Emerging entrepreneurial models and successful entrepreneurs.

What is entrepreneurship management?

Entrepreneurship is a distinct activity relating to production/distribution of goods and services
to earn rewards and assume risks. It can be said that entrepreneurship is what the modern
world not have witnessed inventions and innovations. The entrepreneur acts as a catalyst of
growth and development in todays modern world.
Principles of entre.
1. Do Something Important
You should endeavor to make the world a better place, even if your world is
only local and your idea helps a relatively small number of people or
organizations. It doesnt have to be huge. It just has to be important to you
and your customers. Put forward a vision, a mission, a passion, that you,
your employees, your suppliers, your business partners, your customers;
everyone, can really rally around. In the Navy, it was keeping America
safe. Thats a good one. At LifeSize it was changing the way the world
communicates. And you, the leader, must believe it in all the way down to
your bones or it wont be authentic. You cant half ass this. People will see
right through it. You should be so fired up about this that you leap out of
bed every morning to get going, day after day, year after year, because that
is what it will take to be successful.
2. Respect your Customers
One of my favorite examples of a respect for your customers philosophy
comes from Vijay Mallya, the founder of Kingfisher Airlines in India. In his
welcome aboard video that I watched as I settled in my seat, he said Ive
instructed my staff to treat you like you were guests in my own home.
Thats always stuck with me as it reflects the respect and gratitude that
transcends a simple business transaction and seeks to foster a long-term
relationship with others. You will continue to give to them out of kindness
and generosity with the trust that they will reciprocate and allow you to
build a successful business with their money. Respect for your customers
means also having a passion to help them achieve their goals, whether
personal or business. If you can help your customer be successful, thats a
good day, and longer lasting and ultimately more profitable than if you just
sell them something.

3. Respect your Employees
Respect for your employees is equally important. Long gone are the days of
lifetime employment at one firm. Everyone is a free agent these days. The
best employers provide a work environment, not full of perks and extras,
but one where each employee feels the organization and their direct leader
respects their dignity and the value of their contributions to the business.
At Bloomfire, VPs have small interior offices and the rest of the team gets
the all the open light from the floor to ceiling windows. You must also
provide an environment for your employees to be successful in their
careers. They have aspirations and dreams and families and mortgages and
college bills too. Theyve hitched their wagon to your vision; maybe even
moved their families across the country. Many of them may even want to
start their own company some day. You can, no, you have a responsibility
to help them get there. Respect for your employees also means deciding
what kind of people you allow in the door and remain on the team. Ive
learned through hard experience that getting the right people on the bus
and the wrong people off the bus as Jim Collins, author of Good to Great
says, is harder than it looks. Ive actually hired a senior executive, moved
her and her family across the country and then asked her to leave after one
month because I knew it wasnt a good fit. It was right for her and the rest
of the team. Its one of the most important things you can do for your A
class people. It tells them that you respect their time and are not willing to
compromise or dilute their efforts.
4. Respect your Investor s Capital
Be good stewards of your investors money, whether it comes from a private
equity firm, a venture capital firm, an angel investor, the local bank or your
Aunt Susan. Its not your money. Dont waste it. More than a handful of
times over the years while looking for space for my own company, Ive
walked into an empty office of a business that was radically downsizing or
closing down that had an art museum build-out with brand new high-end
furnishings. Spend your money on your people and make sure they have all
the equipment and services they need to be successful. Thats the first
priority. An inappropriately lavish office, in fact, sends the wrong message
to your team that you are focused on the wrong things. In the case of
professional investors, their livelihood and careers depend on your
stewardship of their capital. Have respect for them and take care of their
money. Tend to it carefully and grow it into a significant return. Your
employees with a stake in the company will thank you as well.
5. Grow your Business
You are either growing or you are shrinking. Its one or the other, and you
better grow. Focus and execute. Get out of bed every day, get to work and
make progress. And remember the goal of a business is to make money.
Early in my entrepreneurial career, I would get excited about how much
money I could raise from investors. Now, Im much more cautious because
making money and becoming a self-sustaining business is really the goal. If
you never make money, eventually you will have no business and your
employees will have no jobs and your investors will have no return on their
investment. Growth and profits fund jobs for you, your people, your
suppliers, great products and services that help your customers succeed,
and ultimately tax revenue for your city, state and country.
6. Strive to be the Leader in your Space
Dont be satisfied to just muddle along as #2 or another company in a
commodity market. Real innovation occurs when someone or a team of
people decide that the current way of doing things isnt good enough and
they are not going to take it anymore. Whether that new innovation is in
products, or services, or a business model, the truly great companies in
history have re-invented their particular market or created a new market
where none previously existed. This should be your goal. At LifeSize we
were the first company to offer HD definition video communication. At
Bloomfire, we provide a unique new way for employees to share and
collaborate on important business content. Thats not to say if you dont
become Fedex orStarbucks SBUX +0.21% or Apple AAPL -0.1% or Google
you are a failure. Pick YOUR market and YOUR business model and
creatively re-invent or at least significantly tilt the playing field in your
direction. If you are not disrupting things and creating new value for your
customers, what are you doing today?


7. Never Give Up
Do your best every day and never, ever give up

Zig zag principles of entrepreneurships!!*
The road to success is never a straight line. Rich Christiansen states, when you start a small
business, or engage in any new venture, success comes as a series of zigs zags.
The zig zag principle needs to be followed by aspiring entrepreunrs or existing entrepreneurs as
well. The following are some of the elements of principles.
1. Assess your resources: At some point financial capital is usually needed to meet
business goals. But its not a substitute for the other critical resources, mental capital
plus relationship capital.
2. Identify your beacon in the fog: start with a big audacious goal to guide you, so that
every once in a while you can hit a smaller goal, to provide a break in the fog and catch
sight of the beacon before those next steps into the darkness. Goals need to be written
down, measurable, and realistic. Expect your fair share of zigzagging to get there.
3. Create a catalyzing statement: this is a key element of every elevator pitch, with enough
specificity and fuel to keep you and everyone around you moving toward the beacon in
the fog.this quantified big dream should be a long-term goal that your short term
zigzags are all leading to. Use your values as the foundation.
4. Drive your startup to profitability: a first zig of getting to profitability is important to
every business,because being broke and always fighting for funding can cause a lot of
pain. More importantly, profitability can drive you to find hidden assets, zag to interim
revenue sources, and force you to pace yourself in getting to that final destination.
5. Define Processes and Add Resources: After the initial zigs and zags to get profitable, it is
time to formalize and document the processes that worked. Only then can you expand
those things that led to your initial success. It also means that its time to stop micro-
managing, hire some of the right people, and start giving up some control.
6. Scale the business: this is implementing a model that you can replicate, to get your
product or service out across the country, and around the world. Scaling models charge
by the transaction, or subscriptions, or have digital assets with no cost to reproduce.
Switch to a mindset of working on your bisuness, rather than in your business.
7. Stay with your Guardials: set up some rules to constrain your zig zag to prevent out of
control situations. Common controls include some spending limits, time commitments
limits, financial milestones,etc. these guardrails should be closely aligned with your
values. Practice the art of saying no and the discipline of delegating.
8. Develop reward system: to keep you and your team from burning out, you need to
define a simple system of motivators and rewards. Too much reward leads to an
entitlement mentality. As you hit each zig zag, you need to take a break from the
intensity,celebrate and enjoy the fruits of your labour.



