Here are ten billion dollar companies or corporations that didn’t start with business plans.

Google

2014 Revenue: $65.83 Billion

Google was started as a class project by Sergey Brin and Larry Page while in graduate school at Stanford in January 1996. They simply wanted to create a better search engine that ranked websites based on their relationships to one another rather than the number of times the search term existed on the page.

Google wasn’t even a company until 32 months later when they incorporated in September 1998 so they could hire their first employee.

Yahoo!

2014 Revenue: $4.6 Billion

Yahoo! was started as “David and Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web” by Jerry Yang and David Filo (also Stanford graduate students) in February 1994. Their solution to finding information on the internet was to create a directory of websites, as opposed to a searchable index of pages.

It was just two dudes creating a database of websites they found and liked.

This is a quote about the history of Yahoo! from Yahoo.com:

“Due to the torrent of traffic and enthusiastic reception Yahoo! was receiving, the founders knew they had a potential business on their hands. In March 1995, the pair incorporated the business and met with dozens of Silicon Valley venture capitalists. They eventually came across Sequoia Capital, the well-regarded firm whose most successful investments included Apple Computer, Atari, Oracle and Cisco Systems. They agreed to fund Yahoo! in April 1995 with an initial investment of nearly $2 million.”

Apple

2014 Revenue: $182.35 Billion

Apple got its start in 1976 when Steve Wozniak convinced Steve Jobs to sell the Apple I Computer. So Jobs took the computer to a local computer store and the owner agreed to buy 50 of the machines at $500 apiece.

Then Jobs took the purchase order to a parts distributor to order the parts they needed and proceeded to build 50 computers in 30 days. Just in time to get paid by the retailer and pay their distributor.

Apple Computers started with a few simple transactions of a quality product. Not with a business plan.

Facebook

2014 Estimated Revenue: $12.47 Billion

As most of you probably know, Facebook was started by Mark Zuckerberg in February 2004 as a social networking site for his fellow Harvard students. They didn’t incorporate until later that summer.

Like Google and Yahoo!, it wasn’t a business so it didn’t need a business plan. It was just a promising idea that created a growing community with big potential.

General Electric

2014 Revenue: $148.94 Billion

General Electric was founded in 1890 by Thomas Edison as a vehicle to sell his inventions. Edison had been inventing for 14 years prior to founding the company. Some of his 1,000+ inventions included the incandescent light bulb, motion picture camera, and alkaline storage battery.

From an entrepreneurial perspective, Edison created over 1,000 products before he started his company. Maybe he could’ve benefited from a business plan. But maybe that would’ve thwarted his inventing.

This is my favorite Thomas Edison quote and an incredible lesson in entrepreneurship:

“I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others… I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent.”

Disney

2014 Revenue: $48.81 Billion

If you read about the 10 World Famous Companies that Started in Garages, you’ll know that the world’s largest media conglomerate had humble beginnings. Walt Disney started the company with his brother Roy as a creative studio with a character named Alice.

They started filming the Alice Comedies, which was part of Alice’s Wonderland, and sold their short films to a distributor.

No business plan required.

Pepsi

2014 Revenue: $66.68 Billion

What is now PepsiCo started back in 1898 when a pharmacist and drugstore owner named Caleb Bradham invented a fountain drink he called “Brad’s Drink.” He sold the concoction in his store, so he was his own distributor.

Pepsi got its big break in 1909 when automobile racer, Barney Oldfield, endorsed the drink as, “a bully drink…refreshing, invigorating, a fine bracer before a race.”

It took 11 years to hit their big break. Maybe a business plan would’ve expedited that process, but I believe it’s best to let businesses grow naturally rather than trying to rush things.

Nike

2014 Revenue: $27.79 Billion

Nike’s roots started in 1962 when its company’s founder, Philip Knight, graduated from the University of Oregon and decided to travel across Japan. While in school, Knight was a star track athlete. During his visit to Japan, he came across Onitsuka Tiger Co and offered to import their shoes so he could resell them in the US.

