Creative Entrepreneurs – From Xmas Trees to Airlines

I got thinking about the rise of the creative entrepreneurs after catching a great interview with Richard Branson on Youtube yesterday. Not sure when it was recorded but it filled a few gaps in my knowledge about the guy. I loved his insights into entrepreneurialism and how he evolved into one of the most successful creative entrepreneurs on the planet despite never having been that interested in business.

One of the questions he was asked was “Are you the luckiest man in the world?” He answered that he probably is – because he’s been pulled from the sea by helicopter rescued 5 times. Not because of his billions or numerous business successes.

My knowledge about Sir Richard Branson starts with Mike Oldfield and Tubular Bells. Since then I’ve seen his many brands come and go – mostly with huge success. I’ve seen his well-documented adventures (mostly not successful) with balloons and so on but I wasn’t really aware of what drives him.

From what I saw it seems that creating things that improve our world is what gets him out of bed in the mornings. That’s given me a deeper admiration and respect for him than I ever had before. That’s partly because my own mentors, Stuart Ross and Jay Kubassek have exactly the same mindset. They are all creative entrepreneurs.

Creative Entrepreneurs – Providing Value Where It’s Needed

Back to Sir B though. You may already know some of this but if not read on. He was born into a fairly wealthy family but wasn’t given the silver spoon treatment. He was encouraged from an early age to make his own way in the world. At school he wasn’t exactly a star performer – dyslexia probably played a part in that. On his last day at school the headmaster told him he would either end up in prison or become a multi millionaire. Ordinary was never an option.

He says that his first venture was to plant some Christmas trees on some spare land the family owned. He sold those and made his first money as an entrepreneur. Later he realised that young people like him didn’t have much of a voice in late sixties Britain so he created a magazine for them called Student.

Student was an overnight success. Through the magazine he had discovered some young musicians who couldn’t get arrested at the time. He was particularly impressed with Mike Oldfield. Recognising that the still old-fashioned music industry wasn’t going to do anything for artists like Oldfield he decided to start a record company for them. He built a studio, recorded and released Tubular Bells and the rest is history.

Richard Branson’s story encapsulates everything about entrepreneurialism. It’s that “Screw it, let’s do it” thing to use his own words. Figure Shit out in other words. As he and many other creative entrepreneurs say, money is the inevitable side effect rather than the sole aim of building businesses, which provide value where it was lacking.

The New Entrepreneurs

This is the spirit that fires up modern creative entrepreneurs like SFM and DEA co-founders Stuart Ross and Jay Kubassek. These guys, having mastered internet marketing in it’s early days could have rested on their laurels years ago. If it was just about the money for them they surely would have done.

Instead, like Richard Branson they took a look at the world as it now and decided to do something about it. They decided to pass on their knowledge and experience in the internet business world to others. To develop creative entrepreneurship worldwide.

It’s pretty hard to ignore the fact that our traditional economy has been in dire straights for some time now. That’s partly to do with the rise and rise of technology. It’s the job of creative entrepreneurs to see the opportunities in that and to – dramatic as it sounds – save the world.

The internet or digital economy is growing in leaps and bounds. Business minded people who don’t see this and get up to speed with it will be left behind. Soon. Whether you are looking to start an online venture – your first business maybe – or have an existing business that’s struggling, SFM have something to offer you.

There is an application process – to sort out the dreamers and schemers from the genuine creative entrepreneurs – but you can hear what they have to offer by subscribing to their introductory free video series on the link below.

By Dave Menzies