My second choice would be to start a company that focuses on peer production. I think istock photo has a fantastic business model, and there are other good opportunities out there. I have actually discussed turning TBE into a platform for peers to find partners and create new ventures.

This question is very personal because people want to start businesses that they find interesting, so everyone will give a different answer. What would you start? Where do you think the most opportunities lie? What do you think can be done better than it currently is?

Also, check out Dane's answer.

OPEN Adventures

"The opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those of American Express. If you post on the blogs, be aware that any personal information you post will be viewable by anybody reading the blogs."

"The facilitator and bloggers for this event have been compensated for their
time by OPEN from American Express."

Then there was this chunk of interesting wisdom, about being the best.

And I think the — the thing to learn from that is the best — you know, the best never — never — never disappear. The best clubs are still here 21 years later, the best hotels, the best airlines, and so it is actually worthwhile not listening to the accountants sometimes. I mean accountants forever have said, you know, if you'd take out the bar in your plane you can put another six seats in…

But without the bar in the plane, would people want to fly Virgin?

After the interview we moved to the Q&A session. Audience members had suggested questions before the event. The best questions were selected and those audience members were put together in a special seating area. When it came time for audience questions though, Branson decided just to let people stand up and ask what they wanted, throwing the theater into a bit of chaos.

The Good
You would think the chaos made for a bad event, but on the contrary, it made it memorable, and somehow seemed to "fit" an evening with Richard Branson.

My favorite questions came from a 17 year old who asked "What has kept you going?" Branson responded "I just love life. I mean, you know, I love every second of it. I love people." I think you need that to be successful. The young man followed up with "can I have a job?" Priceless.

The Bad
Branson didn't really have a good answer for the question of when to cut your losses and call it a day. Granted this is a tough issue, and entrepreneurs are supposed to perservere, but sometimes you have to stop. When the question was asked, I was hoping for a flash of insight that didn't come.

The Money Quotes
so I think there�s nothing � nothing wrong with a formal education as long as you don�t let it stunt you if you want to become an entrepreneur when you actually go out and you are willing to take risk and you are willing to fall flat on your face and you are willing, you know, to have the embarrassment of actually going bankrupt.

Overall it was an excellent night, and I learned a lot. The most surprising thing is that I think Richard Branson is an introvert.

"The opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those of American Express. If you post on the blogs, be aware that any personal information you post will be viewable by anybody reading the blogs."

"The facilitator and bloggers for this event have been compensated for their
time by OPEN from American Express."

OPEN Adventures

I like this question because it is important, but it is also wide open. It ranks right up there with "why is there something instead of nothing?" (Don't answer that) I know a lot about change. Three years ago at this time I was designing computer chips to process graphics on helicopters. Since then I've started a blog, started a business, sold my stake in a business, moved 1000 miles, sold a house, taught some college courses, dabbled with consulting work, learned some new programming languages, and tried to figure out what I want to do with my life. Lots of things have changed. Why do I bring this up? Because managing change in your business is similar to managing change in your life.

There are two types of change, negative and positive. Let's discuss negative first, and we will address positive later.

Change makes us comfortable because we are scared of where we will end up. I assume that most of you reading this are goal-oriented. You like to see change that moves you toward your goals, not away from them. So what do you do when you encounter change that seems to be moving you down away from your desired path?

The first thing I always do when change comes is to reframe it. I ask "how bad can it really be?" I always tell my self that if it comes down to it, I can drop everything, move to Key West, and work in a bar. I mean seriously, at least I don't live in a disease ridden, poverty stricken African city. It sounds cheesy but I'm serious, it is important to keep all of this in the proper context. All of us really have it pretty good compared to worldwide and historical standards of living.

Secondly, you should roll with it a bit. See where it is going. Maybe there are ways to embrace and let it take you someplace better than where you were going anyway. Have you ever gone to a movie theater with plans to see one movie, seen some friends that were going to a different movie, decided to go with them instead, and later found out the movie you intended to see really stunk? Sometimes change is like that. It can take you somewhere better.

