Louis Dickson / Young D Soulja / Young D on Richard Branson Article

Louis Dickson on Richard Branson

Richard Branson, the famous businessman who set up the Virgin brand, is my role model because he has achieved most of his goals he set for himself since he left school. I think Richard Branson’s hard work and can-do attitude are really good attributes for a role model.

The Virgin founder was born on 18th July, 1950, in London. His father, Edward Branson, was a magistrate and barrister and his grandfather was a judge. Richard Branson went to Stowe School, but he hated it. He has dyslexia and when he was at school he had poor results in academic performance but excelled in sport. At the age of 16 he left school and began his dream to be a business magnate. He began his first successful business publishing ‘The Student’ magazine, which had its offices in the crypt of a church. A year later, at the age of 17, he started a charity called ‘Student Advisory Centre’. The Virgin Records music label. Student magazine lost money and in its last issue Branson offered cut-price records and so started the Virgin Mail Order Company. The Virgin Records music label was formed in 1972. Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, recorded in Virgin’s first recording studio - an Oxfordshire barn - and released in 1973, became a huge best-seller. When punk came along in the 70s, Virgin signed the outrageous Sex Pistols when other record companies refused to touch them. The move turned out to be a marketing coup. Many other stars were signed up, including Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds and The Rolling Stones, making Virgin Records a major player in the international music business. Virgin empire Over the years the Virgin empire has expanded into air and rail travel, mobile phones, finance, retail, internet, drinks, hotels and leisure, with around 200 companies in over 30 countries. Adventurer Sir Richard Branson has engaged with his adventurer streak with failed and successful travelling record attempts by boat, by hot air balloon, and by an amphibious vehicle. He writes in his autobiography: ‘My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them, from the perspective of wanting to live life to the full!’ Caring for the environment The Virgin boss said he would commit all profits from his travel firms, such as airline Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains, over the next 10 years to fight global warming. ‘We must rapidly wean ourselves off our dependence on coal and fossil fuels,’ Sir Richard said. The funds will be invested in schemes to develop new renewable energy technologies, through an investment unit called Virgin Fuels. Cameo in a James Bond film! Check out Branson playing a frenzied passenger going through airport security in the James Bond movie Casino Royale. Sir Richard landed the cameo roles for himself and his son in the movie after he helped the film company to save money by providing a plane in Prague at the last minute. Richard Branson has proved to me that any young person with enthusiasm and the drive to succeed can do anything they want to in the business world.

By Louis Dickson / Young D Soulja / Young D