#164 What Small Business Owners Can Learn From the Movie Legally Blonde
As someone who has been practising law for quite some time, you can imagine I’ve gotten a lot of questions over the years like: “what's it like to be a lawyer? Is it like Suits, LA Law, The Good Wife?”
Sadly, it’s not quite that sexy or entertaining - and really not that dramatic. That's not to say that we can't take inspiration and little nuggets of gold along the way from some of these shows.
Today, I’m talking about how business owners can find inspiration and fresh ideas from many sources - and sometimes totally unexpected ones! Now, you may never have expected to hear this one from me, but one surprising source of inspiration for business I've found is the movie Legally Blonde, starring Reese Witherspoon.
So, join me in this fun episode, where we’ll explore five key takeaways from the movie that will support you to grow as an entrepreneur and effectively navigate challenges that come your way.
1. Clarity and Determination
One of the most important qualities displayed by Reese Witherspoon's character, Elle Woods, is her unwavering clarity and determination. Despite facing numerous challenges and setbacks, Elle remains focused on her goals and never loses sight of what she wants to achieve. I talk about being anchored to our why, where maintaining a clear sense of purpose is crucial to the longevity of our business.
2. Adaptability
If the last few years have taught us anything on the business journey, it is that we need to be adaptable and embrace some flexibility. In the movie, Reese Witherspoon's character certainly is adaptable in the face of all of her challenges, shifts and pivots. We’ll talk about this characteristic and how it serves a business owner so well in dealing with those unrelenting challenges in an aligned way.
3. Understanding Your Ideal Client
As business owners, we need to be clear on who our ideal client is. Who are we talking to? Who do we want to attract? In Legally Blonde, Elle demonstrates a deep understanding of her audience, with empathy and the ability to appeal to their desires. We would do well to follow suit, because truly understanding our clients leads to better communication, stronger relationships and ultimately, business growth.
4. The Power of a Support Network
Throughout Legally Blonde, Elle recognises the importance of having a strong support network. She surrounds herself with people who believe in her and support her goals. This is such a valuable example, as being surrounded by the right people in business can honestly make or break a business owner's journey.
5. Embracing Authenticity
One of the most powerful lessons from the movie is the importance of being unapologetically authentic. If we are not grounded in our authenticity, we can find ourselves becoming derailed, feeling unfulfilled and going around in circles. Embracing authenticity allows us to align our actions with our values, attract like-minded clients, and build a business that is true to who they are.
The business journey is not linear, and certainly not for the faint of heart. However, with the right tools and inspiration, we can navigate our path in the aligned and authentic way we desire.
I hope this episode gives you just that and supports you to bring out these five qualities displayed so beautifully in Legally Blonde.
Happy listening!
Full Transcript:
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[00:00:00]
Tracey: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to season eight of the Rise Up in Business podcast. If you're a long time listener, thank you so much for joining me for another episode. And if you're new around here, welcome. It's great to have you here. As you can imagine, I get asked a lot of questions along the lines of, what's it like to be a lawyer and act for someone who you know is guilty?
And, What's it like being a lawyer? Is it like the TV? Is it like Suits? Is it like LA Law? Is it like The Good Wife? So I'm going to address this topic today. And I'm going to talk to you about the really famous movie, Legally Blonde, [00:01:00] and why I actually think this episode is going to be full of nuggets of gold for you in your business. So first of all, my days of practicing in criminal law are long over. So as for the question, what's it like to act for someone that you think's guilty? Yes, I've been asked that a lot in my career, but I stopped practicing in criminal law many years ago, and I'm not even going to go there because that is a podcast episode. Actually, it's a podcast series all on its own, that one. So let's not go there for that. But in relation to the questions about, is it like what we see on TV? Is it like Suits? Is it like LA Law? No, sadly it's not. It's not that sexy. It's not that entertaining. And it's really not that dramatic.
This has crossed my path so many times over the years, as you can imagine. And for those who don't know me, or for those that don't know me well, you may not know that I spent five years teaching in the ANU [00:02:00] College of Law. Before I set up this business and I now teach sessionally into a law course at UNSW.
So only once or twice a year when they ask me and I come in and teach on the practical side of legal practice and teach soon to be law graduates all about what it is that they're in for and give them tips and tricks and all the things. So I do get asked a lot by students. What's it really like?
