However tight things are, you still need to have the big picture at the forefront of your mind.

What's the quickest way to become a millionaire? Borrow fivers off everyone you meet.

Never go into business purely to make money. If that's the motive you're better off doing nothing.

What we are trying to do at Virgin is not to have one enormous company in one sector under one banner, but to have two hundred or even three hundred separate companies. Each company can stand on its own feet and, in that way, although we've got a brand that links them, if we were to have another tragedy such as that of 11 September - which hurt the airline industry - it would not bring the whole group crashing down.

Always think, 'what's the worst that can happen' and have some kind of strategy to deal with it

To succeed in business you need to be original, but you also need to understand what your customers want.

I was never, ever interested in becoming a businessman or an entrepreneur. If I was a businessman, or saw myself as a businessman, I would have never gone into the airline business.