What does it take to be a Virgin entrepreneur?
- Dec 11, 2008
by Stephen Murphy
Firstly, as CEO for the Virgin Group, I don't think I am an entrepreneur - I'm a manager. A particularly successful entrepreneur has to have enthusiasm, passion, be extremely energetic and slightly irrational!
People will always tell you your idea won't work. To be successful long term and across a lot of different businesses you need to recognise when you need a manager. When your business gets too big to handle - you have to know when to let go.
We get lots of entrepreneurs sending us business propositions here at Virgin and we judge them against our Virgin brand criteria:
- value for money
- good quality
- innovation
- brilliant customer service
- competitively challenging
- fun
We then ask - is it a profitable and sustainable offer? It has to meet a customer need and deliver great customer service, and then be able to sustain that position over the long-term.
It has to be different and have a clear unique selling point.
The proposition has to have international appeal so that it can be taken more widely into other markets. As Virgin is so big, it's vital that it is scalable and signifcant.
Once your business is up and running you should strive to always be open, honest, straightforward and you should stay practical to deal with.
People are at the heart of the organisaton and are fundamental to your success. Respect for the individual is therefore key. At Virgin we really encourage a tolerant and diverse organisation and I think this really motivates people to do their best work.
