02 Feb 5 Epic Business Lessons To Learn From Fox’s “Empire”
When the queen of must-see prime time TV, Shonda Rhimes, is hooked on your show, you know you have a hit. With 20 million viewers and counting, Empire is poised to become the biggest breakout hit for Fox of the season. Of course, having an all-star cast – including, Taraji P. Henson, Terrence Howard, Gabourey Sidibe, Tasha Smith, Malik Yoba and (spoiler alert) Courtney Love – doesn’t hurt (love y’all).
The drama is all about the music business, but you can easily apply many of the lessons the show doles out weekly to any industry. Here are the five epic business lesson we’ve learned from Empire so far:
It’s Never to Early to Create a Succession Plan
There comes a time when everyone has to start to think about the future for the their business. Whether it is because the your business needs fresh blood or you need to bow out for health reasons, you want to have a succession plan in place. The time to create a succession plan is now, when you don’t need one.
Working with Family is Hard
No one will ever be able to push your button like your family. If you do decided to work with loved ones, make sure you create boundaries early and are clear about your expectations. Also, keep the lines of communication open so you can talk often and honestly. Sure you may be able to fire them if they let you down, but who wants that brought up at everything Thanksgiving dinner.
Contracts are you Friend
When Cookie proclaims, “I want what’s mine” — all I think is–you better get it, girl. As the principle investor in a company that is now worth millions, she is entitled to part of the company and more. And, without a contract in place Lucious can only make nice. Don’t accept support of any kind from anyone on your business with having a contract signed by all parties involved. Everyone may be in a friendly mood now, but written agreements protect everyone’s interest–yours and theirs.
Your Network is Everything
At every turn Cookie proves that you are only as good as the team you have around you. She taps her network to get the songs, talent and information she needs to quickly show that she is a force to be reckoned with. You should always be building a reliable network of influencers to help support you and your business goals. You need people who have skills that complement yours and who will provide solid council when you need it most.
You Shouldn’t Build A Business. You Should Build A Legacy
If you are focus on just building a business that is all you will have in the end. Real entrepreneurs are focused on building organizations that will become their legacy way after they have passed. Lucious believes that his company gives hope to the kids struggling in the neighborhood that is from. While his methods for preserving that legacy may be, umm, well, over-zealous; he does want to leave something meaningful behind. Everyday you should be thinking about what type of legacy you want to leave behind and how what you do impacts others.
I’ll continue to watch the show as an Empress-in-training to catch all its nuggets of business wisdom. You can pick up a few more lessons with me on Wednesday nights at 9 PM EST.
– à bientôt
Charell Star | A Girl In A Dress
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