Franchising

Meaning:
Franchise is a contract between two parties, especially in different countries involving
transfer of rights and resources. The franchisor enters into a contract with the
franchisee, whereby, the franchisor agrees to transfer to the franchisee a package of
rights and resources, such as:
Production requirement, including product ingredients,
Standardized operating procedures,
Patents, trademarks and technology,
Access to advertising and promotional materials,
Loans and financing, and
General management assistance.

We have several big examples of franchising in India like McDonalds, Dominos,
Subway, caf coffee day etc.

Features:
1. It is an agreement or a contract between two parties, where one party agrees to
transfer its right and resources to another party.
2. It is normally a long term contract, which can remain in force for several years.
3. The transferor gets royalty or payment in consideration of transfer of rights and
resources from the transferee.
4. The franchise contract can take place between two parties from within the country or
between two parties of two different countries.
5. A franchise usually covers a broader package of rights and resources as compared to
licensing contracts. In licencing contracts, the transferor transfers limited rights and/or
resources to the licensee such as trade marks, patents, technology and managerial skills.
6. Franchising normally creates a new business. The franchisor normally selects
component, and dedicated entrepreunuers to transfer rights and resources.

Advantages from the Franchisors point of view:

1. Financial: Franchising creates another source of income for the franchisor, through
payment of franchise fees, royalty & levies in addition to the possibility of sourcing private
label products to franchisees. This capital injection provides an improved cash flow, a
higher return on investment and higher profits. Other financial benefits that the franchisor
enjoys are reduced operating, distribution and advertising costs. Of course that also means
more allocated funds for research and development. Additionally, there will always be
economies of scale with regard to purchasing power.
2. Operational: The franchisor can have a smaller central organization when compared to
developing and owning locations themselves. Franchising also means uniformity of
procedures, which reflects on consistency, enhanced productivity levels and better quality.
Effective quality control is another advantage of the franchise system. The franchisee is
usually self motivated since he has invested much time and money in the business, which
means working hard to bring in better organizational and monetary results. This also
reflects on more satisfied customers and improved sales effectiveness.
3. Strategic: To the franchisor, franchising means the spreading of risks by multiplying the
number of locations through other peoples investment. That means faster network
expansion and a better opportunity to focus on changing market needs, which in its turn
means reduced effect from competitors.
4. Administrative: With a smaller central organization, the business maintains a more cost
effective labor force, reduction of key staff turnover and more effective recruitment.
5. It helps to face global competition with less efforts and costs.
6. It enables the franchisors country to earn foreign exchange due to royalty received from
the foreign contracts.


Disadvantages from a Franchisors point of view:

1. Considerable capital allocation is required to build the franchise infrastructure and pilot
operation. At the beginning of the franchise program, the franchisor is required to have the
appropriate resources to recruit, train, and support franchisees.
2. At the beginning of the franchise program there is a broader risk that the trade name can
be spoiled by misfits until such time the franchisor is capable of selecting the right
candidate for the business.
3. There is a risk that franchisees exercise undue pressure over the franchisor in order to
implement new policies and procedures.
4. The franchisor has to disclose confidential information to franchisees and this may
constitute a risk to the business.


B. Advantages from a Franchisees point of view:

1. Avoiding the unnecessary trial and error period in starting and operating a new business.
2. Lower financial risk, compared to other ventures, because investment costs are lower and
profit margins are higher.
3. Business Format Franchising complete packages ensure a ready to go turn-key franchised
unit.
4. Managing a small business whilst depending on the power of the franchisor company
which has a bigger organization.
5. The franchisee has an opportunity to run a proven business concept with a successful
operational track record.
6. The opportunity to learn the latest developments and changes in the local and global
market from the franchisor and focus entirely on developing the sales revenues.
7. The benefit of operating under a recognized trade name/trademark, which can have better
marketing results.
8. The franchisee has access to accumulated business experience and technical know-how in
managing the business.
9. A unified store design which leverages the business reputation in marketing the concept.
10. Easier purchasing, storing, and product display systems.

Disadvantages from a Franchisees pint of view:

1. The requirement to pay the franchise fees and royalty to the franchisor, which in some
cases can be exaggerated.
2. The transfer of all goodwill built in the local market to the franchisor upon expiration or
termination of the franchise contract.
3. The necessity of abiding by the franchisors operating systems, standards, policies and
procedures.
4. Reduced corporate profit margin due to payment of royalties and levies.

Suitability

The franchise contracts are suitable in respect of the following:
1. Fast food restaurants such as McDonalds , Pizza Hut etc.
2. Educational courses such as Computer programming, Management cources etc.
3. Travel and tour services, as the expertise can be easily transferred.
4. Repair and maintenance services, as the employees of franchisee can be trained by the
franchisor.


PHOTO


BPO

Business process outsurcing is a contract whereby a firm transfers its processes along with
the associated operational activities and responsibilities to a third party (BPO operator). The
BPO firm provides the required services to the for an agreed consideration to the
outsourcing firm.
The areas where BPO services are utilized include retail banking, insurance, travel and
hospitality, automobiles, telecom,pharma,finance,accounting and HR.

Traditionally,BPO is undertaken by manufacturing firms.for instance Coca cola, where almost
the entire supply chain is outsourced and the company is essentially becoming a marketing
organization. However, nowadays, BPO firms are increasingly getting contracts from the
service oriented firms.

