In 1989, while sitting in a restaurant in Brussels, Belgium, Mark Dixon noticed how the local businesspeople meet their customers and suppliers around the coffee tables. A spark in his mind to provide serviced offices led him to start Regus, which was later renamed as IWG- International Workplace Group.
- Now, 35 years later, IWG has serviced offices in 3125 locations in over 1000 cities. IWG is a FTSE 250 Company with a business of over $3.7 Billion. Mark has a net worth of $ 1.75 Billion. Mark asserts that he empowers 8 million people across 6 continents to work flexibly.
- According to Mark, small and medium companies do not want to deal with real estate agencies to get the office places at exorbitant costs. Though the technology has enabled people to work from any place of their choice, the advantage of meeting in one place is for interaction.
- Connection with colleagues increases mental ability and improves effectiveness, confirms Dixon. Commuting longer distance is not recommended. IWG provides office spaces near where people live. People can walk 100/200 meters, attend the work in IWG offices, and get back.
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- Mark Dixon, son of a car mechanic was studying at Rainsford High School, Essex, England. He left the school at 16 and started many businesses. He sold peat and sold sandwiches on a butcher’s cycle calling it as Dial- a Snack. As he failed in these, he started on a journey to gain knowledge.
- Mark became a barman in St. Tropez, a miner in Australia, and a farmhand in Asia. Then he tried to sell encyclopedias. Not satisfied, he returned to Essex, bought a burger’s van, and started selling burgers. As profits roll in, he bought more vans and the business thrived.
- In 1988, he sold the business for 800,000 pounds. He relocated himself to Brussels and it was here, that he got his idea of his life, the IWG. This company rents out meeting rooms, office spaces by the hour, virtual offices, and spaces in co- working sites.
- Mark Dixon owns Chateau de Bernie Vineyard in Provence, in France which includes a five-star hotel and a restaurant. The vineyard produces 5 million bottles of wine a year. In 2017, Dixon bought 150-acre Kingscote Estate in East Grinstead, West Sussex to expand production in UK.
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- Mark Dixon has 5 children. He is divorced in 2005. He lives in Monaco to derive tax benefits.
- The story of Mark Dixon indicates that initial failures in life are only great lessons to show to us that we are meant for accomplishing great many things later. Failures are steppingstones, for us to step on and keep going, just like what Mark Dixon did. ?
Content courtesies to Google, Forbes, Regus website, Wikipedia, The standard, UK; Daily mail and many other magazines.
This article is intended for future billionaires to motivate them, to meet challenges and to move forward.
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