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This article is part of our new series DailyBiz where we learn about entrepreneurship from proven entrepreneurs. We will explore new lessons from different entrepreneurs every day, so make sure you follow me and never miss out.

Sir Richard Branson

First and foremost, who is Sir Richard Branson?

Source: Richtopia

Sir Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Group, a giant conglomeration of over 400 companies.

Some notable companies under the Virgin brand include (but not limited to):

• Virgin Australia
• Virgin Atlantic
• Virgin Active
• Virgin Galactic
• Virgin Voyages

In March 2000, Branson was knighted at Buckingham Palace for "services to entrepreneurship". For his work in retail, music and transport (with interests in land, air, sea and space travel), his taste for adventure, and for his humanitarian work, he became a prominent figure. In March 2017, Forbes listed Branson's estimated net worth at $5 billion.

Based on his experience in building one of the biggest brands in the world, here are Sir Richard Branson's 3 realistic tips about entrepreneurship.

Tip 1: A Company is All About The People

Sir Richard Branson reminds entrepreneurs to remember all the time what a company is. Despite his enormous success in entrepreneurship, he believes strongly that a company is simply a group of people. And as a leader of people, he believes that entrepreneurs must be a great listener and a great motivator. In order to bring the best out of your people, you must be very good at praising and looking for the best in them.

Here's a great analogy from Sir Richard Branson when it comes to leadership.

People are no different from flowers. If you water flowers they flourish, if you praise people they flourish. And that is a critical attribute of a leader.

Source: Virgin

Tip 2: Importance of Financial Backing

According to Sir Richard Branson, financial backing is a very thin line that separates success from failure. He observed that entrepreneurs who start their businesses without financial backing are more prone to at some times in their lives.

I've only just stayed at the right side of that dividing line. - Sir Richard Branson

He recalled the moment of him starting a new airline company (Virgin Airlines) while running a record label (Virgin Records). He reasoned that he was fed up flying on other people's airlines because the experience of flying on other people's airlines was an unpleasant one. Hence, setting up his own airline company to meet his standards of 'pleasant experience'. As idealistic as this is for the Virgin brand, the decision to start up their own airline set their bank in a complete panic mode. When Sir Richard Branson returned from launching the inaugural flight of Virgin Atlantic from London to New York, he was surprised to find the bank manager sitting on his doorstep and informing him that they were going to close Virgin down on the next Monday. That day was a Friday, so it meant that his company had only two days to effectively pay the loan off. He remembers pushing the bank manager out of his house, and telling him that he wasn't welcome (which Sir Richard Branson reminded that it is a very dangerous thing to do to your bank manager).

To solve the problem, he spent the entire weekend asking all of the their record distributors from around the world for a temporary loan to get them through the following week. He was grateful that the distributors were kind enough to do so, and that helped them to stay afloat. The week after that, his company had changed banks and even managed to find a bank that was willing to lend them 30 times the amount from the previous bank.

Don't think of your bank as somebody that you're beholden to. You know, people just don't move from one bank to another. Sometimes you need to be willing to step up and move your banks in the same way that you should step up and move your doctor on occasions.

Source: Telegraph UK

Tip 3: You Must Be Replaceable

'Can Virgin continue to be successful without me?' Sir Richard Branson asks himself all the time. And today, he is proud that Virgin can work very well without him.

For him, he merely used himself to build the brand of a global conglomerate. However, his most important asset in business lies in his art of delegation. Not only does Sir Richard Branson have a fantastic team of people run the Virgin companies, he is willing to give them a lot of freedom to run the companies as if they were their own companies. He noted that by allowing them the freedom to make mistakes, they were able to grow better and now cementing the Virgin brand as one of the top 20 brands in the world.

This is the same for all successful businesses. If you're running a business but your business cannot last without you working, this signals an alarming emergency for your business.

Be honest with yourself, my friend:

When you are no longer around, is your business doomed to fail?

Source: Business Insider

Reflection

Not only are these 3 tips ridiculously realistic, they are necessary for entrepreneurs who wants to succeed in business. One must always think ahead not only of their competition, but more importantly ahead of oneself in order to stay in business. As an entrepreneur myself, I have learnt much from today's episode of DailyBiz and I hope the same goes for you too.

*P.S: Business isn't just about work all the time, its also about enjoying yourself while working.

Here's a picture of Sir Richard Branson having fun with his competitor/friend Tan Sri Tony Fernandes from AirAsia.

Source: Metro UK

Take care,

M

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