Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won't Teach You at Business School

HOME AND/OR OFFICE

Perhaps it’s the fact that I’ve always managed to organise my life so as to be able to work from home that leads to the frequent question, ‘Richard, how do you think people like me should balance the demands of work and family?’ For many an aspiring entrepreneur and business person struggling with the dual responsibilities of a career and a family can really be a major issue.

Here are just three variations on this important question that have come up repeatedly over the years.

You can and must make time for both family and business. It is important to build a strong family life which also helps to give you a better perspective and balance in business. Moreover, a key responsibility for each generation is to bring up the next one – and you need to be present to do this.

Having almost always worked from home, it’s been relatively easy for me to spend time with my family. Once, my ‘office’ was a small houseboat in Little Venice, and I fondly remember the kids crawling around the floor while I had my meetings. I particularly recall the look of horror on my bank manager’s face when a runny-nosed child rubbed up against his pinstriped suit!

Even when we moved to a ‘proper’ house in Holland Park, I used it as an office and moved out only when my wife, Joan, complained about people lining up in the hallway for meetings in our home. Mind you, I relocated the office all of two doors down the road!

Spending a lot of time with the family also made me adapt the way I work. This has been one of the keys to Virgin’s success. To offset working from home I always made sure we had proper family holidays – time spent away from the home/office. Spending time away taught me the importance of delegating. I quickly learned what I was good at and made sure I brought in people to help with those areas where I was weaker.

As Virgin got bigger and we set up more businesses, they had to be run from actual offices in various buildings. I minimised the time I spent inside those buildings. This helped me keep the bigger picture in perspective, remaining alert to new opportunities. I could focus on the important decisions without getting bogged down with too many daily details. Taking yourself outside the hurly-burly of everyday business allows you to make clearer and longer-term decisions.

Being away from the office for periods of time also means you develop a strong bond of trust with your senior colleagues. In my case, we have built a very strong team of committed and talented managers who will fight for the business through the tough times.

There is a balance, though, and you must be careful not to be too distant or absent from a company. An entrepreneur must be highly visible and readily available to the staff and spend time getting their feedback and ideas. Listening to others is a key quality of a good business leader.

A lack of sufficient time off and short holidays are constant bugbears in the modern business world. To keep yourself and your staff motivated and healthy, it is important to take holidays and get a break from work. The right balance will ensure that you have a healthy, committed and enthusiastic staff who perform better when at work instead of looking for excuses to take sick days.

Keeping fit and healthy is also a key to staying on top in business. Exercising every day – a brisk walk, a swim, a run or a game of tennis – gives me more energy to tackle the everyday decisions. My philosophy of living life to the fullest and taking advantage of good family holidays has also turned up a few business opportunities along the way. On a trip to Africa we discovered Ulusaba, our stunning game reserve near the Kruger National Park. While in Morocco, waiting for the balloon expedition to take off, my family discovered the Kasbah Tamadot, nestled in the Atlas Mountains. Both of these properties are now key parts of the Virgin Limited Edition portfolio.

Actually, many of my business opportunities have come through personal experiences on my travels – during the time that is really blurred between work and play. I may have met someone who triggered an idea or visited a place that sparked a new venture.

As I’ve already discussed, it is really important that companies are more flexible in how they approach staff and time off – through job sharing, flexible hours or working from home. Finding the right balance for yourself and your staff may be the key building block for a successful, resilient and happy business.

Now put this book down and go and play with your kids or visit a friend!