| I love Christmas for all kinds of reasons. The most important of which is the birth of the Christ child. But there are other things I love about the Christmas season too. Take the Rose Bowl parade for instance. Living in Pasadena gives me a front-row seat to a real sensational event. One of the Tournament of Roses’ biggest attractions is the Wriggly Mansion. So what does Wriggly chewing gum have to do with the Rose Bowl? It turns out a lot. A little history first though. William Wrigley Jr. started his career in Chicago back in 1891. With only $32 in his pocket, he started a soap company. Realizing there was more money in baking powder, he quickly pivoted and used a marketing gimmick of giving away a couple of pieces of chewing gum with each purchase. He quickly realized the power of the popularity of gum and decided to pivot once again to niche down in the chewing gum market. The rest is history. The modest $32 he started with grew into millions (a million was a mountainous amount of money back at the turn of the century). He didn’t care for the cold winters in Chicago, so he built a winter mansion in Pasadena on what’s called “Millionaire’s Row”. Oh, and he also bought an entire island. My kids have been going to summer camp there for a few years and it’s an amazing place. But back to the Rose Bowl. Wriggly offered his mansion as the headquarters for the game and spared no expense lavishly decorating it for his guests. That tradition continues to this day and free tours are available for the public. He went on to expand his chewing gum empire building mansions across the country. And his heirs are carrying on his legacy. A few years back a report indicated that gum was an industry worth 19 billion and current stats say it is projected to grow to over 37 billion by 2026. It’s amazing how you can hone in on one very small industry and capitalize on the opportunities available. Too many real estate investors and agents are putting their time and energy in the wrong places. Fear is prompting them to cast a wide net hoping to catch whatever they can. Sort of like chewing gum, probate is a micro niche that can produce some of the most profitable deals in real estate, if you know what you’re doing. This is exactly why I have dedicated over 20 years of my life to this simple niche that most other people ignore. To your success, Ernie “Bubble Gum” Vargas | The Probate Fox |
December 7
Gum and Roses
0 comments
