Richard Branson Says This Is the Most Crucial Skill An Entrepreneur Needs to Succeed: 'A Business Is Only a Group of People' Branson spoke at the relaunch of the entrepreneur-focused program, RM72, at Virgin Hotels Dallas earlier this month.
By Emily Rella
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Billionaire Richard Branson knows a thing or two about building a strong team and brand — he's founded around 60 various businesses under the Virgin Enterprises umbrella, including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Hotels, and Virgin Voyages, and made friendships with fellow billionaire entrepreneurs, such as Elon Musk and Bill Gates.
Earlier this month, Entrepreneur attended the relaunch of RM72, a program of panel discussions for budding business owners, where Branson shared advice on several topics from keeping ownership of your brand name to not getting caught up in the financials.
When asked what mistakes budding entrepreneurs make early on, Branson said there are a few key things entrepreneurs need to figure out early in their founding: their weaknesses, limits, and the value of delegating tasks.
"The key thing is to get a great, fantastic team of people around you," he said, "a business is only a group of people. And I think you need to learn very early on the art of delegation. I think too many entrepreneurs want to cling on to everything. People have just got to trust other people."
That way, he said, entrepreneurs can think about the bigger picture and "not get bogged down in the minutiae of the hustle and bustle of running their companies."
Branson also stressed the importance of delegating early on so that expectations aren't always falling on you as the founder or leader of your company. This also allows employees to step in and show strengths.
"I knew my weaknesses and therefore got out and found other people who could perform and run things better than I could," he said.
Related: Richard Branson: Elon Musk Surprised Me Barefoot In My Home
Branson's net worth as of Monday afternoon was an estimated $2.9 billion.