BPO services are often divided into two categories:
Back office outsourcing, which includes internal business functions such as billing or
purchasing.
Front office outsourcing, which includes customer-related services such as marketing
or tech support.

The endless opportunities that IT provides, stimulates BPO activities. BPO that is contracted
outside a companys own country is sometimes called offshore outsourcing. BPO that is
contracted to a companys neighboring country is sometimes called near-shore outsourcing.

Knowledge process outsourcing and legal process outsourcing are the two main subsets of
business process outsourcing.

Advantages of BPO.

1. Focus on Core Activities: Outsourcing enables a business firm to concerntrate on core
activities. Key employees are relieved from performing non-core activities. For
instance, non-core activities such as canteen services in a large industry are
outsourced,rather than the company employees looking after canteen services.
The key employees can focus on core value activities such as customer relationships,
product development and other activities that lead to operational excellence.
Focusing on core activities may enable a firm to gain competitive advantage in the
market.

2. Reduction in operational costs: outsourcing may enable a firm to reduce its
operational expenses. For instance, a company may pay lower amount to the third
party to provide certain services than if the activities are undertaken with in-house
employees. For instance, the security services can be outsourced at lower costs rather
than employing a firms own workforce for security purposes.

3. Lower investments: outsourcing enables a firm to reduce the fixed capital
investments. The investment fo office space or premises required for certain services
which are outsourced is done by the third party. For instance, in case of Business
Process Outsourcing, the premises are owned by the BPO owner. Therefore, the
outsourcing firm need not invest in certain fixed assets, which reduces the need for
higher investments.

4. Facilitates quick delivery: in certain firms, the production of certain items is
outsourced. The third party that produces on behalf of the firm would make evry
possible effort to produce on time. Therefore, the outsourcing firm can deliver the
goods on time in the market.

5. Specialized services: at times, outsourcing may enable a firm to obtain specialized
services from experts. For instance, in the case of legal process outsourcing, a foreign
firm can obtain specialized services from Indian legal experts and that too for lower
fees.

6. Growth of entrepreneurs: Outsourcing gives an opportunity to new entrepreneurs.
The entrepreneus may come up with innovative ideas to complete the outsourcing
work. Thus, the outsoursing firm may benefit not only due to lower operational costs,
but also in terms of quality of innovative services provided by the third party
entrepreneurs.

7. Competitive advantage: BPO gives competitive advantage to business firms. Due to
outsourcing, a business firm can focus effectively on core areas with speed and agility,
which otherwise they would sacrifice as and efficiency enables the firm to serve its
customers more effectively, thereby effectively facing the challenges of the
competitors.

8. Corporate image: outsourcing may improve the corporate image of the outsourcing
firm. The outsourcing firm can concerntrate on core areas, whereas, non core areas
can be outsourced. This enables the outsourcing firm to improve its
performance,thereby enhancing the image of the firm in the minds of various
stakeholders.



Disadvantages of outsourcing:

1. Poor services: at times, the third party may provide poor quality or delay in services.
For instance, several firms outsouce the after-sale-service to third parties. The third
party ether delays the services or vthe service provided is of poor quality. This may
have adverse effect on the image of the firm.

2. Exploitation of employees: the third party that provides outsourcing services may
exploit the employees. There are cases, where the employees are paid less and made
to work for longer hours. This happens, especially, when the employees work in
unorganized service providers.


3. Employee turnover: there are cases of large employee turnover in BPO firms. The
employees may leave the BPO firm due to poor work culture and lack of motivation
and also due to the problem of night shifts. Employee turnover increases selection
and training costs. It may also affect the quality of services provided to the
outsourcing firm.

4. Problem of sensitive information: in some cases, there is a possibility of misuse of
outsourcing companys sensitive information. For instance, the third party service
provider may leak information about the organizations processes to competitors.


KPO

Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) describes the outsourcing of core information-related
business activities which are competitively important or form an integral part of a
company's value chain KPO requires advanced analytical and technical skills as well as a high
degree of specialist expertise. "Now, BPO moves up the value chain". Reasons behind KPO
include an increase in specialized knowledge and expertise,
[1]
additional value creation, the
potential for cost reductions, and a shortage of skilled labor.
[1]
Regions which are particularly
prominent in Knowledge Process Outsourcing include India and Eastern Europe.
KPO is a continuation of Business process outsourcing, yet with rather more of business
complexity. To be successful in Knowledge process outsourcing, a lot of guide is required
from inter organizational system.

India has a large pool of knowledge workers in various sectors ranging from
pharmacy, medicine, law, biotechnology, education & training, engineering,
analytics, design & animation, research & development, paralegal content and even
intelligent services.

This talent is soon being discovered and tapped by leading businesses across the
globe resulting in the outsourcing of high-end processes to low-wage destinations.
Hence knowledge Process outsourcing involves off-shoring of knowledge intensive
business processes that require specialized domain expertise.

KPO is done step ahead of Business Processing Outsourcing. BPO industry is turning
into Knowledge Process Outsourcing. KPO industry is handling more high skilled work
than BPO industry. KPO helps companies to create huge business opportunities. KPO
firms provide domain-based processes and business expertise, rather than just
process expertise.

Benefits of KPO

Any company involved as service provider in the KPO industry works in close
coordination and association with the client and provides services that are
predefined in terms of quality and standard of work. While working with a KPO firm,
the outsourcing company can expect to get the following:

1. Specialized services
2. Lower operational costs.
3. Growth of entrepreneurs
4. Competitive advantage
5. Corporate image
6. Focus on core activities
7. Lower investments
8. On time service.



Scope of KPO:

Some of the KPO outsourcing services are as follows:
1. Animation and design
2. Advanced web applications
3. Business & market research
4. Content development and writing.
5. Data analysis.
6. Experiments in research and development.
7. Financial consultancy services.
8. Legal services.
9. Learning solutions.
10. Medical services.




Role of e- commerce in facilitating entrepreneurship development*











































SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR


Richard branson

Introduction:-

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate and
investor. He is best known as the founder of Virgin Group, which comprises more than 400
companies.

At the age of sixteen his first business venture was a magazine calledStudent. In 1970, he set
up a mail-order record business. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records,
later known as Virgin Megastores. Branson's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he
set up Virgin Atlantic and expanded the Virgin Records music label.
According to the Forbes 2012 list of billionaires, Branson is the sixth richest citizen of the United
Kingdom, with an estimated net worth of US$4.6 billion.