To satisfy the Japanese company’s request, he filed a company and named it Blue Ribbon Sports. They didn’t change their name to Nike, Inc. until 1978.

Cisco

2014 Revenue: $47.14 Billion

Cisco started in 1984 when the manager of the Stanford computer science laboratory, Leonard Bosack, wanted to communicate with his wife, Sandra Lerner, from across campus. Bosack devised a way to connect the two local area networks which later became the inspiration for the multi-protocol router.

That year they mortgaged their house, deferred their salaries, and hired their friends so they could sell this internetworking technology. Three years later they were selling $250,000 worth of routers per month.

Walmart

2014 Revenue: $485.65 Billion

After working in retail stores across the country, Sam Walton opened “Walton’s Five and Dime” in Bentonville, Arkansas in 1945 with a $20,000 loan from his father-in-law and another $5,000 of his personal savings.

The first Wal-Mart Discount City store didn’t open until 17 years later in Rogers, Arkansas.

Walmart was successful because of Sam Walton’s experience and disruptive philosophy within the retail industry, not because of a business plan.

What’s the Point?

Just because many of the world’s most successful businesses didn’t start with a business plan doesn’t mean the business plan is an worthless tool. But it does prove that it’s not necessary.

If you want to start a business, start with a simple idea that can help a lot of people. Create something out of that idea and let it grow naturally.

A business plan could and probably would help, but don’t let it get in the way of creating.

The post 10 Billion Dollar Companies that Didn’t Start with Business Plans appeared first on Young Entrepreneurs.

New technology is part of the reason logos have undergone some dramatic evolutions over the years. But it’s mostly because these companies and their brands have changed over time.

Apple Logo Evolution

The original logo was designed by Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne and it depicted Isaac Newton sitting under the infamous apple tree. Then, Rob Janoff designed the first rainbow Apple logo with a bite out of it so it wouldn’t be recognized as another fruit.

Microsoft Logo Evolution

The Microsoft employees referred to the “O” in the green logo as “blibbet” and they even had a double cheeseburger in the company cafeteria that was called the “Blibbet Burger”.

Yahoo! Logo Evolution

If you click the “!” in the logo on yahoo.com, it sings, “Yahooo-oo-ooo.”

UPS Logo Evolution

The original logo features an eagle carrying a package with the words, “Safe, Swift, Sure” inscribed on the side.

IBM Logo Evolution

Both the current IBM and the third UPS logo were designed by the same guy, Paul Rand. He also created the logos for Enron, ABC, and Steve Jobs’ NeXT.

Xerox Logo Evolution

Haloid invested in Chester Carlson’s xerography (aka photocopy) invention in 1938 and it became the most successful division of the company so they switched the name and logo.

Kodak Logo Evolution

Kodak was originally called “The Eastman Kodak Company,” hence the “EKC” in the original Kodak logo.

Canon Logo Evolution

Their first camera was named, “Kwanon,” after the Buddhist goddess of mercy. The original logo was a picture of this goddess with 1000 arms and flames.

Nokia Logo Evolution

As the oldest original logo in this list, it depicts an image of a fish because Fredrik Idestam founded the company as a wood pulp mill on the banks of the Tammerkoski Rapids.

BP Logo Evolution

BP’s logo was largely unchanged through its first 80 years until they introduced the Helios symbol in 2000 to represent their commitment to producing energy in all of its many forms.

Shell Logo Evolution

The 1958 BP logo and 1971 Shell logo were designed by the same guy, Raymond Loewy, who also designed the Exxon logo.

Ford Logo Evolution

The 1909 logo was created with Childe Harold Wills’ font that he originally developed for his business card.

Volkswagen Logo Evolution

I know what you’re thinking. Why does the original Volkswagen logo slightly resemble the Nazi symbol? Well, that’s because Hitler had a hand in founding the company. Naturally, Volkswagen phased out that part of the logo and stuck with the center.

Mercedes-Benz Logo Evolution

The three pointed star represents their original intent to make vehicles in land, water, and sky.

