Dancing With the Stars For Small Business Owners

15.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the season finalemy audience doesn't like me. It doesn't matter if I do a
of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Together, weNicole- or Evan-style performance, I would still get
watched Pussycat Dolls' singer Nicole Scherzinger andpicked apart", she said. In business, you need your
Derek Hough dazzle with a Proud Mary jive, Olympiccustomers to like you. Period.
ice-skating champion Evan Lysacek and Anna6. Community involvement is everything.The winners of
Trebenskaya dance a superb quickstep to I Want YouDancing with the Stars were chosen by a combination
to Want Me, and ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrewsof scores from the judges and votes from the
and Maksim Chmerkovskiy bow out graciously.viewers. The more people who feel as if they have
But what, you may ask, does Dancing with the Starsinput into what you're doing, the better for your
have to do with small business owners?business. Get your clients and customers involved.
As a small business expert helping entrepreneurial7. Yes, you can go on.ESPN reporter Erin Andrews is
women start up businesses, I found Season 10 to bethe epitome of what to do when bad things happen to
both personally inspiring and professionally helpful.good people.
This season is a great example of what to do andHaving just gone through the horrific experience of
what not to do for micro- and small business ownershaving her privacy invaded by Michael David Barrett,
seeking success. From seeing how importantwho secretly videotaped her through hotel peepholes
rehearsals are to performance success to doing yourand displayed those videos online, Erin had him
best under adverse conditions, Dancing with the Starsarrested, moved forward with her life, and focused on
was full of powerful examples of what it takes to bedoing her best on Dancing with the Stars.
a successful small business owner in the world today.She is a living example to all woman entrepreneurs
Ten Pieces of Advice from Dancing with the Stars forabout what to do when a debilitating situation occurs. "I
Small Business Ownerscame here under really crummy circumstances, and I
1. Capitalize on what's working for you.When Nicolejust wanted to get my life back. I just wanted to get
and Derek decided to perform their already flawlessmy smile back," Erin said. And with her dance partner's
Argentine tango for their "favorite" dance, they didn'thelp, she did.
just aim to do the same dance as well as before8. Do your best.Even before the finale began, Evan
(even though they'd received a perfect score of 30knew how good his competition was and still went out
from the judges the first time). No, they changed upthere with his dance partner Anna and did his best.
some moves at the end to make it even better theAlthough their quick step was very good, Nicole and
second time around.Derek's jive was better.
2. Win hearts, not minds.By the seventh week of theAs a small business owner, when you know you've
competition, it was clear that the best male dancersdone your very best, let that be enough. Coming in
were Derek Hough and Evan Lysacek-one asecond doesn't mean you've necessarily done
masterful dancer and the other a 2010 Olympicanything wrong. As in Evan's case, it may mean that
champion. While Derek won points with his technique,someone else simply did better. No shame in that.
Evan won our hearts with his passion. That feeling in9. Do include hip, fresh new ideas to draw in
our hearts will be remembered, long after Season 10 iscomplementary audiences.The show added a college
over.dance competition this season. This was a smart
3. Grow from criticism and be gracious when youmove because it boosted both ratings and viewership
lose.Throughout the entire ten weeks of competition,from a different, yet complementary, audience. College
Evan impressed me with how well he handled thestudents nationwide tuned in to see Utah Valley
judges' criticism. Each successive week he listened toUniversity win the first-ever college dance competition
them and came back to the dance floor moreon Dancing with the Stars.
polished.What can you do to expand your niche into a
While other competitors let the judges' criticism getcomplementary market to get more attention?
them down, Evan thrived and capitalized on their10. Practice makes perfect.Whether it's a speech
feedback. And, in the end, when he came in second,you're about to make or a product presentation you're
he graciously honored Nicole by saying he was proudworking on, what you do before you get in front of
of her. Evan set himself apart from the competitionyour audience makes all the difference.
with his grace, class, and style.At the very end of Finale I, when Derek flubbed the
4. Too much sugar isn't good for you.No matter howlast lift to an otherwise stunning freestyle, it was
much you need to make a sale, please, please, please,because he hadn't practiced consistently enough the
don't pour on too much sweetness lest you sickenplacement of his left hand.
your customers. Don't do what Dancing with the StarsPractice makes perfect, and consistency creates
did when they had The Bachelor star, Jake Pavelka,confidence. Avoid waiting until the last minute to
waltz with his real life fiancée to the tune of On thepractice your speech. Don't "wing it" or change things
Wings of Love. The show nearly fell flat because ofup when your presentation goes south. Instead, do
that syrupy move. So will your business.what the Dancing stars do: get it right in rehearsal.
5. Bad publicity is not better than no publicity.What wasThen, when it really counts, enjoy yourself!
Dancing with the Stars thinking when they invited KateWith the Mirror Ball Trophy at stake and bragging
Gosselin back to the show to dance in the finale?rights for the taking, this year's Dancing with the Stars
There's a saying in business: bad publicity is better thanwas much more than just entertainment. During the ten
no publicity. Well, not so, when you're a small businessweeks of fierce competition, within each new dance
owner with everything on the line. Maybe big corporateroutine, and in the face of daunting individual trials and
ABC can absorb the negativity, but you can't.tribulations, you'll find a powerful example of what it
As a micro- or small business owner, you don't needtakes to be a successful small business owner in the
the controversial publicity that the star of Kate Plus 8world today.
brought to the show. "I would guess that 90 percent of