After WW1, there were no new orders for airplanes and it looked like there was no future for the Boeing Airplane Company. Bill Boeing believed that if he could keep the company together for two years, airplane orders would come back and the company would be a success. He paid the employees out of his own pocket and kept them busy building furniture and boats and after two years the company won a big contract for 200 planes (100 years ago last month) Bill Boeing’s faith in the company proved correct and there was no looking back.