Not everyone thinks of musicians as entrepreneurs, but they start their journey as small businesses just as much as the rest of us. They have a product, they have a target market, and they want to grow. Aerosmith is an excellent example of a group of entrepreneurs with the right stuff. The band formed in Boston in 1970 and became arguably one of the greatest rock bands in history. Their first five albums attained multi-platinum status, and they had multiple number one hits. They broke up, they got back together again, and they have become pop culture icons with their TV and film appearances, video games, and even their own roller coaster at Disney.
Financially, they’re a great example of revenue growth. The band signed with Columbia Records in 1972 for $125,000, and since then each band member has amassed a fortune of over $100 million. Yes, I said each.
In 2017, guitarist and vocalist Joe Perry was featured in Forbes magazine, and was quoted as saying that without a doubt, “Aerosmith is a big machine.” He shared with Forbes why he left the band in 1979. At the time, the band was completely focused on getting a gold record as their singular driving force. And then, as Perry said, “We got the gold record, now what? We gotta do it again. And then it dawns on me; everybody deals with this, where you have some kind of success, and you realize it’s about the journey, it’s not about the destination.”
Those are wise words, and ones that entrepreneurs sometimes have a hard time following. Great sports teams win championships one game at a time, and great entrepreneurs grow businesses one decision at a time. But if we’re not enjoying the journey, then we’re bound to fail. The old adage “do what you love and the money will follow” may not always be true, especially if you happen to love laying around at the beach. But the opposite is always true. Do what you don’t like, and you’ll eventually get tired of it, burn out, and want to quit. Perry admitted that at the time he left, the band was pretty burned out, “and instead of taking a vacation, we let loose on each other.” Apparently, even their wives got into it and started throwing things at one another backstage. The band went downhill for the next five years. Sales dwindled, and they lost support from labels. For any business, losing key team members is really tough. The Aerosmith experience could happen to any company if they don’t take care to provide the right environment for everyone on the team to manage stress and enjoy the ride while pushing for big goals.
What brought Tyler Perry and Brad Whitford back to Aerosmith in 1984 was their love of the music they had made together. When the band members reconnected and recognized just how much they loved the process of making music, in addition to the goals of creating hits, Aerosmith had a tremendous successful run, scoring several top 40 hits and winning numerous awards. It was during this time that they recorded “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” “Rag Doll,” “Love in an Elevator,” and “Janie’s Got a Gun.”
Perry was recently quoted in Guitar magazine on how the band connects when they’re on stage. He said this, referring to lead vocalist Steven Tyler. “My thing is, I always follow the singer. He’s leading the charge. Because Steven’s got such great sense of rhythm, I get my tempo from him and not the drummer.” I thought that was a fascinating parallel to a startup with a charismatic founder. The founder’s leadership typically pulls the team through to greater heights of creativity and success.
Before COVID happened, Aerosmith was playing a residency in Vegas. One of the things that Perry commented he enjoyed about the smaller venue is getting feedback directly from the audience. He used that feedback to improve each performance in a way that wasn’t possible when playing to stadiums. That’s another great tip to keep in mind as an entrepreneur. No matter how large your business grows, and how removed you may be from the front lines, always find time to speak directly with customers and ask for feedback on what your company is doing well and what you can improve.
It turns out that despite their years of living a lifestyle that likely fried several of their brain cells, the boys of Aerosmith really do have some helpful advice when it comes to growing your business. Today, I thought it would be fun to look for pearls of entrepreneurial wisdom in Aerosmith songs. If you’re a fan, see if you can count the number of their song titles I name. And if you’re not a fan, well, you’ll have some Googling to do later.
Maybe you think this is a bit “Crazy,” but let’s have a little fun with it. When you start your own business, you may initially wonder if you have “What It Takes.” You may have many friends and family members giving you advice because it’s always easy to sound like you have all of the answers when you’re on “The Other Side.” But you’re the one with the vision, and you know that if you’re going to be successful, and build something that is “Amazing,” you’ll have to dive in “Head First.”
The passion of an entrepreneur is unmatched. As Steven Tyler once said, “Anything that is worth doing is worth overdoing.” And that passion will come in handy when inevitably things get tough, as it did for the band. Sometimes it’s challenging to find the motivation to get “Back in the Saddle” again. You may do some “Cryin” on the way to building “Critical Mass” for your company, but whatever you do, “Don’t Stop.” Even when you feel your business direction is going “Round and Round,” “Draw the line” at quitting. At least don’t quit being an entrepreneur. Remember that the average millionaire goes bankrupt at least 3.5 times on their way to wealth. Just because you failed once doesn’t mean that your next idea won’t be the one that takes you “Full Circle” to wealth. Entrepreneurs seem to have “Nine Lives.”
Were you able to count how many Aerosmith song titles I mentioned today? The answer, including the one I’m about to say, is seventeen, which happens to be the age my daughter is turning next month.
You see, Aerosmith holds a special place in my heart, and not only because of their story of resilience and success. My husband and I consider their hit, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” as our song. We have a clip of the lyrics on the wall of our living room. Over twenty years ago, when we lived on different continents and weren’t quite sure how we would make our relationship work, we had to take some pretty long plane rides to spend time together. We valued each moment of those days. He used to play that song for me on his guitar. Whenever he plays it now, it takes me back to those moments when there was so much uncertainty, and it reminds me that no matter what obstacles we encounter in life or business, there is always a way. If there is any message that you take away from me today, I’d like it to be that one.