You Should do Business Like the Tiger King

The Tiger King has a lot to teach you

Joe Exotic is not as crazy as he wants you to think. Behind the foolish façade, there is a successful businessman.

Like it or not, Joe mastered the art of telling a good story. And everyone likes a good story. In his narrative, Joe guides us through dangerous animals, big dreams, and multiple enemies to be defeated.

For many years, he ran the zoo successfully, built his own brand, and gathered recognition through all America.

Sure, there was a lot of harm done in the process, both for the animals and himself. His egocentrism is what took him to prison in the end.

But even though his ways are unethical, it doesn’t mean there is nothing to learn from it.

After all, he is the Tiger King.

Have a purpose

The employees of the zoo endured Joe’s eccentricities for years, even when they don’t agree with this behavior. They endured being mistreated. They endured losing an arm.

While most people would never tolerate this workplace, the people from the zoo stayed for a reason.

They had a purpose that was bigger than everything.

The reason why these people stayed was not Joe. It was the animals. They had the purpose to protect the tigers.

The first lesson from the Tiger King is to give a common purpose for employees. This common purpose gives guidance for people. It tells them what to do and what not to do. This is a reason to overcome obstacles and to develop resilience. Even in the absence of the leader, people keep fighting.

The purpose doesn’t have to change the world. But it needs to make sense for the people there. It needs to connect with them emotionally. Finally, the purpose is what gives meaning to every single thing that people do.

Have a strong personality

Joe’s personality is his brand and it reflects on the zoo. This is at times controversial, but one way or another, most Americans have heard about him.

The nickname Joe Exotic comes for a reason. Being yourself takes courage, which not many people have. People who show what they believe in tend to connect in a deeper level with people who believe in the same things. The result is a community of people with the same values.

Joe connects with his followers because he has the guts (or the madness?) to be a Redneck, Gay Cowboy Gunslinger, who has a passion for big cats. Every single aspect that defines him is controversial.

So people who also like big cats relate to him. Homosexuals relate to him. People who don’t agree with the PETA relate to him.

Exoticness requires personality and people relate to that.

Another famous personality who uses eccentricity as a marketing strategy is Lady Gaga. Everyone remembers when she wore a dress made of meat in a red carpet. Being different for Lady Gaga is a natural result of being herself and this reflects on her music. This is what makes her relatable to the audience, which results in a deeper connection with her fans.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is quite simple: look at what the competition is doing and see what you can apply for your business. It’s not stealing ideas, but having references.

Remember: you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel. Some things work for a reason and trying it out probably won’t hurt. When starting a business, studying the practices that give results in the market is a way to learn and to save costs.

In the first episodes of the documentary, we see that Joe did this to Doc Antle, another zoo owner. Even though Joe developed his business in his own terms, he also kept an eye on the competitor.

Use innovative marketing strategies

Joe used a scandalous marketing strategy with the Google keywords. He matched Carole Baskin’s words, so that when googled her, they would find Joe instead. Even though most companies use Google ads in their marketing strategy, I dare to say most of them do it in a conventional way, unlike Joe.

Eventually, this led to a lawsuit, the climax of a fight against Carole Baskin that took place for years. This demonstrates how unethical Joe was and his lack of boundaries, especially for fighting his enemies.

But if followed ethically, this principle works.

Experimenting with innovative strategies can lead you to the top of the competition.

In online marketing, the algorithms change in a wild pace. There are numerous emerging social media, such as Telegram and TikTok. New technologies, like artificial intelligence, robotics and augmented reality also change the game for maketing. It’s just a lot to keep track.

The importance of being ahead and taking advantage of new strategies was never so relevant.

Find complementary partners

When facing a lawsuit against Carole Baskin, Joe lost most of his money and couldn’t keep the zoo. To fix that, he found an investor, Jeff Lowe, who helped him financially.

The idea behind this decision makes sense — to find someone with the resources that you don’t have.

But Joe made a crucial mistake. Partners need to have the same values, and that was clearly not the case. It’s perfectly ok to disagree in some aspects, but the fundamental values of the partnership should be the same.

So when finding business partners, it’s important to ask: what does this person want to achieve? What are the expectations for the business? What are the non-negotiable aspects?

Finding an investor that followed different principles than him cost Joe his life work: the zoo.

However, Joe was humble enough to admit that he needed help. This is the importance of a partnership. An entrepreneur shouldn’t master every skill needed for a successful business. That’s not even possible. Recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses is a scarce skill. Instead, find people that know what you don’t know to join the adventure.