smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Small firms across Britain would hire Sir Richard Branson as their star apprentice, a new survey has revealed.

According to a study by James Hay, some 42 per cent of small business bosses see Branson as the ideal apprentice, with Sir Alan Sugar and Sir James Dyson coming in second and third.

Sir Alan polled 12 per cent of the votes and Sir James got the nod from five per cent of small business moguls.

Commenting on the findings, Shaun Sandiford, regional director, James Hay, says: 'Who better to have as apprentices than two people who left school to build multi-million pound business empires from the ground up?'

He added: 'Entrepreneurs clearly recognise and respect the abundance of self-motivation and drive that it took these two figureheads to get to where they are today.'

Respondents also revealed that the top quality of a successful entrepreneur was hard work, followed by self-discipline.