Success stories
1st edition, 17 March 2016
Richard Branson: ‘People are not just crucial to the business, they are the business!’
grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic and expanded the Virgin Records music label.
Richard Branson - the leader of Virgin group Richard Branson is the founder and leader of Virgin group, which comprises more than 400 companies worldwide. He is a well-known business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneur at 3
a young age. At the age of sixteen his first business venture was a magazine called Student. In 1970, he set up a mail-order record business. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores. Branson’s Virgin brand
built a prosperous business.
The creativity and the fun atmosphere that penetrate all Virgin businesses Despite the fact that Branson has are unique.These are demonstrated dyslexia and had poor academic through Virgin’s imaginative and performance as a student, he managed sometimes provocative commercials. to build an empire, which is very Richard Branson is the face of its inspiring. On his last day at school, his brand, promoting the company headmaster, Robert Drayson, told him through various media and customer he would either end up in prison or interactions. He is famous for his become a millionaire. techniques that he uses to attract favourable publicity to the brand, Branson could successfully develop for example, when he became a business in various spheres, ranging stewardess for one flight after losing from banking to entertainment. a bet. He is not afraid to be bold, Customers perceive Virgin as a imaginative and extravagant. All this reputable brand, concentrated on attributes to his huge success. customer satisfaction and excellent service. Richard Branson in his book Richard Branson has written several “Like a Virgin” said that people are not just crucial for the business, they books, among which are ‘Screw it, Let’s do it’ and ‘Losing my Virginity’. These are the Business! This is the unique books can shed light on what it taked selling point of the Virgin brand, to become a successful businessman. around which Richard Branson has 4
You should foster the mindset of a true entrepreneur in yourself to start and run your own business. Branson’s inspiring advice and quotes can help you along the way. It is notable that his sucess can be measured not only in money, but also in the people’s attitude to him. He has a likeable, powerful personality, and people can feel that. That is why, people are drawn to him. He is a lover of adventures and continuous development, which makes him an interesting person to learn from. Most importantly, he loves people. This is the key to building strong relationships with your customers and employees. Richard Branson believes that: ‘Having a personality of caring about people is important. You can’t be a good leader unless you generally like people.’ This is likely to be the reason why his employees refused to work for another company despite being offered salaries twice as big as they had at Virgin. Retaining people is not done solely with money; there are human relationships involved, which proved to be a powerful motivator. To end up, I would like to quote Richard Branson once again: ‘If you aren’t making a difference in other people’s lives, you shouldn’t be in business’. 5
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