The word ‘failure’ is not one we’d generally associate with business magnate Sir Richard Branson.
In fact it’s pretty much the last word that springs to mind when we think of the man who started his first venture at 16 and later founded Virgin Group which now comprises more than 400 companies.
Branson’s clearly a believer that the sky’s the limit when it comes to success – not least because his businesses include the exciting Virgin Galactic which will make space tourism a reality.
But if you’ve read the papers in the last week you’ll also know that Little Red, the domestic airline owned by Virgin Atlantic (which is 51 per cent owned by Branson) has gone down the pan.
It was announced the struggling airline, which offered flights linking London Heathrow with Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Manchester, has been scrapped after just 18 months.
I still remember the flurry of publicity as the tycoon donned a kilt in Virgin’s trademark red – and then lifted his kilt for the cameras, revealing a pair of boxer shorts with the slogan ‘stiff competition’.
In this case I’m afraid it was more of a flop!
Nevertheless, this isn’t the first of his businesses to fail.
The launch of Virgin Brides also saw him don a skirt – this time a wedding dress rather than a kilt – but if you don’t remember that company, it’s because it didn’t last particularly long.
You might also recall walking through Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow back in the day when it had a Virgin Vie store, when he had a stab at conquering the cosmetics market.
And then there’s the drinks industry – Virgin Cola and Virgin Vodka were both pretty short lived too. But you know what? None of the above dent my confidence in Branson’s business acumen for a second.
He has so many hugely successful enterprises that these are nothing more than minor blips for the UK’s sixth richest man.
If anything, they should serve as a reminder to anyone with a bit of entrepreneurial flair that sometimes the going gets tough, and it’s how you deal with the tough times that matters.
I remember reading an interview with Branson three or four years ago about failure. He didn’t arrogantly waffle on about how “failure is not an option”. On the contrary, he reckoned you should embrace it.
It might sound like a strange thing to say, but he’s right. He reckoned entrepreneurs needed to accept that a lot of first-businesses do fail, and said the important thing is how you bounce back, and what you learn.
It’s great advice, so with that in mind I’m pretty certain Richard Branson will be more than okay following the demise of Little Red – and so will Scotland for that matter.
We still have brilliant transport links to London so there’s certainly no need for travellers to fly into a panic. What’s more, new routes are being launched left, right, and centre, which is a demonstration of continued confidence from other airlines.
Later this month, Flybe will launch its five year agreement with London City Airport that will see the introduction of a new direct service – a move that will no doubt be welcomed by business travellers.
This will take the total number of direct destinations offered by Flybe from Scotland up to 28. Part of that will be a four times daily service between Edinburgh and London, and twice daily flights to and from Inverness. And if controversial air passenger duty is cut, the airline wants to further increase its number of routes.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary is also set to introduce three-times-a-day flights from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London Stansted later this month. Little Red – it’s sad to see you go, just as it’s sad to see any business venture fail, but it seems to me that Scotland’s high-flying future is in safe hands.
Childcare Costs Can Be Heavy Burden
It looks like working parents could be given a helping hand after Scottish Labour unveiled proposals to place a cap on childcare costs during Johann Lamont’s first policy speech since the referendum. The party wishes to limit childcare fees to 10 per cent of the average Scot’s yearly income, mirroring a similar scheme in Finland.
I was shocked to read that on average, full-time working parents in Scotland can pay anything between £650 to an eye-watering £900 a month for childcare. The plans would cap these costs at around £220 per month and also include a £35 million proposal to offer free childcare to mothers who would like to attend college, to enable them to return to work.
With the cost of private childcare in Scotland among the highest in Europe, it’s no surprise that many parents find it so difficult to return to work. I’m all for proposals that will benefit Scottish businesses and their employees – cheaper childcare would enable so many more Scots to work full-time and ease the pressure for those that already do, hopefully resulting in happier staff and more productive companies.
However, I can’t help but wonder how these plans would be paid for. The SNP and Conservatives have criticised the proposals, suggesting that if Labour would like to follow the Finnish model, taxes would have to be raised considerably to pay for it, which is far from ideal.
A Scottish Government source predicted the childcare cap could cost in the region of £2 billion which, from my point of view, means a much more detailed plan and research into the cost and funding is needed before it’s discussed in the Scottish Parliament.
It would be a shame for this very worthy idea to fall through due to it not being robust enough.
It Made Me Laugh: Scot to Be Good Idea
I had a wee chuckle this week when I read that the much-loved comic character Oor Wullie is set to help primary school children learn Scots.
The online initiative has been developed by the National Library of Scotland with input from pupils and teachers from Scottish schools.
The website will include a variety of Oor Wullie-themed activities to introduce kids to Scots including quizzes, word searches, and a glossary covering everything from ‘fantoosh’ to ‘wheesht’.
I was surprised to learn the last census revealed an impressive 1.5 million people in Scotland have some knowledge of Scots or use the language. Hopefully the new addition to the curriculum will boost this figure even further and help to ensure Scottish heritage is preserved for future generations.
It Made Me Weep: Train May Be In Vain
I was disappointed to hear that ScotRail services will no longer be operated by a Scottish company. Aberdeen-based FirstGroup has lost the contact to Dutch firm Abellio after running the majority of Scottish rail services for the past 10 years.
Politicians and the RMT union are outraged due to concerns the move could result in millions in Scottish taxes benefiting Dutch public services rather than our own.
The new operators will take over in April and have promised a first-class service with reduced fares – no doubt a welcome move for commuters. However Abellio was voted the worst train operator in Britain back in February, so it remains to be seen if this £6 billion contract has been justly awarded. I’ll watch with interest.
