Spark An Idea Thursday: Business Lessons From One Of My Favorite Movies

Sparkplugging is starting a new tradition called ‘Spark an Idea Thursday’.  Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers.  We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog!  If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

This week, we are “Sparking An Idea From The Movies.” I’m going to share some important business lessons I’ve learned from one of my favorite movies,  The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. If you’ve never seen this movie, you need to go to Blockbuster and rent it this weekend.

It was common practice throughout the 1950s and early 60s for companies to hold contests and offer prizes for the best jingle. Julianne Moore portrays Evelyn Ryan, a 1950s housewife who supports her family of ten children by entering – and winning – these contests.

Her husband, Kelly, portrayed by Woody Harrelson, is an alcoholic that has trouble making ends meet. The movie shows how Evelyn often ’saves the day’ by winning a contest and earning enough prize money to pay for what is needed.

For many reasons, I was extremely touched and moved by Moore’s character. Here is a woman who is stuck in a seemingly hopeless situation. She is stuck at home, in what has to be an unhappy marriage. Even though she has won a sports car, she has no driver’s license and therefore cannot leave her tiny town.

If circumstances were different, she could easily have a job running the marketing department of one of the companies she writes jingles for. It goes without saying that Evelyn was a gifted writer and marketer with a very creative mind. But this was 1950s America and women were expected to stay home and keep a good home for their husbands and children.

So what did I learn from this movie? Well, first of all, the big lesson is that if she can do it, I can do it. Let’s face it – Evelyn Ryan had a lot working against her. But she kept at it, she kept writing and it paid off (in a big way).

Moore’s character used the talents and skills she had and found a way to make them work for her. I like to thinkk that I am doing the same thing with my business.

One thing that I do have that Evelyn Ryan did not is the Internet. Watching this movie will make you understand how much the Internet has truly changed the lives of women across America.  Not to spoil too much for you if you haven’t seen the movie, but Evelyn gets invited to attend a meeting of fellow jingle writers, which is being held several hours away. She tries several times to meet with them, without success.

It is really heartbreaking to see how much of a struggle it was for this woman to simply travel a few hours away and meet with some women who understood what she was going through. Today, we can easily turn on the Internet and connect with people through blogs and social networking sites.

In last week’s Spark An Idea post we talked about forming business allies. I have been lucky enough to make some great friends through my business (one of which I’m meeting for coffee in a couple of hours!). The conveniences we have make it easy to take for granted the loneliness and isolation that women like Moore’s character must have experienced.

Lesson learned? Reach out to others for business advice and brainstorming sessions, even if you don’t feel you need it. The fact is, you have the luxury of being able to do this, so do it. You might make some new friends along the way, get an idea for a new project, or even find a potential business partner.

Entering these contests enabled Ryan to stay home with her children, provide them a good home, and to use her talents to create something she could be proud of. In many cases, Ryan reminds me of one of today’s “Mommy Bloggers.” (A Mommy Blogger is a woman who keeps a blog and earns her living from writing about her experiences as a mother.)

I like to think that comparison shows how much times have changed, and yet, how much things are still the same.

This is a true story and the movie is based upon the book of the same name, which is written by Evelyn’s daughter, Terry Ryan.