It's not often that I get invited to spend a day on a celebrity's private island, but that's exactly what happened when I requested an interview with the founder and chairman of the Virgin group of companies, Richard Branson. Having agreed to do the interview, I then received and email explaining that Branson was not going to be in the UK when whilst I was there. Damn, I thought, I'm going to have to do a phone interview, but I carried on reading… “He'll be on his private island in the Caribbean , would you mind flying over there to do it?”.
Needless to say a few weeks later I found myself standing on the jetty of the exclusive Little Dix Resort in the Caribbean's British Virgin Islands , waiting for one of Sir Richard's speed boats to whisk me away to his private island.
As we skimmed across the waves towards Neckar Island I summarised what I knew about its owner: Probably Britain's most flamboyant entrepreneur, Branson has built Virgin into one of the world's most successful brands. And by all accounts he's had a whale of a time doing it, combining running the Virgin group of companies with his love for adventure sports. After founding the hugely successful Virgin Records music label in the 1970s, he expanded the Virgin name into 'Megastore' retailing, book and software publishing, film and video editing, clubs, travel, hotels, cinemas, financial services, telecommunications, rail and most famously air travel with Virgin Atlantic. He is known for starting business in markets where tradition thinking would advise you to avoid, notoriously shaking up industries dominated by corporate giants who have become lackadaisical in their markets. He is a master of PR, famed for pulling high profile stunts to promote his businesses and known for his unorthodox business methods. And despite all his fame and fortune he is reputed to remain a very down-to-earth and genuinely nice guy.
As we pulled up to a jetty I noticed a jeep, a couple of large speed boats and other expensive looking water sports equipment - certainly in keeping with the public image, I thought. Out at sea I spotted someone hovering over the water with what looked like a surf board. My driver explained to me that it was Neckar Island 's water sports coach, indulging in Branson's latest extreme sporting passion, kite surfing. It looked quite dangerous.
After announcing our arrival by walkie-talkie we were given instructions to head to ‘ Turtle Beach '. We jumped in the jeep and headed to the top of the island, before walking down a narrow, winding path eventually leading us out onto a small white sandy beach where a long table had been prepared for lunch in the shade of the coconut trees. As I sat sunning myself, chatting to the island staff Branson's wife and two children and some friends emerged from various parts of the island and came over to introduce themselves and chat.
Finally Richard appeared, barefoot, wearing a pair of baggy board shorts and a loose t-shirt. As he welcomed me to the island I was surprised to see a little shyness is his demeanour – hidden of course by his famous cheeky grin. I was also pleasantly surprised to be invited to join him and his family for lunch. I had thoroughly expected to be escorted around the island by a PR person while Richard enjoyed a private lunch with his family, followed by a strict 30 minute interview before being escorted back to my hotel. But there were no PRs or corporate personnel at all, just a very relaxed family lunch, where Richard was as interested in China and the Chinese people as I was in his beautiful island.
As I sat enjoying lunch with the Branson family, listening to discussions about the most appropriate spot for the helicopter landing pad to be moved to and plans for the afternoon's leisure activities, it struck me how very different this British entrepreneur was to his Chinese counterparts. There's Branson a laidback, relaxed, lover of adventure, yet clearly very family focused. And on the other side is the typical Chinese entrepreneur - very work focused, concentrating on building the business with very little time for leisure activities. Many of our readers admit that they are so busy building their businesses that they have no time for holidays, let alone leisurely family lunches on a Caribbean beach.
I remarked on this and asked what he thought. His answer was a theme that ran throughout my day, “Well it's got to be fun hasn't it? Why do it if it's not fun? Whatever you do, you have to have to enjoy doing it, otherwise do something else”.
As we finished lunch the family dispersed, we got down to the business of the interview, discussing what Branson believes makes an entrepreneur successful.
“The most important thing is people skills and being able to motivate people. If you are good with people you can achieve anything” he claimed. Explaining that one of the reasons Virgin has been so successful is because he has worked to create a business that all the staff can be proud of and passionate about – himself included. Speak to most Virgin Atlantic employees and they do all exude a certain pride in working for the ‘good guys'. Branson's positioning of the Virgin brand as a David fighting the corporate Goliaths, the ‘underdog' fighting for good value and good service in markets usually dominated by established players who have become lackadaisical, gives his staff a ‘cause' to believe in.
“We give them the tools and product quality and they work to make it successful”. He grinned, “Did you fly in our Upper Class?” “I did.” I answered, “Very impressive”. “Did you like the new flat beds?” Again I had to admit that I did, and to be honest they probably were the most spacious and comfortable flat beds that I have travelled on – just as Virgin's marketing claims. “Did you use our new lounge at Heathrow – it's got a Jacuzzi, hairdressers…? No?! Oh you'll have to use it on your way back! I'm pretty confident to say it probably the best lounge in the world.” I assured him I would, but commented how it was still probably the onboard bar that is favourite amongst Virgin's loyal Upper Class fans. It's easy to forget that you are on an aeroplane and I noted that my fellow Chinese passengers really enjoyed it, making the most of the selection of whiskies on offer while chatting business.
