When Jean-Claude Decaux was very young, he made his living by going around posting advertisements in Paris. His business was already very modest, but suddenly he was forbidden to make money in this way, and it was considered illegal.
And it was in desperation that he came up with the brilliant idea of how to continue earning, while improving the quality of life of the city, investing in its improvement.
The idea came to him when at the bus stop he saw soaked people waiting for a bus. He thought, why not offer to build the bus stop for free, in exchange for putting ads on it?
So he went to the mayor of Lyon with the proposal, and after getting permission, he took action. On that day, the world's largest street equipment company was founded. Already in 1999, the company's revenue was 1.4 billion. The most interesting thing is that most of this profit came from advertising.
To date, the company's street equipment JCDecaux S.A. has been installed in 1,200 cities around the world.
Over the years, the company has expanded its offerings from bus stop street equipment to kiosks, newspaper stands, lampposts, traffic signs, benches, and trash receptacles.
He now runs the company with his sons Jean-Charles and Jean-François. Jean-Claude Decaux is satisfied with his life. The story of this amazing man once again proves that anyone with a good incentive can achieve seemingly simply unrealistic heights. Believe in yourself and succeed.
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