Strictly Business

As an amateur Ballroom and Latin sprawler, the return of Strictly Come Dancing to Saturday night TV serves two purposes for me. 

Firstly, it gives me the complete confirmation that I will never make it pro, and secondly just how much works goes into the 1 min and 30 seconds of performance we see on our screens.  Good, bad or Widdecombe, there is no hiding when the various celebs get their sequins and fake tans on and strut like they’ve never strutted before (apart from Robbie Savage who always had a strut that wound up opposition fans).

But Strictly Come Dancing gives us 5 business lessons that we can all learn from:

Dedication, that’s what you need

The celebs on Strictly eat, sleep and breathe (sometimes very heavily) dancing.  They have to; there is just no getting away from the intense period of time that is the show.  Last series we saw Matt Baker training in farmers fields and cow sheds whilst on location doing his day job of Countryfile.  This series Chelsee Healey is spending 8 hours a day filming Waterloo Road and then heading straight to the training room for 3 hours of intense dance. 

Whatever your opinion on TV work being ‘real’ or not, the celebs are dedicating every minute they have to the competition.  As with any business, if you are dedicated to that business, giving your all and every minute you have it will show.

Hard Work Pays off

When you are in business, it’s hard work that pays off.  Put the hours in both in your business and on your business and you’ll succeed.  Most entrepreneurs will take 16 hour work days as the norm, especially in the early days of a business, working all hours to ensure they are producing, selling, marketing and accounting.  It’s non-stop. 

At Strictly, it’s completely the same, put the hours in to learn not just the dance, but the technique and you’ll get the kind of marks that put you top of the leaderboard.  Take Harry Judd for example, the McFly drummer currently tops the training hours leaderboard and waltzed off with the first 10 of the series. 

Putting the hours and hard work in to your business is the way to get results, it’s just a pity we can’t all be accompanied by Harry or Aliona to make the time a little easier.

Know your limits

Let’s face it you wouldn’t ask Audley Harrison to perform a backflip.  Equally, asking Anita Dobson to lift Robin Windsor probably wouldn’t be the wisest decision either.  The professional dancers will put the dance choreography together to show off the best skills of the celeb.  They know exactly when is best to let them jive on their own and when it’s best just to slap them in a harness and hope for the best. 
Similarly it is crucial when you are running a business to recognise what you are good at, and what you aren’t so good at.  We aren’t superhuman as much as we like to think,  therefore getting help and support in for the bits that you aren’t so good at (or don’t want to do) will only help you and the business in the long run. 

Knowing your limits is the best way to push your business to the next level and often crystallises new appointments.

Sell the Dance

So many times celebs in Strictly Come Dancing will ‘nail’ all the steps.  Technically they’ll get to the end of the 90 seconds with the routine complete, yet something just won’t look right to us viewers or the judges.  Selling the dance be it Rhumba or Waltz is key to getting to the very top.  It is equally the case in business, you must ‘sell’ yourself and the business if you want to succeed.

Selling yourself, promoting the business is what can make the crucial difference between a sevennnnnn or a nine.  Without this essential part you are left with a technically great business that no-one gets or perhaps even knows about.  Selling is the key to success.

If you stumble, keep going

Sometimes the funniest Strictly moments are  those when it all goes wrong, and yet the celeb keeps going.  Pamela Stephenson last year nearly spun into the 3^rd row of the audience but kept going with a smile as big as ever.  This series Nancy Dell’Olio came to blows with a feather boa that wasn’t prepared to let her go, whilst Lulu completely forgot her steps in week one and carried on regardless.  The key with all of them was the celebs knew there was no hiding place they could do only one thing, carry on.

Running a business is no different, making mistakes is part of becoming an entrepreneur.  Some eminent entrepreneurs such a Richard Branson will tell you it is an essential part.  The key with these trips or mistakes is to keep going.  Dust yourself off and get back in the game.  There is no hiding place when you are in charge, you just have to keep going as best you can.  People will understand, and as long as you don’t keep making the same mistakes, it will only do you good in the long run.

Perhaps it’s time to get the glitter spray and fake tan out now, I’m feeling like a Quickstep.