What Beyonce Taught Me About Business
Whether you’re a committed member of the Beyhive or not, there’s no denying the sheer force that is Beyonce. Over the years I’ve learned a lot from Queen Bey,but dance moves aside it's the lessons in business that have resonated the most. Here’s what Beyonce taught me about business.
The Importance of Community
Before the Beyonce that brought us Beychella, there was the Beyonce that brought us Destiny’s Child. Since the beginning of her career Beyonce has had a powerful network of women that have helped shape the trajectory of her success. The power of community is often underestimated amongst women entrepreneurs, but underestimate at your own risk! Never mind the research that shows women who belong to focused women-centric networks enjoy more success, belonging to a community of other women who are hustling, working hard and changing the world through their ideas is more fun! Entrepreneurship can be lonely, particularly for women who are unapologetically ambitious. It requires us to enforce more boundaries around our time and services, ramp up our marketing and visibility efforts, take more risk, celebrate our successes and learn from our failures. Not everyone will understand this journey and it can often make others uncomfortable. Oprah put it best “people will support you until you exceed their expectations of you”. As a woman entrepreneur you’ve got to find a community who supports not only the woman you are today, but the woman you want to become. No one does this without a community, not even Beyonce.
The Power of a Bold Personal Brand
Beyonce is arguably one of the world’s top performers. The energy, confidence and power she brings to the stage is hard to top - but when Beyonce is on stage she is Sasha Fierce, not Beyonce. In this 2008 interview with Oprah she opens up about the process she goes through when she gets on stage. She talks about how Sasha Fierce can do things she would feel ridiculous doing (dancing in a bodysuit) and how she needs Sasha Fierce for her stage presence. Like Beyonce, entrepreneurs need ‘stage presence’ however our stage presence is less sweet moves in a bodysuit and more what we have to offer, our values and our thought leadership. A powerful personal brand will ensure you’re more memorable to clients and prospects. It positions you as an expert in your field and can allow you to unlock opportunities that might not exist otherwise. In other words, a powerful personal brand will help you get on stage when you need to.
The Power of Vulnerability
Lemonade was the album Beyonce needed to write to work through the pain associated with Jay Z’s (alleged) cheating. It was also the world’s best selling album in 2016. The album was so many things: raw, emotional, a celebration of black women and one of the first times Queen B let us truly see her. She took a painful and humiliating situation and turned it into a best selling album y’all. There’s power in vulnerability. Shedding your professional veneer and showing your true colours, even if they aren't always the best and brightest makes you relatable and being relatable is one of the most powerful things you can do in your business. People don’t want perfection they want realness. They want to know they’re dealing with a human, someone who gets the challenges they face and has personally experienced them. Being vulnerable allows you to connect, and the most successful businesses are the ones that can connect with the most people.
Lucky for us Beyonce’s career is far from over and she’ll be inspiring us through her power moves for a long time to come. For now, I'll leave you with a quote from her latest album The Gift
You're part of something way bigger. Bigger than you, bigger than we, bigger than the picture they framed us to see, but now we see it, it ain't no secret
