6 Shows to Watch to Learn Business by Osmosis
So, you want to learn business, but you don’t want to spend $100K getting an MBA. I get that.
In the Era of Information Sharing—especially in lockdown when hourly positions are scarce—more and more people are choosing carpe diem over the “safe” and traditional pathways like so-called higher education. They’re hopping off the conveyor belt and just trying. Which is good! For centuries before the Industrial Revolution, people didn’t fear what their “job” would be in adulthood—they just looked at what they could do, what was needed, and they did it. Now, through a series of unforeseen events, that’s happening again.
But, of course, in a lockdown, work is harder. Harder to come by, harder to accomplish under regulation and restrictions, and harder to get off the ground because all around, people don’t necessarily have as much money to spend… or if they do, they don’t know in such uncertain times how long it will last, so they’re rationing with care.
So how to stay encouraged as a fledgling business owner? I have found that immersing oneself in whatever culture one wants to adopt is one of the easiest ways to maintain excitement about it. That includes business culture. For better or for worse, that is one of the benefits of college; you’re immersed. You eat, sleep, think, and breathe education. Without the accountability of a class schedule (or anywhere to go and rub elbows with like-minded folk because of the state of emergency) you may need to find more creative ways to stay immersed in business culture. Like TV.
I know! TV? Yes. What goes in must come out. So why not choose what goes in? Choose what you put in front of your eyes, what you’re taking in through your ears, so that your subconscious can start making connections that will matter in your business later?
If you want to learn business “by osmosis,” from home, during a pandemic, here are my top 6 recommendations!
No. 1: Girlboss
I’m not just recommending Girlboss because I look like the lead. (Maybe you don’t think so, but I get told all the time that I look like virtually every actress with dark hair and blue eyes.) I’m recommending Girlboss because even though the main character, Sofia, runs an online retail business and my business is mostly local and service-based, when I watched this show, at some point in every single episode, I heard myself say, “That’s how it is! That’s so true! That’s what happened to me!”
If you’re in the first couple years of business and you feel like literally everything that can go wrong does go wrong, this dramedy that is “loosely” based on real-life business titan Sophia Amoruso will give you comfort. Every business owner in the beginning feels the way you do—and yet the ones that push through the adversity and triumph discover it was all worth it.
Sadly, this didn’t get renewed for a second season (possibly because the main character’s portrayal was a little too unlikeable…?), but you can binge the first season in a single day on Netflix—and learn a lot of valuable lessons along the way.
No. 2: Silicon Valley
My man and I only started watching Silicon Valley because we’re King of the Hill and Office Space fans, and Mike Judge, co-creator of both cult classics, was also a co-creator of this sitcom. Judge is a master observer of people—and of taking their most annoying characteristics and making them hilarious. It wasn’t a show we’d normally gravitate to, but we had to give it a shot because, well, Mike Judge.
We weren’t disappointed. The show delivers on every front, from extreme caricatures of people types we’ve all met in everyday life, to dramatizations of the ridiculous scenarios that actually take place among businesspeople, regardless of whether they’re in the real Silicon Valley or in an uppity small town no one’s ever heard of.
The reason it’s on this list, however, is because you actually can learn a lot just by watching this show about the way businesses set themselves up legally, how investors conspire corporate takeovers, and how CEOs learn to take cruel, decisive action without blinking because “it’s just business.” Not to mention all the jargon written into the script that will have you reaching for a business dictionary and picking up important business terms left and right.
And for those just looking for relatable entertainment, well, if you’ve ever felt like a blundering idiot while trying to navigate a world that every businessperson seems acclimated to except you, you’ll be in good company with the main character, Richard Hendricks… but you won’t make the mistakes he made, because you’ll know better after watching SV.
No. 3: Shark Tank
This one shouldn’t be a shock. Shark Tank is a reality show about venture capitalists (wealthy businesspeople who invest in others’ businesses in exchange for company shares and board seats) and the companies that pitch them. Viewers of this show get to hear the cut-throat feedback the investors offer to companies to help them get their ducks in a row—and they offer cut-throat feedback more often than they invest, by far.
If you’re wondering what “numbers” to focus on in your business, this show is for you. New businesspeople and creatives especially tend to be drawn to and create “emotional” numbers, like projections that aren’t based in substantive data, but if that’s you, you’ll course-correct after just a few episodes of Shark Tank.
Pro tip? Skip the first season. It really didn’t have legs until season two or three!
No. 4: Stay Here
Want to build a strong brand? Stay Here will teach you everything you need to know. So far this Netflix original has only had one season, but that one season is rich with information that will pay dividends over your company’s lifetime, if you apply it well.
The premise of this reality show is how to take a dull, uninviting AirBnB and turn it into a destination experience. As we note time and time again here at AG, a brand isn’t your colors and font choices; it’s the experience you create. And that has everything to do with what you customer or client wants to feel.
Stay Here teaches you to think from the customer’s point of view and, in response to that, create an experience that excites and entices people, rather than just performs its minimum duty (in the case of an AirBnB, the minimum duty is to offer is a place to lay one’s head at night… but that alone is boring, right?). It doesn’t matter if your business is an AirBnB, a coffee shop, a clothing line, or online education—you can learn something from Stay Here.
No. 5: Self-Made
Based on real events, this show is just a mini-series because after the true story arc, there was no more to tell.
Apart from being the story of the first self-made, African-American, female millionaire (!) and a great rags-to-riches story, Self-Made is fascinating because it takes place over a century in the past and yet the principles and problems that applied in that time transcend to today:
Madam C.J. Walker, the leading character, gets her start by learning to solve a problem and learning to sell; she faces spiteful competition; her marriage and other relationships suffer because she’s trying so hard to make her business work—she can see it! She can taste it! Success is right around the corner!—but to everyone around her, she often seems crazed and obsessed… All things that any dedicated business owner can relate to in the here-and-now. Plus the characters are just great.
Highly relatable, highly educational—highly recommend.
No. 6: MarieTV
Last but not least, MarieTV. Not reality TV nor a fictitious show, either, MarieTV is actually a YouTube channel hosted by one of the top business and life coaches in the United States.
The YouTube channel is Marie (Forleo)’s free gift to the world in between rollouts of her renowned 8-week business program, B-School, which typically opens every year in March (date TBD in 2021, given the state of, well, everything). As a coach, the woman positively spills over with insight and a desire to help, so lots of nuggets that will help you prepare for the B-School intensive, should you decide to go that route, can be picked up by tuning into her weekly episodes, which vary from live coaching calls, to interviews with moguls like Seth Godin and Tony Robbins, to funny skits she performs alongside members of her set crew.
Basically, if you can’t afford Hulu or Netflix, and you’re fundamentally against sketchy sites that stream shows for free, all you need is a good WiFi connection and MarieTV will be accessible to you!
What do you think, which show will you check out first? Tell me in a comment below! As always, pin this post so you never lose track of it! And be sure to sign up for email updates to know when AG is running specials on classes like our very own Business 101!
HELLO! MY NAME IS ALEXIS.
Coffee lover, day dreamer, foodie, and creative. I believe in doing what you can with what you have where you are. I blog to help you do more with what you have. I hope you love it here!
