A few months before Tina died I wrote this article on how she had indirectly influenced me to become an entrepreneur.
While mourning the passing of her death last week, I noticed that the tributes focused on her impact on the music industry, pop culture and fashion. But Tina also left a valuable legacy for small business owners to emulate to be more successful.
Here are Six Tina Turner Tips for Entrepreneurs.
#1 Have a strong spiritual practice
Although Tina was outspoken about her religious beliefs, she didn’t use it as a weapon to judge the lifestyles of others, but rather to be enlightened about how to bring out her best self.
Tina said: “My spiritual practice is what bridged the gap for me. Hard work, tenacity, and spiritual fortitude helped me to achieve my dreams. Before I learned about chanting, I already had the work ethic and I was tenacious, but what I lacked was spiritual fortitude.”
Tina relied on her daily Buddhist practice of chanting/praying to gain clarity, wisdom and courage. She elaborates about it in this article in Black Enterprise.
Normally, one doesn’t think of spiritually and business going hand in hand. But I mention this because of an experience I had when attending a business seminar sponsored by a major banking institution.
It was 15 years ago, shortly after I started my business, which I operated at the time with my now-ex husband. During a dialogue we had with one of the bank employees, he mentioned a pattern he noticed among mom/pop businesses.
He said that in his experience the businesses that had the most success in overcoming economic and other challenges were those where one or both of the spouses had a strong spiritual practice (regardless of which practice or denomination). The banker had noticed this after working closely with the small business owners who had received loans from his branch.
To this day, I don’t remember how this topic came up in our conversation or the details about how he noticed this pattern (because I am certain I asked). But it always stuck with me that he spoke about it because I never expected a BANKER to talk about the connection between spirituality and finances.
2 Transparency generates goodwill
Long before it became popular to publicly reveal inner struggles, especially ones that are considered shameful, Tina did. She was open about her abusive marriage, suicide attempt and unhappy childhood. Her honesty did not diminish her but instead made her more relatable.
Recently I read the book “Wildflower” by Aurora James, the founder of Brother Vellies Shoes and the creator of the 15% Pledge. In the book, she not only wrote about her business successes but the numerous financial struggles she experienced in launching and growing the business.
Since so much of social media is about staging and pretending that things are perfect, it was a breath of fresh air when she was so authentic about what happened behind the scenes.
Authenticity creates an emotional connection and emotions are what motivates us to make a purchase. According this article from INC magazine
“If you want the consumer to remember your product or brand, they must be engaged and impassioned by the interaction with your company.”
Aurora’s honesty definitely created an emotional connection for me, because we faced some of the same “the odds are against us” struggles that most Black female entrepreneurs experience.
This connection motivated me to tell my friends about the book, recommend it for my book club, make a purchase from her company and sign up for the company newsletter. All because of her transparency.
3 (Re)Define how to reach your Target Audience
Although Tina started out as an R&B singer, she wanted to change genres and sing rock and roll. But shortly before her success in that genre an executive on her record label referred to her as an “old nigger douchebag” and wanted Tina dropped from the label.
So to reach her target audience, Tina made changes so could get more support to reach her goal. Although Europe is only slightly better than the U.S. regarding racial issues, Europeans are much MORE appreciative of Black musicians, in their recorded music and live performances.
This article from PBS elaborates on how racism pushed Tina and other artists out of the U.S.
Tina’s breakout album, “What’s Love Got to Do With It” was recorded in London and her fan base in Europe is larger than in the US. Also her husband is German and the manager responsible for her comeback wasn’t an American citizen, but Australian.
Tina moved to the south of France first, then eventually renounced her U.S. citizenship and relocated permanently to Switzerland.
Granted, most small business owners don’t have the luxury of moving outside of the country. But perhaps moving to another city or state where you can get more support or respect for who you are or what you do is definitely worth considering.
A benefit of having an online business is you can work from anywhere and have access to customers across state lines and borders. (Note: My first big a retail client came via the internet – the Milan office of Prada. My business is based in Oakland, Ca.)
4 Seek Allies From Different Spheres of Influence
Many significant turning points in Tina’s career came from partnering with allies outside her usual network. She reached out to designer Bob Mackie for new stage wear which took her to new heights visually.
She performed on stage or recorded duets with Cher, Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Bryan Adams and Lionel Ritchie.
And, from the comments I’ve read, these were genuine relationships, not strictly strategic business decisions. While Tina may have been the underdog at the start of some of these relationships, in the long run, they all benefited.
I had a recent experience with allly ship as well. A woman who owns a business offering group DIY candle-making classes reached out to me about hosting our flower crown headdress classes at her venue.
Her venue is in a more affluent area than mine and she has big tech companies as clients (something that I have not landed yet). While we are still working on the details of our “Fragrance and Flowers” classes, I already see the benefit of our budding partnership. Plus she has referred me to the person who handled her very successful online advertising campaign. Because I trust her I decided to hire that person to handle my advertising.
5 Be a “listening” boss
It is hard to believe that Tina’s breakout hit, the Grammy winning “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” was not a song she wanted to record. She thought it was terrible according to this article in Harper’s Bazaar.
Maybe she didn’t like the melody when she first heard the demo by this white group. (Check it out; it is kinda like listening to Dolly Parton’s version of “I Will Always Love You” compared to Whitney Houston’s version)
Or maybe she was still too raw from her divorce to sing about love and a heart that could be broken. But whatever the reason why resisted, thank goodness, she listened to the person on her team who was insistent that she record it.
When you are the boss, it is tempting to want your staff to always agree with your decisions. However, it is critical to give your team the freedom to express an opposing point of view, listen to their perspectives and be open about changing your mind. Easier said than done, but just think of the difference this made in Tina’s life.
This article from the website Great Place to Work discusses the difference between debate, discussion and dialogue in the workplace.
6 Enthusiasm is contagious
In the majority of the still photos of Tina, she has a big smile on her face. And, at the end of her performances, she never looked like she was “phoning it in” but was beaming and radiant. She was truly giving 100%+ up until her last stage performance.
People felt her energy and enthusiasm and were drawn to it. This interview with Tina from the Harvard Business Review discusses the significance of work and happiness.
When touring was no longer something Tina found joyful, she directed her energy work that made her happy – writing books and producing the musical about her life.
Tina left behind some wonderful music for us to enjoy. And she also left a fantastic life story from which to glean great business and life habits. I hope these concepts inspire you as well. Let’s keep on “rollin’ down the river” to achieve our own fame and fortune.
As a small business owner for 20+ years, Tina has served as a North Star for me for all these reasons and more.
To be fully transparent, I have been a practicing Buddhist for 37 years (the same sect as Tina). Like her, my strong work ethic is enhanced by my daily Buddhist practice.
I love my crazy, funky business (called Mannequin Madness for that very reason) and I’m also considering a reinvention and relocation of my business.
I work at being an open-minded “boss;” in fact, some of our best business ideas and strategies have come from my staff.
I am a natural at expressing my passions and enthusiasm so that is not work; my energy is contagious to those around me.
Writing this blog post was joyful (despite numerous revisions and edits from my virtual assistant Jacqui) and I hope you found joy in reading it.
