It’s sometimes hard to believe YouTube sensation Justin Bieber has millions of young girls going crazy over his music. Contrary to popular belief, Justin Bieber has a backstory that exudes the spirit of entrepreneurship, the underdog and how hard work pays off.

Besides having an awesome name (Hey that’s my name!), I went to see Justin’s movie Never Say Never for two reasons:

1) I have a serven-year-old daughter

2) I recently attended a small business workshop hosted by Guy Kawasaki. And even he said Justin Bieber’s movie was the best marketing movie out there today.

Here are seven business models Justin applied to be successful. Business owners can take a tip or two from this young musical marvel and marketing whiz.

Getting Noticed

Bieber started his career as a nobody and like any nobody willing to get noticed, he started marketing himself. He displayed his singing skills and musical talent on YouTube, competing in local talent competitions and singing in local hangouts. As when any business starts out, they have to put the marketing machine everywhere possible.

Failure

Justin wasn’t an overnight star. His YouTube videos had a steady, but low audience rate. He even won second place in a local talent competition. Justin wasn’t just a singer, he also did gigs as a drummer.  Most businesses fail when they don’t achieve success early on and give up. It’s OK to fail because that is a lesson we can learn from.

Taste of Success

One night talent manager Scooter Braun saw one of Justin’s videos and reached out to represent him to for a record deal. Eventually this led to being signed by Usher. You might think of this as getting funded as a start-up venture by angel investors.

Hard Work

Even though a major talent manager represented Justin, it didn’t mean he became an overnight sensation. Justin worked to get noticed. He did non-stop radio spot tours. Justin sang for anyone who would let him. The business world calls this sweat equity.

Going Viral

The best thing for any business is a successful viral marketing campaign. Justin is a true promoter of social media. Before Justin performed, he tweeted his location to his steadily growing fan base. His YouTube followers soon shared and tweeted his videos. Justin and his team gave free concert tickets to out-of-luck fans at sold-out shows.

Never Give Up

Although Justin was a hit and a success, critics still doubted his staying power. Critics even said he would never play at Madison Square Garden, let alone sell it out. Justin and his team proved the critics wrong by doing more radio spots, concert tours and eventually booking the Garden. He sold out in 22 minutes. Never say never. Believe in your business.

Post Success

Now that Justin Bieber has achieved success, how does he push the envelope further? When a business reaches critical mass, it is important to maintain and expand. Justin still incorporates social media in his daily activities by posting on YouTube. He tweets daily and keeps in touch with his fans via Facebook. In the movie, Justin showed he really cared about what his fans think and always finds ways to keep his fans engaged. A successful business know the importance in keeping up and never giving up.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *