In 1873, Woolworth worked as a stock boy in a general store called Augsbury & Moore's Drygoods in Watertown, and his experiences there served as the starting point to his own business venture and innovations. He was considered to be an inept salesman and was given jobs such as washing the windows, where he found a creative niche arranging the store's front display; his work was so impressive that his boss assigned him that role. Woolworth learned the difficulty with the typical business practice, in which few items were labeled with price tickets and a clerk was responsible for obtaining an item for the customer and making the transaction. It was from these early experiences that Woolworth developed the notion that goods should sell themselves, something which became increasingly prominent in his retail career.