What is stopping you starting an entrepreneurial career?
Are doubts over your entrepreneurial abilities stopping you from taking that first step towards starting the business you have always dreamt of?
Or is it that you worry that your savings fall short of the investment required for any worthwhile business?
Well, if your name was Duncan Bannatyne now celebrity entrepreneur and television "Dragon" investor. you did not let "trivial" issues like those get in the way of your destiny as he firmly believes, and his famous book preaches right in its title that "Anyone Can Do It!"
Anyone second-guessing his potential for success should take inspiration from Duncan Bannatyne's rags-to-riches story of how with just £450 in his pocket, he started a humble ice cream van business which became the starting point for a legacy of several other ventures he would undertake over the years materializing into close to a billion dollar empire.
He is living proof of the fact that anyone with ambition and the willingness to put in some hard work and determination can achieve anything he sets his mind to, overcoming all adversities in his path.
Duncan rose from humble beginnings. He was raised by a poor family who strived to make ends meet and could not afford to buy him a bicycle when he was an adolescent.
He could not buy ice cream when he saw the other kids with them, and it was that which fuelled his career.
His way to deal with the situation - approach the local newspaper distributor for the job of a paper boy. When they declined saying there were not enough subscribers to cater to, he took the initiative to sign up a 100 new ones and went back to the shop.
Impressed, he gave Bannatyne the job through which he earned the money to buy his very own bicycle.
The secret to Bannatyne's success was that he dared to pursue his dreams. As a youngster in Glasgow recognizing the lack of potential in his town, he first joined the Navy, and on exit from that managed to get work in a refreshment kiosk on the channel islands, which gave him deep insight into concession catering.
he told his then girlfriend that they would be moving to Stockton-on-tees to start the path to become millionaires. And he did exactly that! Launching an ice cream van business by putting in every penny to his name, he set the ball rolling for a legendary career which would make him one of the most recognizable faces in UK business history.
The story of how he sold all he had, house car, and ultimately the ice cream business to build a nursing home, is hair raising for those who have risk averse mentality.
Today Duncan owns, among other businesses, several health clubs, spas and hotels. He even enjoys a very strong media presence with appearances on shows like the Dragon's Den. It is truly hard to believe that it all started with just a simple ice cream van!
Mobile catering is a more lucrative business than you might think. Cash positive, high margin, low overheads and scaleable - all factors that make it a great business to be in.
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