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This is a letter I received from Richard Branson

People and behaviour2 min readSam Page

This is a letter I received from Richard Branson, in 2003, after I wrote to ask for advice on setting up a business. His advice couldn’t have been better...

A bit of background. As a teenager I loved the fact Richard is dyslexic and had achieved so much in business, especially at a time when dyslexia carried far more stigma. Being dyslexic myself, it was both inspiring and reassuring.

I wrote to Richard to ask how I could turn one of my ideas into a successful business.

This was long before podcasts existed, and advice was easy to come by.

Clearly, I didn't articular what I was asking very well, based on the start of his reply... but when I re-read the letter recently, I realised that the the advice that followed is absolutely spot on.

And it’s even more relevant today, than it was 20 years ago... despite the rapid advancements in technology that we’re experiencing.

Here is what he wrote:

“...the real secret of success is to find good people to work with, people you can trust. People who are prepared to think imaginatively and creatively are the life blood of any modern company.

The idea should be original, good quality, value for money, and fun/innovative. And remember, you sometimes have to take risks in order to be successful.”

I feel very fortunate that today, at 7DOTS, we have all of this in abundance: great people I trust, who think imaginatively and creatively, to produce work that is original, high quality and good value. And what’s more, we have a huge amount of fun and innovation along the way... and a sprinkling of measured risk to ensure we keep pushing forwards.

I hadn’t read the letter for nearly 15 years... yet the advice clearly stuck.

So thanks Richard, I appreciate the advice!

First published on LinkedIn.

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title: "This is a letter I received from Richard Branson"
url: https://sam-page.com/thinking/this-is-a-letter-i-received-from-richard-branson
date: 2025-09-08
author: Sam Page
type: Post or article
categories: [People and behaviour]
reading_time: 2 min
summary: "This is a letter I received from Richard Branson, in 2003, after I wrote to ask for advice on setting up a business. His advice couldn’t have been better..."
first_published: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A7370738375093395456
---

# This is a letter I received from Richard Branson

This is a letter I received from Richard Branson, in 2003, after I wrote to  ask for advice on setting up a business. His advice couldn’t have been better...

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/this-is-a-letter-i-received-from-richard-branson-li1.webp)

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/this-is-a-letter-i-received-from-richard-branson-li2.webp)

A bit of background. As a teenager I loved the fact Richard is dyslexic and had achieved so much in business, especially at a time when dyslexia carried far more stigma. Being dyslexic myself, it was both inspiring and reassuring.

I wrote to Richard to ask how I could turn one of my ideas into a successful business.

This was long before podcasts existed, and advice was easy to come by.

Clearly, I didn't articular what I was asking very well, based on the start of his reply... but when I re-read the letter recently, I realised that the the advice that followed is absolutely spot on.

And it’s even more relevant today, than it was 20 years ago... despite the rapid advancements in technology that we’re experiencing.

Here is what he wrote:

“...the real secret of success is to find good people to work with, people you can trust. People who are prepared to think imaginatively and creatively are the life blood of any modern company.

The idea should be original, good quality, value for money, and fun/innovative. And remember, you sometimes have to take risks in order to be successful.”

I feel very fortunate that today, at 7DOTS, we have all of this in abundance: great people I trust, who think imaginatively and creatively, to produce work that is original, high quality and good value. And what’s more, we have a huge amount of fun and innovation along the way... and a sprinkling of measured risk to ensure we keep pushing forwards.

I hadn’t read the letter for nearly 15 years... yet the advice clearly stuck.

So thanks Richard, I appreciate the advice!