Richard Branson: The Entrepreneurial Journey of a Business Magnate

Running head: ENTREPRENUERSHIP
Creating and Leading Organizations
Name:
Institution:
Date:

ENTREPRENUERSHIP
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.

ENTREPRENUERSHIP
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.

ENTREPRENUERSHIP
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