A Practical Guide to Entrepreneurship

Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon

If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.

Success to me is not about money or status or fame, it’s about finding a livelihood that brings me joy and self-sufficiency and a sense of contributing to the world.

Through our work in the field we’ve come to discover that fulfillment isn’t a moment in time – a destination – but the experience of enjoying the journey towards a destination that you deem valuable.

entrepreneurship is about turning what excites you in life into capital, so that you can do more of it and move forward with it.

Being an entrepreneur may appear risky to others; however, successful entrepreneurs manage that risk and protect the downsides of it.

The good life needs to be balanced by achievement and meaning in order to actually feel good

The good life needs to be balanced by achievement and meaning in order to actually feel good,

Minimize the downsides of risk

Richard Branson has commented that ‘minimizing the downsides of risk’ is one of the most important phrases in his life. When making bold moves, such as taking on an ailing venture you know nothing about, you need to ensure that there is a way out if something goes wrong.
This attitude was illustrated in Branson’s approach to transitioning from the music business to setting up an airline. When launching Virgin Atlantic, Branson leased a plane from Boeing that could be returned after twelve months if the business wasn’t successful enough. Critically, this meant that if the venture failed, it would not bring down the rest of his business. Branson was quite clear that he did not want people in his music company to lose their jobs from a failed branch-out initiative.
This approach to business reflects the ethos of this whole book, which was summarized in the introduction. Being an entrepreneur may appear risky to others; however, successful entrepreneurs manage that risk and protect the downsides of it.

Success to me is not about money or status or fame, it’s about finding a liveli