What can a startup learn from music star John Legend?

Having won 9 Grammy Awards as well as many other prestigious music awards, John Legend is one of the most successful singers today.

Having won 9 Grammy Awards as well as many other prestigious music awards, John Legend is one of the most successful singers today. But if you know his efforts to achieve success, you will see that you have many things to learn from this talented character.

Take time to develop your skills

As a child, Legend often sang at church. Being a talented and enthusiastic “singer”, when he graduated from college, he knew that he wanted to become a real singer. However, he didn’t have the expertise or connections to make that happen, so he got a day job and sang on weekends around New York City to develop his skills. He spent 3 years working in the business world as a management consultant for Boston Consulting Group.

Through his story, we see that wanting to start a company and having enthusiasm for the idea doesn’t mean you’re ready to pursue it full-time right away. Just keep learning more skills and making connections in your current job. Wait until you have those skills and postpone starting a company right away, or you can pursue it quietly.

You have many ways to solve a problem

When writing music, most musicians either start with lyrics or start with a melody and then write lyrics according to that melody.

Legend has a different approach. He starts with a melody, but then he finds a sound structure that he likes before he writes lyrics. He sings meaningless lyrics according to that pattern to see if it’s good. Only after he liked the sound of those meaningless words did he start writing actual lyrics.

At your startup, you will always face seemingly unsolvable problems. Try to think of as many solutions as possible. Let’s experiment. The solution is almost never simple or obvious, but finding another way can lead to real breakthroughs in better products and higher growth.

Learn from the “masters”

Legend grew up listening to gospel music with his grandparents. Throughout college and early in his career he continued to listen to gospel, R&B, soul, and rock artists such as Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, and the Beatles. He combined elements of their music and used them for inspiration.

When you look at your young business, what can you learn from the “greats”? Perhaps it’s Hewlett Packard’s way of building an amazing culture, Apple’s way of making great products, Zappos’s “unbeatable” way of serving customers, or how to switch to a new idea. New business idea when Groupon’s original idea did not work.

When Legend was in college, his roommate introduced him to a young rapper named Kanye West. Legend sang a few songs for West. Through that first relationship, he began writing songs for Alicia Keys and collaborating with the group Black Eyed Peas.

Business relationships will boost your business. A key referral can bring in a major customer or partner, or it can help you recruit a key employee. You can also get a great investor or a good advisor through a relationship. The power of your network cannot be overstated. Stay in touch with colleagues and friends. Let people know what you’re doing at your company.

Perseverance defeats everything

Even as his singing and songwriting career was gradually taking shape, Legend still encountered difficulties and unwelcomeness. He applied for a job and was rejected by every record company. But his perseverance eventually paid off with contracts signed with Kanye West’s GOOD Music label.

It’s the same with startups. You will face rejection, failed integrations, customer dissatisfaction, and product launch problems, etc. There will be days when you don’t want to get out of bed to face those troubles anymore. Then, remember the words of legendary former CEO Ben Horowitz: “Even when you know what you are doing, things will still go wrong. Great CEOs tend to have consistency as one of their responses. They all said: ‘I’m not giving up.

Listen to Legend’s music!

As you can see, there is no easy and smooth path to success. That road will be very long and full of unexpected thorns. So, listen to these words in one of Legend’s songs:

When everything seems difficult to let go

Don’t surrender. Let’s just keep at it.