Walking through any of the few decent bookstores in Abu Dhabi, I am amazed by the number of self-help books that cram the shelves. It seems that anyone who has lived for 20 minutes has decided to tell everyone else how they should live their lives. Some of these books become best sellers, others seem destined for the bargain bin. But the sheer volume of such books indicates there is a significant market for people needing guidance.
No matter where we are in life, we all need some help every so often whether we admit it or not. In a personal crisis, it could be a friend who provides valued support. Or if you are an entrepreneur, especially one starting on the path to success, you might seek a business mentor.
When it comes to a mentor, you can have a personal one – someone you know, trust and respect; someone who is on-hand to discuss your challenges – or you can turn to one of the aforementioned self-help books. I am not advocating one over another; they both have their place, and a keen entrepreneur will make good use of both.
As the owner of a marketing business in Australia, I had a couple of personal business mentors, particularly in areas where I was not strong, such as accounting. But I also immersed myself in books, and my paperback mentor of choice was Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group. In fact, he still is; I devour anything he writes.
Being a marketer, I readily identify with Branson’s flair and ability to use his profile to promote his Virgin businesses, embracing even the most completely ridiculous. Indeed, the more outrageous the stunt, such as dressing up as a bride or a flight attendant, the more media coverage he received. Branson understands the value of public relations and has an extremely well-honed view of marketing.
However, I learnt as much about business from Branson’s books as I did about marketing. I have never met him – and perhaps never will – but I would give almost anything for a one-on-one session with him. To get him to address a Tamakkan seminar would be one of the great marketing coups of the 21st century, but in the meantime, I’ll have to settle for Twitter.
I relate to Branson because his business approach (where the customer is king), his organizational values, his entrepreneurial spirit and, more recently, his philanthropic ventures closely follow my own views and beliefs, and the more I read the many books he has published, the more I admire his attitude.
A flick through the chapter headings gives a fair indication of his business philosophy: Just Do It, Have Fun, Be Bold, Challenge Yourself, Value Family and Friends, Have Respect, Do Some Good. And there you have it – Business 101 in just a few words.
For a young entrepreneur starting out, you can do a lot worse than to visit the business section of one of those rare good bookstores and see if you can find some Branson insights: if all else fails, try your nearest Virgin Megastore!
The titles might be cheeky – ‘Business Stripped Bare’ or ‘Screw It: Let’s Do it’ for example – but I promise that 30 minutes of reading Richard Branson’s words of wisdom will teach you more about practical business success than a year at university.
By Ian Mason, March 2013