Third, fortify your situation. If the change is negative and you know it isn't taking you somewhere good, shore up whatever you can. Trim the fat, strengthen your reserves, and work a little bit harder. Prepare yourself to make it through the tough times.

Finally, keep your chin up. I'm amazed at how much attitude plays a part in success. The people that make it through tough changes are the people that think they will make it through. Have confidence in yourself. Look at what you have done. You run a small business, that's tough. Most people couldn't do it. Be proud of yourself and believe in your ability to get through this tough time.

How do you manage negative change? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Be sure to check out Dane's links to information on change.

"The opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those of American Express. If you post on the blogs, be aware that any personal information you post will be viewable by anybody reading the blogs."

"The facilitator and bloggers for this event have been compensated for their
time by OPEN from American Express."

OPEN Adventures

OPEN Adventures

First off is Skype. Talk free with anyone, anywhere. If you want to do business in another state, or even another country, you need Skype. I've talked with people in Europe and it work better than the telephone.

Next on my list would be del.icio.us. What? Am I crazy? No. Tagging is huge. Tagging is a great way to do research and share what you find. Small businesses need to always be learning, finding, sharing, and del.iciou.us can help with that.

After that, I think open source software, particularly content management systems. Why? They allow you to easily update your website to provide information to the stakeholders that need it.

What are some of the top tools and services that you couldn't live without?

"The opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those of American Express. If you post on the blogs, be aware that any personal information you post will be viewable by anybody reading the blogs."

"The facilitator and bloggers for this event have been compensated for their
time by OPEN from American Express."OPEN Adventures

Branson talked a great deal about his theories on running a business and I want to sum up what he said. Despite dropping out of school at 16, he considers himself a lifelong learner, and believes that is a key to being a successful entrepreneur.

He talked about hiring, saying that "The number one thing that matters, especially if you're going to be manager at Virgin, is how good you are with people. If you're — if you're good with people and you've got — you know, and you really care, genuinely care about people then I'm sure we could find a job for you at Virgin. I think, you know, that, you know, that the companies that look after their people are the companies that do really well. I'm sure we'd like a few other attributes, but that would be the most important one." That is interesting when you contrast it with this study from rob_businessert Half in which CFOs ranked people skills dead last.

How does Richard Branson run 300 businesses? He gave some insight into his methods. He typically spends 3-4 months investigating a new opportunity. He likes businesses where Virgin can be the David to an industry Goliath. If you make an extraordinary amount of money, Virgin will come in and challenge you. His criteria?

• consumer oriented
• global
• potential to provide great value for the customer
• ability to have fun doing it
• potential for 25-30% return

Branson hires great people, gives them a stake in the venture so that they can make some good money if they are successful, and delegates. He says he has mastered the art of delegation, and that is something a lot of business owners can't do. He really seems to focus his time more on the end user experience, meeting customers and answering their questions.

The Good
Richard Branson said something that I love. "Business is all about life." This is something I believe strongly, and is a core component of my MoreSpace essay, "Why Business Matters." There is a touchy-feely-new age twist on Branson's approach to business, but it doesn't trump the analytical stuff, it complements it.

He also commented that you should put "employees first, customers second, and shareholders third." And pointed out that if your employees are happy, they will do a better job, which makes your customers happy, which leads to more sales, which makes your shareholders happy.

The Bad
There wasn't much bad about this part of the night, but Branson did talk about some of his failures, like being plucked 5 times from the ocean on various stunt attempts.

The Money Quotes
On branding – "The brand is only as good as your products, so, I mean if people have a good experience on Virgin Atlantic or if they have a good experience on Virgin trains or, you know, if they have a Virgin mobile phone and they can get straight through to our people and they�re well looked after and then they�ll � they�ll try the next product that we launch. And so brand is something that you build over many years and you build and it�s something that it�s very important to protect and to keep trust with people."

On the name Virgin – "Despite the name of our company, our planes and trains do go the whole way."

On corporate culture – "A company is people…[employees want to know]…am I being listened to or am I a cog in the wheel? People really need to feel wanted."

Tomorrow I'll blog about the Q&A session that followed, a very interesting and exciting time in the program.

