African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 7: Chapter 4 All Beginnings are Difficult

October 4, 1863.

After months of long waiting, Ernst finally saw the finished product. By leveraging connections and financial power, Ernst found a metallurgy expert at a Berlin arms factory, who provided a solution to the blade problem.

The expert was indeed reliable. With years of experience and rich knowledge, once Ernst made his request, the expert immediately had some ideas for solving the problem.

Eventually, Ernst brought a mature plan to a factory in Berlin specialized in custom industrial equipment. Using product patents and blueprints, he successfully launched the first-generation T-shaped razor blade smelting machine.

This also caused Ernst’s little treasury to shrink rapidly, but fortunately, now there were results.

Having the necessary machinery was just the first step; to achieve mass production, one set of equipment was not enough. But how to solve the funding problem?

This is where the benefits of an aristocratic background cannot be ignored. As a top-tier aristocrat’s child, it was only natural to confidently ask the father for a ”loan.”

Prince Constantine, of course, was concerned about his son’s condition far away in Berlin, and one ordinary afternoon, he received a letter seeking help from Berlin, which made him feel both amused and exasperated.

For Constantine, the amount of money was not insignificant, but he was willing to give it to his son for his first entrepreneurial venture. As a major German landowner, collecting rent was a very profitable endeavor.

This was also their family’s first investment in industry. To Constantine, nurturing a child’s self-sufficiency was more important than anything else. Only by letting him do and make decisions himself could he become a good successor in the future. As for failure, it was merely a trial-and-error cost.

Taking advantage while he was not yet old, training Ernst’s abilities was much better than leaving behind countless riches.

For a noble, experience and insight are the best wealth; only through the hard trials of society can one become a qualified noble.

Prince Constantine’s generosity and straightforwardness greatly accelerated Ernst’s industrial production process.

Using the noble status, the related formalities were handled smoothly; no one dared to make things difficult for the son of a prince, especially a prince of the Hohenzollern family.

The well-informed aristocrats all knew that Old Prince Constantine’s son was setting up a factory, though most people weren’t very optimistic.

In these times, although some nobles ventured into industry, it was very rare for top aristocrats to personally get involved. A hands-on genius like Ernst was seldom seen.

After renting the workshop and getting the workers and other corresponding facilities in place, Ernst’s factory was open for business.

The operation of machinery required a large number of workers. The workshop was bustling with people, always carefully monitoring the running state of machines. The furnaces and steam tracks required a lot of energy, and black chimneys rose abruptly.

Black smog shrouded Berlin’s sky, with wastewater directly discharged into suburban rivers, which was the norm for early industrial countries.

Of course, this was the result of the efforts of many factories combined. Ernst’s small plant was inconspicuous among them.

As the tracks operated, molten iron was shaped, cooled, sent along steel wheels to workers for final formation.

Subsequently, workers used machines to cut these thin sheets, gathered by workers in the next process, and finally packed with oiled paper.

This was the production process of the blade. Besides this, there was a separate production line for the razor handle.

Everything adopted an assembly line operation, significantly reducing the waste brought by intermediate links and improving production efficiency.

At this moment, Ernst held the finished razor produced by his factory. To test its practicality, Ernst decided to ”personally” try it.

”Pete, sit still, don’t move,” Ernst ordered.

Pete nervously sat on the chair, not daring to move as if awaiting some great terror to arrive.

Ernst personally wielded the blade, first applying soap lather to the victim’s face. With blade handle in hand, he skillfully shaved, causing the beard to smoothly fall off with the blade’s strokes.

Pete, as the first victim, nervously enjoyed the boss’s service. Although the new razor was marketed as safe and convenient, who knew this anxiety when destiny was in someone else’s hands?

Luckily, everything went smoothly. When the last stroke was done, Ernst handed Pete a towel to wipe his chin clean.

”How does it feel?” Ernst curiously asked.

”Boss, in terms of product quality control alone, there’s absolutely no problem. But whether it can sell at a good price is uncertain,”

Pete was not very optimistic about the market prospects. After all, such novelty items were hard for people to accept quickly.

Moreover, similar products were already available in the market, though with different principles. As for why the boss was determined to pursue such an uncertain new razor, Pete thought maybe the boss was just trying things out, after all, he’s young.

Ernst indeed never explained his reasons. As long as the team produced a finished product, the reality was that this seemingly old-fashioned razor from the previous life was very successful.

Even in the age of smart appliances, there were still people using this purely mechanical old-fashioned T-shaped razor. Classic designs were often directly copied.

As the inventor of this type of razor, Gillette, who came from a sales background, invented this non-sharpening, relatively safe, and affordable grooming product in his life experience.

Moreover, the profit model of this razor was quite innovative. Unlike traditional straight-handle razors where the blade and handle were integrated and interchangeability was limited, making it hard to discard.

Gillette’s razors had cheap blades that could be discarded when dull, saving the trouble of sharpening, saving time, and the blade was sandwiched between pieces of metal, looking safer than those neck-slitting straight-handle razors.

Of course, promoting this new razor was still a long way to go, the first problem to solve was how to put the razor handle into the hands of the public.

This was a big issue. It took time for the public to accept such new things. Only when they truly had such a razor in their hands could blade sales be increased later on.

Ernst decided to use three methods to market the new razor: the first was door-to-door promotion by salespeople, the second was to find dealers, and the third was to increase advertising investment.

The first was the most conventional. Salespeople could explain the benefits of the new razor, directly addressing customer pain points, leading to high transaction rates.

The second was more troublesome. Since the product did not yet have high brand recognition, dealers might overlook it.

So, advertising became a necessary auxiliary measure, with Ernst already having a general idea of the advertising content.

It involved posting posters. The poster couldn’t be too small; it had to be large, preferably occupying an entire wall.

This would popularize the usage and advantages of the new razor.

Then, a comparison was needed, using a handsome male model. Creating two comparative images: one showing how using an old-style razor directly cut into the face causing trauma, and next to it, how using the new razor resulted in a refreshed spirit.

To put the words ’Safer’ prominently on the first line, emphasizing the product’s durability (with a reusable handle), and finally, time-saving and convenient (blades are replaceable and not expensive).

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After two months of promotion, the ”Gillette” razor was freshly introduced. Indeed, Ernst even copied the name, not bothering to pretend otherwise.

As Ernst imagined, the ”Gillette” razor didn’t achieve blockbuster sales. Fortunately, after two months of promotion and advertising, Berliners were aware of this product.

And among the households that had used it, many had become regular customers, given that the metal handle could last for decades, with expenses primarily on sets of blades, achieving small profits but quick returns.

Currently, ensuring product quality was the priority, with fewer remaining things to handle. Ernst had appointed Pete as the acting factory director, while he himself would allocate time for inspections.

As for the profits after breaking even, they would be used to increase advertising promotion, expanding from Berlin to other cities, eventually reaching the entire German region. The current production line was fully capable of meeting product supply throughout Germany.

Once Ernst’s products covered the entire German region, he would consider the next steps, possibly increasing production and formulating plans for the entire continent or even America and other regions.

Or perhaps investing in some new industries. All this depended on the razor being a big seller.

All of this took time. Currently, Ernst had neither the time nor the money to do anything extra, considering the next step only after the razor was profitable.