The Virgin Takeover

I viewed an interview with the creator of the Virgin Brand, through TED.com. Richard Branson is nothing less than interesting! He started his entrepreneurship based off a magazine he started and branched into the creation of Virgin Records after that. I found it truly amazing when

he was asked why he sold Virgin Records to start up Virgin Atlantic airlines and his response was 2 things, the fact that he often felt if he had a bad experience with something then perhaps he can create a brand to be how he would like it and the other was the fact that he stepped in when the airline was going under due to competitor ads and to save the jobs of the people that worked for the airline, he built Virgin Atlantic. He also shows such great leadership skills when he described that a business is only as good as the people you hire to build/work it and that he tried inspiring the people he hired as well as drawing out the best in people and help them grow.

Energy and vision are the main things Richard Branson doesn't lack. You can easily tell that he enjoys what he does and that he has no fear to attempt something especially when you can add quality and innovation into the mix. Despite his undoubted success, he seems like one of the most humble millionaires around which is just one of the many ways that he is an inspiring business man. A common occurrence from speeches I have watched about interviews with successful entrepreneurs in the music industry is the fact that they seem to have no fear. Or as Russell Simmons described that “all the businesses that I’ve gotten in, I got in because I didn’t know I couldn’t” (Kurtz, n.d.). Another commonality amongst them (and I had just mentioned it) was that they also have such great leadership qualities. In both interviews they described situations where they had sold their very successful first companies to work on a new endeavor and because they felt the people running it were more equipped than them at that point in time. They also describe that they hire people to help them learn and grow, those make the best type of leaders. The kind that are as successful as they can be and they turn around and show others how to do it as well.

Although I am far from where I want to be, I can take away the things I have learned from these aspiring entrepreneurs. I already have taken a huge leap towards my dream by chasing my Master’s Degree, in which I held myself back from for a couple years out of fear that I couldn’t do it. The trick is, to dive into something that you don’t know that you can’t and see where it takes you.

 

I would like to highlight a few of the best quotes from his interview on TED before I go: "If you treat people well, people will come back and come back for more" "all you have in life is your reputation" and "The best way to becoming a successful business leader is by dealing with people fairly and well."

If the video doesn't work, feel free to click TED-Richard Branson

Kurtz, R. (n.d.). Russell Simmons, Rush Communications: for his powerful example [Online exclusive]. Inc. Retrieved February 17, 2011, from http://www.inc.com/magazine/20040401/25simmons.html