Richard Branson: The Entrepreneurial Journey of a Business Magnate

This article discusses the entrepreneurial journey of Richard Branson, the founder and chairman of the Virgin Group, and his success in various industries such as music, transport, retail, and space tourism. It also covers the subject, method, and objectives of the course 'Entrepreneurship' and the necessary skills for a private entrepreneur to confidently promote their products and services.

Running head: ENTREPRENUERSHIP
Creating and Leading Organizations
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Introduction
Richard branson is an English business magnate who was born on 18 July 1950. He is an
investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist and author. He is the founder and chairman of the
Virging group which is an umbreall of companies and controls more than 400 companies. At
a young age of eight years, Richard Branson expressed a desire to become an entrepreneur at
a tender age. He first tried a business at a tender age of 16 years. He produced a magazine
called student which was in his high school years. He set a mail record company in 1970 and
later opened a chain of record stores which are now the globally known Virgin records. They
were later known as megastore virgins in 1972. In the 1980s, the virgin brand grew
exponentially as he set up an airline known as the virgin atlantic airline. It is also in the 1980s
where he expanded the virgin record music labels(Bason, 2018). . As a serial entrepreneur, he
founded the Virgin Galactic a spaceflight company based at the MMojave Air and Space
port. The airport is known and noted for surborbital spaceplane spaceship two and is designed
for space tourism for the super rich.
Due to his enterprenueral spirit and prowess, he was knighted by the queen of England in
march 2000. He became a global figure for his work in music, transport, retail, humanitarian
work and his taste for adventure. His estimated worth according to forbes june 2018 issue is
estimated to be at US $ 5.1 billion(Bason, 2018). .
Branson was diagnosed with dyslexia and as a result had poor academic performance. He
confesses that on the last day in school, his headmaster told him that he waould either ebd up
in a prison confinement or end up as a millionaire. He has supportive parents who were also
enterprenuers. His mother sold wooden tissue boxes and bins used for wastepaper.

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Enterprenuer career
His business of growing and selling both budgerigars and Christmas tree bothe failed on the
first attempt. He then launched the successful magazine as a student known as stident which
was massive success in 1966. The first issue was in 1968 january and by the end of the year,
his estimated networth was more that 50,000 pounds. In the business, he interviewed popular
personalities including Mick jagger who made the issue very successful. He also sold records
to studenst and were popular but due to restrictive marketing, he could not compete with
major stores including W. H Smith. He sold through retail price discounting and a limit
called the resale price mainteinance(Bason, 2018). . In 1971, branson eventually started
arecord shop in London oxford street. For selling records that had been declared expeort
stock, he was questioned but the matter did not go to court. He agreed to pay the unpaid VAT
of 33% and a high imposed tax which was about 70,000 pounds. Due to the hefty amount
that was fined and payeable, his parents re-mortgaged the family home to help him repay the
collosal amount.
In 1972- 1980: Virgin Records
The record label virgin was founded in 1972 with nik powel. The money was from his record
selling store. Virgin was suggested by one of his employees who said that the business was
new and could be named as virgin. The manor studio was situated in an estate in north of
oxford. He leased the studio time to artists including best artists like mike oldfield whose
debut album became a chart topping bestseller. Virgin became a huge record label and signed
stars such as the rolling stones, UB40, XTC, peter Gabriel and paula abdul. It became the
worlds leading indepedet label that has signed multi million selling artists. It introduced the
club culture to the world of music. By 1979, bransons net worth was estimated at 5 million
pound and in 1980, virgin records went international.

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Richard has held a lot of positions of influence including may bord members. He has
continued to diversify his portfolio using his virgin group including veering in the media
industry, the hotel industry which he labeld the Virgin hotels, the transport industry including
the light rail and the virgin airlines.
Development of Richard Branson as an entreprenuer
The development of entrepreneurship in our country is primarily associated with the
restructuring of the economy, overcoming the structural imbalances and the super
concentration of production that arose during the existence of the administrative-command
economy (Bason, 2018). . In reality, the discussion deals with the implementation of general
economic patterns inherent in the modern world economy: the transition to an intensive type
of reproduction with the increasing importance of its quality parameters, the development of
the division of labor and a sharp expansion of the range and range of products and services,
the ever more urgent need for resource saving and economy.
In this regard, in the field of higher education, new specialties have emerged, in which
personnel are trained for various areas of business activity. With this in mind, the reader is
offered a textbook "Entrepreneurship", through which students of higher educational
institutions can gain theoretical and applied knowledge of business activities in the service
sector (Dees, 2017).
The concept of business
The subject, method and objectives of the course "Entrepreneurship"
The definition of the subject of business activities in the service sector connects it with the
study of people's actions aimed at generating income in the process of optimal selection and
using resources at all stages of expanded reproduction (for production, exchange, distribution

