Richard Branson
We have one planet in our solar system that's habitable, and that's the Earth, and space travel can transform things back here for the better. First of all, by just having people go to space and look back on this fragile planet we live on. People have come back transformed and have done fantastic things.Collection: Space
A complaint is a chance to turn a customer into a lifelong friend. I say that seriously, not as some press release baloney.Collection: Chance
A good leader doesn't get stuck behind a desk.Collection: Good
Overcoming fear is the first step to success for entrepreneurs. The winners all exemplify that, and the hard work and commitment they have shown underlines what is needed to set up a business.Collection: Success
Treat failure as a lesson on how not to approach achieving a goal, and then use that learning to improve your chances of success when you try again. Failure is only the end if you decide to stop.Collection: Learning
The art of delegation is one of the key skills any entrepreneur must master.Collection: Art
My early business ventures included growing Christmas trees and breeding birds.Collection: Christmas
I read everything, but generally more fact than fiction - especially autobiographies and biographies. I've read 'Long Walk to Freedom' by Nelson Mandela at least twice on holiday. Every time, I'm totally awed by his vision, strength and forgiveness. I feel honoured to have got to know him and his wonderful wife Graca over the years.Collection: Strength
We have teams of people working on electric cars. So you never know - you may find Virgin competing with the Tesla in the car business as we do in the space business.Collection: Space
I've never gone into business to make money. Every Virgin product and service has been made into a reality to make a positive difference in people's lives. And by focusing on the happiness of our customers, we have been able to build a successful group of companies.Collection: Business
Well, I think that there's a very thin dividing line between success and failure. And I think if you start a business without financial backing, you're likely to go the wrong side of that dividing line.Collection: Business
Space has always fascinated me. As a young boy looking up at the stars, I found it impossible to resist thinking what was out there and if I ever would experience space first-hand.Collection: Experience
The music industry is a strange combination of having real and intangible assets: pop bands are brand names in themselves, and at a given stage in their careers their name alone can practically gaurantee hit records.Collection: Alone
In this digital age, it doesn't really matter if you are in Canary Wharf or the Caribbean; there are opportunities waiting to be grasped by entrepreneurs.Collection: Age
My general attitude to life is to enjoy every minute of every day. I never do anything with a feeling of, 'Oh God, I've got to do this today.'Collection: Attitude
Too many people measure how successful they are by how much money they make or the people that they associate with. In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are.Collection: Success
From my very first day as an entrepreneur, I've felt the only mission worth pursuing in business is to make people's lives better.Collection: Business
One thing is certain in business. You and everyone around you will make mistakes.Collection: Business
Taking bold action on climate change simply makes good business sense. It's also the right thing to do for people and the planet. Setting a net-zero GHG emissions target by 2050 will drive innovation, grow jobs, build prosperity, and secure a better world for what will soon be 9 billion people.Collection: Business
Being a good listener is absolutely critical to being a good leader; you have to listen to the people who are on the front line.Collection: Good
All you have in business is your reputation - so it's very important that you keep your word.Collection: Business
We're one of the only animals in the world that don't really think of ourselves as animals, but we are animals, and we must respect our fellow animals.Collection: Respect
From a young age, I learned to focus on the things I was good at and delegate to others what I was not good at. That's how Virgin is run. Fantastic people throughout the Virgin Group run our businesses, allowing me to think creatively and strategically.Collection: Age
Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming.Collection: Business
A passionate belief in your business and personal objectives can make all the difference between success and failure. If you aren't proud of what you're doing, why should anybody else be?Collection: Failure
If you are a small company taking on a big company, you need to have a sense of humor.Collection: Humor
Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.Collection: Failure
So I've seen life as one long learning process. And if I see - you know, if I fly on somebody else's airline and find the experience is not a pleasant one, which it wasn't in - 21 years ago, then I'd think, well, you know, maybe I can create the kind of airline that I'd like to fly on.Collection: Learning
A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.Collection: Business
There's no point in starting a business unless you're going to make a dramatic difference to other people's lives. So if you've got an idea that's gonna make a big difference to other people's lives, then just get on and do it.Collection: Business
An important priority for me is a business must get their own house in order. Be or become an agent of positive change in your own enterprise and adopt responsible practices to eliminate the risks that often lie at the root of inequality and poverty.Collection: Positive
My attitude has always been, if you fall flat on your face, at least you're moving forward. All you have to do is get back up and try again.Collection: Attitude
You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.Collection: Learning
When I was four, my mother insisted I get out of the car and find my own way home. Although I got lost, I did find my way home. It taught me the value of independence at an early age.Collection: Independence
Fun is one of the most important - and underrated - ingredients in any successful venture. If you're not having fun, then it's probably time to call it quits and try something else.Collection: Time
If you want to be a Millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline.
By putting the employee first, the customer effectively comes first by default, and in the end, the shareholder comes first by default as well.
I believe in benevolent dictatorship provided I am the dictator.
My philosophy is that if I have any money I invest it in new ventures and not have it sitting around.
My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them.
An exceptional company is the one that gets all the little details right. And the people out on the front line, they know when things are not going right, and they know when things need to be improved. And if you listen to them, you can soon improve all those niggly things which turns an average company into an exceptional company.
Material things are delightful, but they're not important.
I never get the accountants in before I start up a business. It's done on gut feeling, especially if I can see that they are taking the mickey out of the consumer.
On one of my last days at school, the headmaster said I would either end up in prison or become a millionaire. That was quite a startling prediction, but in some respects, he was right on both counts!
Starting your own business isn't just a job - it's a way of life.
Every successful businessman will have experienced set-backs and failures - they're lying if they say they haven't. Virgin has had some tremendously successful businesses and some that have not quite worked out. Virgin Cola springs to mind - the product wasn't distinct enough from Coca-Cola.
I think, because I started Virgin when I was a teenager, it has become a part of me, like my family, and I am motivated by ambition for it, almost as if it were a child.
If you're embarking around the world in a hot-air balloon, don't forget the toilet paper.
Through the right people focusing on the right things, we can, in time, get on top of a lot if not most of the problems of this world. And that's what a number of us are trying to do.
I was dyslexic, I had no understanding of schoolwork whatsoever. I certainly would have failed IQ tests. And it was one of the reasons I left school when I was 15 years old. And if I - if I'm not interested in something, I don't grasp it.