3 Tips on Starting a Business in a Field in Which You Are Not an Expert

Confused businessman

Sir Richard Branson’s recent history-making voyage to the edge of space enraptured the world while establishing Virgin Galactic as a market leader in space tourism. But how did a high school dropout from London become the billionaire founder of a multinational conglomerate?

Entrepreneurs are often afraid of the risks associated with starting a business in a field they are not an expert in, but Branson’s success story shows that it is possible. He got his start with a mail-order record business that he established when he was only 20, and from that point on the Virgin Group continued to expand to various industries. In 1984, Virgin Atlantic, Branson’s airline, was launched.

The idea for Virgin Atlantic arose the way many startup ideas do — through a personal inconvenience to Branson. He was trying to fly from Puerto Rico to the British Virgin Islands when his flight was cancelled. He was determined to get to the islands to see his girlfriend, so he decided to pay to charter a plane from the airport for his journey, hoping his credit card wouldn’t decline. Ever the entrepreneur, Branson rounded up the others that were supposed to be on the cancelled flight, and offered them rides on his chartered plane for $39 apiece. One of his passengers remarked that with a bit of work he could run an airline…