A couple of weeks ago, I touched on a few things you need to consider if you want to start (or continue to build) an online business. These were foundational topics that addressed the type of mindset you need to develop before taking the next step. You can read that post HERE. If you have taken these thoughts to heart and still want to get your online business up and running, let’s look to Dr. Dolittle for some additional instruction.
One of the things my family enjoys is sharing movies together. Have no fear, we are not going to movie theaters surrounded by potential Covid carriers. We generally check them out from the local library, where they are quarenteened and sanitized. With the extra time off around the holidays, this past week my wife picked up “Dr. Doolittle” starring Robert Downey, Jr. If you have read any of my prior posts, you’ll know I tend to see business and/or self improvement principles in the movies I watch. Let’s take a look at the nuggets I discovered in “Dr. Doolittle”.
There is a business principle that is a major factor in your online business success that says people will buy from those they know, like, and trust. For people to know and like you, you have to be consistant in posting, commenting, and liking/upvoting. It is a proven in studies, though, that people trust someone they can see. You do that by creating videos. However, most people are hesitant to do that because they are not comfortable getting in front of a camera. This is where the first “Dr. Doolittle” principle kicks in. One of the overriding messages in the movie is that it’s okay to be afraid. At one point, Dr. Dolittle states part of a quote attributed to Franklin Roosevelt which goes, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” Just repeat this back to yourself, turn on your video camera, and build trust with your community.
The second bit of wisdom we can gleen from this movie came when Dr. Dolittle said, “Embrace the unknown and the answers will be revealed.” Too often, we want to have all of our ducks in a row before setting out on a new endeavor. Many times, that is just not feasible and if we don’t step out in faith, we will never be able to accomplish that we are shooting for. Once again, we need to overcome our fear and take on the courage to embark on a journey into the unknown and deal with whatever comes our way. It’s fine if you make mistakes. Learn from them and move on. Don’t be afraid to apologize for something. Unless you do somethind grossly wrong, your fan base will be forgiving and generally think more of you for being willing to come clean.
The final tidbit I took away from this movie was a the last sentence…”Dr. Doolittle was at his best when he was sharing his gift with others. For it is only by helping others that we can truly help ourselves.” This brings to mind a quote that I heard many years ago that still rings true today. “You can have everything you want in life, if you just help enough other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar
This is probably the one that will get you the furthest in your business building efforts. It goes back the the whole know, like, and trust thing. If you give away more than you ask for, people will tend to like you. If every post or comment you make is asking someone to join one of your programs or buy your stuff, you will lose people quickly. This applies to blogs, emails, and any other means of contacting your community that you utilize. What you give away doesn’t necessarily have to cost you financially. Just make sure what you pass along is relevent, helpful, and/or interesting.
So, to recap, here are the topics we discovered from “Dr. Dolittle”:
- It’s okay to be afraid.
- Embrace the unknown.
- Help others in order to help yourself.
And don’t forget, people buy from those they know, like, and trust.
