Today it seems that everyone and their grandmother has a theory (and a blog) on ​​how to become a successful entrepreneur. So how can you filter all this information? Why not swap the theories for a dose of reality by examining the example of an entrepreneur who defied conventional wisdom?

Take for example one of the most successful entrepreneurs America has ever known: Sam Walton, founder of Walmart. He went from running his first small variety store at age 26 to seeing his corporation become the largest in the United States. Always changing the retail industry, the extraordinary merchant saw and did things differently. In the wake of his success, he left behind a handful of important lessons for entrepreneurs around the world.

Sam Walton’s Mistake

Walton’s rise to success was not without obstacles. In fact, the trader had his share of outright failures. Perhaps his lowest moment came in 1950. Let’s see what happened then.

Walton had purchased a Ben Franklin franchise store in Newport, Arkansas in 1946. By applying his own unique management techniques, Walton nearly tripled the store’s sales in just a few years. Walton’s magic drew attention. Among those who noticed was his landlord. When he terminated the lease on the store, the owner refused to renew it!

Sam Walton wrote about the experience in his autobiography, Made in America:

… We hadn’t made any mistakes that we couldn’t quickly correct, none so big that it threatened the business. Except, it turned out, for a little legal mistake we made early on. In all my excitement about becoming Sam Walton, merchant, I hadn’t included a clause in my lease that gave me the option to renew after the first five years.

He offered to buy the franchise, props, and inventory at a fair price; he wanted to give the store to his son.

Walton was forced to do the unthinkable: sell his precious store.

sweet failure

There’s no getting around it: Walton’s failure at Newport was abysmal. While conventional wisdom says that failure is a bad thing, Sam Walton saw things differently. Walton recognized that failure was inevitable. In the business-building game, obstacles, even outright failures, are a necessary evil, and Walton knew he couldn’t be deterred by them. In his autobiography, he explained how the Newport debacle provided him with an opportunity to gain valuable knowledge: “It was probably all a blessing. I had a chance at a fresh start, and this time I knew what I was doing.”

Learning from Walton

Walton’s story gives struggling entrepreneurs several thought snippets to chew on:

• For entrepreneurs, failure is a given.
• Entrepreneurs should never let setbacks determine them.
• Obstacles are opportunities.

As you weather the storm of information available to entrepreneurs, keep in mind Walton’s unconventional view of failure. And try to remember, conventional wisdom is anything but the entrepreneur’s friend.