Richard Branson's 5 Key Lessons for Budding Entrepreneurs

Have you logged on to Sir Richard Branson’s LinkedIn page? If you do, you’ll hit upon his LinkedIn newsletter “Ask Richard”, a space where one can ask any questions. In reply to a recent question, the successful granddad of five, British business billionaire, commercial astronaut, and Virgin Group founder whose first business venture was at the age of 16, a magazine, shares five key points to help budding entrepreneurs.

1. Listen deeply and always act with empathy: Don’t underestimate the power of listening, he says. When you listen, you will get new ideas and always keep notes on them.

2. Embrace optimism: Say yes as much as possible. It’s ‘OK’ if it does not always work out. Take risks as long as it is for a good cause

3. Delegate and collaborate effectively: Citing the example of Virgin, Branson says, “Virgin could never have evolved to a global brand if I hadn’t learnt how to trust people, collaborate and delegate. You really can’t do it alone.”

4. Solve problems: The Virgin boss has dyslexia. Yes, you heard it right. But that has never stopped him from thinking differently and creatively. He says, “Thinking differently is all I’ve known. People should be permitted to dream big and bring radical ideas to the table.”

5. On AI: The entrepreneur highlights that AI cannot replace the soft skills such as innovating, lateral thinking, complex problem solving and communicating vital skills for entrepreneurs.

Overall, he emphasises the importance of cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset early in children to equip them with the tools they need to impact the world positively.