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- ⚜️ The Gold Rush
January 24th, 1848—James W. Marshall was walking down the river in Coloma, California to check on the progress of his soon-to-be-finished sawmill when his sight fell on a history-changing discovery…
“My eye was caught by something shining in the bottom of the ditch… I reached my hand down and picked it up; it made my heart thump, for I was certain it was gold…”
Marshall kept digging down there and came across more and more gold.
As word of the gold discovery spread, it brought approximately 300,000 people from all over the world to the sight in the years to come.
⛏️ The Gold Rush
But what if I told you that the people who made the most money weren’t the ones digging for the gold?
You see, while miners worked hard, hoping to get rich. Others thought cleverly about the case…
If 300,000 people are digging for gold, there must be a different way to monetise.
And there was!
Because all these people needed what? Tools & transportation!
A man named Sam Brannan bought up all the equipment prospectors would need to dig for gold, right before the gold rush became worldwide news. And re-sold them for enormous profits, Selling as much as $5,000 in goods per day to miners.
($5,000 in the 1850s is worth $202,239 today!)
Brannan became California’s First Millionaire in the process.
…Selling tools!
Here is the main takeaway from the story 👇🏽
You don’t need to dig for gold to win big. You just need to be the one selling the shovels.
The power is in meeting the existing demand and supplying it. Not creating the demand and supplying it.
👞 Today’s Action Step:
Think to yourself, am I offering something that people want & need? Or are you offering something convenient to yourself?
📖 Today’s Book Bit
MJ DeMarco
During the gold rush, the ones who got rich weren’t the miners—they were the ones selling the picks, shovels, and jeans.
Book: The Millionaire Fastlane
As I said, the power is in meeting the existing demand.
Sam Brannan made $202,239 a day (in today’s money) by selling tools to the people mining gold. You need to focus on what people need to succeed.
🚿 Today’s Shower Thought
The internet both almost killed off the postal service with email and then made it more needed than ever with online delivery.
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