Virgin Group & Richard Branson: Virgin is one of the well known and respected brands.

It is a branded venture capital company founded in 1970. Virgin has more than 300 successful businesses belonging to many sectors like airlines, records, bridal wear, holidays, vodka, cars, mobile phones, cosmetics, condoms, gyms, travel, financial services, broadband, TV, radio and music. Virgin Group is operating in 30 countries with about 50,000 employees and has exceeded 18 billion US dollars in revenues according to the 2009 reports. According to Virgin, We believe in making a difference. Virgin stands for value for money, quality, innovation, fun and a sense of competitive challenge. An interesting thing about Virgin Group is that all their companies are like a family, helping one another. And Virgin companies do not follow the traditional way of management. Virgin has a few management layers with no bureaucracy and a tiny board of directors with no huge global headquarter. In spite of all this, Virgin Group is running very successful. Virgin was founded by Richard Branson who is the best entrepreneur today in Britain. Richard Branson, who is known as the adventurer in the business world because of his risk taking, was born in 1950. His father was barrister and he went to a leading private school at Stowe. However, he left school at the age of 16 because of his suffering from dyslexia which was embarrassing for him but he never let his self-confidence down. His mother encouraged his self-confidence and said, Bringing him up was like riding a thorough bred horse. He needed guiding but you were afraid to pull the reins too hard in case you stamped out the adventure and wildness. Richards one amazing childhood story which he also mentioned in one of his books Losing my Virginity is that Richards parents set up challenges for him in his childhood. One day, at an age below twelve, his mom sent him alone with some sandwiches and a bicycle to his relatives house to spend a night which was 50 miles away from their home in Shamley Green, Surrey. Richard went there and came back alone as a little kid. His challenges were physical rather than academic. Another story of Richard at the age of four or five was when he learned to swim. He went with his aunts and family on holiday in Devon. Richards aunt bet him for ten shillings that he cannot swim. Richard tried his best in the cold sea water to swim but failed. When they were returning to home, Richard saw a river and asked his dad to stop the car. Then he ran to the river and jumped into it. First he got frightened and drowned but some hoe managed to reach the bank. He didnt give up and jumped again and at last he was swimming very well. So, he won the ten shillings which was a fortune for him. Soon after leaving school, Richard set up his first business to publish a magazine named Student. This business was started in the basement of his parents house with a four pounds investment donated by his mother to cover up the telephone and postage expenses. Richard contacted many famous personalities, celebrities and politicians and influenced a lot to contribute articles and allow to interview. The magazine made money through advertisement space but this business wasnt successful. In 1970, Richard set up a discount music

business by offering records cheaper and selling by mail order and later decided to open a retail store above a shoe shop in London. He persuaded the owners of the site to let him have it rent free with the promise to bring more traffic of customers to the shoe shop. This retail store was named Slipped Disc Records but later changed by the idea of one of his staff members to Virgin Records because she said, we are complete virgins at business. So, the name Virgin began to grow and this business was very successful. Next, Richard expanded the music business with a recording studio which was established in a barn at Oxfordshire. First of all Mike Oldfield recorded his hit Tubular Bells in Virgin Records, released in 1973. After that, other stars like The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson and Phil Collins also signed in Virgin Records. Later in 1992 Virgin Records was sold for 500 million. Since that the Virgin brand went into businesses like aircraft, mobile phones, cola and internet etc. Virgin Group became public but was reprivatized because Richard didnt like to be accountable to the shareholders. In 1996, a 49% stake of Virgin Atlantic airline was sold to Singapore Airlines for 600 million. Richard Branson challenged British Airlines and Coca Cola which are giants. Virgin Group, now a days, is a huge branded venture capital organization. With a value of 2 billion itself, it has many joint ventures with other companies. Richard Branson is a man with many qualities like inner drive to succeed, strong self belief, innovative, open to change, competitive and energetic. Richard had an informal style but was well known for his networking skills through personal influence and contacts, also his deep search for opportunities and securing of resources necessary. What I concluded after studying the life of this great entrepreneur is that no matter where life is taking us, success is always possible but through hard struggle and having the right drive and ambition to succeed.
For a successful entrepreneur it can mean extreme wealth. But with extreme wealth comes extreme responsibility. And the responsibility for me is to invest in creating new businesses, create jobs, employ people, and to put money aside to tackle issues where we can make a difference. - To me, business isn't about wearing suits or pleasing stockholders. It's about being true to yourself, your ideas and focusing on the essentials. (Richard Branson)

Reference List: Virgin, 2011. The Virgin Group | Founded by Richard Branson in 1970 [Online] Available at: http://www.virgin.com/virgin [Accessed 10 September 2011]. Professor Pal Burns, 2008. Richard Branson and Virgin [Online] Available at: http://www.palgrave.com/uploadedFiles/Richard%20Branson%20and %20Virgin.pdf [Accessed 10 September 2011]. Kristine Geimure. 7 Key Qualities of a Successful Entrepreneur [Online] Available at: http://www.woopidoo.com/articles/geimure/entrepreneurarticle.htm [Accessed 10 September 2011].

John Shelper, 1998. Richard Bransons Virgin Success [Online] (Updated 4 September 2011) Available at: http://www.johnshepler.com/articles/branson.html [Accessed 10 September 2011]. IMDb Incorporation, 1990-2011. Richard Branson Biography [Online] Available at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0105232/bio#quotes [Accessed 10 September 2011].