Richard Branson‘s story is one of the must-reads for any starting entrepreneur. His life has been an amazing and profitable adventure that anyone can learn from. But first, let me drop a few words about him. Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is one of the richest people in the world, 4th by wealth in the UK. Currently, he is 64 and his net worth is estimated at around $4.6 billion. Branson is the founder and the manager of “Virgin Group Ltd.” – a venture capital conglomerate company located in Great Britain, consisting of more than 400 different businesses from around the globe. All of this can be summarized in just two words – a huge success. And here is the story of it…
 Who He Is
Mr. Branson was born on the 18th of July, 1950, in Surrey – a county in England. He suffered from dyslexia and it was very hard for him to be an ordinary student. So he dropped out of school (as many famous entrepreneurs did) when he was only 16 and started his first project – a magazine called ‘Student’.
The revenue from the first circulation was around $8 000 from advertisements. The money covered the costs, so he distributed all of the 50000 copies for free. The project was an overnight success and made the initial boost of his career as an entrepreneur. In 1969 Branson decided to get involved in the business of records. This was how he started his mail-order company for selling records – ‘Virgin’. He opened a record shop in London which wasn’t a huge success but provided him with the so-needed capital to expand. A few years later, in 1972, Richard opened his own recording studio called ‘Virgin Records’. Many famous artists, musicians, and bands hired the studio for their records. Mike Oldfield, Se Pistols, Culture Club, Rolling Stones, and many others recorded their first albums there. He produced many unpopular, controversial, or not wanted by the other studios artists. Very soon the Virgin Records studio became one of the tops among its rivals.
This was only the beginning of Branson’s business career. His expansion didn’t stop:
– in 1980 the nightclub ‘Heaven’ was bought by him
– in 1984 he started ‘Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited’
– 1984 – a new chain of stores appeared – ‘Virgin Megastores’
But his journey was not only glory and success. In 1992, his company Virgin Group fell in a bad financial situation and was struggling for its survival. In 1992 Virgin Group was sold to ‘EMI Group Ltd.’ for around $1 billion. This was like a defeat for Branson and he shared that he cried when the deal was over. But after a few years, he started again. Quitters never win and winners never quit. He founded ‘V2 Records’ because he wanted to enter the music business again. In 1993 he got into the railroad business with the company ‘Virgin Trains’. This year he also started ‘Virgin Radio’. During the next several years Branson founded more than 200 other successful companies under the name ‘Virgin’. They operate in many different countries around the world. You can see a full list and information about them here: https://www.virgin.com/company. He even founded a company offering trips in space – ‘Virgin Galactic’.
Branson is not only a successful entrepreneur, but he also is very famous for his adventures around the world, sporting achievements, and stuff like that. He has made several attempts for breaking several world records, some of them successful:
– In 1998 – he attempted a trip around the world in a balloon.
– In 1991 – flying by a balloon at the speed of 394 km/h he crossed the Pacific starting form Japan and ending in Arctic Canada. This was a new world record.
Richard Branson’s Famous Quotes
* “Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.”
* “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”
* “Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.”
* “If you want to be a Millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline.”
Richard’s Secrets to Success – Video
Sir Richard Branson is a business magnate, investor, author, and philanthropist best known for his Virgin Group. Spanning over 40 years, he has been credited with having built one of the world’s most recognized and successful brands.
Branson was born in England in 1950 and was brought up in a reasonably successful family. His parents owned several small businesses, from which he learned the core values of business. Considered the ultimate entrepreneur, Branson exuded an unceasing source of energy focused on delivering exceptional customer service to those who interacted with his businesses.
Since then, Branson has achieved an extraordinary amount of success both personally and professionally. He set up the Virgin brand at age 20 with Virgin Records and went on to launch Virgin Atlantic Airways as well as numerous other companies. Today, his estimated worth is approximately 5.1 Billion USD making him one of the world’s wealthiest people.
Branson’s various achievements have been recognized by numerous awards including the Most Excellent Order of The British Empire – which was awarded by the Queen during her golden anniversary celebration in 2002 – as well as a knighthood from Prince Charles in 2016 for services to entrepreneurship.
On top of his career successes, Branson is widely known for his philanthropic projects within communities all over the world such as providing aid to refugees affected by warzones and natural disasters or supporting cultural projects in developing countries.
More than anything else, Richard Branson has proved that modern-day entrepreneurs need not focus only on making profits but should also have an eye for social responsibility and creating a positive impact on their surroundings. As such, he serves as an inspiring role model for aspiring business owners, encouraging them to look beyond traditional models of success and instead create real sustainable change with their businesses through hard work dedication, and innovation.
