***************************************************
    The Great Gordino Newsletter - Issue 309 - Wed 30th Mar 2005
    ***************************************************

    Please visit my election website -
    VoteGordonBryan.com

    Hi There,

    I hope your week is going well.

    Last Wednesday, I talked about a Danish man who had the idea
    of starting a cut-price, no-frills ferry service between Britain and
    France.
    He persuaded his friends to lend him the money, and then set
    about finding a boat he could buy.
    The company is still going strong, despite the usual obstacles of
    lack of knowledge, and the big established companies not being
    at all happy.

    I got an email from someone saying they had expected me to
    carry on the story by following up with Richard Branson's plane
    business.
    In fact, that's exactly the follow up I had in mind, but as usual, I
    found other things to write about, so I stashed the Branson story
    away, a bit like a squirrel stashing nuts in his mouth.

    Right then, once you've got past the image of me walking
    around with my cheeks stuffed with newsletter material, here we
    go...

    Sir Richard Branson.
    He started a mail order record business, which expanded into a
    record shop, and then a chain of record shops.
    He started a record label, and hit the jackpot with Mike
    Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells'.

    One day, he was sitting in his office, thinking about all the plane
    journeys he made, and he was convinced that he could offer a
    plane service which offered better value for money.
    He told his executives about the idea, but they weren't so keen,
    as obviously none of them knew anything about the industry.

    That afternoon though, he was on the phone to Boeing, asking
    how much it would cost to buy a plane!
    Now that's what I *call* taking action!

    He started the operation with just the one plane, and the Virgin
    brand was soon linked with good service at a reasonable price.

    Just like the ferry company, he had huge problems with the
    established competition, with his court battles with British Airways
    being stuff of legend.
    I wouldn't be surprised if they have a court room set aside just
    for Virgin/BA cases!

    It's not just planes and records for Branson.
    He has turned his hand to anything he can think of where he
    believes he can offer a better service and better value for money.
    Some of them have worked, some of them haven't.

    I think his biggest challenge is still one of the longest rail lines
    in Britain.
    The fact that he operates the trains, but not the tracks or
    stations has caused him huge problems, and has endangered
    the huge brand reputation that Virgin has built up.

    I say good luck, good luck, and good luck again to him, long
    may he succeed.
    He's made a humungous fortune by simply offering good service!

    Ok, that's it for today, and here's the thought - do you offer
    good service and value for money in whatever you do?

    'Til Friday,
    Health and Happiness,
    Gordon
    email me at gordon@gordonbryan.com - you'll have to copy and paste
    thanks to the idiot online spammers!



    
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