And is it really like TV? And no, it is not. That's not to say though, that we can't take inspirational pick up little nuggets of gold along the way in some of these shows, I think is business owners. We struggle sometimes ,we get a little flat sometimes. Certainly I see this with my clients.
I've experienced it myself where we're looking for those waves of motivation or perhaps a better word is inspiration. And we're looking for new ideas and some nuggets of gold that we can take from others and implement it into our own [00:03:00] business. That's the life of a business owner. And I talk a lot on the podcast about things that I know can help you in business.
And I draw on my experience. And I share with you real life client examples in the hope of offering some insight, nuggets of gold, aha moments, inspiration, all of those things. Podcast listening is a great way for small business owners to get their fix of what it is that they're looking for at any given time.
When it comes to the law shows though, shows like Suits and Ally McBeal probably aren't the ones where we're going to get too many nuggets of gold to take away and implement in our business. We certainly don't get any legal insights, because despite being law shows, there's virtually no law practice in those shows.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Suits fan through and through hands down, happy to admit it. But then from time to time, a movie will come along and we will be [00:04:00] able to take some little nuggets or have some little light bulb moments or aha moments while we're watching. And something that comes up a lot in my discussions when I'm asked about these legal shows, is the movie Legally Blonde. Who would have thought, but Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon is a classic when it comes to the law show and something really interesting and exciting and fun. And just about every woman in business I know, knows the movie, some love it, some less so, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have nuggets of gold in it.
And like I said, who would have thought? It's a comedy where Reese Witherspoon goes to law school. She's portrayed as the ditzy blonde. She's portrayed as the airhead. and her character teaches, not only characters in the movie a lot, but the character can take all of us quite a bit, actually, and I'm going to share with you my thoughts on the five things that I think business owners can learn from Legally Blonde.
This is a [00:05:00] surprising episode. It's a bit different for me. And I think that there's probably many of you that are listening to this thinking, gosh, Tracey, this is fun. Hadn't expected this from you, but I know that this is going to resonate with so many listeners, which is why I wanted to share it today.
The business journey is not linear. The business journey is not for the faint hearted. It's an extreme sport, most of the time I feel, and it is challenging. It has its challenges and its ups and downs, and that never stops. We never reach a point where we say, fantastic. I've been through my challenges in business.
There's no more to come. They will never stop. They're always there. And there's a lot that a business owner has to overcome and think about and integrate and embrace before we even get to the point of making money and being profitable. And though that's the space I want to focus on today, it's that space that a business owner needs to focus on, embrace, learn, deal with, overcome before we get to the point where we start talking about all the money.
So there's five things [00:06:00] that I think fit really beautifully into that space and we can draw from them thanks to Elle Woods, which is Reese Witherspoon's character in the movie Legally Blonde. And the first thing is clarity and determination. There is undoubtedly crystal clear clarity in Reese Witherspoon's character about what it is she's there to do, what it is she's there to achieve, and she works out very quickly how it is she's going to do it.
She's unwaveringly determined. And we see in the movie that she demonstrates these characteristics of determination and resilience in such a fun way, but it's unwavering and she has challenges and she has ups and downs and turmoil, but she doesn't lose focus at any point in time on what it is she's there to achieve.
So her clarity and her determination serve her so well in this movie. And I think that everybody listening to this will be nodding along and thinking, yes, Tracey, now I see where you're going. And I see why you're sharing this because absolutely [00:07:00] one of the most important things that a business owner can have is crystal clear clarity and determination.
Be anchored to their why, so we know what it is that we're doing on this journey. We know why we are running this business and we know what we're here to achieve. So that's the first thing. The second thing is adaptability. And if the last few years have taught us anything on the business journey, it is that we need to be adaptable, have some flexibility, a bit of fluidity.
We need to be adaptable. And in the movie, Reese Witherspoon's character certainly is adaptable in the face of all of her challenges and all of her shifts and pivots, dare I say the word, she's adaptable. That is a characteristic that will serve a business owner so well, because like I said a moment ago, the challenges never stop.
They just vary. Adaptability. Is key to being able to deal with those in an aligned way for our business. The third point, and this is really on point for this discussion [00:08:00] is the character in the movie, Elle Woods, who's Reese Witherspoon's character. She understands her audience.