Audi Logo Evolution

The four circles represent how Audi started as a merger of the four above companies.

Pepsi Logo Evolution

In 1941, Pepsi adopted the colors red, white, and blue to commemorate the war efforts of the United States.

Mountain Dew Logo Evolution

Mountain Dew was originally invented as moonshine by a couple of Tennessee hillbillies with the tagline, “It’ll tickle yore innards!” This is represented in their original logo.

The Point for Young Entrepreneurs

The evolution of these logos is just one way to show that no company is perfect, but the good ones get started and adapt. Heck, five of the 17 companies changed from their original logo within the first year.

Too many young entrepreneurs wait until the planets are aligned to start their business. Don’t let not having a shiny logo get in the way of what’s actually important… You know, getting started.

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As you’ll find in this post, sometimes that means completely changing your product or service. Here are 10 great companies that started as something completely different than what they’re known for today.

Companies Started by Selling Something Else

#1 3M

Formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3 M’s, get it?), 3M started in 1902 as a mining company that sold a popular mineral to grinding wheel manufacturers.

From a mineral, they began selling sandpaper, then masking tape, then “Scotch Tape”, and today they sell over 55,000 different products including everything from car care products to touch screens.

#2 Abercrombie & Fitch

Founded in 1892 by David Abercrombie and Ezra H. Fitch, Abercrombie & Fitch started as a sporting goods shop and outfitter.

They didn’t become a clothing store until The Limited acquired them in 1988. Now they have over 300 stores in the U.S. and they’re expanding internationally.

#3 Avon

David H. McConnell started Avon in 1886 as door-to-door book salesman. Sales were tough at first but he realized that he could gain women’s attention by offering perfume samples.

Soon those perfume samples became more popular than the books, so he founded the California Perfume Company in New York, NY and it eventually became Avon.

#4 Colgate

Colgate was originally founded in 1806 by a soap and candle maker named William Colgate. They started by selling soap, candles, and starch.

Colgate didn’t start selling toothpaste until 1873 and they sold it by the jar.

#5 Flickr

In 2004, Flickr started as a chat room with real-time photo sharing for the web-based multiplayer game, Game Neverending. Soon thereafter, they shelved Game Neverending, expanded the uploading and filing of photos, and buried the chat room.

In March 2005, Yahoo! acquired Flickr for $35 million.

#6 Microsoft

Bill Gates and Paul Allen started what eventually became Microsoft in 1968 when a local computer company gave the 13-year-olds access to a computer. They were quickly banned after they learned how to hack the system and crash the files. But the company ultimately re-hired them to find bugs and fix weaknesses in their systems.

Over the next five years they received sporadic programming gigs until Gates enrolled at Harvard. One year in, Allen showed Gates the latest issue of Popular Electronics featuring the Altair 8800 and Allen convinced Gates to drop out so they could develop software for personal computers.

#7 Nintendo

Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo in 1889 as a playing card company. The game, Hanafuda, became very popular in Japan but they knew the market wasn’t that big. So they began to experiment in other industries. Between 1963 and 1968, Nintendo set up a taxi company, a hotel chain, a TV network, and a food company.

Finally, in 1974, Nintendo entered the video-gaming industry and today they’re third most valuable listed company in Japan.

#8 Nokia

Nokia got its start in 1865 as a paper mill – the original communications technology. In 1868, Frederick Idestam opened his second pulp mill near the town of Nokia, Finland.

After a century of mergers and acquisitions, Nokia entered the mobile communication in the 1980s with the Mobira Talkman.

#9 Twitter

Twitter originated from a “daylong brainstorming session” between Jack Dorsey and his podcasting company, Odeo, with the goal of creating an online SMS service to communicate within a small group. It was codenamed, Twttr, after being inspired by Flickr.

At first, it was used internally by Odeo employees and they launched Twitter to the public on July 15, 2006.

