Quick Summary
A brilliant interview with Sir Richard Branson. Hear what one of the best entrepreneurs in the world has to say on business, marketing, and giving back. I know there was certainly some key things that stood out to me.
The Market
Find a gap in the market where you can make a better product than what is currently out there. If you’re setup to change peoples lives you have to get every single little detail right and you have to have people believe in your cause.
Be a great people person
When you start your business, it’s about how good you are with people. To genuinely care about people and draw out the best in people. Put praise on people and not criticize them. Never use the 'I' word. 'We' are doing this not 'I' am doing that. Never censoring yourself. Be a great leader with people. People need to be on your team and support you.
Be a great delegator
Try to find people that are better than you to replace you, so you can go and think about the next big picture.
- Entrepreneur - great at thinking about ideas but handing them on to others to manage it.
- Manager - immerse yourself in the business. Steve Jobs was more of a manager than an entrepreneur because he was so caught up in the details.
Being a great marketer
Is the product worthy of people's attention? The product needs to be worth going out there and shouting about it.
Your cheapest form of advertising is you. Use yourself.
A good chairman will be getting out there and promoting his company. Try to get yourself on the front pages of papers. Try to make a fool of yourself. Try to make people smile.
Make it fun
The chairman of the company needs to be willing to let their hair down. There has to be the spirit of fun in a company. Customers are happy and they come back for more.
If you’re having fun with people, the meetings don’t burn you out. When you’re having fun with people you learn a lot more about people.
Social
Creating businesses, you create jobs and take people out of poverty.
Entrepreneurs - how we can tackle things better than we have before?
What to watch out for as an Entrepreneur
If you don’t protect the downside and treat your business like it’s going into a gambling casino, then you’re asking for trouble. Most of these businesses go bust. They don’t think about the downside. Ask ‘If I do this, can I afford the worst thing that can happen?’ 8 out of 10 businesses goes bust.
Piggy-back on other people's business infrastructure.
How Richard makes tough decisions
Delegation - make sure everything is running without you. If you die, everything continues to run as it should.
It's essential to stay fit and healthy so the endorphins are running and your body is thriving.
50% of Richard's time is spent setting up non-for-profit companies. He also is firefighting when things are going wrong and giving his companies a push when things are going right.
Family and work balance
Richard works from home. Yes he was busy in the beginning on the phone but him and his family were all around each other. Spend as much time with your family as you can. Finding the time for them is critical.
What makes Richard Richard? What makes Richard effective?
The fun side is natural. Having fun with people around him. Train yourself to enjoy life more. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Find the fun side in you.
Train yourself out of difficulties. Overcome public speaking by seeing yourself in a living room chatting with friends.
You are only as good as the reputation you’ve built over the years so people can trust you. His fun and adventurous side has helped the brand.
You have to genuinely care about people. A good leader has to be a great listener.
When you’re starting a business you have to focus on survival. Then once that is done you can focus on the next stage which is growing the business but focusing on some of the issues in the world like social problems and if they can be tackled better.
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