Sir Richard Branson was left out in the cold Wednesday during a morning visit to a Toronto radio station.
Branson, who is in town on a speaking engagement for Advertising Week, was told to leave the Virgin Radio building after a snowplow clipped a gas main forcing an evacuation of the area.
Employees and residents in the St. Clair Avenue and Yonge Street area were allowed back inside within a half an hour.
Branson, a billionaire entrepreneur best known for founding the Virgin Group, is scheduled to speak with several news outlets today about the recession and his tips on keeping afloat during a tough economy.
Branson is the keynote speaker at a business luncheon today at the Toronto Filmport studio in the city's east end. Proceeds from the event will go towards his not-for-profit entrepreneurial foundation Virgin Unite.
He told CTV Newsnet Wednesday that the best advice he can give is to people is to take advantage of bargain deals.
"If you have money to spend, only spend it in times of recession," he said. "Everything is worth a fraction of what it was worth 6 months ago."
He said it's an opportune time for youth looking to get ahead on their investments.
"There are great opportunities for people buying for first time," he said. "The real difficulty is just getting work."
Branson is doing his part by helping youth kick start their careers during his visit to Toronto.
His company has chosen 150 students from across Ontario to compete in bid to create a new campaign for a Virgin Mobile initiative that will support at-risk youth in Canada.
Branson said staying mindful of others during hard economic times should be the goal of every entrepreneur.
He said the Virgin Group has made a real effort not to eliminate jobs. Instead the company has frozen wages and cut back on work hours.
"I think it's very important that other companies consider doing the same things rather than leaving people at home without work," he said. "I think most people would rather at least stay three days working than have no work at all."