Startup business.

Richard Branson started his record business from the crypt of a church where he ran The
Student magazine. Branson advertised popular records in The Student and it was an overnight
success. Trading under the name "Virgin", he sold records for considerably less than the "High
Street" outlets, especially the chain, W. H. Smith. Branson once said, "There is no point in
starting your own business unless you do it out of a sense of frustration." The name "Virgin"
was suggested by one of Branson's early employees because they were all new at business. At
the time, many products were sold under restrictive marketing agreements that limited
discounting, despite efforts in the 1950s and 1960s to limit so-called resale price maintenance.
Branson eventually started a record shop in Oxford Street in London. In 1971, Branson was
questioned in connection with the selling of records in Virgin stores that had been declared
export stock. The matter was never brought before a court and Branson agreed to repay any
unpaid tax and a fine. Branson's mother, Eve, re-mortgaged the family home to help pay the
settlement.
Earning enough money from his record store, Branson in 1972 launched the record label Virgin
Records with Nik Powell and bought a country estate north of Oxford, in which he installed a
residential recording studio, The Manor Studio. He leased out studio time to fledgling artists,
including multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield, whose debut album Tubular Bells (1973) was the
first release for Virgin Records and it became a chart-topping best-seller.
Virgin signed such controversial bands as the Sex Pistols, which other companies were reluctant
to sign. It also won praise for exposing the public to such obscure avant-garde music
as Faust and Can. Virgin Records also introduced Culture Clubto the music world. In the early
1980s, Virgin purchased the gay nightclub, Heaven. In 1991, in a consortium with David Frost,
Richard Branson has made the unsuccessful bid for three ITV franchisees under the CPV-
TV name. The early 1980s also saw his only attempt as a produceron the novelty record,
"Baa, Baa, Black Sheep", by Singing Sheep in association with Doug McLean and Grace
McDonald. The recording was a series of sheep baa-in along to a drum-machine-produced track
and reached number 42 in the UK charts in 1982.
In 1992, to keep his airline company afloat, Branson sold the Virgin label to EMI for
500 million. Branson said that he wept when the sale was completed because the record
business had been the very start of the Virgin empire. He later created V2 Records to re-enter
the music business.



Business ventures:

Branson formed Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984, launched Virgin Mobile in 1999, and Virgin
Blue in Australia (now named Virgin Australia) in 2000. He was ninth in the Sunday Times Rich
List 2006, worth slightly more than 3 billion. Branson wrote in his autobiography of the
decision to start an airline:
In 1993, Branson took what many saw as being one of his riskier business exploits by entering
into the railway business .Virgin Trains won the franchises for the former Intercity West
Coast and Cross-Country sectors of British Rail.
Virgin acquired European short-haul airline Euro Belgian Airlines in 1996 and renamed it Virgin
Express. In 2006, the airline was merged with SN Brussels Airlines forming Brussels Airlines. It
also started a national airline based in Nigeria, called Virgin Nigeria. Another airline, Virgin
America, began flying out of San Francisco International Airport in August 2007. Branson has
also developed a Virgin Cola brand and even a Virgin Vodka brand, which has not been a very
successful enterprise. As a consequence of these lackluster performers, the satirical British
fortnightly magazine Private Eye has been critical of Branson and his companies (see Private
Eye image caption).
A series of disputes in the early 1990s caused tension between Virgin Atlantic and British
Airways, which viewed Virgin as an emerging competitor. Virgin subsequently accused British
Airways of poaching its passengers, hacking its computers, and leaking stories to the press that
portrayed Virgin negatively. After the so-called campaign of "dirty tricks", British Airways
settled the case, giving 500,000 to Branson, a further 110,000 to his airline, and had to pay
legal fees of up to 3 million . Branson distributed his compensation (the so-called "BA bonus")
among his staff.
On 25 September 2004, Branson announced the signing of a deal under which a new space
tourism company, Virgin Galactic, will license the technology behind Spaceship Onefunded
by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and designed by legendary American aeronautical engineer
and visionary Burt Rutanto take paying passengers into suborbital space. Virgin Galactic
(wholly owned by Virgin Group) plans to make flights available to the public with tickets priced
at US$200,000 using Scaled Composites White Knight Two. Branson plans to take his two
children, 31-year-old Holly and 28-year-old Sam, on a trip to outer space when they ride the
Spaceship Two rocket plane on its first public flight planned for 2014.
Branson's next venture with the Virgin group is Virgin Fuels, which is set to respond to global
warming and exploit the recent spike in fuel costs by offering a revolutionary, cheaper fuel for
automobiles and, in the near future, aircraft. Branson has stated that he was formerly a global
warming septic and was influenced in his decision by a breakfast meeting with Al Gore.
Branson has been tagged as a "transformational leader" in the management lexicon, with his
maverick strategies and his stress on the Virgin Group as an organization driven on informality
and information, one that is bottom-heavy rather than strangled by top-level management.
On 21 September 2006, Branson pledged to invest the profits of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains
in research for environmentally friendly fuels. The investment is estimated to be worth
$3 billion.
On 4 July 2006, Branson sold his Virgin Mobile company to UK cable TV, broadband, and
telephone company NTL/NTL: Telewest for almost 1 billion. A new company was launched
with much fanfare and publicity on 8 February 2007, under the name Virgin Media. The
decision to merge his Virgin Media Company with NTL was to integrate both of the companies'
compatible parts of commerce. Branson used to own three-quarters of Virgin Mobile, whereas
now he owns 15 percent of the new Virgin Media company.
In 2006, Branson formed Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation, an entertainment company
focused on creating new stories and characters for a global audience. The company was
founded with author Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, and entrepreneurs Sharad
Devarajan and Gotham Chopra.
Branson also launched the Virgin Health Bank on 1 February 2007, offering parents-to-be the
opportunity to store their baby's umbilical cord blood stem cells in private and public stem cell
banks.
In June 2006, a tip-off from Virgin Atlantic led US and UK competition authorities to investigate
price-fixing attempts between Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. In August 2007, British
Airways was fined 271 million over the allegations. Virgin Atlantic was given immunity for
tipping off the authorities and received no finea controversial decision the Office of Fair
Trading defended as being in the public interest.
On 9 February 2007, Branson announced the setting up of a new Global science and technology
prizeThe Virgin Earth Challengein the belief that history has shown that prizes of this
nature encourage technological advancements for the good of mankind. The Virgin Earth
Challenge will award $25 million to the individual or group who are able to demonstrate a
commercially viable design that will result in the net removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric
greenhouse gases each year for at least ten years without countervailing harmful effects. This
removal must have long-term effects and contribute materially to the stability of the Earth's
climate.
Branson also announced that he would be joined in the adjudication of the prize by a panel of
five judges, all world authorities in their respective fields: Al Gore, Sir Crispin Tickell, Tim
Flannery, James E. Hansen, and James Lovelock. The panel of judges will be assisted in their
deliberations by The Climate Group and Special Advisor to The Virgin Earth Prize Judges, Steve
Howard.
In August 2007, Branson announced that he bought a 20 percent stake in Malaysia's AirAsia X
On 13 October 2007, Branson's Virgin Group sought to add Northern Rock to its empire after
submitting an offer that would result in Branson personally owning 30% of the company and
change the company's name from Northern Rock to Virgin Money. The Daily Mail ran a
campaign against his bid and Vince Cable, financial spokesperson for Liberal Democrats',
suggested in the House of Commons that Branson's criminal conviction for tax evasion might be
felt by some as a good enough reason not to trust him with public money.
On 10 January 2008, Branson's Virgin Healthcare announced that it would open a chain of
health care clinics that would offer conventional medical care alongside homoeopathic and
complementary therapies, a development that was welcomed by Ben Bradshaw, the UK's
health minister.
In February 2009, Branson's Virgin organization was reported as bidding to buy the former
Honda Formula One team. Branson later stated an interest in Formula One, but claimed that,
before the Virgin brand became involved with Honda or any other team, Formula One would
have to develop a more economically efficient and environmentally responsible image. At the
start of the 2009 formula one season on 28 March, it was announced that Virgin would be
sponsoring the new Brawn GP team, with discussions also under way about introducing a less
"dirty" fuel in the medium term. After the end of the season and the subsequent purchase of
Brawn GP by Mercedes Benz, Branson invested in an 80% buyout of Manor Grand Prix, with the
team being renamed to Virgin Racing.
Branson and Tony Fernandes, owner of Air Asia and Lotus F1 Racing, had a bet for the 2010 F1
season where the team's boss should work on the winner's airline during a charity flight
dressed as a stewardess. Fernandes escaped as the winner of the bet, as Lotus Racing ended
tenth in the championship, while Virgin Racing ended twelfth and last. Branson kept his word
after losing the bet, as he served his duty as a stewardess on an Air Asia flight between Perth
and Kuala Lumpur on 12 May 2013.
Branson and Somerset County's Natirar Resort development in New Jersey, on
the Natirar Estate, opened in late 2009 with the Ninety Acres Culinary Center. It includes a
restaurant run by chef David Felton, cooking school, wine school, working farm, luxury resort,
and spa. The development, spearheaded by Branson and Bob Wojtowicz, sits on 500 acres
which was the former estate of the King of Morocco.
In 2010, Richard Branson became patron of the UK's Gordon Bennett 2010 gas balloon race,
which has 16 hydrogen balloons flying across Europe.
In April 2010, Branson described the closure of large parts of European airspace owing to
volcanic ash as "beyond a joke". Some scientists later concluded that serious structural damage
to aircraft could have occurred if passenger planes had continued to fly.
In July 2012, Branson announced plans to build an orbital space launch system,
designated LauncherOne. Four commercial customers have already contracted for launches and
two companies are developing standardized satellite buses optimized to the design of
LauncherOne, in expectation of business opportunities created by the new smallest launcher.
In August 2012, the franchise for the West Coast Main Line, managed by Virgin Rail since 1997,
came to an end. The contract was awarded to FirstGroup after a competitive tender process
overseen by the Department for Transport. Branson had expressed his concerns about the
tender process and questioned the validity of the business plan submitted by FirstGroup. When
Virgin Rail lost the contract, Branson said he was convinced the civil servants had "got their
math wrong". In October, after an investigation into the bidding process, the deal was
scrapped. The Transport Secretary announced there were "significant technical flaws" in the
process and mistakes had been made by transport staff. Virgin Rail continues to operate the
West Coast line.




About personal*

"I don't go into ventures to make a fortune. I do it because I'm not satisfied with the way
others are doing business."-Richard Branson

Branson has no centralized headquarters-preferring to operate out of his Holland Park home
in west London-refuses to hold board meetings, can't operate a computer, keeps his
appointments in a paper diary and scribbles ideas on his hand. Branson began his diverse
entrepreneurial career in 1967 when he quit school at the age of 16 to start a magazine.
Branson hoped his magazine, simply titled Student, would become a voice for young
activists. When the first issue debuted in 1968, the headmaster of Stowe, where Branson
had been a student, wrote Branson a rather prophetic note that said: "Congratulations,
Branson. I predict you will either go to prison or become a millionaire." Branson would
eventually do both.

With the opening of the Virgin record store, Branson seemed to be on his way. But he hit a major
roadblock when, strapped for cash, he concocted a scheme to avoid paying the British sales tax. The
scam was quickly uncovered, and Branson was arrested and jailed. He negotiated an out-of-court
settlement, agreeing to pay back the taxes over the next three years. Left a little wiser by the
experience, Branson set out to turn his loosely run business into a company focused on and ruled by
balance sheets.