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and consumption of goods and services). Given these circumstances, the subject of the course
"Entrepreneurship" is the study of such basic sequential actions of the entrepreneur as the
choice of forms and methods of organizing economic activity (Dickinson, & Carey, 2016).
The structure of the subject consists of the following elements:
♦ the nature and features of business activities;
♦ a system that ensures the effective functioning and development of business structures;
♦ the process of building links between subjects and objects of a market economy;
♦ economic foundations of entrepreneurship in the service sector;
♦ organizational and legal forms of entrepreneurship and their features;
♦ planned, organizational, financial, innovation activities;
♦ calculation of costs and results of business activities;
♦ ethical standards of entrepreneurship in the service sector.
Features of the course are in its practical applicability and complex nature, since this course:
♦ relies on current legislation;
♦ is applied practical;
♦ linked to other economic courses: "Organization Theory"; "Basics of Economics";
"Marketing"; "Management"; "Enterprise economy"; "Accounting"; "Ethics".
So, entrepreneurial activity is the science of laws that govern, on the one hand, economic
property relations between different business entities and employees, and on the other hand,

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the actions of entrepreneurs in the optimal choice of resources for production, exchange,
distribution and consumption of goods and services (Doppelt, 2017) .
The methodological basis of the theory of entrepreneurial activity is a set of special tools with
which this discipline studies its subject. (Drucker, 2014). The main objectives of the
discipline "Entrepreneurial action The goal is to prepare for the practical implementation of
the goal conceived by the entrepreneur, an understanding of the essence of entrepreneurial
activity, its types, types of entrepreneurship, properties and functions, business entities,
consideration of the structure and methods of creating their own business, business planning,
as well as its financial and staffing. Mastering this discipline will allow you to form the
necessary skills and abilities to search for the “niche” of your business in the field of
entrepreneurship. oh competition.
The purpose of the seminar is to teach the private entrepreneur to effectively promote their
products and services, proper and independent management of financial accounting.
This is primarily due to the relatively simple registration procedure, as well as a wide range
of activities that an entrepreneur is entitled to engage in. In addition, the advantages of this
form of business can include a small document flow, the ability to carry out activities both
independently and with the involvement of employees, as well as the benefits of the tax
regime (Gill, 2015)..
However, the private entrepreneur in the process of doing business has to face many
organizational issues. As a rule, in order to understand them, he needs to study a huge
number of various documents, including legislative acts, tax practice materials, explanations,
recommendations, etc.

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In addition, some issues are not clearly regulated by law, and according to some data there
are contradictory interpretations. Therefore, ignorance of problematic issues can lead to the
adoption of wrong decisions that will entail adverse consequences for the private
entrepreneur (Hickman, & Silva, 2018)
What do you get as a result?
Systematize existing and get new knowledge on issues related to the organization of the
activities of an individual entrepreneur;
get practical advice on the creation, activity and liquidation of an individual entrepreneur;
get the exact technology to promote their products and services effectively working in a small
market;
get a universal technology of writing advertising texts;
get an overview of the proper maintenance of financial accounting.
This seminar is recommended for beginners and current entrepreneurs, senior students and
young professionals.
Overview of the skills necessary for a private entrepreneur to confidently promote their
products and services;
What is marketing and PR;
What promotion tools are especially needed for a private entrepreneur;
How to make your services and products in a small market known;

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How easy it is to write a sales copy;
8 golden rules for creating effective advertising;
Labor relations of private entrepreneurs with hired employees: Legislative regulation of labor
relations;The procedure for drawing up an employment contract between an individual
private entrepreneur and an employee;Common to all these professions is the main skill - to
establish contact with people. Other options Choosing the necessary skills for technicians is
no less simple. The main task, for example, for the system administrator is to monitor the
operation of the entire computer network. Therefore, he should have the following key skills:
to diagnose professional equipment; monitor possible risks and plan ways to restore the
functioning of systems in the shortest possible time; speak technical English; work with large
amounts of information (Johansson, Miller, & Hamrin, 2014)..
According to the required skills for this position, it is clear how the specificity of the work
affects what is necessary to be indicated in the resume. Separately, it is worth noting that in
some industries professional skills are so closely intertwined that they are difficult to
separate. If you are applying for the position of an accounting specialist, then you should first
get acquainted with the requirements. Examples of key skills in a resume for an accountant
can be taken directly from the description of the requirements for candidates (Kirzner, 2015).
They should: be able to think analytically; organize a ra bot on a fixed area; analyze
problems, be able to find ways to solve them; competently plan; pay enough attention to
small details and important details; to prioritize correctly; be able to work with a large
number of documents; be able to highlight the primary tasks; have skills to work with
regulatory authorities. Good to know: What is the scope of activities in the summary. Several
different requirements are put forward to the employees of the legal department.

