Top money tips from Richard Branson

With adversity comes opportunity

I left school early at 15 because I was severely dyslexic. I had to make my own fate. I think differently and look at things differently to compensate. I learned to focus on the things I was good at and I delegate the rest. I don't over-complicate my life, plus I do a lot by gut feeling, which is vital when taking risks.

Money should not be your only motivation

If you focus on profit, then you'll only invite more stress and health problems into your life. When I started Virgin from my basement in west London, there was no great plan or strategy. I didn't set out to build an empire. For me, doing business is about doing something to be proud of and making a difference. People who work on the things that they love usually enjoy life more than everyone else does simply because they are chasing their dreams.

Passion should be your driving force

I'm passionate about changing the way companies do business. A passionate commitment to your work and personal life can make all the difference between success and failure. If you're not proud of what you're doing, why should anybody else be?

Make lists

I've always lived my life by making lists – lists of people to call, lists of ideas, lists of people to work with, and so on. Each day I work through these lists and that's how I make progress

The brave may not live forever, but the cautious don't live at all

I'm not afraid of failure or taking risks because success rarely comes from playing it safe. And don't be afraid of failing – there's no such thing as a total failure. If you fall flat on your face, pick yourself up and try again. My mother taught me that spending time mourning failures is a waste of time and that setbacks are all part of the learning curve.

Hire your weaknesses

Delegation is a key skill to master because it's impossible for you to do everything and it's impossible for you to be good at everything. Be honest with yourself about your abilities. I have a fantastic team who run the Virgin group of companies and I give them a lot of freedom.

Don't give up

I have faced many difficult moments in my career when it would have been easy to throw in the towel and walk away. But that's not my style. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve by tenaciously sticking to your goals. Learn from your mistakes but don't dwell on them. I work day and night to avoid a catastrophe. As long as I have done that, I can put it behind me, move on and learn from it.

Winning formula = respecting your rivals + focussing on how to beat them

Be careful about always trying to keep up with your rivals because this can foster a reactive culture and businesses that are reactive avoid being innovative and eventually become irrelevant. Researching the competition has never been the Virgin way. Many of our products and services come about because we notice what the market is missing or what's being done well. Great ideas are developed when you notice a problem that a competitor faces and find a stellar solution yourself.

Look for the best in people

We all flourish when we're praised and are motivated to do our best when we feel appreciated. My parents were the same with me growing up and I do the same with my children, Sam and Holly.

Don't underestimate injecting fun into your workplace

Fun is a very underrated component of a successful business, maybe because people associate it with not taking things seriously and slacking off. But people enjoy working at Virgin because of it and if your employees are engaged, they'll do a better job.

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