Q: How does an entrepreneur preparing to launch a business go about choosing the right partners? — Allan Kahoya, Kenya
Q: How do you help aging workers embrace a changing environment and adapt to new ways of doing things, and how can employers better utilise their...
In business, change sometimes happens more quickly than you want it to — transformative technologies arrive suddenly on the market, tastes adjust,...
Your company has many different businesses in operation all over the world — how do you manage to keep them on track and achieve expected...
Q. How can a small-business owner go about laying the foundation for a corporate culture like Virgin’s?
One thing is certain in business: Things will go wrong. So when you first start up a business, one of your priorities should be emergency...
Q: My 12-year-old has often tried to launch little businesses, but he becomes frustrated when he fails. He tried making and selling wallets. Then he...
So you have an idea for a business — one that you believe has the potential to alter the industry. You have put together a simple, straightforward...
Q: How do you let go? I truly believe in empowering the right people,Listening to them and stepping aside to allow them to succeed.At what point in...
A: Congratulations on your new venture! Working for yourself and your family can be a rewarding experience. It sounds like you and your brother have...
Q: We’ve been trying to find a way to improve communication with our customers, but neither our website nor our Facebook page is producing...
Restructuring is a difficult process, right? It can be. Even if you’ve done everything right, sometimes you have to take your company in a new...
Q: At every company where I have worked, sooner or later there are always discussions about the value of customer service: What is the return on...
Recognising failure and recovering from mistakes are essential skills for any entrepreneur. When I received several excellent questions from readers...
Q: What do you do if you have a 50-50 business partnership with a friend, but after 10 years, it no longer works? I don’t want to ruin this...
Entrepreneurs are innately curious people, which must be why I receive mail from readers around the world asking all manner of questions about my...
In business, creating a favourable impression at the first point of customer contact is an absolute imperative. Though everyone knows this, many...
Q: I understand that you chose not to continue school after age 16, but created your own path to success. Do you think getting a university diploma...
One of my recent columns touched on the importance of establishing an ethos of strong customer service that extends all the way from the CEO’s...
One of my favourite sayings is, “90 percent of life is just showing up,” because finding the courage to pursue your vision and start a new...
I have always liked Sam Cooke’s old hit song, "Chain Gang." It really comes in handy when I’m talking about customer service. That’s because...
Q: As much as I agree with you and think of you as a role model, I find some of your recommendations rather unrealistic, especially for businesses...
Q: If you were to list your top five rules for achieving success in business, what would they be and where would the “people factor” come...
Australians are a natural market for all things Virgin. They share the sense of fun and the entrepreneurial spirit that motivates my companies. From...
Of all the grammatical slips that really bother me, few compare to an improperly used “they.” You ask a salesperson for an item and he says,...
Kaspars Parfenovics of Latvia sent in the following questions about business, motivation and project management. Enjoy!Q: I have read that you...
columnTo many people, the number and variety of businesses that the Virgin Group operates is unusual: We’re involved in everything from music to...
columnTo succeed in business, you must learn to be a good listener. And then you should learn to bounce every idea you have off numerous people...
I know that I drive people mad by refusing, point blank, ever to rate their work or new product ideas a perfect 10. No matter how brilliantly...
The four P’s — people, product, price and promotion — are often cited as the keys to a successful business. Yet this list omits a vital...
Q. I’m an avid follower of Virgin inventions as well as a marketer. How do I improve my sales? I sell life insurance and would like to build a...
People often ask me what drives me — what motivates me to undertake new challenges. They also like to know how I got to where I am today and how I...
Three gems come to mind. First, an enduring one from my mother, Eve, who always taught me never to look back in regret but to move on to the next...
Good people are crucial to business success. Finding them, managing them, inspiring them and then holding onto them are among the most important...
Aspiring entrepreneurs and businesspeople who are struggling with the responsibilities of a demanding career and family often ask how to juggle...
Q: I’d like to ask a philosophical question: I have been trying to get my business off the ground, and I often feel that I have to get very...
I am often asked if, over my career, I have found a secret – or at least a consistent answer – to successfully building businesses. So I’ve...
Q. Richard, your career has served as a major influence for me, particularly your ability to always find time for excitement as part of a healthy...
I’m 26 years old and have a university degree and a good job — but lately I’ve become bored. After returning from an unbelievable three-week...
For a long time when I traveled to the U.S. the most common question I got asked on the street was: “Hey, are you that guy from ‘Friends’?”...
Q: I’m from Transylvania, where I’m working on opening the first five-star boutique hotel in the region. I’ve invested my savings in the...
Q: What would your advice be for those who are hesitant to adopt a people-first business culture because of concerns over a lack of immediate...
I’m passionate about becoming a successful businessman and believe I would enjoy the benefits of being wealthy. But at the age of 52, I’m...
Q: I have a business idea that I developed while at university. I’ve conducted the necessary market research to know that my business would fulfil...
Column In February 2016, I looked around our group at an inn in Mojave, California, and saw four generations of my family at the table. Mum had...
Column Q: I lead a module on innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship at Northumbria University in England. Next semester, I’m asking my...
Column Q: I work as a programmer and co-promoter for a business in which my partners and I recently invested a little less than half a million...
Column Sometimes the publicity stunts we pull at Virgin can take even me by surprise. That was the case with the launch of Virgin Mobile in...
Column Q: Two of my friends and I are exploring an exciting business opportunity. I’ve done some research and I know that while there are a...
Q: Is there a place in today’s business world for entrepreneurs to create companies that challenge expectations and disrupt the status quo,...
