The can picker who became a millionaire businessman

There are so many beautiful stories of overcoming challenges around the world and one of them is from Brazilian businessman Geraldo Rufino, founder of JR Diesel. His trajectory involves simplicity, optimism and a lot of dedication.

He went bankrupt several times and still didn’t give up. The team of awesome.club tells the details of how Geraldo left life in the favela to become the owner of the largest truck recycling company and parts distributor in Brazil and Latin America, with revenues of 50 million reais per year.

Born in Campos Altos, Minas Gerais, still in childhood Geraldo and his family moved to the Sapé favela, west of São Paulo after his father lost his farm due to a frost. The businessman is the youngest of seven siblings. Geraldo started working at the age of 8 bagging coal, and with half a minimum wage he was able to provide the family with breakfast. This initial financial achievement made him feel important.

Geraldo wanted to be able to take care of his own more and more, so when he noticed that the children he knew had good slippers, he decided to find out how they managed to get them. He followed the example of these children and decided to work at the open-air dump. There he found everything, from packaged food to objects they could use or even sell, like cans.

“In the favela we make choices. It was the experience working at the dump for two years that made me acquire antibodies. He copied the example of the boys who carried lunchboxes”. Geraldo chose to be inspired by those who earned legitimate money and also had a longer life. These life experiences, he believes, have made him a resilient person with the antibodies to see problems in a more optimistic light.

Geraldo and his brother José removed the cans from the landfill and one of the sisters sold them. The children’s profit was all kept inside a can of milk that the children buried in a vacant lot. One day, the city hall cleaned the place and so the money was lost.

Still the brothers did not give up. They created an Afternoon Session for children. The ticket included, in addition to the right to see the movie at their house, rice pudding and popcorn. After that business, they even created others, such as rented wooden carts, a football field that charged rent and a fruit stand at the fair.

The money from their savings continued to be kept in cans, but it was no longer buried. The family had a bar and the floor was the hiding place. The money went away a second time when he loaned money to his father. And who said that our character gave up? He got an office boy job at a famous amusement park company (Playcenter). This work was also fundamental for the person Geraldo became.

To get the job, the company asked him to study. In addition to theoretical knowledge, he saved money again and bought a car, a Beetle at the age of 16. At Playcenter he worked from office boy to manager and then network director. Parallel to his work at the amusement park, he helped his brother José, buying a Kombi for carriages and excursions. Proceeds from the deal were used to purchase a second vehicle. Time passed and the company was transformed: Geraldo bought bucket trucks to transport construction materials.

The brothers’ business was going well, but Geraldo continued with both jobs: at the Playcenter and working with José on transport. They went through another financial crash after an accident involving all the trucks. Geraldo wanted to maintain credibility above all else, so he dismantled the crashed vehicles and sold the parts to finish paying them.

That’s how JR Diesel was born. The idea was to take advantage of this gap and sell vehicle parts, a kind of legal dismantling. Recycling vehicles has become their specialty. Even so, Geraldo continued at the Playcenter in parallel. The company started to have positive results, but his brothers lost focus on the company and bankruptcy came their way again.

The brothers needed Geraldo, so he asked for a license at the Playcenter and put JR Diesel in order. Time passed, the company was reorganized and positive results began to appear. A foreign company proposed a partnership, thus creating JR Veículos, but the company left Brazil and Geraldo was again in trouble. They went bankrupt again and this time Geraldo had a debt of 16 million reais.

Time and mistakes were teachers for Geraldo, who persisted and made JR Diesel a leader in its sector. The company’s turnover is 50 million reais per year.

Professional and financial success were present in Geraldo’s life, who practices networking in different environments, including at home with his family. Geraldo has been married for over 40 years to Marlene Rufino. Together they formed their family of three children and six grandchildren.

“I bring my wife breakfast in bed. That’s what networking is about, conquering people. It is necessary to train this skill”. For Geraldo, the will to serve has to be true. A charismatic figure, he believes that a smile can make many things possible, including professional success, as long as you are kind to others by acting with kindness and sincerity.

Geraldo was very young when his mother died. He was only 7 years old, but her teachings live on in his memory. It was with his mother that he learned to serve others, to take care of people and also to have a more optimistic outlook, knowing that life always offers a second chance. Just look at nature to understand.

Once the mother showed the children that the sun’s rays entering through the gaps in their wooden shack symbolized that daylight was beginning. Thus, full of energy and hope, it was possible to start over, to fight, without running away from problems. His mother also taught him what generosity is, by showing her son that it was possible to pick up food at the market at xepa time and share it with neighbors.

He had a passion for his father and wanted to take care of him, he was a bricklayer and had a bar. “My father had no sense. He was married ten times”. He passed away at over 100 years old. Geraldo managed to provide his father, towards the end of his life, with a life on a farm that reminded him of their city in Minas Gerais.

It was in the garbage, something so despised by some, that Geraldo found his business opportunity, combined with the learnings obtained in life, with countless mistakes and successes. The journey working at the amusement park was also fundamental, as well as the sensitive look at life.

The meeting with Gabriela, his daughter, took place under these conditions. The biggest diamond he could find was there: a 7-month-old premature baby, received with all the love by the family. “My daughter is the icing on my cake. The police had already taken her away after being left in the place where they put garbage, in those little baskets, but I went after her until I managed to find her and take her home”.

Geraldo Rufino is a phenomenon. Their accumulated stories and experiences are a source of inspiration for many. That’s why he decided to write books and be a speaker. Telling your story to other people can touch them and it can also be a path that leads to building change.

He was a speaker at TEDx and participated in more than 300 lectures across the country, in addition to being featured in the press and having 1.2 million followers on social media on Instagram alone. In addition, Geraldo was elected one of the 500 most influential people in Latin America, by Bloomberg Línea. Cool, isn’t it?

Geraldo Rufino is a man simple. Taking care of others is one of your missions. Even though he became a millionaire, he did not become pretentious and continued to look compassionate towards human beings. He didn’t change his way of being with financial enrichment.

He once had an encounter with a wanderer in which they both helped each other. Geraldo gave him water at the door of the company and the two created a friendship from that moment on. With a lot of conversation, the businessman learned from the boy, an engineer who had gone to the street after a heartbreak. The wanderer also benefited from Geraldo’s endearing personality. When looking for the hug that Geraldo once offered him, the boy broke the news that he would return home and to the job he had, after listening to the businessman’s advice.

Some time later, Geraldo closed a contract with a company and when buying trucks in installments, he received a notice. “You can pay for the vehicles in whatever way is best for you.” The company’s chief engineer had authorized that form of payment, as he knew Geraldo more than he imagined. Soon he remembered the friend he made, because that could only be the explanation for what happened.

The entrepreneur cares for and embraces people, as he wants to impact them with his story and also encourage them to achieve their goals. “If you believe in yourself, you will succeed. If I can, so can you. Copy what works, and it will work for you too.” Daughter Gabriela says her father is irritatingly happy. Is this the secret of the entrepreneur’s success?

Were you touched by Geraldo Rufino’s life story? Or do you know any successful entrepreneurs who also inspire us to pursue our dreams, even in difficulties? Tell us in the comments!