“Well, we're the only airline that offers an Upper Class service for a business class fare.” He says matter-of-factly. “When we started we had to be the best to compete with the state airlines that dominated the market. And we're still here - we recently celebrated our 21 st birthday. If you are the best you will always survive. From the moment you compromise, you soon disappear; it's exactly the same with hotels. So Virgin still strives to be the best – and we are awarded for it. In most airline awards its always Virgin or Singapore Airlines that are No 1.”
I found it interesting that despite having a reputation for being a brash self-publicist that when talking about Virgin's approach and success he always uses the terms ‘we' or ‘our', instead of ‘I' or ‘my', clearly attributing Virgin's success as a team effort rather than his own personal success.
But as Branson points out, he doesn't necessarily fit in with the traditional image of an entrepreneur, which in the western world often has negative connotations. “The past stereotype of the successful entrepreneur is someone who tramples over people to be successful, but if you treat others like this then they will jump on you when you're down” he said. “A plant grows if it's watered, people are the same, they need praise. If you criticise people they shrivel up, it's the same when bringing up children”
Indeed I was impressed by quite how friendly, down-to-earth and rounded Branson's children appeared to be. His daughter Holly is currently in her fifth year at medical school – not an easy career choice for anyone, but particularly impressive when your father is one of Britain 's richest men and it would be easy to take a less arduous path.
“What else makes a successful entrepreneur”, he mused, “you've got to be willing to take risks. But,” he added, “you have to protect the downside so that the whole pack of cards doesn't come tumbling down. For example, when we decided to open Virgin Atlantic, we negotiated a deal with Boeing to hand everything back at the end of 12 months if I'd miscalculated”.
I asked Branson about the difference between his approach to business and that of the typical Chinese entrepreneur. Virgin operates across many business and sectors whereas this tends to be a no-no for China 's entrepreneurs. Although many Chinese entrepreneurs begin businesses with their fingers in many pies, the successful ones have tended to narrow down and focus on one area.
“We are quite unusual for a western brand” explained Branson, “If you think about the top brands they mainly focus on one area; CocaCola makes drinks, Nike makes shoes, Microsoft makes software. But Virgin is a ‘Way of Life Brand', we operate in lots of different business areas which is not conventional western business thinking.”
So has this been the key strategy behind Virgin's success? Branson grins, “Well, it's actually my own belief that it's just more interesting to work on more than one business. But, also life moves on and one business may disappear. For example, the music retailing industry was disappearing so we pushed into mobile phones. Diversifying your business means that if one business sector breaks down then you can cross sectors, you just move from one to another.” It sounds so easy when you put it like that, I thought.
I asked him what advice he had for China 's leading entrepreneurs currently working to capitalise on their success. “Think globally,” was his immediate response, “not just about your own country. It's important to build a brand name that will translate well. For example the Virgin brand name is active in most countries. Building a strong brand with a strong reputation is important. If a brand is respected and you personally are respected then you can achieve anything” he asserts. “But you have to act ethically or people won't deal with you, you can't take short cuts. If people respect you then it makes doing business easier“.
“Any other tips?” I ask. He laughs, “Personality! It's important that a Chairman uses himself to promote the business. Why advertise for millions if you can get it for free? If you believe in what you're doing and you're willing to make a fool of yourself, then you can get on the front pages. But you have to be willing to make a fool of yourself. I've gone to extremes to put Virgin on the map with my boating and ballooning – but it's worked!”
After about 25 minutes of being interviewed he began to get bored - clearly my interview technique not fun enough - so he suggested that we go sailing. I explained that I wasn't an experienced sailor, but happy to give it a go, so the rest of ‘interview' was conducted while racing Branson's daughter around Neckar Island .
“You're not too bothered about winning are you?” he asked as we sailed around the wilder and more rugged Atlantic side of the island. We were leading but Branson's daughter had been taken sailing lesson and he wanted to give her a chance to catch up. “Not at all”, I answered. (I was just focused on trying to stay dry – I'd been warned that Branson likes to flip unsuspecting guests into the water and had even been lent a swimming costume by his wife to cover all eventualities). But Holly's lessons had clearly paid off and the next minute she pulled a nifty manoeuvre, cutting across a shallow rocky area to shoot into the lead. “Oh” giggled Branson, “How embarrassing, there's me saying we need to let her catch up and she's gone and beaten us”.
As we headed back up to the house after Holly's victory, I enquired as to how much time Branson spent on his island. “I like to spend as much time as possible here, these days you can run a business from anywhere. I love being outdoors, particularly sailing, have you tried kite surfing yet?” I confess that I haven't. “You should, it's great fun”.
“Isn't it a bit indulgent”, I ask, “buying your own island?”
“It's not indulgent at all!“ He says indignantly, explaining that the island, staff and facilities are regularly hired out to those lucky enough to be able to afford it. “We run it as a small business. The island's popular with celebrities who want to get away from the public eye. We also have a place in Kenya and one in Morocco ”. Well when you put it like that I guess it doesn't sound like such an extravagance.
And after the thoroughly enjoyable day spent with the very relaxed and hospitable Branson family, it is certainly an indulgence that I'll be treating myself to…once I make my first couple of million.
