The Greatest Showman
The Greatest Showman pleased audiences across the country and hit a box office milestone: It’s the third-biggest live-action original musical ever behind Enchanted and La La Land (according to Forbes). While many people tout the positive storyline and catchy musical numbers, there are some lessons business owners can take from this biopic story. On the blog today I am going to share three of my favorite business takeaways.
An obvious takeaway from the movie is to be passionate about pursuing your “million dreams”. Business owners can really glean some great thoughts from the movie. Dreams are awesome and I love how the movie talks about dreaming with your eyes wide open. One of my favorite lessons from the story is that when the museum was a flop, he pivoted. As the show grew, he added new acts to keep things fresh. One of the biggest challenges I see small businesses make is that they enter the market one way and dig in their heels. You need to be willing to innovate and grow, and sometimes you have to let go of what you started to get where you really want to go. They had to change, as it seems like there were a number of challenges faced in their business.
The second tip I have for business that are facing challenges comes from one of my favorite lines in the movie. “We don’t need a building.” I love the idea that they didn’t have to do it the way everyone else was doing it, or the way they “thought” it should be. Barnum's idea to buy cheap property and use a tent is a great example of thinking outside the box. Small business owners need to be willing to do things a different way if they want to stand out.
The final message from Greatest Showman is my favorite: In the song, “Greatest Show” they sing, “Everything you ever want, everything you ever need, is here right in front of you.” THIS is what I tell all of my clients. You can have “A Million Dreams” but truly everything you want you already have. Don’t assume a rocking business, or even an awesome goal or success can fill some kind of hole in your life. Everything you want you already have. Everything you need to be successful in business is within you already. This story is a classic tale, one we’ve heard from many successful and famous business owners, that they sacrificed their families for their careers, don’t let that be so. I truly believe you can grow a thriving business while also having a meaningful personal life. Don’t wait until you crash to figure this out.