The Progression of an Entrepreneur

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One would never imagine that treating an old man kindly while working a menial job would impact your life so greatly, especially when you had no idea who that old man was. Yet, this behavior is what created the basis for an incredibly prosperous career for William Keeney Bixby, an entrepreneur and my great-great-great-grandfather who began his work in the late 19th century. In the biographical note from archives from the 2003 University Libraries at Washington University of St. Louis, I was able to learn more about how W.K. Bixby cultivated this career.

“In 1875, after graduation from high school, William Bixby went armed with a letter from Jefferson Davis to the Governor of Texas, a Confederate veteran, who got the sixteen-year-old a job as night watchman and baggageman for the International Great Northern Railroad at Palestine, Texas. An Algerish touch to this story is the part played by the roughly dressed old man who frequently dropped around at night and pestered the boy with apparently idle questions about railroading. Because the boy was courteous and intelligent, at the end of a year the old man revealed himself as H. M. Hoxie, president of the railroad. The result was promotion to the post of general baggage agent in San Antonio for young Bixby. … Mr. Hoxie's benign influence was not over. When he became president of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, the couple moved with him to St. Louis, where Bixby became printing and stationery buyer for all the Gould lines.”

I thought that this passage was particularly interesting because it shows how William initially began his career. I knew that he had started off with a fairly modest job, but had no idea that connections from that job had lead him to develop his successful career. I believe that this truly demonstrates the concept that is preached by many that having good social skills and social connections will allow you to thrive in the business world, as well as just in life itself. Also, the procession of jobs that William went through shows that there are often many steps to becoming a successful entrepreneur such as himself.

“After several years in St. Louis, William McMillan, president of the Missouri Car and Foundry Company, offered the rapidly rising young man a still better job. Within the now-traditional year he again attracted signal attention to himself. His employers had made a ruinous contract for the purchase of pig iron and by his direct honesty Bixby renegotiated the contract, making a long-range, profitable ally for his company. At the age of thirty-one he became vice-president and general manager.”

Once again I thought this passage was significant because it shows how William progressed into being the successful businessman that he was and thus how he acquired his money. One can assume that William’s knowledge of the business world had become a little more extensive at this point in his life, as he makes a critical decision with renegotiating the contract for his company. I knew that William had had an important relationship with William McMillan, but I did not realize that it really established him as a force in the corporate world, with one of his first major leadership jobs.

“Soon the company became such a large factor in freight-car building that it found it advantageous to merge with the Peninsular Car Company, the first step in a series of mergers out of which came the American Car and Foundry Company, of which Bixby became President, and soon thereafter was elected chairman of the board. At the age of forty-eight, in 1905, he retired.”

This passage basically sums up the rest of William’s official business career. It interested me because I think the fact that he was able to come so far in the time that he did and retire by age forty-eight demonstrates his intelligence and entrepreneurial skills. Once again, I was impressed by William’s initiative to participate in multiple mergers, which clearly benefitted his company. I believe that since he was able to retire by age forty-eight that allowed him to dedicate more time to both leisure and philanthropic activities.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

What qualities allow a businessman/businesswoman to make crucial decisions pertaining to their work and money?