And so I translate that to the business owner saying, understanding your ideal client. So she has an ability to empathize and connect with people around her to help her get where it is she wants to go. She's clear that the people around her are important keys in her success. She knows that, and it's demonstrated throughout the movie.
She knows how to appeal to them. She knows how to communicate with them. She knows who it is that's around her and like business owners, we need to be clear on who our ideal client is. Who are we talking to? Who do we want to attract?
Who do we serve? If we don't know that it's very easy to become derailed on this business journey. It's very easy to end up in a position where we find ourselves having one of those moments of throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks because we lack that clarity and we don't know who our ideal client is.
That was a big takeaway, [00:09:00] I thought, from the movie. Leading into number four then is Elle Woods knows the importance of a support network. It became really clear throughout the movie that she knows that the people around her are pivotal on her journey, not just those who she's serving, those that are supporting her achieve her goals and get where it is that she wants to go.
And I talk a lot on my Instagram account about the importance of surrounding ourselves with the right people in business. The context that I'm often talking is our team of advisors, our accountant, our lawyer, our strategist, our team. Being surrounded by the right people in business can honestly, in my view and in my experience, make or break a business owner's journey.
If we're not surrounded with the right people, we can be setting ourselves up for failure, hands down. So the opposite follows. If we surround ourselves with the right people, with the right support team, with the right team of advisors, we really are setting ourselves up for [00:10:00] success on this business journey.
So it was really great seeing that come through in the movie, I thought. And the last point, the last key takeaway that I think is really, really important, and this one resonates with me on a really deep level is that the lead character, Elle Woods is unapologetically authentic. She's ridiculed. She's teased.
She's judged because she's different and she's not the stereotypical law student. She's not what society expected to see from a law graduate. That's how it's portrayed in the movie. She is unapologetically authentic, and while she might doubt herself from time to time, she didn't change or try to force herself to fit into a mold that wasn't aligned with who she is. This one is so powerful for business owners because the business journey can be brutal at times. And if we are not grounded in our why, in business and our purpose and grounded in [00:11:00] our authenticity, so we are clear on what's right for us, what's aligned for us and what's not, if we are not unapologetically authentic, then again, we can find ourselves becoming derailed, feeling unfulfilled, serving the wrong clients, going around in circles and ultimately ending up nowhere. So there's real value and power, I think, in our business journey to being anchored into our authenticity.
Who are we? Who am I? What do I stand for? What does my business stand for? Who do we serve? What is our purpose? What's my why? What's my vision? What's my objective? Being anchored in that in a really clear, powerful way means that when these challenges that I talk about keep coming, we don't get knocked down as often for as long over time.
When we are clear on who we are and what we stand for and who our business is here to serve and we are able to honor [00:12:00] that authenticity, well, to be honest, I think that's the definition of success right there. So in business, there is a lot to unpack around what's important on the journey. There's a lot to unpack around, what are we here to do? Who are we here to serve? And I think that we can learn a lot from the movie Legally Blonde. And I know I heard it. Who would have thought that you would hear your business lawyer saying that to you, but I'm speaking from experience, both on my own business journey and as you know, I only act for business owners.
So I'm speaking from experience of years of acting for small business owners. So the takeaways let's recap. The takeaways from the movie Legally Blonde that I think can be really important and real nuggets of gold for small business owners just like you are number one, clarity and determination. Two is adaptability.
If we've learned anything these past few years, we all know the value and the importance of being adaptable. Then there's [00:13:00] understanding your ideal client, the importance of the right people and having the right support network around you. And finally, the power of being unapologetically authentic.
So there you go. That's a really fun episode that I've loved sharing with you. I hope that you have found this as fun as what I have found recording it for you. And just the little bit of edge here on what it is that we can take from different places from time to time when we need it in our business journey.
Because like I said, we all get our inspiration and our ideas and our enthusiasm and motivation from different places from time to time. And I'm hoping that this lands for some of you and that you take away from this, the gold that I wanted to share. Thank you so much for listening. I'm really grateful for your time.
I know you're spoiled for choice these days. We all are with how many podcasts are out there. So I'm very grateful that you've taken the time to listen to my episode today. If you haven't already left a review on Apple podcasts, I would be so grateful if you would take a [00:14:00] moment to pop over and do that, because that is how we get the podcast into the ears of even more business owners.
Thanks for joining me. I'll catch you next week.
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