Introduction
An entrepreneur can be defined as a person who nurtures a business idea and turns it into a reality for making profits. Entrepreneurship involves pursuing opportunities with no regard to the controlled resources. An entrepreneur initiates plan, develops the plans and establishes strategies for growth. This involves the proper identification of an opportunity, assembling the needed resources, and practical implementation of an action plan.
Background and accomplishments
Sir Richard Branson was born on 18 July 1950 in the United Kingdom. He dropped out of school at a very tender age due to poor schoolwork and ventured into business. He ventured into student paper business when he was only 16. In the late 1970s, Branson began a mail-order business. He also established a record label and was instrumental in the establishment of Virgin Records. During the 1980s and 90s, the Virgin brand became prominent.
Therefore, he expanded his business and ventured into the airline industry. He also established the Virgin record label in the US. Branson started the Virgin Galactic, space tourism in the year 2005. Notably, the Virgin brand has grown to a large extent in which it has well over 200 businesses. Virgin Group has expanded into leisure, travel, tv, mobile and financial industries in over 30 countries. (Dearlove, 2007).
Personality assessment
Richard Branson can be regarded as a leader of the Virgin brand where he is viewed as the liaison figure in the company. His leadership style is based on a flat non-hierarchical structure where he treats his employee with respect just like his family through empowering them to achieve more. He is also a risk-taker as he actively participated in Virgin Cola’s launch, which symbolized the beginning of a tussle with established brands such as Coca Cola and Pepsi (Dearlove, 2007).
Branson can be regarded as a leader with a passion. As a courageous leader, Branson decided to dispose of the Virgin Records subsidiary in the US to save Virgin Atlantic from collapse. Branson took the risk of venturing into the space tourism industry. Creativity is another aspect that characterizes business leaders. Branson can be regarded as a creative leader. He came up with unique aspects in the airline industry to earn a competitive advantage and is the success story behind the Virgin Group combined with a rational decision-making approach where he involves different people before making a decision (DuBrin, 2010).
Contributing factors to entrepreneurship
A brilliant entrepreneur has five entrepreneurial skills, including leadership, decision-making, team player, and communication. Sir Richard was knighted in1999 for his services to entrepreneurship (Dearlove, 2007). A good decision-maker like Richard should know when to make his own decisions and when to rely on others. Richard Branson is an excellent communicator because he involves all the stakeholders in all decisions.
Richard Branson is known to move from one project to another, and he has managed to build a great business empire. Recently, he has joined the railway industry in the UK. Richard is a visionary leader with hand-on experience in entrepreneurship. He is always involved in the company tasks and operations, but although he never undertook business studies in school he has over the years proved to have the best information about a business. He has also undertaken corporate social responsibility activities in Kenya and other African countries (DuBrin, 2010).
Conclusion
Richard Branson is not just an entrepreneur, but also has a passion for business and excel. He has participated in business and other fields like sports such as balloon flying and reality shows. His persona has distinguished him from all other entrepreneurs and innovators. His extraordinary skills are evident as he continues to venture into different fields. He continues to offer entrepreneur lesson to young business students that strive to be like him. Sir Richard Branson is regarded as a great entrepreneur considering the contributions he has made to the business world.
References
Dearlove, D. (2007). The Richard Branson Way Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK.
DuBrin, A.J. (2010). Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills. Southwestern Cengage, OH, USA.