Saturday, 7 February 2015

Interview with Richard Branson

Hi all,

To continue our talk about “who is an entrepreneur” and the Richard Branson example, I dug up a video from a few years ago with a New York-based entrepreneur I follow, Marie Forleo, along with 2 other entrepreneurs, interviewing Branson. It’s quite a lengthy one but he shares some interesting nuggets of wisdom.

A few points I took note of and my take on them:

3:30 – 7:30:
  • The key to starting a first business is being a great people person. Surround yourself with people who are excited about what you’re up to. Be inspiring, a great leader of people
  • Be a great delegator, look for people who are better than you, who can support you and the business
  • Entrepreneurs do not have to be managers. Create ideas and then know how to hand things over to a great manager (Steve Jobs example)
I agree with his points but what happens when you’re first starting out? When you might not have a tribe of followers, anyone to delegate to and you have many hats to wear – including one of manager? Any thoughts on this?

22:20 – 29:40
  • Richard Branson was an awful public speaker at one point?! You can train yourself out of your difficulties
  • A good leader has to be a great listener
  • If considering social entrepreneurship, consider it as a second phase of business. The first being survival phase, getting over the hump and then begin to tackle of the problems of the world
What are your difficulties/areas of improvement? Public speaking, budgeting, finding a work/life balance, etc?

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