#10 Wrigley

Like Colgate, the William Wrigley Jr. Company started by selling soap and baking powder in 1891. Like Avon, William Wrigley began by selling his products door-to-door and he enticed his customers by packaging each can of baking powder with chewing gum.

The chewing gum steadily became more popular than the baking powder. Today several brands of chewing gum are owned by Wrigley, including Juicy Fruit, Extra, Orbit, Hubba Bubba, and 5.

Bonus: Google

Mark my words, years from now our generation will be saying, “Remember when Google was just a search engine?” And we’ll be like, “Yeah, dude, I remember the first time I used it back in middle school.”

What’s the Point?

One of the biggest excuses young people give for not starting a business is, “I don’t have an idea yet.”

They’re just sitting back and waiting for that big idea. You know, that one-in-a-million idea. They think it’ll fall out of the sky and into their lap when they least expect it. And that’s when they’ll get started.

If you want to be successful, just start selling something, anything. Figure out what people are buying and sell it to them. Michael started his journey by selling Pokémon cards to his schoolmates as an 8-year-old.

What you’re selling will likely change over time, but the principles will stay the same.

Do you know of other companies that started out selling something completely different?

The post 10 Great Companies that Started Out Selling Something Else appeared first on Young Entrepreneurs.

Maybe you’re a college grad who wants to create a job (rather than finding one).

Or maybe you’re a corporate mouse who’s fed up with the rat race.

In any case, the internet has opened up a world of opportunities for the entrepreneur-at-heart.

We’re about to look at 21 businesses that you can start today and efficiently run with just a laptop and an internet connection.

21 Businesses You Can Run From a Laptop…

Development / Programming

Web developers are programmers who specializes in, or are specifically engaged in, the development of World Wide Web applications, or distributed network applications that are run over HTTP from a web server to web browsers.

#1 Web Developer

According to SBA.gov, there were 29.6 million small businesses in the US and Ad-ology found that 46% of small businesses don’t have a website.

If you’re a skilled developer / programmer, be sure to apply for AwesomeWeb.com to increase your exposure and earnings today.

#2 Mobile App Developer

There were 140 billion mobile apps downloaded to smartphones in 2014. By 2016, the International Telecommunication Union reports that there will be more than 2 billion smartphones in the world and we have every reason to believe the number of mobile apps downloaded annually will increase. 

You can hire a great mobile app developer here.

#3 Blog Maintenance Provider

As tracked by BlogPulse, there were 126 million blogs on the internet in 2010 and most of them suck.

Most bloggers think they just have to write, post, and auto-tweet. So if you know how to properly publish a WordPress blog post, you can offer this as a service to serious bloggers.

Check out our Step by Step Guide to Writing Posts That Rank.

Graphic Design

Graphic designers create visual concepts, by hand or using computer software, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, or captivate consumers.

#4 Logo Designer

Since there are 29.6 million small businesses in the US alone, that’s 29.6 million potential logo customers. But most of them already have logos… But very few of them have good logos.

Check out 17 Evolutions of Your Favorite Logos

#5 Web Designer

According to Pingdom, there are 234 million websites on the net. Like small business logos, most of these websites look terrible. And even the good ones, know the value of continually improving the design.

These are the 15 best practices for responsible responsive web design.

#6 Book Cover Designer

Right now, there are over 32 million books on Amazon and every one of them has a book cover. According to UNESCO, over 1 million books are published per year. This doesn’t even include eBooks.

If you’re not a skilled designer but feel you could create your own book cover nonetheless, check out youzign.

#7 Mobile App Designer

Much like mobile app developers, there’s plenty of need for mobile app designers. Companies usually contract out to both developers and designers separately to create the app. 

Here are 30 great examples of mobile app design.

#8 Computer-Aided Designer

CAD drawings are typically 3D mockups and virtual prototypes that companies create prior to manufacturing a product. Pretty much every product design starts as a CAD drawing.

These are 10 free CAD software applications you can download.

#9 Web Theme Designer

According to WordPress.com, there are over 75 million WordPress sites and about half of them are self-hosted. This means, WordPress alone has about 37 million sites that need themes.

