Some people believe that being rich will solve all their problems.
Some others put stock in the old saying: money can’t buy happiness. It’s impossible to know for sure whether either of these theories is true, but there’s something about self-made millionaires (and billionaires) that gives people a tiny bit of hope that they too have the chance to live in luxury.
Many entrepreneurs don’t succeed in their business ventures – for a variety of reasons. Many entrepreneurs enjoy temporary success, only to fall apart a few months down the line.
A few entrepreneurs become millionaires, and it’s those people who inspire to believe that anything is possible.
There are a few businesspeople whose rags-to-riches stories are particularly inspiring.
Howard Schultz – CEO of Starbucks
Coffee has almost become synonymous with Starbucks. The now-famous coffeehouse chain was taken over by Howard Schultz in the early 1980s, who went on to become CEO in 1987. Schultz’s net worth is estimated to be around $4.8 billion; a far cry from the hardships his family faced when he was a child.
His father made a living driving trucks and young Schultz’s ticket out was a football scholarship that led to a communications degree, and ultimately the purchase of what would become a coffee shop giant.
John Paul DeJoria – Paul Mitchell Systems & The Patrón Spirits Company
Now aged 77, entrepreneur John Paul Jones DeJoria is the co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems, which manufactures hair care products, as well as being the owner of The Patrón Spirits Company. DeJoria was born in Los Angeles and was placed in a foster home after his mother found herself unable to support her children financially.
He eventually returned home but things weren’t easy, and by the age of nine he had to work to help make ends meet. After making his way through two years serving in the Navy and working in a number of temporary jobs, he climbed the corporate ladder; eventually founding his own businesses and earning as much as jackpot win at https://ausbet.net.au/.
A cautionary tale: Do Won Chang & Jin Sook – Forever 21
Forever 21, the popular clothes store chain, is the creation of Do Won Chang and Jin Sook (his wife), who arrived in the USA as South Korean immigrants in 1981. They found themselves working odd jobs and enduring 19-hour work days, until Do Won landed a job in a clothes retailer and began to pursue his ambition to become a business owner.
Forever 21 was founded in 1984, using all the couple’s savings from the previous three years. Within a few years, Do Won and Jin Sook had opened multiple branches all over the USA.
This particular rags-to-riches story, however, didn’t lead to a “happily ever after” ending. Do Won and his wife did indeed pull themselves out of poverty as immigrants in the USA, but in 2018 the company began to struggle and in 2019 filed for bankruptcy. Its founders, however, remain millionaires – not bad, considering their humble beginnings.
Making it as an entrepreneur is extremely difficult, but if you approach life with enough determination, anything is possible.