Dinks Reality: The Celebrity Apprentice

Good morning Dinks. As you know I am a huge fan of reality TV and one of my favourite shows just started a new season.  I love The Celebrity Apprentice because it takes place in New York City, it’s full of Hollywood celebs and every week viewers get to watch celebrities tackle a different task.

Of course the highlight of The Celebrity Apprentice is that viewers and contestants get an insider look at how Mr. Donald Trump runs his business. Yes, The Celebrity Apprentice is an entertaining show, but there are also a lot of business, money and life lessons that we can learn from the mega millionaires on the show.  The Celebrity Apprentice is half a reality television show and half a lesson in how run a successful business and brand from some of the top CEOs in America.

3 business lessons that I learned from Donald Trump and The Celebrity Apprentice:

1. Your brand’s image is important. Almost every time a team loses a task on The Celebrity Apprentice it is because they didn’t properly represent the brand.  If you are self employed you have to define your brand image and the message that you want to get across to your potential audience.  Ask yourself – what are your skills and how do you want people to find you?

If you are a freelance writer, community manager or social media manager you have to remember to always keep in the brand in mind at all times.  When you are working for a company you are hired to properly represent their brand.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions, as a matter of fact brand’s encourage it.

2. Make it work within your budget. Each and every task on The Celebrity Apprentice has a set budget and contestants have to make their task successful within this budget – there is no option of going over the budget.  This is a great lesson to be learned, no matter how great you think an idea may be and no matter how much you may want to buy an item, you have to resist.  If it’s not within your budget then you can’t afford it and that’s Donald Trump’s bottom line.

3. Be different because it will pay off.  A lot of the tasks on The Celebrity Apprentice are focused on promoting new products or raising money for a good cause. In order to win a task contestants have to get the word out about their brand or fundraiser and they have to attract the public’s attention.  How can you do this? Well if you ask Gary Busey it’s by making a spectacle of himself on the streets of New York City, but the real way to gain attention for your brand is to have a unique concept.

I know that many new business owners are worried about being different because they feel that potential employers won’t take them seriously, but the truth is that you have to stand out as a business owner, as a freelancer or as a brand. Potential employers may not even visit your website or look at your business card if it’s not unique, you have to be different (and stand out) from the other thousands of businesses out there.  This is true for your website, your work, your business cards and your pitch. Make a good first impression and you will enjoy a profitable business.

Photo by Marriott