If you’re not a theme design but still need a great theme, ThemeForest has the best selection of high quality, responsive themes available.

#10 Videographer

Last year Organizational housewares e-tailer StacksAndStacks.com reported visitors were 144% more likely to purchase after seeing a product video than those who didn’t. Website owners realize that video converts higher than any other form of content, so they’re starting to contract out for that work.

Here’s the Ultimate Guide to Making Online Video Tutorials.

Writing

Writing jobs in select niches might be difficult to find on your own, but Online Writing Jobs takes the reins, marketing your name to companies that need an expert.

#11 Author

According to Authors Guild, a successful fiction book sells 5,000 copies and a successful nonfiction book sells 7,500 copies. Also, Jenkins Group (a premier publishing firm) reports that 70% of books published don’t make a profit. Don’t let these stats discourage you, but it’s hard to make a living as an author.

Whether you’re a writer looking to make extra cash or a blog owner in need of content, check out TextBoss.com for all your writing needs.

#12 Editor

Part of the reason books usually don’t earn back their investment is because they have to pay for an editor. You’ll likely earn more as an editor than an author. 

There are currently more than 2,000 content editor jobs available on linkedin alone. 

#13 Copywriter

With 126 million blogs, there are 126 million websites that constantly need content. If you’re a good writer and knowledgeable about a niche topic, reach out to the top bloggers in that niche and ask if they’ll pay you to write for them.

These 200 top blogs accept guest authors – and many of them pay for content.

#14 Transcription

According to Worldwide Freelance, some industry estimates suggest that up to 50% of all non-fiction books are ghostwritten. Often, these books start as audio recordings and the ghostwriter transcribes and spruces up the content. This is just one way to make money as a transcriber.

Alternatively you can create a software or service that does it for you, like this.

#15 Translation

English is the universal language of business, but there are roughly 6,500 other languages in the world. Books, websites, manuals, etc. all need to be translated to other languages.

Google also offers a free translation service if you’re in a hurry.

#16 Blogger

Much like authors, few bloggers make a living strictly from blogging. To attract advertisers, you typically need a couple thousand unique visitors per day. Think of a blog as a platform to attract other business opportunities.

See how Tracy Raftl became a full-time blogger in under a year.

Internet Marketing

Internet marketers utilize advertising and various marketing strategies leveraging the Web and email to drive direct sales via electronic commerce, in addition to sales leads from Web sites or emails.

#17 Search Engine Optimization

234 million websites compete to rise to the top of search engines. If you know how to optimize websites, you can help website owners save a lot of money on internet advertising.

Discover the 25 SEO Tools for Successful Blogging.

#18 Search Engine Marketer

The other side of search engines is paid search. It’s not unusual for internet marketers to have $500,000 per month budgets for PPC (pay-per-click) and CPM (cost-per-thousand-impressions) advertising.

Find customers through paid channel advertising. 

#19 Social Media Manager

You probably know enough about social media right now to start your own side business! A service that helps people set up their Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus profiles and begin to create authentic interaction is completely legitimate. 

Check out this video and see if you’re not convinced that a new social media side project is perfect for you.

#20 Email Marketing Manager

Michael always tells you that the money is in the list, but it takes a lot or work to maintain that list. If you offer to create and automate the email newsletters, it’ll take a lot of pressure off their backs.

Here are 10 ‘fill in the blank’ email subject lines that made us the most money.

#21 Affiliate Marketer

To date, ClickBank alone has paid out more than $2 billion to affiliate marketers. Affiliate marketing is another way to make a living as a blogger and it’s the primary way that Michael makes money.

Here are 5 reasons to start an affiliate marketing business today.

So what…

I know I gave you lots of big stats and that can be overwhelming.

To put it into perspective, Michael has partaken in or hired out at least 14 of these 21 services; this includes over $30,000 on web design updates to IncomeDiary.

There’s a lot of money to be made on the internet. If you have a laptop, an internet connection, and a working brain, the only thing holding you back is you.

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