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For a lawyer, you can specify: knowledge of the law, the principles of the judicial system;
ability to make documents, contracts; legal analysis skills; the ability to work with a variety
of information and quickly assimilate it; knowledge of computer, MS Office programs;
communication skills; ability to use legal bases presented in electronic form; multi-vector
(ability to work in different directions); skills of working with clients and control authorities;
ability to work with documents; ability to organize work and plan the execution of tasks.
Each specialty should have its own skills, but you can choose something suitable for your
future work from all the lists provided. Additional help in finding the right and relevant
characteristics can be such thinking: imagine yourself as a manager who needs an employee
for the position that interests you.
Skills of the manager and experience of the businessman will be useful to you not only at the
enterprise, but also at home. How do parents-entrepreneurs prepare their children for
adulthood?
Very often in my speeches and articles I say that my children are the best projects that I
managed to implement. For some reason, many people consider such a view of privacy to be
overly pragmatic, but as an entrepreneur, a company manager and a mother of eight children,
I cannot fail to note a large number of similar features that unite business projects and the
education of children. What business approaches and practical cases can help in raising a
child?
Invest right
Any successful business is an investment. Nothing ever arises or develops by itself. An
entrepreneur is always required to invest not only financial means, but also effort, time and

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energy. If it is necessary for the team to show a high-quality result, then you need to train this
team, share experience with it, work on mistakes, spend a fair amount of time with it.
Personal involvement has always been an important component of the development of any
startup. One of the most destructive things for a business is the lack of team development.
Even the best and most valuable experts need to constantly improve their skills, get additional
education, master new directions, without this business will be in a catching position. You
need to actively invest time and money in various trainings, courses and seminars for your
employees, and also support them in obtaining additional education or scientific degrees.
For me, raising children is also the most important rule. The only direction in which, at last,
we need to think about saving is education and development. At the moment, children's
education is the main expenditure item of our family budget, with a large margin from
everything else. The second article, by the way, is travel, which are also part of the cognition
and development. All other things and material goods, including real estate, etc., have a lower
priority. Any desire of the child in part of the training or additional classes always causes a
positive impulse and the answer: yes, of course. The task of the parent here is not to argue
about whether it is necessary for the child, but to find the right teachers, the right sports or
theater studio and pay for tuition. Even if a child is not consistent in his choice and every year
changes the scope of activities, then this is not a problem, one should continue to support him
in his choice, because trying and making mistakes is a normal way of development. It is
important for a child to learn the rule that education, knowledge, and other skills are the main
basic capital that no one can ever take away and which will be the basis for successfully
building their lives.

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Trust the experts
(Langfield-Smith, Smith, Andon, Hilton, & Thorne, 2017). Often, young entrepreneurs try to
solve a problem on their own, for understanding which lacks neither knowledge nor
experience, and this is a very inefficient way for successful development. (Macdonald, Burke,
& Stewart, 2017).
But both in business and with children, it is important to remember that delegation is
effective only with control tools, so it is important not to forget to keep track of reference
points and intermediate results. (Pardey, 2016).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the journey to entrepreneurship is hard but risk is always rewarding.
Diversifying the portfolio is important to enable the implementation of strategies as an
entrepreneur. Richard branson has taken a lot of risk in business and has been rewarded with
massive success. In the business, he interviewed popular personalities including Mick jagger
who made the issue very successful. He also sold records to studenst and were popular but
due to restrictive marketing, he could not compete with major stores including W. H Smith.
He sold through retail price discounting and a limit called the resale price
mainteinance(Bason, 2018). (Scarborough, 2016).

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References
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Press.
Dees, J. G. (2017). 1 The Meaning of Social Entrepreneurship. In Case Studies in Social
Entrepreneurship and Sustainability (pp. 34-42). Routledge.
Dickinson, H., & Carey, G. (2016). Managing and leading in inter-agency settings 2e. Policy
Press.
Doppelt, B. (2017). Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for
business, government and civil society. Routledge.
Drucker, P. (2014). Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge.

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Gill, R. (2015). Why the PR strategy of storytelling improves employee engagement and adds
value to CSR: An integrated literature review. Public Relations Review, 41(5), 662-
674.
Hickman, C. R., & Silva, M. A. (2018). The Future 500: Creating Tomorrow's
Organisations Today. Routledge.
Johansson, C., D. Miller, V., & Hamrin, S. (2014). Conceptualizing communicative
leadership: A framework for analysing and developing leaders’ communication
competence. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 19(2), 147-165.
Kirzner, I. M. (2015). Competition and entrepreneurship. University of Chicago press.
Langfield-Smith, K., Smith, D., Andon, P., Hilton, R., & Thorne, H. (2017). Management
accounting: Information for creating and managing value. McGraw-Hill Education
Australia.
Macdonald, I., Burke, C., & Stewart, K. (2017). Systems leadership: Creating positive
organisations. Routledge.
Pardey, D. (2016). Introducing leadership. Routledge.
Pearson, S. (2016). Building brands directly: creating business value from customer
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Rowledge, L. R., Barton, R., Brady, K., Fava, J., Figge, C., Saur, K., & Young, S.
(2017). Mapping the Journey: case studies in strategy and action toward sustainable
development. Routledge.
Scarborough, N. M. (2016). Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management.
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