Richard Branson is an eccentric billionaire with a penchant for adventure. His wisdom about life and business can prove useful for entrepreneurs of any kind.
From dropping out of school to founding a magazine and record label, from running hot air balloon expeditions around the globe to trying to circumnavigate it all in his hot air balloon – Virgin founder Richard Branson has seen and done it all. Here are some key success lessons learned along his journey.
1. You Can’t Always Make the Right Decision
As soon as you walk into any bookstore and head directly for the business literature section, chances are there will be an image of Richard Branson staring back from its cover. Branson, an influential self-made billionaire who dropped out of school at 16, started his first company at 16 and today oversees over 400.
One of the key lessons Branson has learned is that failure is perfectly acceptable and should be accepted without shame. Through each failure he encounters, he finds something valuable to take from each experience before moving onto his next project. When needed for his rail project – for instance – money had to be found, so Branson sent hundreds of letters out asking people for donations in an effort to find funds needed.
Branson has realized the value in taking a holistic approach when making decisions, taking into account how these will impact his company and projects currently underway. By keeping an eye on this broader view, he ensures that his business stays moving forward without stagnating or losing sight of its goals.
2. You Can’t Stop Making Mistakes
No one is immune from making mistakes when running their own business, yet that does not prevent you from being successful. One effective strategy to overcome them and move forward successfully is through learning from mistakes. Richard Branson shares some of his greatest errors in Like a Virgin and how they’ve helped expand his businesses.
Branson made an unfortunate choice when his record label was struggling financially; in order to save it by circumventing customs duties illegally and illegally avoiding paying. While this attempt saved money initially, its cost ended up three times greater. Regardless, Branson learned from this misstep and pledged never to do anything illegal again.
Branson has learned from his errors to always remain moving forward. If one project doesn’t pan out, it is essential to find something else which might work instead – otherwise you risk wasting both your time and resources.
As such, it’s vitally important for businesses to take risks and think outside of the box when running them – otherwise you will never make your mark on this world! Without risk-taking and thinking outside the box, businesses will never stand out and leave an impactful legacy behind them.
3. You Can’t Always Follow the Rules
Billionaire Richard Branson owns so many businesses he admits he can no longer keep track of them all. While his entrepreneurialism has earned him the distinction of one of the world’s most successful businesspeople, that does not mean his career hasn’t had its fair share of failures or mistakes. For instance, his first company Student magazine failed and other mistakes have been made throughout his life; the most valuable lesson learned by Richard is to move past mistakes without dwelling in them; living in the past can have serious repercussions for confidence levels – see each misstep as an opportunity and move onto new projects without looking backwards or dwelling on past mistakes from this one mistake as learning opportunities from it all and move onto your next projects!
Branson understands the difficulty of standing out amongst competitors is daunting, yet has discovered the key to being successful is challenging convention. By providing onboard beauty therapists or offering premium economy seats on Virgin Atlantic flights, his willingness to break rules and innovate has contributed greatly to his success. Yet at the same time he recognizes not all risks are worth taking and some boundaries must exist for his growth; yet still trusts in intuition as his guide as success is an ever-shifting goal rather than an endpoint.
4. You Can’t Always Be the Boss
As a successful leader, you must possess the ability to delegate and trust your employees. Unfortunately, many business people lack this skill which often results in miscommunication and conflict among workers.
Branson believes that a successful company must continuously expand, even at the risk of taking risks. When hiring CEOs for his companies he looks for three key characteristics in each: they should be disruptive, know how to have fun and don’t allow self-doubt stop them from seizing opportunities.
Branson has learned from his career experience that happiness is paramount to success. If your work does not bring joy, it can quickly lead to burnout and the abandonment of goals. Instead, focus on activities which bring pleasure such as spending time with loved ones or working out regularly.
Branson experienced life as an outsider growing up, which fuels his mission of helping those who feel similarly. His advice to young people is to stay true to themselves and never give up their dreams – whether that means trying to break a world record in hot air ballooning or opening up the first commercial space flight line, Branson never shies away from taking risks that put himself outside his comfort zone.
5. You Can’t Always Take Risks
Entrepreneurs need to be willing to take risks in order to reach success, but that doesn’t mean being reckless. Instead, you should embrace new experiences while having fun while doing it!
Branson once took a risk by dressing up as a flight stewardess on an international flight from Australia to Malaysia – it paid off. Such creativity and risk-taking have enabled Branson to build his empire of over 100 brands.
Branson advocates taking an experimental approach when learning something new; even if this means failure is likely, better to try than never even attempt anything at all! He emphasizes the value of taking risks rather than waiting.
Branson has demonstrated this skill throughout his career by delegating as much work as possible to others, which has contributed to his rapid expansion. According to one interviewer, his key to success has been hiring smart employees who understand his area of business better than him – that way Virgin can grow quickly across various businesses.
6. You Can’t Always Follow Your Passion
Richard Branson embodies an entrepreneurial spirit, but isn’t your traditional CEO. He follows his instincts and believes there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to running businesses; and has no issues taking risks when something works today but doesn’t tomorrow.
He strongly endorses face-to-face conversations and making an impactful contribution when you have wealth or power. In this chapter, he shares stories of his many business failures; emphasizing that you must accept making mistakes to truly learn.
Dyslexia caused him to struggle in school and drop out at age 16. After realizing that school can only teach you certain skillsets necessary for success in life, he created his magazine without taking journalism class and became one of the world’s most successful businesspeople without graduating college. He encourages his readers to follow their passions while having fun on their journey – after all, success cannot come unless it’s fun for you! He even donned flight attendant attire during one trip!
7. You Can’t Always Be Honest
Branson asserts in his book, Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School, the importance of being honest when conducting business transactions. According to him, lying will only harm more than help and dishonest behavior will tarnish one’s reputation over time.
One of the keys to Branson’s success as a leader lies in his ability to trust employees. He believes it’s essential to treat everyone with respect and demonstrate trust if you want the best from them – one way he does this is by writing personal letters for each of his employees.
Branson wasn’t afraid to take risks when starting his first company, showing up to meetings with potential publishers or printers wearing only his undergarment, jeans and T-shirt – speaking his mind firmly but knowing it took courage in order to succeed.
He learned the value of seeing failure as an opportunity rather than something to feel defeated about. This mindset would become one of his keys to becoming one of the most prolific entrepreneurs ever.
