Why Taylor Swift should run a start-up?
Love her or hate her, she is one of the most successful businesswomen alive along with being a talented singer/songwriter. Taylor Swift has built a brand, following and more importantly has reaped the financial rewards from making critical and informed business decisions. Yes, I am an advocate for Taylor and I’m proud to say I’ve seen her perform live. My opinions of her may seem bias but below I explain why Taylor Swift is the perfect candidate to run a start up:
- Resilicence:
Taylor started young. From the age of 14 she had been knocking on the doors of music records trying to sign a deal. Did she get knocked down? More times than you can imagine. But even in her teen years she persevered and went for her dream. That takes guts and Taylor has shown more resilience by her 20’s than most people can show for in their entire lives.
2. Negotiation:
Taylor convinced her parents to move to Nashville. Why? Because Taylor knew she would have more chance of signing a deal by being in the city where deals are made. Parents don’t give in so easily especially on massive decisions like uprooting your family to a completely new city. Taylor is a convincing woman that’s for sure!
3. Following:
Now you might think that every artist has a following. Granted they probably do but Taylor takes the word following to whole other meaning. Taylor makes sure all her fans know just how much she appreciates them. She invites her fans to be in her music video (and not tell anyone!) Taylor also hosts secret sessions for her most devoted fans. She searches through her social media channels and hand picks those who she thinks are most beloved fans. Your first users matter and if you can make them be advocates then you’re onto a winner. Taylor knows that well. Check out these fans who have Taylor quotes tattoed on their bodies.
4. Engages with her fans
Taylor knows how important it is to keep a close relationship with your fans. Taylor engages heavily on her social media channels and even gets herself involved in popular discussions such as ‘No it’s Becky’ on Tumblr.
5. She has ambassadors (Selena Gomez, Lena Denham, Ellie Goulding, Cara Delivinge)
Taylor is one of the very few artists who have been able to bring on a group of other artists and celebrities in one music video. Bad Blood was one of the most anticipated music video releases and also had the highest number of views in the first few hours of its release. Taylor knows she has a big following, but she also knows how to accelerate that following through endorsements of her celebrity friends. In business, endorsements equal credibility and more awareness. Another reason why Taylor is ten steps ahead.
6. She stands by her morals:
Ok, so this one is a bit controversial. We all remember the letter Taylor sent to Apple and there is a part of me that thinks it was all a bit good to be true. What really counts here is the principle of why Taylor wrote that letter. Taylor didn’t believe in how the music industry currently works with artists who are not being paid by streaming services. You could argue that she has enough money and the change wouldn’t make much of a difference to her. Regardless, Taylor believes in something and she stood up for it and voiced her opinion.
7. She makes informative decisions:
From her backing dancers to her producers, Taylor thoroughly researches before she makes a decision on anything. Unlike other artists, Taylor takes control of as many aspects of her career as she can from songwriting to how and when her music videos are released. Even when all her team were convincing her not to change music genres for her most recent album 1989, Taylor confronted them with what was a very convincing argument.
Have I convinced you yet? Most importantly, what I love about Taylor Swift is that she is just herself. She embraces her weaknesses and plays to her strengths and that’s a trait all CEO’s need to discover. Let me know your thoughts and which other singer/songwriters would make awesome CEO’s. If you agree with me, I would LOVE to know who you think should be Taylor Swift’s co-founder/co-founding team?
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