Never Say Never – Justin Bieber

Whether you like Justin Bieber’s singing or not, his success story provides a strong message and model for micro- and small-business owners.

Out of curiosity, I watched the Bieber documentary Never Say Never on Netflix last weekend. As someone with years of professional experience in the music industry, I found the approach that was taken to build Bieber’s fan club to be very grassroots and very effective.

Some of you may think Bieber simply got lucky. He was signed to a record label at fourteen years of age. Let’s backtrack for a second. This musical genius started playing the drums at two.

He was surrounded by his mother’s church friends who were in a band and regular rehearsed at his home, a ground-level suite where he and his mother lived. From an early age, Bieber had a dream, and the talent and tenacity to make it happen. Yet, without a team behind him, it would have been a much tougher journey.

By twelve, Bieber was playing piano, drums and guitar proficiently, including jazz. He started posted videos on YouTube, which is how he was discovered by Scooter Braun. Even though he was signed to a major label at thirteen, it didn’t guarantee him success. Radio stations across the United States did not paying much attention until Braun decided that the only way for Bieber to get air time was to have him show up at a radio station every morning to perform his first single, One Time.

While this was happening, Justin would tweet out his next early morning radio show location. In the beginning, 20 fans would show up, then 40, then 100, until the crowds were so large that security had to take over.

Braun and Bieber understood that the fans needed to be #1. Social media was the media that connected and built Bieber’s fan club. Bieber was committed to doing whatever it took to achieving his dream. Although his first CD didn’t hit the streets until he was 15, by the age of 14 he was already the #1 musician on YouTube in Canada and #20 in the world.

Before every show, Braun and their team, including Bieber’s mother, make personal visits to neighbourhoods and find fans who don’t yet have tickets for that evening’s show. They hand over some of the best seats in the house to fans who may have never been able to afford them or were unable to get a ticket that night due to the show being sold out. Braun knows that without the fans, Bieber has nothing. I think this is a global message that applies to everyone who owns a business.

Lastly, one of the many things Scooter Braun did right early in signing a management agreement with Justin Bieber was build a team to support and build on Bieber’s talent.

What team do you have to support and build your business success?

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