Branson's next entrepreneurial adventure began in 1973 when he formed Virgin Records and released
Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells." The haunting instrumental became a worldwide hit and put Virgin
Records on the map. But the company really took off in 1977, when, even though he was advised
against it, Branson signed the Sex Pistols, who had already been dropped from two other record labels
because of their scandalous antics on and off the stage. The Pistols self-destructed shortly afterward,
but the fledgling Virgin Records flourished, becoming the world's largest independent record label with
a stable of stars that included artists such as the Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, UB40, Steve Winwood
and Paula Abdul.
By 1983 Branson's empire encompassed more than 50 companies involved in everything from
filmmaking to air conditioner cleaning and generating combined sales of more than $17 million.
But according to Branson, money is not the driving force behind his varied business endeavors.
Instead, his principal motive for expanding into new ventures is that he enjoys the challenge of
trying to do something better than other people. And in 1984, Branson embarked on what
would prove to be the biggest challenge of his life-Virgin Atlantic airlines.
Branson's colleagues thought he was crazy. Starting a transatlantic airline would mean going up
against the behemoth British Airways, which had already thoroughly trounced Freddy Laker
when he attempted to enter this highly lucrative market. But Branson was undaunted. He felt
the major airlines, especially British Airways, were no longer responsive to their customers'
needs, and he became convinced that if he started an airline that made traveling an affordable
and enjoyable experience, he could beat them at their own game.
The initial response to Virgin Atlantic was tremendous. The airline became famous for its
superior service and lavish amenities, which included in-flight massages, hydrotherapy baths,
free ice cream during movies and seat-back video screens in every class. But the early 1990s
would prove to be a turbulent era for the upstart airline. Economies were floundering
worldwide. The price of airline fuel had more than doubled. And fewer people were traveling
abroad due to fear of terrorist attacks. To make matters worse, in 1991, British Airways
launched a secret campaign to drive Branson out of business.
By 1992, Virgin Atlantic's financial situation was so shaky that Branson's bankers forced him to
sell Virgin Records to Thorn-EMI to raise enough cash to keep the airline flying. The sale
generated nearly $1 billion, enough for Branson to pay off the bank and own Virgin Atlantic
outright. But Branson was crushed at being forced to sell the music company he loved and
vowed never to put himself at the mercy of bank lenders again.
To this end, he developed a new business approach, which he calls "branded venture capital."
This remarkable strategy has enabled Branson to launch a patchwork of businesses with
minimal investment. The key to this strategy lies in licensing the highly regarded Virgin name.
Basically, Branson manages the business and supplies the Virgin name, usually in exchange for a
controlling interest, while his wealthy partners put up most of the cash.

As a result of this strategy, Branson now owns or holds interests in more than 200 different
companies, including two airlines, Virgin Interactive Entertainment, Virgin Radio, Virgin Studios,
Virgin Hotels, Virgin Bridal, Virgin Clubs, Virgin Cola, Virgin Publishing, Virgin Vodka, Virgin Net,
the Virgin Megastore chain, V2 (a global record company), a financial planning network, a blimp
business, a modeling agency, a life insurance company and the high-speed European railway
Eurostar.
And he's not about to stop expanding his empire. Branson's future plans include a shuttle
service into space. Why not? As Branson states in a 1997 interview in Forbes magazine, "It's
virgin territory."




The Gospel According To Richard
On management: "If you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your
customers and your customers will take care of your shareholders."
On his flamboyant publicity stunts: "If you are willing to make a fool of yourself and make
people smile-as long as you do it with a sense of fun-you can get away with it."
On risk-taking: "You fail if you don't try. If you try and you fail, yes, you'll have a few articles
saying you've failed at something. But if you look at the history of American entrepreneurs, one
thing I do know about them: An awful lot of them have tried and failed in the past and gone on
to great things."
On his ability to succeed at so many different businesses: "I immerse myself in getting the
businesses set up and am very involved the first three or four months, get good people to run
them, give them a stake in the company and a lot of freedom, and then step back and move on
to the next."
On the future of Virgin: "We're a company that likes to take on the giants. In too many
businesses these giants have had things their own way. We're going to have a lot of fun
competing with them."












Business Lessons From Mega-Entrepreneur Richard Branson

Like many entrepreneurs, Richard Branson loves creating things. He sees problems in the world
and provides solutions. But unlike others, he has established many different businesses. In fact,
in his 40+ years as an entrepreneur, he has developed over 100 brands.
Branson has given a lot of advice along the way. He has spoken on topics of starting a business,
running a business, managing people, and hiring people. Lets get into what he advises
entrepreneurs.
On Starting a Business
Challenge The Status Quo
Challenge the accepted wisdom and encourage your staff to do the same. Look at things from
the point of view of the customer. Here are two examples where Virgin took a totally unique
perspective on things:
Virgin Money is a bank in Britain where the branches look more like living rooms than banks.
There are tables for Wi-Fi, newspapers, and comfortable seating. This eliminates lines and teller
windows.
Its important to create something different, something that will stand out.
Create Value In The World
Branson says that he starts a business only if it will improve peoples lives. He was unhappy
with the customer service he was getting from British Airways, so he started a new airline,
Virgin Atlantic, which is focused around the customer.
Building something youre passionate about is important as well. If Branson hadnt been
passionate about building an airline, he wouldnt have put so much time into getting the staff,
buying the aircraft, and working hard to turn it into a viable business.
When Pitching, Keep Things Simple
Keep your pitches simple, clear, and memorable. Avoid wishy-washy language like we hope
that or with some luck, well Be concrete and confident.
It is vitally important to present a clear, concise plan that investors can easily understand and
repeat to their own people. In the first meeting, avoid overly complicated, numbers-laden
presentations.
Branson also advises entrepreneurs to give a clear explanation of why their business will be
sustainable and pull through technological changes and shifts.
Nothing stays the same for long, so explain how you plan to tackle the inevitable technological
changes and market shifts that are heading your way.
Be A Self-Motivator
According to Branson, entrepreneurs need to be good self-motivators. Branson advises that
entrepreneurs use it to their advantage:
Its important to understand what your main motivation is so that you can focus your efforts on
reaching those goals. Then structure your job perhaps by delegating some work so that you
can spend as much time as possible turning this energy to your companys advantage.
He says that making money shouldnt be a main motivator:
Above all, you should work on building a business youre proud of. This has always been a
motivator for me, from my Student magazine days, through to our latest startups today. I have
never gone into any business purely to make money. If money is your only motive, then I
believe you shouldnt launch the business at all.
Once you know what your own motivations and aspirations are, talk to your employees and
colleagues about theirs, if you havent already. Then structure their jobs in a way that allows
them to tap into this energy, too. With you and your employees approaching your work with
renewed energy and commitment, youll find that theres little that you cant accomplish
together.
Dream Big
Bransons first book, Losing my Virginity, was almost titled Talking Ahead of Yourself. Branson
goes on to say:
Because I sometimes think in life youve got to dream big by setting yourself seemingly
impossible challenges. You then have to catch up with them. You can make what people believe
is impossible possible if you set big enough targets. Flying from New York to Australia in, say,
two hours. Can we do it in our lifetimes? Im determined to try. If you dont dream, nothing
happens. And we like to dream big.
Your First Year Is All About Surviving
In your first year of running a business, your only goal should be surviving.
In a companys first year, your goal should be simply to survive, and this will likely take
everything youve got. No matter how tired or afraid you are, you have to figure out how to
keep going.
Investors Bring More Than Just Money
When examining investors, Branson suggests that you ask yourself, Will this person or group
give us the space and time we need to build a great business? A dictatorial financial partner
can ruin the spirit and enthusiasm of entrepreneurs, so ensure that your investor is someone
who will let you run your company without getting in the way or questioning every decision you
make. Remember that its not all about the money and that the person you are bringing on is
also important. They carry more than just a checkbook.
The most important partnership you have is the one with your staff. Branson says that if you
get that right, your chances of success are much higher.