"The opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those of American Express. If you post on the blogs, be aware that any personal information you post will be viewable by anybody reading the blogs."

"The facilitator and bloggers for this event have been compensated for their
time by OPEN from American Express."

OPEN Adventures

What strategies can a nimble business employ to compete against a larger one?

Well you are in luck, because a friend of mine and frequent commenter on this blog is Laurence Haughton, who co-authored a book a few years ago called It's Not the Big that Eat the Small, It's the Fast that Eat the Slow. I hope he will stop by and leave some ideas from the book.

What do I think? Nimble businesses can use their small size to execute much faster than a large company. The CEO of a large retailer can't meet with every customer that comes to the store, but the small business owner can. How does this help you? You can have your finger on the pulse of what is changing at the local level. Is there a new trend emerging? You can find it and react to it much quicker than a large corporation can. Large companies obey Newton's law of inertia. Once in motion, they tend to keep going in that direction. Nimble businesses can stop on a dime and change direction, following market trends and making customers more satisfied.

Small businesses can also be more creative than large corporations. Many times small business owners and employees have to wear multiple hats and do lots of different things. Therefore, they get to see the business from many different angles, and that can lead to ideas and suggestions that wouldn't have come without synthesizing the various perspectives.

Anita, Dane and I have decided to take suggestions about this topic. How can nimble businesses compete? We will compile a list of the strategies and tactics posted on all three blogs, and summarize them for your convenience. I would also like to take the question one step further and ask how can you transform your business into a nimble one? Or in other words, how can you be fast?

Be sure to check out what Dane is saying, and read Anita's experience meeting Richard Branson. Also check out the Open site to learn more.

UPDATE: Anita and Dane respond to the first question.

"The opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those of American Express. If you post on the blogs, be aware that any personal information you post will be viewable by anybody reading the blogs."

"The facilitator and bloggers for this event have been compensated for their
time by OPEN from American Express."

OPEN Adventures

First off, I got to meet some really cool people. Stacy and Di-Ann from community centric were smart and tons of fun. And Anita was super sharp. Our Amex hosts, Thomas and Lexi, were really trying to do something new and different, so of course I talked about business all day with these various people and now my mind is overstimulated and I can't sleep.

Now for the event. Pre-show we got to back stage with the press. The good? A reporter asked him many of the same questions you had suggested. Branson commented that people "shouldn't be embarrassed by failure." When asked if he or Donald Trump was the better promoter, he wasn't sure, but acknowledged that Trump's tv show had fared much better.

The bad? I didn't get to ask Branson a question. I positioned myself poorly. But Anita got to shake his hand, and asked him if he ever read blogs. He said he doesn't think he ever has. He should be blogging though, because he has plenty of interesting things to say.

Branson went out into the crowd to meet some people before the show began, which also belongs in the "bad" section because a big crowd formed around him and made it tough to get to the bar.

The event began with Branson talking about dropping out of school at 15 to start a magazine called "Student." It was all about the war in Vietnam and it was amazing to hear him talk about how he sold advertising in advance so that he could pay the printing costs. He was very resourceful. In what may have been the most controversial point of the night, he made some negative comments about the war in Iraq that led to some supportive clapping and a few not so supportive things yelled at the stage.

What were the money quotes? Branson said he was never interested in being a business owner or entrepreneur, but just wanted to "do things he could be proud of."

He noted that it is "much easier now with 300 businesses than it was with one business." When asked about branding he pointed out that "a brand is only as good as your products." And finally, he said something that is very close to my own beliefs, that "business is all about life." Exactly. That is why business is so important.

And one of my favorite quotes of the night was Branson on the risk of entrepreneurship. "If you don't take risks you won't achieve anything." I think I shouted "Amen" at that point.

That's all for now. I'll talk tomorrow about what Branson looks for in business opportunities, and mention some other interesting things that happened at the event. If you were there, feel free to add your own perspective on the night in the comments section.

The opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those of American Express. If you post on the blogs, be aware that any personal information you post will be viewable by anybody reading the blogs."

"The facilitator and bloggers for this event have been compensated for their
time by OPEN from American Express."

OPEN Adventures