What a Comedian Taught Me About Succeeding in Business

Hello and welcome back from the summer holidays!

With our September/October Show Issue coming out shortly along with our new Media Planner 2012, we will not be providing you with a current issue of CNS – Canadian Natural Supplier. However, I’ve still been reading and wanted to share my thoughts with you about a very interesting book that I read last month. Here’s what I learned...

What a comedian taught me about succeeding in business.

The most recent autobiography that I read was Born Standing Up: A Comics Life by Steve Martin. As an actor his over-the-top-shtick - which can be kitsch at its best - is what I love about him. But his writing is what has completely blown me away, especially his autobiography.

While reading Martin’s Born Standing Up I found myself amazed at his comedic journey, and how it inspired me and caused me to stop and think about my businesses and how I perform. Not only was I learning more about this incredibly talented person, I was learning how I could improve my own performance, bit by bit, day by day.

Here’s what I learned from Steve Martin about succeeding in business:

1. Focus: Steve Martin studied performers around him while he worked at Disneyland in his early teens. He studied how they performed, what got them laughs and then applied (in the beginning mostly copied) the successful acts until he was able to make original material on his own. He studied books on comedy and performing. He practiced comedy at every possible available moment each day. It was something that he simply had to do and every decision he made was based on how he could get closer to his dream/goal/mission of becoming a professional stand up comedian. He was obsessed with getting better every day.

2. Dedication: everything Steve Martin did was to ensure that he moved his craft forward, always practicing, watching, learning, tweaking, discussing, thinking, sleeping and planning for the life he wanted as a comedian, even when he had no audience to perform to. (One club asked him to perform even when there was no one in the place so that pedestrians on the street would hear him outside and want to come in.)

3. Determination: he never, ever gave up. It took him ten years of doing stand up to small audiences, virtually a complete unknown even though he had been on the Johnny Carson Show numerous times, always broke, went against his parents’ wishes, constantly alone going from town to town, gig to gig, never knowing for sure if he was ever going to be able to afford a permanent residence or if he was going to make it. He never gave up because he believed in what he was doing.

4. Evaluation: After every single show he meticulously wrote out each part of his act, the timing, the words, the inflection, the tone, the pauses, the props, the lighting, the sequence and the reaction (or lack thereof) from the audience and tweaked and tweaked and tweaked every aspect until it was ALL funny. If a part of his show died, he retired it – quickly. If he received moderate laughs he modified that part until he got big laughs. He learned, over time, what his audience wanted and he gave it to them - beautifully.

5. Experimentation: He never shied away from trying something new. Martin always remained within the context of his craft, he had a very specific and unique way of doing stand up, and he experimented with new ways that fit in with what he was doing. He was consistently “Wild and Crazy!” which made him reliable and enjoyable every time he got on the stage. However, he also made sure to bring something new to audiences to keep it fresh for them as well as himself.

Born Standing Up was a wonderful read for me on so many levels. I’m always trying to find new ways to perform for my clients and Steve Martin has certainly given me lots to think about. Hopefully, I can do for you what Steve Martin has done for millions: give you the performance that you want and expect from me and CNHR consistently, reliably and hopefully with a little fun thrown in.

Until my next book review, take care and all the best. Nicole

Nicole Saltsman National Account Manager
Canada's Business Magazine for Traditional Natural Health Retailers
t: 705.549.7081 e: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it f: 705.549.0267 www.cnhr.ca
Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. -Mark Twain