Lessons to Learn from Lucille Ball, Entrepreneur

This past week marked what would have been the 100th birthday of Lucille Ball.  While most remember her for her iconic status as a comic genius, many others remember her as a true entrepreneur who revolutionized the new medium of television in the early 60s.  In a recent blog post Deb Babbitt, aerospace engineer, author and co-founder of YouTern, a community devoted to interns, cited some of the lessons to be learned from Lucy that are still relevant to entrepreneurs today.
 
The first lessons are perseverance and finding a niche.  Although she was a multi-talented entertainer and model, who worked with such legends such as the Marx Brothers and Hepburn and Tracy, Lucy didn’t reach her superstar status until well into her 40s.  By this point in her life she had modeled, sung, was on the radio and in the movies, but she never rose above “B-player” status until she recognized television as her technology-driven path to stardom.   She quickly realized that not only could she excel on TV, she could pioneer a leadership position for herself. 

Innovation was also one of Lucy’s key strengths.  She and husband Desi created the sitcom formula, filmed in front of a live audience, used three cameras instead of just one and filmed every episode, thus paving the way for the multi-billion syndication industry.  It is said that no one single person contributed more to the television industry. 

And Lucy knew the importance of diversification.  After finding great success in the sitcom genre with I Love Lucy, the Dick Van Dyke Show, the Andy Griffth Show and others, Lucy’s production company, DesiLu, further expanded into other genres ranging from espionage (Mission Impossible) to outer space (Star Trek). 

For more of the lessons to be learned from Lucy, the entrepreneur and innovator, see the post on YouTern: 

http://www.youtern.com/thesavvyintern/index.php/2011/08/07/ten-lessons-learned-from-lucille-ball-entrepreneur/