Author: Dillon Kivo

Source: The Guardian

Virgin Group of Companies owner and ground-breaking executive Richard Branson has added another entry to his colorful resume—spaceman. This feat comes after he and an assigned crew for Virgin Galactic completed a suborbital test flight on Sunday as part of preliminary works to join the privatized race into space. 

The sub-orbital trip began as Virgin’s twin-fuselage carrier jet named VSS Unity took off from the company’s spaceport and launch site near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The launch happened at 8:40 AM local time and put the seventy-year-old Mr. Branson on a concise list of billionaire CEOs to join the space race hands-on.

“I have dreamt of this moment since I was a kid, but honestly, nothing could prepare you for the view of Earth from space,” shared Branson after his jet landed safely. “It was just magical. I’m just taking it all in; it’s unreal.”

Virgin Galactic mounted and launched the test flight to demonstrate its air-launched space plane and discover whether it would be ready for passengers looking for an ultimate thrill outside the bounds of the Earth’s gravitational pull. The plane flew just above fifty miles and gave Richard Branson and the crew over three minutes of weightlessness on top of a majestic view of the Earth’s horizon from one of the highest vantage points known to man. After the flight test, the spacecraft safely returned to Virgin’s New Mexico launch site, completing a successful flight. 

Sir Richard Branson is an English magnate, investor, book author who started the Virgin Group, which now controls over four hundred companies across various fields. He showed entrepreneurial prowess from a young age and started his first business venture at sixteen years old, a magazine called Student. In 1970, Branson would begin a mail-order record business that would later become Virgin Records. He also started Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Rail Group, Virgin Trains, and many other ventures. 

The latest feat for the group of companies is the founding of Virgin Galactic, an effort to join companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Amazon to privatize space travel. The company started back in 2004 and set up a base in Mojave Air and Space Port in California with a lofty goal of taking the first steps into space tourism.

By entering the 86-kilometer or 53-mile point above sea level, Richard Branson reached the edge of space. Joining him on the VSS Unity on July 11, 2021, was Beth Moses, Sirisha Bandla, and Colin Bennett. The feat has made Sir Richard the first-ever billionaire and owner of a space company to ever travel to the edge of space. 

“To all you kids down there, I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars,” Branson said in a video. “Now I’m an adult, in a spaceship with lots of other wonderful adults, looking down to our beautiful, beautiful Earth.”

Virgin Galactic is on a mission to give anyone the chance to experience space by becoming one of the pioneering space tourism companies in history. The flight of VSS Unity is one bold and significant step into that future.

By Chris Cicchinelli

Too many people in sales fail to recognize three undeniable truths: People buy people. People buy stories. People buy you.

How you present your knowledge of your products when you’re trying to make a sale is just as important as the quality of the goods being sold—because at every step of the sales journey, what you’re really selling is yourself.

But here’s the thing: no one can sell you but you. You need to deliver a marketing plan with you at the center.

Trust me, as a CEO, this applies to me, too. I’m out there selling myself every day, in every way. How do I dress? How’s my tone? How’s my posture? Do I seem confident? Truthful? Trustworthy? Am I connecting as I should? Am I giving off the proper vibe?

Sales is about impressions and relationships

If you’re in a business where sales are paramount, you aren’t just an order taker. There are pre-buys of inventory, sales presentations, and one-on-one meetings with customers where you forge relationships. Sales is about nothing if not relationships, connec­tions, and making an impression that lasts.

Your job is twofold: to make “yes” the logical and emo­tional choice, and to paint yourself as the person people want to do business with. That means presenting the necessary positive image to achieve those two interdependent goals.

So, how do you do it? Here are five tips for making sure you’re selling customers the best possible version of you.

Tip 1: Showcase your value.

 When I started my business, I knew that one day I’d be a millionaire. I just didn’t know when. I also understood that if I acted like I was making $50,000 a year, everyone would treat me like I was making $50,000 a year. You need to carry yourself like “you’re money,” whether you have it or not. If you play your cards right, this behavior will become self-fulfilling.

