Gift wrap as we know it wasn’t in use in 1917. People would wrap gifts in tissue paper, but that year a stationery store ran out of it during the busy holiday season. Out of desperation, the owners improvised by selling “fancy French paper”, usually used to line the inside of envelopes. Even at 10 cents per sheet, it was a big hit. After the demand continued the next year, the owners decided to make their own the following season. Those entrepreneurs were brothers Rollie and J.C. Hall and their fortuitous experiment turned into Hallmark. Today, gift wrap products are valued at $15 billion globally.
Every day, people improvise and create solutions to common problems. The Hall brothers didn’t set out to create a gift wrap industry. They were initially just trying to serve their customers due to an inventory shortage, but they paid attention to the responsiveness of their Plan B.
Instead of trying to devise a creative solution, maybe your best approach is to heighten your awareness about the problems or solutions already around you. One of those improvised workarounds could turn into something big.
