges of stock. It became a family venture and retained these values. As a result, the entrepreneur prospered, so much so that he was the richest man in the world between 1985 and 1988. Although Sam Walton died in 1992, his legacy still lives on and is still in the Walton family. The entrepreneur literally built the business from the ground up and now his stores occupy spaces all over the world. As such, he proves that anything is possible, no matter how dark the financial hour.