Celebration of human spirit

The story of Ramesh Babu, or fondly known as ‘Billionaire barber’ is truly inspirational, a celebration of the human spirit, a lesson of how much a many can achieve through sheer hard work and dedication, sans college degrees.

The only legacy left behind for Ramesh Babu when his father died when he was 7 years of age was a ramshackle barber shop. Till Ramesh grew up, his mother rented out the shop for Rs.5/month while she herself worked as a cook. He then took over the barber shop and worked day and night. In a few years time, he collected money to buy a Maruti Omni, which he decided to lease out and that is how his journey began. In 10 years time, he bought  and leased 6 more cars and eventually set up a company – Ramesh Tours and Travels. Today, his company has a turnover of Rs.10 crore per annum and he owns a fleet of cars, Rolls Royce, BMW, Mercedes, all in tow. He has a crew of 60 drivers and he rents cars out from Rs.1000 to Rs.50,000 per day.

Despite all this, the beauty of his story is that he has not forgotten his humble beginning which gave him his rich life today – his barber shop. Today it is known as Inner Space and he himself cuts hair in the barber shop from 8am to 10am.From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., he works at his car rental office. At 4 p.m., he goes back to his saloon and works there till 7 p.m. Thereafter, he comes back to the rental agency and stays there till 8.30 p.m. Ramesh charges male customers for Rs 65 a haircut and ladies’ are charged Rs 150.

Why does he still do this? Says Ramesh, “this is my way to remind myself of my humble beginnings.” Wow!