Like a Virgin

SHARING LIFE’S LESSONS

Can entrepreneurship be taught? Can an aspiring business leader learn to choose the right plan, take the right risks, select the right team and then navigate all the turbulence that follows?

With most of the West’s major economies showing sluggish growth at best, many in politics and business are keen to find answers, because a new wave of energetic entrepreneurs is urgently needed to kick-start trade all over the world, shake up the markets and create jobs.

In my experience, success as an entrepreneur depends upon a fairly unusual combination of personality traits and instinctive skills, most of which can only be honed on the job. Formal coursework may be a start but is certainly not enough. Most entry-level entrepreneurs need the kind of guidance that only a trusted mentor can provide.

It’s critical that experienced executives and CEOs volunteer to coach young entrepreneurs in their communities: this is one of the most immediately rewarding and concrete ways successful business leaders can foster economic growth in their region. There are many young entrepreneurs who, if they are given the critical boost of great advice as they launch their start-ups, will someday bring in new jobs. To find a mentoring group in your area, consult local universities, industry groups and small-business development centres.

As I mentioned earlier our team has set up two Branson Centres of Entrepreneurship, non-profit organisations where entrepreneurs, mentors, community members and investors can gather to discuss projects, learn practical skills and spread the word about their ideas.

Since we set up the first Branson Centre in Johannesburg six years ago, more than a hundred entrepreneurs have taken part in our programme, and, at present, eleven of their businesses are in operation, employing many people. One of our more recent ‘graduates’ is Lesego Malatsi, a fashion designer and entrepreneur whose stunning designs were showcased at London Fashion Week in September 2011.

We opened the second school in Jamaica in late 2011 and a new class of fifteen people is working on launching businesses in everything from hospitality to education services to recycling.

Do you know someone trying to start a business? As a mentor, there are six things you should keep in mind:

Don’t sugar coat it! Your most important job is to help a beginning entrepreneur cut through confusion and misinformation to the truth. The evaluations may be intensely personal: what sort of leadership style do they have? What can they do to improve? It may be difficult for your mentee to hear your critical comments, but you must explain very clearly what is going wrong.

Many entrepreneurs need help in more than one area. When I started out, my dyslexia made keeping accounts difficult so a family friend who was an accountant stepped in and helped me. His advice was crucial in helping me to understand how things worked and how to run a business. If you are unable to provide all the advice your mentee needs, help them find someone who can.

When the founders of our centre in Jamaica evaluated prospective students for the current class, they found that all of those who applied identified obtaining better access to capital through our programme as a key goal, but only 14 per cent had asked for a loan. In different cultures, there are different barriers to approaching prospective investors; almost everyone needs advice and help in this area. Share your experiences, review the pitches and practise approaches.

Start-ups often struggle to attract customers and then to keep costs under control as orders increase. Access to investors makes all the difference for many businesses. Be prepared to call industry contacts and old friends; whatever it takes to help your mentees connect with those who will see the potential in their projects.

When I was first getting into the airline business, Sir Freddie Laker advised me to build company promotions around my own personality – a strategy that has worked well for Virgin. Freddie believed that small entrepreneurial businesses could survive and prosper if they were known about and marketed properly. Potential marketing opportunities are often overlooked by newcomers – help them by pointing out the possibilities.

Setting up a business is a risky occupation. It is important that we help newcomers understand that an early venture’s failure is a badge of experience, not the end of one’s career; that the most important thing to do if things go wrong is to learn from it and bounce back.

So go to it! Make it happen and not just be something you ‘always mentor do’ – sorry!