Failing in business is just part of the art of business, there is always a lesson to be learned and a second, third or even fourth chance if you only brush yourself up and get back on that horse. This is the history of the Hershey Chocolate Company.

1. Sweet success in the
face of adversity
“You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma or
whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the
road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it
leads you off the well-worn path.” Steve Jobs
Image courtesy of Bernard Goldbach at Flickr.com

2. Failing in business is just part of the art of business, there is always
a lesson to be learned and a second, third or even fourth chance if
you only brush yourself up and get back on that horse. As leaders of
organizations or entrepreneurs you are on the line every day.
Adversity is always a risk and the chance of failure is always
present. Bad things can and will happen, sometimes beyond your
control, but it is the way you accept the result and assume your
responsibility and refuse to be altered by the bad outcome that
makes you a winner. Using your heart and mind, listening actively
and thinking critically will feed your persistence and ultimately
take you to your ideal goal.
The funniest thing is that usually the most successful people have
endured great hardships and secret failures, but they somehow
understand and embrace them. The way they overcome these
failures is where their true strength lies. Here is one of those
leaders and his inspiring story.
Hershey Chocolate Company's founder Milton Snavely Hershey
was born on September 13, 1857, in Derry Township,
Pennsylvania. Born on a farm in the outskirts of the town, he was
the only son to survive in the marriage of Veronica “Fanny” Snavely
and Henry Hershey. His father was a day dreamer, full of great
ideas and on the lookout for big opportunities but lacked
perseverance, work ethics and basically did not stick to anything
long enough to see it through. So eventually, in 1867, “Fanny” got
tired of her husband’s failures and the couple separated.

3. The single mother in charge of her son’s upbringing instilled in her
son an appreciation for hard work. That is probably why Hershey
dropped out of school at age 14, moved to Lancaster Pennsylvania
and started as an apprentice to a master confectioner. Four years
later, with $150, which he borrowed from his aunt, he started his
own candy shop right in the heart of Philadelphia.
After five sweaty tough years, his business had failed to succeed.
So he had to close his shop and move to Denver where his father
lived. There, he found work with another confectioner with whom
he discovered caramel could be made with fresh milk.
Not happy working for someone else, he struck out on his own
again in Chicago and then in New York City. He failed in both
projects. But he did not give up. In 1883, he went back to Lancaster
with the firm conviction of succeeding. This is when his luck began
to change and he started the Lancaster Caramel Company, his first
success. Just a few years later, Hershey had a thriving business
distributing caramels all around the country.
However, it was not until 1893 at the World’s Columbian Exposition
in Chicago that Hershey found his love for the chocolate making
business. With his caramel business booming, he started the
Hershey Chocolate Company. He became obsessed with milk
chocolate, at that time considered a delicacy in Switzerland and
was set on creating a new formula to produce milk chocolate
candy massively and distribute it.

4. Image courtesy of Mats Hagwall at Flickr.com
He sold the Lancaster Caramel Company in 1900 for $1 million; and
five years later opened a huge candy making factory in Derry
Church. The Hershey Chocolate Company officially opened in
1905, and soon changed the course of the candy industry. The
company was an instant success. 1907 saw the birth of the iconic
Hershey Kiss and in 1924 the trademark foil wrapper was added.
Apart from his vision for candy, he had a vision for creating a model
community in his home region. So as soon as the company was big
enough, he built schools, parks, churches, recreational facilities and
housing for his employees; he even added a trolley system. His
influence was so great that the town eventually became known as
Hershey, Pennsylvania.

5. Alongside his wife, Catherine, they focused on helping children;
and in 1909, they opened the Hershey Industrial School for
orphaned boys. After his wife’s sudden death in 1918 and having
no children of his own, Hershey transferred most of his wealth,
including the ownership of the Chocolate Company, to the Hershey
trust to fund the school. The school, known today as the Milton
Hershey School, is also open for girls and serves about 1,900
students each year.
He never stopped helping the community, not even when the
economy struggled during the Great Depression, when he kept his
workers employed by building a large hotel, a community building
and new offices for the Hershey Company in his town. And during
World War II he backed the country’s military efforts by sending
chocolate bars called Ration D bar.
Not forgetting his work ethics, he continued working well into his
80s and died in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on October 13, 1945.