Amy Winehouse's Untimely Death Is a Wake Up Call for Small Business Owners

It would be terribly remiss of me not to blog about the untimely death of the 27 year-old British singer Amy Winehouse today.

Unlike others, I won't be picking apart her chosen lifestyle, nor will I be judging her. She made her own choices and, although it would appear that these choices ultimately led to her death, they were hers to make.

For small business owners there is, however, a lot to be learned from Amy's untimely death.

Although rarely referred to as such, most musical artists and celebrities are businesses in their own right. In fact, for all those detractors out there that say that being "self-employed" is not a "proper" business, think again. This successful business model is one that has been proven time and time again.

But whether you are a pop star, a plumber or a business consultant, the same rules still apply: you are the product. And if that's the case, you are going to need to take really good care for yourself if you want your business to succeed.

Amy got off to a great start. She had the raw talent and the skills to write and perform. She trained herself, brought the right people around her and she made it to the big time. And quickly.

With five grammys and a Brit Award to her name, you'd think she was untouchable. But, like every fledgling, fast growing business, Amy lost control. Her "brand" became driven by her record company. Her "image" was tinkered with, and her relationship with the media resembled more of a cat and mouse game (where Amy was the mouse), than a strategically managed campaign. Little by little the public saw a young, healthy, talented girl, slim down to just a shadow of her former self.

At first, she was talented enough to get by. Live performances, although slightly edgy, were strong enough to forgive the fact that she'd obviously had a few before she went on stage. But eventually, even this all proved too much for her adoring fans and just a few months ago, the quality of her performance was so poor she was booed off stage in Serbia.

There are so many parallels here in business. A young business starts well, and gets busy. The business owner frequently ignores their own health, swapping trips to the gym for an extra couple of hours in the office, eating takeaway dinners instead of healthy home cooked food, scrimping on sleep and generally running themselves into the ground.

This cycle of personal abandonment all leads to poor decision-making in business. Recruiting too many staff (usually the wrong ones) too quickly. Missing deadlines. Not responding to customers. Falling behind with the business finances.

And then the wheels fall off. This is the business equivalent of being booed off stage.

Clients complain, or worse -- walk, and businesses are left in a spiral of decline that, in some cases can be irreversible.

So, my advice to small business owners (and pop stars) is this: your job is like a marathon, not a 100m sprint.

You need to train for it. Moreover you need to maintain your own health and fitness first because if you are at the core of the business. You are the brand. Start eating healthily, stop scrimping on sleep and start going to the gym.

It may sound simple. But it works. You will benefit. Your customers will benefit. Your business will benefit.

And today, in honour of Amy Winehouse, I am going to go to the gym. For the first time in about six months. She's just reminded me why I should.

 

Comments

[Diana9]

05:16 AM on 08/19/2011

Just found this linked from URBAN75 in London.

What an appalling article.

This is how the world sees us.

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/huff-post-winehouses-untimely-death-is-a-wake-up-call-for-small-business-owners.278160/

[stuckaholic]

02:55 PM on 08/06/2011

Hey Tricia, the best business advice is often found at the intersection between work and life (as Penelope Trunk would say). Nice article. To take the matter further though, I would even say that the business owner should be choose the people surrounding him/her carefully. Vendors, partners, even friends can drag you down. In business and in life. Good post I liked it.

Alex
www.stuckaholic.com

[briantr]

08:43 AM on 07/31/2011

This post is completely tactical based upon search and the power of the Amy Winehouse story, as many comments state this post could be relevant by so many analogies, none of the other possible analogies were as powerful as Amy's story at this time.

So to the points in this post about entrepreneurs and small business owners, Altucher has 2 awesome posts:
http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/04/the-100-rules-for-being-an-entrepreneur/
http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/02/how-to-be-the-luckiest-guy-on-the-planet-in-4-easy-steps/

[mrsnoyd]

07:56 PM on 07/27/2011

So, how's biz?

[THE GREAT PURIFIER]

01:18 PM on 07/27/2011

Tricia, the # 1 rule of ANY business owner (small, medium or large) is: STAY SANE, FUNCTIONAL AND PRODUCTIVE.

Amy Winehouse, sadly, failed on all three.

[John Alexis Guidry]

11:02 AM on 07/27/2011

Amy Winehouse, the biz school view.

[dogspeed]

09:20 PM on 07/26/2011

Keith Richards vs Amy Winehouse as small business models. Which one works and why?

[guppybear]

07:32 PM on 07/26/2011

This totally reminds me of when my business was addicted to drugs and how it was a wake-up call for celebrities everywhere.

[Christian Figueroa]

04:02 PM on 07/26/2011

EPIC FAIL!

[kaitlinmaud]

02:31 PM on 07/26/2011

SERIOUSLY? How would you feel if a loved one of yours died and days later some insensitive wannabe journalist tried to turn it into a business lesson?!

[2083]

12:18 PM on 07/26/2011

Did you get your MBA at a funeral parlour? What business administration lessons can I take away from the Norway attacks?

[christopher john garcia]

02:31 AM on 07/26/2011

As a small business Amy didn't do too badly. At 27 she had sold 30 million records, and was worth 10 million. She also wrote her songs so will ow have a revenue stream for life and in death. Her sales have now go up again, so making more money. I do see that as the work of loser. No bad really for some one so young

Take this article down and stop the anger towards Tricia Fox, who incidentally blocked me from her facebook page so stifling any criticism of her piece. Yet she states she wants discussion - hardly. Go back to Scotland and do no bother us again with your drivel

[Heather Bodington]

05:41 PM on 07/25/2011

Ugh...really? I mean REALLY? Tasteless and self-aggrandizing. Your object lesson is lost your complete lack of taste.

[Marc Thibault]

05:20 PM on 07/25/2011

this kind of rhetoric could be used to analyze pretty much any personal and professional conflict, crisis, threats ... using someone's death to bring forward these points is of course lame and tasteless and shameful, but highlights one point : that the writer of this article is completely clueless of what she writes about ... what kind of brand are you Tricia Fox? of the opportunist one?

[TaoistG]

04:29 PM on 07/25/2011

Actually, I think this article made a good point. 'using' Winehouse' suicide ( that's what a drug-addiction really is, folks- just a little slower, a bit more sub-conscious) as a link bait - well it got my attention, i was curious as how it connected, and satisfied with the conclusion. Winehouse made her life a spectacle of poor decisions, she went from the height of fame for a few questionably good songs to the height of infamy for her unquestionable lack of judgement. That's the price of fame- people who don't know you, talk about you. Stop whining everyone. Take a lesson and help any addicts you know get some real love, because it's the only thing that might stop them from ending up in a similar place.