Barber to Billionaire
Childhood
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| Ramesh Babu a barber in Bengaluru |
Ramesh Babu born in Bengaluru lost his father at the age of
7. He had no assets or sources of income other than the barber shop of his
father. Relatives of Ramesh Babu rented their barber shop and paid Rs. 150 as
rent per month. Since the amount would not be enough for livelihood, Ramesh’s
mother worked as a cook in some houses. A family of 5 ie., three children,
their mother and grandfather had to live on that Rs.150 plus the mother’s earnings,
which was a tough job. They ate one meal in a day and starved during other half
in a day.
Studies along with profession
The relative who rented Ramesh’s shop stopped paying rent by
the time Ramesh was 9 years old. In order to add to mother’s earnings, Ramesh
started barber work in father’s shop without putting a break to studies. He
studied till polytechnic. Knowing about latest trends in hairstyles, he
attracted youth in large numbers. His salon ‘Inner Space’ in Brigade Road thus
became popular in Bengaluru.
Crucial period
During that time, the relative who skipped paying rent to
Ramesh had bought a car. Competing with him, Ramesh purchased a Maruti Omni
Van. While his grandfather arranged some
amount of money by mortgaging his property, Ramesh chose loan for remaining
amount. Loan amount to be paid each month was Rs.6,800. Ramesh who worked only
in salon did not know what to do with the Omni car. He used the van to go to
salon, park it there and return home during evenings. Ramesh was worried that he
bought the car just to compete with his uncle and it was of no use to him. That
was when Ramesh’s life had a twist. A twist in the career
A twist in the career
In one of the houses where Ramesh’s mother worked, there was
a woman named Nandini, who suggested him to give his car for rent to companies
instead of keeping it idle. She did not stop with this. She spoke to her
company’s management and arranged for renting Ramesh’s car. Thus barber Ramesh
stepped into car hiring business. He came to know the all that he needs to know
about the business and expanded it. The number of cars he owned increased.
Ramesh felt that luxury cars would fetch better incomes than ordinary ones.
Though many opposed the thought and said that investing too much was not a
great idea, Ramesh went ahead with the idea. He bought expensive cars like
Mercedes, BMW, Rolls Royce etc and ran the business. Within a short period of
time, he succeeded in the business. Ramesh now owns as many as 200 cars.
Billionaire still ,,,,,,is a barber too..
One thing to be learnt from Ramesh is…he did not leave his
first job (barber) even after he bought 200 cars. Ramesh who goes to his salon
by Rolls Royce works there from 8 AM through 10 AM daily, looks after his car
rental business till 4 PM. He then goes back to salon and works till 7 PM and
then to car rentals and stays there till 10 PM. Thus Ramesh works 14 hours a
day even after attaining a position wherein he can enjoy lavish life. He is a
live example to show that ‘Hardwork pays off’. Ramesh Babu speaks Kannada and
Telugu. When asked by a mediaperson if he has thoughts of expanding business to
other states, Ramesh said that he has plans for a venture in Vijayawada in AP.
Message
The message to youth from Ramesh who was born in a very poor
family and became a billionaire is: “There’s a phrase in Telugu which basically
means that don’t forget your past, even if you reach the highest milestone in
life. I truly believe in that. Work hard, be polite. Luck will come to you by
itself.” With the inspiration from Ramesh Babu, let us all set targets, reach
them and earn in the right way. Do not stop till the goal is reached. No person
is a gem by birth. A little intelligence, socialization and indefinite
determination will lead us to success path. All the best!
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