Don't Fall For This Business Trap

Here’s something you should never do when you run a business.

I remember reading Richard Bransons autobiography. He’d just started virgin airlines and he was in a particularly hard spot, he was trying to make it work.

He was competing against British Airways and at British Airways the man in charge who had been there forever didn’t like Richard at all. He thought he was a conman and a show man and he thought it wasn’t fair that this man starting competing with him now.

What happened was British Airways started a slander campaign, they started putting boots on the ground.

Actual people in the airport would find people with Virgin Airlines tickets and the  they would talk to them and say “Your flight is cancelled, but we’ll put you on a British Airways flight and make it right” and then just give out tickets!

Just to beat the competition, in a very dishonest way. A horrible move really.

I remember reading about it and Branson saying that was one of the low points. How do you deal with someone that sinks so low?

People should be better than that. But unfortunately they’re not. When you run a business your going to run into this as well, not necessarily this level, but you will run into it.

And what you shouldn’t do is just lay down, give up and say they won. Even if you think the playing field isn’t even , do not give up, do not stop.

 Don’t let the bad people win because eventually you will come out on top and it will be a much better story if you overcome it anyway.