But, more importantly, Barnes became a man who helped thousands of people across the country benefit from Edison’s device. So successful was Barnes at selling Edison’s dictating machine in each of his markets, he became a multimillionaire at a relatively young age. Louis, while retaining his agency in Chicago. Barnes got his way, and in 1917 his firm gained control of the sales market in New York and in St. This drive reflected the business man’s insatiable appetite for taking on added responsibility and for rendering the best service he possibly could – both for his employer and for his customers. Barnes proved to be very adept at judging, selecting, and managing people, and the new boss quickly surrounded himself with “one of the most efficient and energetic staffs in the field of office appliances.”ĭespite near overwhelming success selling Edison’s Dictating Machine in the Chicago area, Barnes sought control of an even bigger market. Barnes & Brothers, to keep up with and grow the sales of Edison’s product. Sales, in fact, had grown so rapidly he established his own firm, Edwin C. Within months of securing an agreement with Edison, Barnes had sold thousands of “talking” machines. Edison was so impressed with Barnes’s proposal, he readily agreed to give him exclusive rights to sell and distribute his new voice machine in Chicago and contiguous territories. He took his plan straight to the inventor and sold him on his desire to market and distribute his recording devices across America. Realizing that an opportunity of a lifetime had landed at his feet, Barnes wasted no time working out a marketing plan for selling Edison’s dictating machine.

Barnes also conceived that Edison’s dictating machine could increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve profits for its users. He saw that an executive would no longer need to have a stenographer at his side to record his thoughts.

He envisioned that it would allow them to dictate at any time, day or night, for later playback. However, when members of Edison’s sales force looked over his new invention, most of them doubted that it would be a commercial success, and they expressed little interest in trying to sell it.īarnes, in contrast, recognized that Edison’s new machine could help thousands of executives across the country. Edison’s machine, later renamed the Ediphone, recorded “voice letters” on a wax cylinder, and its inventor thought very highly of it. Following many years of preparation, the inventor was ready to commercialize his dictating machine, a recorder which could capture and play back the human voice. In the mind of Barnes, however, something very big was blossoming – he was learning what made Edison tick, and he was setting the stage to attract opportunities his way.Īfter working for Edison for nearly two years, Barnes “saw” a golden opportunity, and he seized it with full force. Months went by, and, to the unobserved, nothing special seemed to be happening.

Barnes also understood that Edison was extending to him a tremendous opportunity to meet his friends and associates, some of the most influential and most powerful people in the world.įrom the very beginning as a floor sweeper, Barnes did the best work he possibly could for Edison, and he never once backed down from his goal of establishing a partnership with the world’s leader of practical technology. He knew that accepting the legend’s humbling offer would open the door for him to observe how the brilliant man thought. The aspiring “partner” understood that he was given a chance of a lifetime to show Edison what he could do for him. Impressed with Barnes’ ambition and internal drive, Edison decided to give the poor man an opportunity to work with him – not as his partner, but as a floor sweeper! Barnes accepted the inventor’s offer without hesitation, and he was not dejected in the slightest knowing that he would start his new career with a broom in hand. For, what he saw was a determined young man who was prepared to do whatever it would take to help bring new growth to his company. Nearby members of Edison’s staff were amused by Barnes’ declaration, and they laughed at him hysterically. There, he told the famed inventor that he had come to form a partnership with him. Despite being poorly dressed and looking more like an outcast than a man of achievement, the Midwesterner walked into the famous Edison Laboratory full of confidence. On a fateful day in 1905, Barnes rolled into West Orange, New Jersey on a freight train. Even though Barnes was broke, had no special technical skills, and owned only meager clothes to wear, he pledged to himself that he would make his dream come true. Barnes yearned to become a partner of the greatest inventor on Earth, Thomas A.

Edwin c barnes edison