It gets back to the simple fact that we generally are treated the way we demand to be treated. Showcase your value. Dress the part. Act the part.

Try this experiment sometime: go into a coffee shop dressed in a tank top, shorts, and flip-flops. Then, the next day, go into the same joint wearing busi­ness casual clothes. I guarantee you’ll get 10 times the service in the business casual attire than you did in the tank and shorts. It’s just human nature to treat people who project quality with quality.

Tip 2: Embrace the power of one.

There’s a lot of power in the number one. One text message, one phone call, one class, and one customer can change your entire busi­ness and life. This concept goes back to focusing on your relationship with your customers. A simple handwritten thank-you note or genuine interaction with a single person can turn that person into a lifetime customer.

You’re selling them by selling you. Be knowledgeable about your products and excited to teach people what you know. Genuine enthusiasm for your job and the task at hand are infectious.

Better yet, use Walt Disney as your model. He was so phenomenal at what he created, and so skilled at selling it, that his customers wanted to see what he put out into the world again and again and told their friends and family. Even decades later, Disney’s genius in selling himself and his belief in what he produced leaves people in awe. To this day, his company sells not just a brand but an experience.

Tip 3: Say “yes” to change.

How do you handle sudden changes in your business? Do you sulk and whine, or do you embrace the shift and use it as momentum to propel yourself forward? If we’ve learned nothing else from the COVID-19 crisis, it’s that having the capacity to quickly recalibrate, pivot, and develop a new strategic direction is the key to success.

Consider the example of Starbucks. The coffee giant started out as a company that sold high-end coffee beans and espresso equipment. When founder Howard Schultz recognized the need for a coffee shop that could serve as a gathering spot for Seattle residents, he switched things up. He started selling coffee by the cup, taking his busi­ness to the next level and meeting every change along the way with confidence and fortitude.

Remember that while certainty is never certain, you can be prepared to modify the narrative. Keep an eye out for the silver lining in every situation and be adaptable.

Tip 4: Roleplay rejection.

Negative responses inevitably will come your way, even when you think you’ve done a great job at something. This shouldn’t throw you off your game. The next time you find yourself stressing about your business, take a minute to ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing someone could say about my business, and how would I react to hearing it?”

Once you have a solid response strategy in mind, you’ll be prepared, and nothing can take you down. You’ll already have thought through a worst-case scenario, and you’ll be ready to handle it.

Tip 5: Give your productivity a tune-up.

Productivity and success go hand in hand. That’s no news flash. Productivity is about three things: eliminating distractions, creating a motivational playlist, and getting organized. I know; it’s easier said than done. But becoming more productive is surprisingly simple once you give your habits a tune-up.

First, turn off your phone notifications. Getting rid of that particular distraction will help you focus and complete tasks faster. Second, create a music playlist to motivate you while you work. Studies show that 90% of business leaders perform better while listening to music. Then get organized with lists and whatever else you need to stay on task. Being organized boosts productivity, saves time, and eliminates stress.

Here’s another tip: you know those tasks you just dread, like making cold calls and reaching out to past customers whose interest has faded? Perform those first thing in the morning. When you get them out of the way early, you’ll suffer much less anxiety during the rest of your day.

Use these tips to build the best version of yourself and, ultimately, a more successful business.

Chris Cicchinelli is the CEO of Cincinnati-based Pure Romance, LLC, where he leads business development, operations, sales, and marketing for more than 40,000 Pure Romance ambassadors worldwide. He’s the author of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller The Secret Is YOU: How I Empowered 250,000 Women to Find Their Passion and Change Their Lives. Learn more at secretisyou.com.

Paul Shapiro attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., graduating in 2001 with a degree in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution.  He made a decision to work in the non-profit animal welfare space, primarily lobbying in state legislatures to pass laws to protect animals.  After doing that for over 15 years, Shapiro made a radical shift to entrepreneurialism, seeing it as the best way to achieve his goals of making the world a better place.  He co-founded The Better Meat Co. in 2018 and has rapidly grown it to be a company on the cutting edge of food sustainability technology.  His book, Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World, was published the same year, putting him on the forefront of the issue, with interviews and published articles on CNN, The Washington Post, Scientific American and hundreds more outlets.

