|
I am by nature an adventurer and am continually energised by
whatever challenges I can find to throw myself into (sometimes
almost literally), whether that’s shaking up an industry or trying to
circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon. It’s the same
enthusiasm and openness to new things that
young children have. When I was growing up, my family
and I would often talk about business ideas at the dinner table and,
because my parents made it so much fun for me and my sisters, that
wonderful memory has stayed with me.
I set up my first business when I was 16, publishing a magazine. I
really had no idea what I was doing when I started that venture, or
my next one selling discounted records … hence the name ‘Virgin’.
I had what I thought was a good idea, but with little in the way
of a business plan, and just went for it. Since then I’ve launched
countless other businesses, some very successful (and a few that
are best forgotten) and the Virgin name is now on everything from
spas to spacecrafts.
I’m no longer a business virgin but the spirit with which I entered into
my first few ventures remains. ‘Catch the cow, Ricky’, my mum used
to say. ‘If you want some milk you can’t just sit in the middle of a field
waiting for a cow to come to you, you’ve got to go and catch it and
milk it yourself.’ And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. |
