Why it doesn’t matter if you can come up with good ideas

A short list of Richard Branson’s business ventures.

Richard Branson, according to his article in Wikipedia, heads a list of over 200 companies.

When I lived in England for a few months with my family in 99 I was staggered by the amount of businesses he had going. I was also excited about what this meant to Australia, which was just beginning to be touched by the Virgin mega brand.

Australia currently has several Virgin businesses operating including a mobile phone service, credit card operations, music stores, and an airline. All four have been successful in their own way.

Something incredible about Branson’s success (and that of many other billionaires) is that there’s no massive idea. There’s no incredible invention or stroke of genius. He’s just had the habit of going into industries dominated by lazy corporations and breaking the market open. (It’s said that when he goes into a city, he looks at the logos on the skyline and takes on those companies. If Melbourne is any example, this is true to an extent.)

Yeh, Branson is a pie-in-the-sky example. But think about how many car dealerships, takeaway restaurants, real estate agencies or hotels are making cash all around the place. They were an original idea, once - 50 or 100 years ago. They aren’t any more but smart people are still making millions from the concepts.

It’s an encouraging thought.

Thanks David, Markk and The Paper Bull for previous comments.