Tweet

Breaking Free: Branson’s Early Years

Article Overview: “I was never, ever interested in becoming a businessman or an entrepreneur,” says Richard Branson. At 56, despite his intentions, Branson has become one of the most successful and eccentric billionaires of the 20th century. He is the man behind one of the most recognizable brands in history and is sitting on an estimated fortune of $3.2 billion.

Breaking Free: Branson’s Early Years

“I was never, ever interested in becoming a businessman or an entrepreneur,” says Richard Branson. At 56, despite his intentions, Branson has become one of the most successful and eccentric billionaires of the 20th century. He is the man behind one of the most recognizable brands in history and is sitting on an estimated fortune of $3.2 billion.

Born in 1950 in Surrey, England, to happily married parents Ted and Eve, Branson recalls a childhood filled with nothing but love and encouragement. Ted was a lawyer who had relunctantly set aside his passion for archaeology at the request of his father to follow in the family footsteps. Eve was an airline hostess who originally pretended to be a man in order to become a pilot instructor. Together, the two ingrained within Branson a sense of hard work and the need to be financially successful.

Branson’s mother was always thinking of ways to make money. With no television in the house, Eve would spend most of her time in the garden shed constructing wooden tissue boxes and wastepaper bins, which she then sold to shops, including Harrods. Everything being the family affair that it was with the Branson’s, Ted spent his time creating special pressing devices to hold the tissue boxes together while they were being glued. “It became a proper little cottage industry,” Branson recalls.

Branson’s parents took extreme measures to encourage their children’s independence. While driving home one day when Branson was just four years old, his mother made him get out of the car miles before they had reached the house and insisted that he find his own way home. Not surprisingly, Branson got lost. But, it was a lesson he would never forget.

Soon, Branson and his siblings began setting challenges for themselves. One Christmas holiday, Branson bet his Aunt Joyce ten shillings that he would be able to swim by the end of the two weeks. He spent hours in the ocean each day practicing but still could not keep himself afloat. Finally, as the family was leaving on the last day, Branson made his father stop the car so that he could have one last chance at swimming. He ran to the ocean, pulled off all his clothes and despite the huge waves, managed to swim a circle. He had won his ten shillings.

Sent to boarding school until he was 15, Branson found success on the field rather than in the classroom. He excelled in a wide range of athletics, which found him popularity at school, but he struggled with his academics because of his dyslexia, which at the time was a relatively undiagnosed problem. “Since nobody had ever heard of dyslexia, being unable to read, write or spell just meant to the rest of the class and the teachers that you were either stupid or lazy,” he recalls. “And at prep school you were beaten for both.”

Sent to a different school, Branson was initially expelled for his nocturnal visits with the headmaster’s daughter. But, after writing a fake suicide note, Branson got the expulsion overturned. Back in school, Branson set up Student Magazine at the age of 16 and opened the Student Advisory Centre a year later, which was a charity to help young people. After his first issue of Student, the headmaster of Branson’s school wrote a note saying, “Congratulations, Branson. I predict you will either go to prison or become a millionaire.”

In the next forty years, Branson would go on to prove his headmaster right on both counts.

Related Articles
  How to manage a press conference
  How To Break The Failing Marketer Curse And Have Network Marketing Success!
  The Trouble with Press Conferences
  Work Life Balance for Men
  A Simple Method For Achieving More

Article Tags: airline hostess, archaeology, billionaires, businessman, christmas holiday, encouragement, entrepreneur, extreme measures, family affair, family footsteps, harrods, one christmas, pilot instructor, recognizable brands, richard branson, shillings, siblings, surrey england, tissue boxes, wastepaper bins



Related Forum Posts
Re: Free elecrtricity generator - Can anybody help me with any aspect of my invention? In basic terms it is the energy of Gravity conserved and reused = (Auto engaging and disengaging shafts) = perpetual motion Perpetual motion + static friction generated in a pipe = free static electricity Free static electricity converted to usable electricity = Free usable electricity Free usable electricity generated by the constant friction generated by an auto engaging and disengaging machine that conserves the energy of gravity in a overcrankable clock spring The weight is easilly lifted back up the shaft with the aid of a double pully on ropes
Learning from other people's mistakes (Books) - Most business books are written by people who tell of success stories, and how they were achieved. I'm wondering if people learn more by reading about the stories of failure? Or about how people achieved success...and then frittered it away through bad business practice. I checked two books out of the library yesterday. Apple: The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania, and Business Blunders, by Jim Carlton (started as a startup in 1976, sales peaked in 1995, and even then they were a "troubled" company, and now they've only got a 3% market share. (And I must admit I used to love Macs, but don't anymore...) and Breaking Windows: How Bill Gates Fumbled the Future of Microsoft, by David Bank. "Breaking Windows" tells the story of the battle for the soul of Microsoft that raged inside the company from 1997 to 2000 and continues to reverbrate today." The book "breaks new ground in its analysis of Microsoft's past and future business strategies. As Microsoft faces the waning importance of Windows, rallies behind XML, and confronts the open-source insurgency, the past Bank reveals is vital to understanding the future of this company and the still unfinished digital revolution it helped unleash.
Re: Internet Fax Services - any suggestions? - This is a list of the best free internet fax services. Efax 1 Month Free Trial Only Receive unlimited faxes in your Efax email (or you can forward your Efax email to another email account), but your fax number may not be based in your local area. Also get free voicemail over the phone or on the web. JFAX.com Free Fax Plus 1 Month Free Trial Only This service gives you a free personal phone number (your number may not be in your local area code, so long distance charges may apply) you can use to receive voice messages and faxes right in your email. This service is available in the US and UK. Xoip Receive faxes on your Xoip number (Netherlands, Belgium, and United Kingdom numbers only) and it will be forwarded to your email address where you will be able to view it as a graphics (.tiff) file. This service also provides free voicemail.
Happy New Years! - Happy Belated New Years! Out of curiosity what are your new years resolutions for your business? Did anyone manage to honour their past resolutions?
Re: What to avoid when cold calling? - While cold calling one must be be clear with what he/she is saying and must be ready with as much possible reasons as he/she could about the product or the services he is talking about. 1. Breaking while talking in between which mostly takes place because of lack of knowledge of the product and confidence 2. One must never think negative and keep trying along with professional tone 3. It has been reported many times that because of not getting sales even after trying many times frustration occurs which also should be avoided 4. One must not talk to make sale but to create a relationship, this must be in mind in order to the sales to follow


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Gas bills go up by 18% can we take any more

What Makes an Extraordinary Business Consultant?

Setting Goals for your Home Based Business

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.