Richard Branson

Treat failure as a lesson on how not to approach achieving a goal, and then use that learning to improve your chances of success when you try again. Failure is only the end if you decide to stop.

It's a common misconception that money is every entrepreneur's metric for success. It's not, and nor should it be.

Some 80% of your life is spent working. You want to have fun at home; why shouldn't you have fun at work?

Values cannot be speedily forgotten if it is inconvenient or commercially expedient. Values have to have meaning and longevity; otherwise they are valueless. You cannot embrace innovation up to a point or only sometimes. Branding demands commitment; commitment to continual re-invention; striking cords with people to stir their emotions; and commitment to imagination. It is easy to be cynical about such things, much harder to be successful.

Please don’t get hung up on this question of whether you need to have experience in an industry before you launch your startup.

What's the most critical factor in any business decision you'll ever have to make? Basically, it boils down to this question: If this all crashes, will it bring the whole house tumbling down like a pack of cards? One business matra remains embedded in my brain - protect the downside.

Always think, 'what's the worst that can happen' and have some kind of strategy to deal with it

My mother always taught me never to look back in regret but to move on to the next thing. The amount of time people waste dwelling on failures rather than putting that energy into another project, always amazes me. I have fun running all the Virgin businesses-so a setback is never a bad experience, just a learning curve.

Business leaders take things far too seriously, and forget that most of the time people spend in their lives is at work, and it should be fun.

Don't hesitate to seek external help or advice where need be. Sometimes, it takes an external, emotionally unattached individual to detect your business flaws and render unbiased advice.

Have fun, work hard and money will come. Don't waste time - grab your chances. Have a positive outlook on life. When it's not fun, move on.

When I started Virgin from a basement flat in West London, I did not set _x000D_ out to build a business empire. I set out to create something I enjoyed _x000D_ that would pay the bills.

The idea that business is strictly a numbers affair has always struck me as preposterous. For one thing, I've never been particularly good at numbers, but I think I've done a reasonable job with feelings. And I'm convinced that it is feelings - and feelings alone - that account for the success of the Virgin brand in all of its myriad forms.

The best advice I could give anyone is to spend your time working on whatever you are passionate about in life.

Fun is one of the most important - and underrated - ingredients in any successful venture. If you're not having fun, then it's probably time to call it quits and try something else.

When exploring London, you will come across lots of excitement by chance, so try to take everything in rather than just rushing around to all of the major tourist haunts.

I have always believed that the only way to cope with a cash crisis is not to contract but to try to expand out of it.

I was never, ever interested in becoming a businessman or an entrepreneur. If I was a businessman, or saw myself as a businessman, I would have never gone into the airline business.

Be swift to take advantage of business opportunities. Bigger companies are too cumbersome to move quickly; this can be a competitive advantage for you.

Please be polite. Nothing in life should erode the habit of saying thank you to people or praising them.

A company is people … employees want to know… am I being listened to or am I a cog in the wheel? People really need to feel wanted.