Five Tips For Success
In a LinkedIn post, Branson gives entrepreneurs five tips for starting a successful business:
1. Listen more than you talk
2. Keep it simple
3. Take pride in your work
4. Have fun, success will follow
5. Rip it up and start again (dont let failure be the end all, be all)


Five Guidelines Branson Follows When Launching Businesses
Branson and his friends in business followed these five guidelines when they launched their first
magazine, Student, and, later, Virgin Music:
1. If you dont enjoy it, dont do it. You must love what you do.
2. Be innovative: Create something different that will stand out.
3. Your employees are your best asset. Happy employees make for happy customers.
4. Lead by listening: Get feedback from your staff and customers on a regular basis.
5. Be visible: Market the company and its offers by putting yourself or a senior person in front
of the cameras.


Four Tips for Avoiding Startup Mistakes
When speaking on avoiding common startup mistakes, Branson gives these tips:
1. Stay on target You need to be clear and concise in explaining your idea. Branson says that
the shorter the pitch is, the clearer it will be. Dont plan too many years in advance, and stay
on target.
2. Be realistic about costs Dont underestimate the cost that it will take to launch your
company. Branson says that JetBlue needed $160 million to launch. Conventional wisdom
said that cost was too high and they wouldnt be able to raise that much capital. But they did
and had one of the most successful launches in airline history and turned a profit after only
six months.
3. Hire people you need, not people you like Its been said that people would rather work
with people they like than people who are competent. Branson says entrepreneurs may
want to stay away from working with friends because, if they dont work out, it will be
difficult letting them go.
4. Know when to say goodbye Entrepreneurs need to know when to step away from the CEO
role. This doesnt mean turning your back on the business, but realizing youll have a new
role in the company which will allow you to focus more. It also doesnt mean that you
cannot return to running the company, as Larry Page did at Google.

On Running a Business
Its All About The Details
I often compare creating a business to creating a painting. Youve got a blank canvas, youre
filling in that canvas and youre trying to get every single little detail right.
Branson says entrepreneurs should have a notebook with them at all times and write down
what they notice about their business. When Branson flies on Virgin, he takes notes on
everything from the food to the carpets. He advises others to do the same, and focus on getting
everything right, all the time.
Skip The PowerPoint And Have A Conversation
Branson doesnt care for PowerPoint. He said, I believe in conversation and eye contact. This
isnt surprising considering how well Branson connects with people. Avoiding PowerPoint
is similar to the practice at Amazon, where, in place of PowerPoint, they write six page reports.
Ultimately, PowerPoint presentations are aimed to provoke conversation and only touch on the
highlights, not to be a crutch for the speaker who only reads the slides.
Get Away From The Job
Its important to spend time away from work to be with family and friends. Branson says,
Spending time away from work is important to helping you maintain perspective on the
challenges you face, and thus to the future of your company.
Not only that, but time off can also improve performance. So take some time off, youll be
better because of it.
Keep A Notepad With You
Anyone who aspires to lead a company must develop a habit of taking notes. I carry a
notebook everywhere I go.
As mentioned, Branson is an avid note taker and list maker. He recommends doing this to keep
you focused and productive. It can be done for day-to-day or monthly goals. Making these lists
can keep you productive and focused on what you need to get done.
Once you write in your notepad, then you need to act. Simply writing in a notepad doesnt
create change.
Dont Take Yourself Too Seriously
Humor, I think is a very important part of building a business, not taking yourself too seriously
and being willing to have a sense of humor.
Along with not taking yourself too seriously, Branson says you should smile and not take failure
too seriously, either.
Promote From Within
Whenever possible, promote from within. This doesnt mean just bumping people to higher
positions, but also letting people have more freedom in their current job.
A Question Entrepreneurs Should Ask Themselves
Continually ask yourself,
Is this how I would want to be treated if I were the customer?
Dont Forget What A Company Is
Branson says that the most important thing to remember when running a company
is remembering what a company is.
A company is simply a group of people. And as a leader of people, you have to be a great
listener, you have to be a great motivator, you have to be very good at praising and looking for
the best in people. People are no different from flowers. If you water flowers, they flourish. If
you praise people, they flourish. Thats a critical attribute of a leader.
Five Tips For Success
On American Express Open Forum, Branson gives five tips for entrepreneurial success:
1. Find good people.
2. Realize that the employees are the business.
3. Always look for the best in your people. Lavish praise. Never criticize.
4. Dont take yourself too seriously.
5. Screw it, just do it.

