Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He founded the Virgin Group, which controls more than 400 companies.
However tight things are, you still need to have the big picture at the forefront of your mind.
Never go into business purely to make money. If that's the motive you're better off doing nothing.
If something can't be explained on the back of an envelope, it's rubbish.
I am constantly pushing myself and my own expectations and have always found that I've always come out better for it. Fear is human nature, but turning fear into opportunity is what will make a difference. I would much rather look back at my life saying "I can't believe I did that," than, "What if I had done that?"
If you go back into military history, the person who's leading the troops ought to be in with the troops and not just standing on the backline sending them into battle.
We, we - as I say, we go in and shake up other industries and I think, you know, we do it differently and I think that industries are not quite the same as a result of Virgin attacking the market.
And obviously, from our own personal point of view, the principal challenge is a personal challenge.
The best way of learning about anything is by doing.
What's the most critical factor in any business decision you'll ever have to make? Basically, it boils down to this question: If this all crashes, will it bring the whole house tumbling down like a pack of cards? One business matra remains embedded in my brain - protect the downside.
A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.
Grow internally first. Strengthen your bottom line first before considering external growth.
Wine, like life, is meant to be enjoyed.
I was interested in creating things that I could be proud of and so, you know, I was interested in being an editor of a magazine, things that I could be proud of, and so, you know, I was interested in being an editor of a magazine, but in order to be an editor of a magazine I had to become a publisher as well. I had to pay the bills. I had to worry about the printing and the paper manufacturing and the distribution of that magazine.
As men, we all have something to give. We all have the power to do our own part to stop the global pandemic of violence against women and girls. It is holding us all back.
The best lessons are usually learned from failure. You musn't beat yourself up if you fail - just pick yourself up, learn as much as you can from the experience and get on with the next challenge. . . The brave may not live forever, but the cautious never live at all.
When I started Virgin from a basement flat in West London, I did not set out to build a business empire. I set out to create something I enjoyed that would pay the bills.
In a sense, when we started Virgin Atlantic, I was trying to create an airline for myself. If you try to build the perfect airline for yourself, it will be appreciated by others.
Kite surfing is a great way of keeping fit. Kiting is great because you're bouncing over the waves and you're surfing the waves. I do quite long kite surfs-50 miles in a day.
I think bands will actually make more money without record companies; a much bigger share of the money will go to the bands. You won't have record shops taking 40 percent of the money. You won't have record labels taking 40 percent of the money. So they don't have to sell as many albums as they used to in the past. So it's not necessarily a bad thing if record companies disappear.
We don't actually plan to launch new businesses over the next few years, but we are planning to take the ones we have into new territories.