Chris DelPrince became a successful entrepreneur because he was consistently able to identify a the product needs of his customers. When he first began his business, he would frequent New York City, scouting for different novelty items he would be able to sell out of his truck. Chris's ability to identify a product need is what led to his success when switching to apparel retail. He was able to recognize an untapped niche market and capitalize on it. Chris was additionally able to realize that he lacked business savvy in certain areas. He understood that the retail business required months of planning ahead, and immediately sought out the advice of various public agencies. As an entrepreneur, this was a very good decision since he was determined to have a better understanding on the way his business needed to be run. Furthermore, he did not pay for any of the advice received. As a manager, Chris did well in hiring kinds off the street who were able to relate with the products he sold. This undoubtedly increased sales as the sales people projected a sense of interest when assisting customers. As a manager, Chris was effectively able to work closely with his sales people, and maintain the way his store was being run. Doing so, he was able to avoid any disruptions to his business within Buffalo. .
When it came time to expand his business, Chris did this in a relatively ineffective manner. Although he effectively expanded his business within the Buffalo area since he was able to closely manage every location, his business model of hiring local street kids proved ineffective when expanding in areas outside of Buffalo. This is primarily due to the fact he was not able to closely manage those other stores due to their distance away from where he was based. Using the same business model and hiring street kids in stores he would be relatively unable to manage was a major mistake Chris made as an entrepreneur.