On Managing
Find The CEO
This one may be difficult for some entrepreneurs.
Branson recommends that, early on, you need to find somebody better than you to run the
business on a day-to-day basis. Remove yourself from the day-to-day nitty-gritty. Branson
even suggested possibly getting out of the building. He says if you do this, youll be able to deal
with the bigger picture and become a better entrepreneur. Learn how to delegate.
Remember that, just because you leave the CEO role, doesnt mean you cannot return. Larry
Page ran Google with Sergey Brin until 2001, when they hired Eric Schmidt to be the CEO until
2011. Then, in April 2011, Page became CEO of Google. Being the CEO through all the different
stages of a company can be difficult, so dont think stepping down means youre incompetent.
As Branson says, itll help you focus and gain a fresh outlook.
Learn To Delegate
An entrepreneur must learn the art of delegation. Branson says of his CEOs:
I have a fantastic team of people who run the Virgin companies, who have a lot of freedom to
run the companies as if they were their own companies, I give them the freedom to make
mistakes
In an interview with Marc Benioff, Branson says:
I learned to delegate early on and I think that for people in this room who are building
businesses I think quite early on its worthwhile in trying to find somebody better than
themselves to do the day-to-day running of their business so they think about the big picture.
They can be entrepreneurial, they can do the next venture, they can be ready to firefight when
somethings going wrong, they can spend their time helping promote and put their companies
on a map on a global basis. If you delegate, youve got to be very careful not to second guess
people. Youve got to acceptlet them make mistakes without jumping down on top of them all
the time. Some things theyll do better than you, some things they wont do quite as well as you.
Giving people the freedom to make those mistakes is important.
Everything Trickles Down From Your Staff
Put your staff first, customers second, and shareholders third. He says:
If the person who works at your company is 100% proud of the job theyre doing, if you give
them the tools to do a good job, [if] theyre proud of the brand, if theyre well looked after, [and]
theyre treated well, then theyre going to be smiling, theyre going to happy, and therefore the
customer will have a nice experience.
If the person whose working for your company is not given the right tools, is not looked after, is
not appreciated, theyre not going to do things with a smile, and therefore the customer will be
treated in a way in which they dont want to come back for more. So my philosophy has always
been, if you can put your staff first, your customers second, and your shareholders third,
effectively in the end the shareholders do well, the customers do better, and your staff are
happy.
Get Lots Of People Involved In Brainstorming
Everyone in the organization should get involved in brainstorming discussions. Branson says
that the quietest person in the room may have the best ideas, so its important to include them
in discussions and brainstorming sessions. Bringing in people from other departments also may
spark new and fresh ideas.
Ultimately, you need to find a balance between brainstorming your way out of a great idea and
acting as lone ranger. Use brainstorm sessions to obtain your teams perspective, listen to and
follow up their best ideas, but in the end you need to make a choice and then take responsibility
for that decision.
Keep Things Fun
Branson advises companies to do activities outside of the office. Companies need to bring a
sense of play to the office. This will pay off in the long term as employees are more likely to
remain loyal to the company. Since they enjoy their job, theyre also likely to perform better. If
people feel trapped and stuck in their job, performance will suffer. And if that happens,
company performance suffers and the company wont live up to its potential.
What Great Leaders Do
The best way of becoming a successful business leader is dealing with people fairly and well
and I like to think thats how we run Virgin.
Branson also adds that a key attribute of a good leader is listening. Listen more than you talk,
youll learn more.
On Hiring
What To Look For
Hire people who are:
Smarter than you
In agreement with your vision, goals, and values
Friendly and eager to have fun
Motivated to be successful
Able to see their work as a mission
Great Employees Like To Learn
Hire people who want to learn. Branson says, The day you stop learning is the day you stop
living. When you hire people who want to learn, you are getting a competitive edge over your
competition. Youll look forward to trying fresh approaches and ideas on how to do things
differently.
Take Care Of People
Take care of employees and let them grow in their job. Branson says:
If your best people arent growing in their careers as your business gains traction and expand,
they will quickly lose enthusiasm for their work. And before you know it, youll be dealing with
unsatisfied customers as well as unsatisfied employees.
Dont Hire People Looking For Money
For more than 40 years, I have felt that one of my most important jobs is to attract and
motivate great people who genuinely feel their job is more important than just money.
To do this, people need to know the mission of the company. They also need to be fully
onboard with making the company a success. This is especially true with startups.
Create A Culture Of Opportunity
Let people run with their ideas. Let people know that they can move up within the company.
Once they see this, theyll work that much harder to master their current job so they will be
considered for promotion or further development.
If employees constantly see people from the outside taking top jobs in the company, theyll
become discouraged and work will suffer. Youre also more likely to have high turnover. Why
work at a place if youll always have the same amount of responsibility and never be promoted?
Quotes
On Dreaming Big:
I sometimes think in life youve got to dream big by setting yourself seemingly impossible
challenges. You then have to catch up with them. You can make what people believe is
impossible possible if you set big enough targets. Flying from New York to Australia in, say, two
hours. Can we do it in our lifetimes? Im determined to try. If you dont dream, nothing happens.
And we like to dream big.
On Delegation:
The art of delegation is absolutely key.
On What Makes An Exceptional Company:
An exceptional company is the one that gets all the little details right.
On Failure:
The most important thing is not to be put off by failure.
On Being The Best:
Not only can a small company be the best, but it has to be the best to stand a good chance of
thriving in todays competitive world. Then, once it reaches the top spot, it has to strive to do
better every day, to ensure customers buy its products or services. Large scale can bring a
company many advantages: a hefty marketing budget, established brand awareness in target
markets and dependable distribution networks. But, luckily for the smaller players, a businesss
size does not guarantee better products or great service.
On Learning:
The best way of learning about anything is by doing it.
On Facing The Downside:
In business, protecting against the downside is critical.
On Starting Businesses:
I think most of the ventures Ive started Ive never thought, Im going to make lots of money
going into this. Ive started them quite often out of the frustration of finding that I couldnt
achieve something unless I started it.
Advice For Startups:
For people in this room who want to start something, they just got to think: Whats not being
done well by other people? How can I create something thats really going to make a difference
in peoples lives? Then hopefully at the end of year youll have more money coming in than
going out.
On People:
If you do look for the best in people your life is so much richer for it.
On Playing The Game:
Dont just play the game change it for good.
David Vs. Goliath:
If youre a lot smaller than the bigger competitions, youve got to use every weapon youve got.
And I suppose the fact that I am relatively well known means that I can get on the news or get
on the front page of the local newspapers when we launch a new route.
On Smiling:
If youre looking for the next big investment for your business but dont have much money to
spend, start by looking at yourself in the mirror. A smile wont cost you anything, and the
returns to your business will start right away.
On Customer Service:
Simplicity and good customer service will win every time.
On Working:
If youre spending most of your life at work, it should not be a chore, it should be fun. If youre
the switchboard operator, you should feel as appreciated as one of the directors in the
company. People very rarely leave companies because they dont feel theyre being paid well
enough. I mean, some do, but its much more that they come up an idea that theyre not being
appreciated, theyre not being listened to, and they feel, Ill go off elsewhere and do something
else.
The lesson to learn from Branson is to find an area where customers are being underserved and
then build a business from the customer point of view. Also, make a difference in peoples lives
and change them for the better. Build a business where you would shop. And then, when the
time comes, step down from the CEO role and learn the art of delegation. Have fun, make
mistakes, and dont take yourself too seriously.