Honda Success Story: It is a misconception that to start a business you need to have a huge bank balance or be related to a business family. This notion was disproved by Soichiro Honda who built an empire with nothing. He neither had a bank balance nor belonged to a rich family. All he had was a dream self-confidence and a passion to achieve something. He built an empire worth USD 4.43 billion with nothing. Today his company’s cars are popular in many countries including India. No House No Money Soichiro Honda started his company – Honda which has become one of the worlds largest automobile companies. Soichiros father worked as a bicycle mechanic and his mother used to weave cloth. Born in 1906 Soichiro Honda was a poor blacksmith who also used to repair bicycles. He was not good at studies but had a passion for machines. Because of this he left his studies at the age of 16 and started working at his fathers shop. Sweeping Job In Garage Soichiro left home at a very young age of 16 and went to Tokyo after seeing a job advertisement for a mechanic in a newspaper. He didn’t get the mechanic job due to his young age but managed to grab a job of sweeping and mopping a garage. After cleaning job at the garage he kept learning the work of a mechanic. Due to a severe earthquake in Japan most of the company’s mechanics went back to their homes. Due to which Saichiro got a chance to repair cars. The Ruined Company After starting a piston ring factory in Hamamatsu that was destroyed in a World War II air raid Soichiro Honda founded the Honda Technical Research Institute in 1946. Later he impressed people by making a bicycle with a generator engine. The demand for these bicycles started increasing. In the year 1949 he changed the name of his company to Honda Motors. After some years the bicycle business transformed into a motorcycle and he launched a lightweight and fuel-efficient bike named Super Cub. This bike created a sensation as soon as it came into the market. Journey From Bike To Car As Honda’s business kept growing his company started spreading from the country to the whole world. By the year 1964 every second bike running on the roads of America was Hondas. Expanding his company Soichiro Honda in 1963 made the first car T360 mini truck. After this Honda made the Civic car which was loved by people not only in Japan but also in America. By the 1980s Honda Motors had become the third largest car manufacturing company in the world. Company Not Handed Over To Children Honda died in 1991. Being a great businessman he thought it better to hand over his company to a skilled professional rather than to his children. Today Honda is the worlds leading automobile company with a valuation of USD 40.43 billion.