“Just do it”, says Richard Branson to young entrepreneurs

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has told young people who want to set up their own businesses to go for it.

Sir Richard Branson’s name is one of the best-known in the world. Along with the likes of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and a few others, he’s one of the most recognisable ambassadors that the business world has – so famous that he transcends his Virgin Group empire.

Entrepreneurs around the world have often looked to Sir Richard as an example of what can be achieved from simple beginnings.

He dropped out of school at 15 to start his first business – a magazine called Student – and eventually began selling records in the post. A year later he launched his first record shop. By the time he’d opened his recording studio and then a record label in the next two years, he was on his way to establishing the Virgin Group.

Considering that he’d achieved all this at the age of 23, it isn’t surprising that the business leader is fully in favour of supporting young people who want to strike out on their own. In fact, he recently told the Telegraph that learning early is the key to developing great business acumen – “the sooner you get on and do it, the better”.

Sir Richard has continued to offer his support to would-be entrepreneurs at virtually every opportunity.

In an interview with Eric Schurenberg, editor in chief and president of Inc.com, Sir Richard recently urged young people who want to be entrepreneurs to ignore the critics and take the plunge into the world of business.

“Most young people with good ideas… will find that 99 percent of people will give them every reason why their idea’s been done before or why it’s not a good idea or why they’re going to fall flat on your face,” he explained.

“In the end, you have to say, ‘Screw it. Just do it.’”

There is always a chance that even the best of ideas won’t pan out. But Sir Richard, who has had his fair share of failures, says that the lessons you can learn from failure will only increase the chances of success down the line.