"There are five main places I have worked day-in, day-out over the years, and you will notice that an office is nowhere to be seen on the list," writes Richard Branson in a $4. "I've never had a proper desk, never worked out of an office, and certainly never clocked in."
In his early days, Branson put out his $4 from a family friend's basement and then a church crypt. He later ran his Virgin empire out of a houseboat in a London canal near Virgin offices, then his family home in London, and, most recently, Necker Island, Branson's private Caribbean island, where $4.
Throughout his more than 50-year career, all of Branson's flexible workplaces have had something crucial in common: people could come and go as they pleased.
Of working in his friend's basement, $4, "It was chaotic and cramped, but we made the most of it, and the close proximity made for lots of interesting collaborations."
In a $4, Branson explained that he never liked locking himself away for hours in a separate office to work out plans - always having people around allows him to to bounce ideas off them and frequently inspires his work.
Even when Branson was growing Virgin into the successful brand it is today, $4 he lived, worked, and played in that houseboat and conducted meetings while he was babysitting.
"Some of our happiest days, and greatest business deals, took place on the houseboat," $4.