Richard Branson Quotes

to be successful, you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running

~ Richard Branson

The first thing that has to be recognized is that one cannot train someone to be passionate--it's either in their DNA or it's not.

~ Richard Branson

I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive then I believe you are better off not doing it. A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.

~ Richard Branson

Good brands reflect the histories of the time and the group of people that made them. They can not be copied. They can not be recycled.

~ Richard Branson

Fun is at the core of the way I like to do business and it has been key to everything I've done from the outset. More than any other element, fun is the secret of Virgin's success. I am aware that the ideas of business as being fun and creative goes right against the grain of convention, and it's certainly not how the they teach it at some of those business schools, where business means hard grind and lots of 'discounted cash flows' and net' present values'.

~ Richard Branson

I don’t believe it can be taught as if it were a recipe. There aren’t ingredients and techniques that will guarantee success. Parameters exist that, if followed, will ensure a business can continue, but you cannot clearly define our business success and then bottle it as you would a perfume. It’s not that simple: to be successful, you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running; and, if you have a good team round you and more than your fair share of luck, you might make something happen. But you certainly can’t guarantee it just by following someone else’s formula. Business is a fluid, changing substance.

~ Richard Branson

Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.

~ Richard Branson

If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!

~ Richard Branson

Steve did not have a death wish. He had the exact opposite. His appetite for life was so strong, it outweighed all fear. So what if his choices shortened his life? His choices filled his life, and enriched the lives of those around him.

~ Richard Branson

Screw it. Let's do it.

~ Richard Branson

It is only by being bold that you get anywhere. If you are a risk-taker, then the art is to protect the downside.

~ Richard Branson

What we are trying to do at Virgin is not to have one enormous company in one sector under one banner, but to have two hundred or even three hundred separate companies. Each company can stand on its own feet and, in that way, although we've got a brand that links them, if we were to have another tragedy such as that of 11 September - which hurt the airline industry - it would not bring the whole group crashing down.

~ Richard Branson

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?

~ Richard Branson

Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming.

~ Richard Branson

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.

~ Richard Branson

All you have in business is your reputation - so it's very important that you keep your word.

~ Richard Branson

Starting your own business isn't just a job - it's a way of life.

~ Richard Branson

To me, business isn't about wearing suits or pleasing stockholders. It's about being true to yourself, your ideas and focusing on the essentials.

~ Richard Branson

When I started Virgin from a basement in west London, there was no great plan or strategy. I didn't set out to build a business empire... For me, building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that's going to make a real difference to other people's lives.

~ Richard Branson

If you want to be more productive, then start at the start: get there on time. Whether it is a meeting, a flight, an appointment or a date, it's important to ensure you are there when you say you will be there. This may feel like an old-fashioned tip to give, but it has served me well for five decades in business.

~ Richard Branson

One thing is certain in business. You and everyone around you will make mistakes.

~ Richard Branson

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.

~ Richard Branson

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.

~ Richard Branson

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.

~ Richard Branson

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.

~ Richard Branson

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.'

~ Richard Branson

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.

~ Richard Branson

If you are a small company taking on a big company, you need to have a sense of humor.

~ Richard Branson

I'm a lad of the '60s. I started a magazine to try and end the Vietnam war, but it was a number of years before I had the profile, the financial resources and the time to do more.

~ Richard Branson

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.

~ Richard Branson

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.

~ 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.

~ Richard Branson

My early business ventures included growing Christmas trees and breeding birds.

~ Richard Branson

The balloons only have one life and the only way of finding out whether they work is to attempt to fly around the world.

~ Richard Branson

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.

~ Richard Branson

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.

~ Richard Branson

Those who know me know I'm passionate about lists, and top of my list of priorities is my family. My wife Joan and I do not consider our legacy to our children to be wealth or fame but the opportunity to pursue happiness by following their own path.

~ Richard Branson

Devon holds a special place in my heart. As a child, I normally went on holiday to Bantham and have lots of happy memories from my time there. I used to catch sand eels in the early morning and go fishing for bass throughout the day. I remember a gull taking my bait.

~ Richard Branson

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.

~ Richard Branson

You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.

~ Richard Branson