1. Why did you decide to create your own business?

I like that we’re on the cutting edge of technological progress.  We’re creating new types of ways to feed humanity that have a much smaller footprint on the planet.  I’m particularly proud of the innovation that we’re creating.  Imagine if you were around in the film industry for decades, and photographs had been on gelatin negatives and you had to have dark rooms and it took hours or days to get your photographs to even be visible.  Then imagine that you were at the cutting edge of the digital film revolution in which you could get those images instantly and in pristine condition.  That’s what I feel like in terms of food production technology. We’re on the cusp of commercializing methods of protein production that don’t take months or years, but rather hours or days.

2. What is the biggest lesson you have learned managing your business/team?

There’s so much to learn in this field, but I think one of the biggest lessons is that you really want to have a team of people around you who are supplementary to your skill set.  That means hiring people who know a lot more than you do about a variety of things.  Oftentimes, people hire those who are like themselves, but I’ve found that the way to succeed is to hire people who know a lot more than you do.

3. How has your company grown from its early days to now?

We were founded in May of 2018, and we’ve grown from having zero employees to now having 15.  We currently operate a 13,000 square foot food production facility in Sacramento, a huge increase in capacity in just two years.

4. If you could change 1 thing you did in the beginning of your career what would it be?

I wish I could have recognized earlier in my career that it’s easier for people to change their behavior when there are superior alternatives available.  For example, if you think about clean energy, none of us like that we’re using fossil fuels, but until solar and wind and other renewables are cheaper, it’s going to be very hard to switch because most people are going to continue buying on price.  Similarly, I spent much of my career trying to persuade people to do the right thing for the right reason regarding animals and our treatment of them. I wish I would have recognized that rather than trying to persuade people to change their behavior for the right reason, simply creating technology that renders the misuse of animals obsolete would be more efficient.

5. Who has been a role model to you and why?

People who know me know that I routinely talk about Marie Curie and why we should try to be more like her. But in terms of people I personally know, I’ve had many role models, but I’d say among the people who have been particularly useful in my own entrepreneurial journey, one person has been a gentleman named Paul Schwartz.  Paul was an early believer in our company.  He invested early and really taught me a lot about how to run a company.  He’s a retired businessperson himself, so I’m really grateful to him for routinely sharing his expertise and his experience with me during the course of this entrepreneurial journey.

6. What traits do you possess that make you a successful leader?

There’s a lot of people who are smarter than me.  There’s a lot of people who are more talented than I am.  But there aren’t many people more tenacious than I am.  I think that whatever I may lack in terms of intelligence or other traits, I try to make up for with a relentless work ethic that’s going to help our company advance in a rapid way.

7. What has been the hardest obstacle you’ve overcome?

Lack of resources is the perennial problem for startups.  It’s the biggest issue that we face, and we have to try to make a lot from a little.  When you start your own company, you’re essentially making something from nothing, and you have to squeeze dollars to go further in ways that are often unheard of.  Attempting to do big things while trying to stay on a budget is a difficult thing to do, and we’ve found ways to overcome lack of financial resources and actually make real technological advancements with a fraction of the resources that would be available to more established companies.  A lot of that comes from building our own equipment or buying used equipment on the market.  We get very innovative with our processes and techniques to eliminate expensive parts of processes that perhaps, while useful, may not be totally necessary.

8. Outside of work, what defines you as a person?

I’m very proud to be the husband of my wife Toni and the “father” of our dog.  A big part of my identity is my family, and my favorite thing to do is spend time with my wife and dog. My parents are also a big part of my life. They’re very proud grandparents to our dog Eddie, so I like to video-call them while walking him so they at least see what he’s up to.

9. Where do you see you and your company in 5 years?

Our company is a B2B ingredients company, so we don’t make our own products that you would see on the store shelves.  We sell ingredients to other companies for their products. So I think in that timeframe we’re going to be a significant player in the animal-free protein ingredients market. And most importantly, we’re going to tangibly reduce humanity’s footprint on the planet and animals.