Not bad for someone who hasn't even graduated from high school, right?
Richard Branson is one of the most successful businessmen in the UK and an entrepreneurship guru who has written several books, one of which we have a review. And here are 10 secrets of his success.
If you are going to start a business, make sure that it is related to your hobby, passion or something that you really like. Don't create a business just for the money. It seems to me that many people have great ideas, but only a few can bring them to life.
Many also think that their ideas have been implemented for a long time, but they themselves will not succeed, they will go bankrupt and in general, such risks are a senseless waste of time. When I was trying to get an interview for my student magazine, I wrote to all the celebrities I knew. Only a few people answered. But they answered!
Your business should give people something special — so that they can't imagine how they lived without it before. Remember that business is your opportunity to change the world for the better. It will be much more pleasant for you and your team to work with this attitude.
The idea should become a passion. Moreover, you have to learn how to transfer your passion to other people. If the idea is really good, you should be able to describe it in two or three sentences. Also, your idea should be in some way better than competitive ideas.
It didn't make sense for me to create another airline, the same as the others. Therefore, I created an airline that is in many ways better than all competitors.
I am 100% sure that if you do not enjoy your work, then this is a sign that you need to move on. Pleasure is the most important part of any job. And the pleasure is not only yours, but also your team's. Make sure that your company's managers take care of their subordinates as much as you do.
It is very important not to give up at the first loss. And there will be losses, believe me! When I crossed the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, all the circumstances were against me, and the desire to give up was very attractive. The life of an entrepreneur is in many ways similar to the life of a traveler.
There are many situations when you are pinned to the wall, and the chance to solve the problem seems scanty. Make every effort to overcome this feeling and return with renewed vigor the very next day.
I create dozens of lists daily. And I think that this is what distinguishes a successful entrepreneur from an ordinary one. The details are too important to neglect.
I also believe that it is very important to set yourself new, albeit small goals. We need both long-term and short-term goals. At the beginning of the year, write down the goals for the whole year, at the beginning of the month — for the next month, and so on. This will give you the opportunity to constantly improve and go further.
One of the things you need to learn at the very beginning of your business journey is the delegation of tasks. Find people who are better at something than you, and assign them specialized tasks. This way you will free up some time for yourself to reflect on the overall picture of the business and for the family. Spending time with your family is very important, especially if you have children.
I know that I am a good entrepreneur, but I am not sure that I would be a good manager of my company. These are different things. My thoughts are always in the future, and my main desire is to create something new, and not to dwell on the present. That's why I've found people to run my company while I make plans for the future.
"Poor people have big TVs and small libraries; rich people have small TVs and huge libraries"
As a child, my mother taught us not to follow the lives of other people, but to live our own, for which I am very grateful to her. Now, having my own children, I try to spend as little time as possible watching TV and devote as much attention as possible to really useful things.
We are all familiar with such people who sit on the tail of your success or failure and try to cash in on them. If you know that criticism is not justified, do your best to prove it. Or just ignore such people.
Life is given only once, so I will only do what I like. I advise the same to you. It's probably funny for you to hear this from a person who has his own island in the Caribbean, but once almost all of my life was spent on the couch in the kitchen. And even then I was happy.
The secret of happiness is simple: if you have a kitchen that fits a sofa, a bedroom and a person you love, everything else is not so important. However, if in addition to this you do what you really like, the result will exceed all expectations.
