Be a successful businessman

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Be a successful businessman
Milos Zivic

Glopinion by

Milos Zivic

Jul 31, 2013

Few tips by Richard Branson, the founder of "Virgin". Many of these tips are really good and could be applied to any area of your life, not only to business, so, I recommend you to read it.

Tips that are useful, because they come from a man that in 1970 founded a company Virgin and today he is the only businessman in the world that has eight companies in eight different industries, and they are worthy more than 1 billion of dollars. And he doesn’t even have some business college degree.
The website “Business insider” transmitted Branson’s tips from his book “Like a Virgin – Secrets they won’t teach you at business school” to their readers, and, here they are.


Don’t do something, if you don’t enjoy it. Branson says that for business, you need a lot of blood, tears and sweat, but at the end of a day, you will be proud of a thing you have just made.
Be visible! Branson in his book mentioned a tip of Sir Freddie Laker, that it is important to be on a front page, not on the last. “You are going to have to get out there and sell yourself. Make a fool of yourself, whatever it takes. Otherwise you won’t survive”


Choose your name wisely. Branson chose a name “Virgin”, and it presents value, better service and a new, sexy approach. In his book, he says that he thought of the name while sitting and drinking with some sixteen years old teenagers.


You can’t manage a business, without a risk. “Brave ones maybe can’t live forever, but careful ones won’t live at all”, says Branson.


It is all about first impression. Also about the second. The first impression buys a customer, and the second keeps it with you.


You can’t reach perfection. There is a danger when someone does something perfectly good, to sit, relax and enjoy the results, while out there someone else is getting mad because of that and tries to become better. Because of that Branson doesn’t evaluate his workers with a hundred percent.


A customer is, mostly, always right. Branson says that you must never point your business to things that your clients think that is correct. “Customer is always right” should be a rule in every company, but, not in each case.


Define your brand. He recommends focusing to different industries, but says that the definition of his brand is “finding new ways to help people to have a good time”. If you don’t define your brand, your competition will do that, says Branson.


Explore unexplored. Branson compared researches of new territories in business with researches in science and geography. “There is a lot that is still not discovered, found, done. Exploring those unexplored parts of business could get you to new ideas.”


Be careful of the environment where there are “them and us”. A workspace has to be a place where a boss and his employees will work together to achieve the same goal. If employees don’t identify themselves with the company, that is a sign of lack of communication.


Build a relaxed corporate zone. You need connected, motivated and committed workforce in order to produce first class products and get successful.


Not every person is made to be a manager. Manager should be someone that gets the best out of his employees, someone who communicates with everyone and helps employees to learn out of their mistakes.


Ask for another opinion. And a third. Branson says that you need to be a good listener in order to succeed. That means, first get many ideas from many people, and then decide. He also said that this tip could save you a lot of money and time.


Don’t burn bridges behind you. A good businessman knows when a business deal is finished. If you decided to direct your business to another direction, away from your business partner, it doesn’t have to be a bad end.


Use your phone. Branson thinks that lately, people use mails and SMSs more than a regular phone and an “eye-to-eye” meeting. Problems are easier to solve with a phone call, then to leave them escalate via SMSs.


Don’t be afraid of changes. A businessman should be ready to adapt and not to be nostalgic to his company. Sometimes, because of market chances, you have to move in another way. Find a way to inspire your employees to think as business people. The more responsibility you give them, they will be better.


When you make a mistake, don’t fall, just move one step back. Your decision will not always be the best. Everyone make mistakes, face the decision and be honest to yourself. Find a problem and solve it.


Be a leader, not a boss. A boss orders and a leader organizes. A good corporative leader is someone who doesn’t just execute his own ideas, he also inspires other people to follow him.

Richard Branson

Buy this book, here.

If you like Richard Branson's way of thinking, read some more tips, here!

To read Branson's biography, click here.

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