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What Can American Idol Teach You About Business

Written by: Tim Knox

Article Overview: Here are some tips for entrepreneur that can help them to achieve their dreams and be successful in business.

What Can American Idol Teach You About Business

Well, folks, as luck and ratings would have it, it’s time for yet another season of that train wreck of reality TV, American Idol; the show that attempts to separate the talented from the terrible and brings them all into your living room each week for you to enjoy. Get ready to call in and cast your vote for who should be applauded and who should be muzzled. How fortunate we are to be living in a time when we can judge our fellow man via text message.

And don’t forget your judges, ladies and gentlemen, the flaky Paula Abdul, the canine-obsessed Randy Jackson (somebody get this guy a dog), and the perpetually nasty, Simon Cowell; who gives new meaning to the term, "I don’t mean this bad, but..."

To be honest, I’m not a fan of the show (too much negativity for my blood). The only time I watch it is when my wife screams, "Come here, you’ve got to see this!" And every viewing leads me to ask the obvious question: why would people without one scintilla of talent - I call them "the anti-talented" - willingly make complete fools of themselves on national TV, knowing that the ridicule of a nation and the wrath of Simon awaits?

I guess it’s all about getting their fabled fifteen minutes of fame. You don’t have to win American Idol to profit from it. Look at William Hung; arguably the worst singer in the history of the show (if not the planet). He was so bad his lack of talent became his shtick and he parlayed his fifteen seconds in the limelight into a record deal that made him a wealthy man.

Sharp entrepreneur, that William. His performing abilities (or lack thereof) became his unique selling proposition (USP) and he struck while the iron was hot. While the market was hungry for his product he gladly sold it to them. What other valuable lessons might we learn about business from American Idol?

Don’t be afraid to follow your dream. You have to give credit to even the most horrible of singers who seriously have faith in their abilities: they have a dream and they are chasing it like a hound chasing a rabbit. They are not letting a lack of talent and an abundance of tone-deafness rain on their parade. In business if you don’t have a dream you don’t have anything to work toward. That’s why we entrepreneurs do what we do: to make our dreams come true.

Always be prepared. I’m amazed at how many people show up to audition for Idol without knowing the words or melody of the song they are trying to sing. Many of those who get passed on to the next round are not necessarily those with the best voices, but the ones who are the most practiced and polished. In business you get one chance at making a great first impression with your customers, your vendors, your banker, etc. Don’t screw it up by forgetting the words to your elevator pitch. How do you make it to the Forbes 100? Practice, my son, practice.

Know your strengths and weaknesses. Many of the contestants bomb because they chose to sing a song that highlighted their weaknesses instead of showing off their strengths. In business you must know your strengths and weaknesses so you can play to your strengths and take action to compensate for your weaknesses. Never get so big for your britches that you think your business doesn’t have weaknesses. Every business has chinks in its armor. The key is to never let the public hear you sing about them.

Sometimes you just have to go for it. Sometimes you just have to damn the torpedoes and the opinions of others and forge full steam ahead. If you have an idea for a business and you’ve done all the research to prove that your idea is viable (even if it’s a little off-key), you have to put faith in yourself and your abilities and just go for it.

Never, ever give up. Some Idol wannabes audition every year and never make it past the first round. Despite their lack of talent, you have to admire their tenacity. They brush Simon’s teeth marks off their backsides and come back year after year; hoping that the result will be different, although knowing it will probably be the same. Business is tough and unpredictable. You can be at the top of the charts one day and booed off stage the next.

As an entrepreneur you must have the ability to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on that stage. At least till the fat lady sings.

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  The American Idol Factor

Article Tags: american idol, chas, fellow man, fifteen minutes, fifteen seconds, ladies and gentlemen, limelight, national tv, paula abdul, randy jackson, reality tv, ridicule, scintilla, shtick, simon cowell, text message, train wreck, unique selling proposition, unique selling proposition usp, wealthy man



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Job or Business Owner - Hi Martin, I agree 100%. I think it takes some people the act of getting in over their head in business to figure that out though. I've also met people who try to have one foot in each camp - and that doesnt seem to work either. I just attempt to give people as much information as possible before they launch, or decide to close. Last summer a good friend of mine found herself out of work. while searching for a new job, she started picking up some odd jobs, admin work etc. She came to me and said she was thinking about opening her own company. I spent a lot of time with her outlining the pros and cons, and reminding her of how many time she has said she 'couldnt' handle my life. Some months making $400 and some making $40,000. I was happy to find out later that she decided to pass and has since found a great position at Kraft doing what she loves to do, with a team of great people. I think its important for those of us who really are entrepreneurs to be upfront with people when they are considering a new venture. Kind of like the bad auditions on American Idol. It pains me that somewhere someone has told them they can really sing. When it fact - they cant and shouldnt. Cheers!
Top 19 Copywriting books - 1. Ogilvy on Advertising. David Ogilvy. Wiley. 2. Positioning: The Battle for your Mind. Al Ries and Jack Trout. Warner. 3. The New Positioning. Jack Trout. McGraw-Hill. 4. Tested Advertising Methods. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 5. How to Make your Advertising Make Money. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 6. Guerrilla Advertising. Jay Conrad Levinson. Houghton Mifflin. 7. Direct Mail Copy that Sells. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 8. Sales Letters that Sizzle. Herschell Gordon Lewis. NTC Business Books. 9. Herschell Gordon Lewis on the Art of Writing Copy. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 10. Romancing the Brand. David Martin. American Management Association. 11. The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves. NTC Business Books. 12. Confessions of an Advertising Man. David Ogilvy. NTC Business Books. 13. My Life in Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 14. Scientific Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 15. How to Become an Advertising Man. James Webb Young. NTC Business Books. 16. The Lasker Story as He Told It. NTC Business Books. 17. Advertising Concept and Copy. George Felton. Prentice Hall. 18. The Copy WorkShop Workbook. Bruce Bendinger. The Copy Workshop. 19. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads. Luke Sullivan. Wiley. This should keep you busy for at least a year. Enjoy!
Re: Importance of web accessibility - Ain't that the truth. Idol hopefuls who are SHOCKED! ;0) Its like walking around with food in your teeth and no one tells you. But I think the bigger trick is finding a 'test' group who are actually relevant to your business. Just asking strangers/associates for their feedback doesnt cut it. Try to ensure that your target market or real affiliates will do the audit for you Jude
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