It seems that everywhere you turn these days people are gushing about Jennifer Lawrence. How down to Earth she comes across, how refreshing she is and how we all want to be her BFF. And for once I can’t help but agree with them. I love her for so many reasons (not least of all because you know she’d be so fun to get drunk with) but I also think there are a huge number of things we, as small business owners, can learn from her too.

Stick with me here…

She flipped off the press

Now I’m not saying you should tell people to eff off at every opportunity, but not conforming to the perceived ‘norms’ of an industry (in her case Hollywood, in ours the wedding industry) has made her a success. She’s not malicious about it, but she did what you know everybody else would want to if they had the balls. I mean, if I was a celebrity getting papped all day I’d want to give them the finger now and again too! Seeing her do this makes her memorable, funny and the voice of a generation.

Lesson:

Don’t ever be purposely or repeatedly malicious, but don’t be afraid to speak your mind now and again… People will love you for saying what everyone else is thinking and they’ll remember you for it.

She’s damn good at her job

She’s a truly fantastic actress. Her performance in The Hunger Games was refreshing and brilliant, and although I haven’t seen it yet, winning an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook must mean she wasn’t too shabby in that either.

Lesson:

First and foremost, hone your craft. Be the very best professional you can be. Always strive to improve your last performance. Never rest on your laurels.

She keeps it real

Case in point…

When bombarded with ridiculous questions, she wasn’t afraid to call bullshit. She doesn’t take herself too seriously and we love her for it. Even they (the interviewers) loved her for it!

As a side note, my favourite quote from that whole video, is when she was asked about the process of picking her Oscar outfit, “What was the process? I dunno I just woke up and tried on the dress and it fit, thank God, and then erm… I took a shower…”

Lesson:

The wedding industry is a strange place. Just like Hollywood it can be full of… erm… idiots expecting idiotic things from you. Just because that’s the way things are and the way things have always been, doesn’t mean things should stay that way. Be a leader not a follower and make your own rules! I’m suddenly reminded of one of my other idols, Marty McFly too.

She’s turned a bad situation around

She fell down on the way to collect her Oscar. Sure, that was pretty mortifying but it didn’t half make me feel better about that time I fell over in front of the whole school whilst breaking in my new 6 inch platform shoes.  

She not only handled the immediate situation so well and with humour (“You guys are only standing because I fell and you feel bad”) which just made her all the more loveable, but she’s weirdly been able to flip this humiliation around to make her even more adorable since (referring back to the first video where she’s asked about it – “Was that on purpose? Absolutely!”)

Lesson:

Not everything you do will work out perfectly and you may even fall flat on your face once in a while. Style it out, pick yourself up and keep on going. Don’t let a failure define you, but the way you react to it will speak volumes.

She doesn’t conform

“In Hollywood, I’m obese,” she told Elle Magazine in December. “I’m considered a fat actress” … “I’m Val Kilmer in that one picture on the beach” … “[but] I’m never going to starve myself for a part. I don’t want little girls to be like, ‘Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I’m going to skip dinner’.”

We all know the Hollywood machine is all about thin, thin, thin and the fact that she refuses to conform makes us love her even more. Of course she is far from fat, but by embracing the fact that she is bigger than other actresses whist accepting it and refusing to change it makes me want to run up to her and scream “Eff yeah!” whilst stuffing my face full of cake.

Lesson:

Conforming to what others expect of you, or what you think you have to do or be to be successful is utter rubbish. People will love and respect you a lot more for standing up for what you really believe in, being yourself and refusing to follow the in crowd.

She’s relatable

You saw this right?

Totally hilarious, and makes her even more awesome because you just know that’s how we’d all react too.

Lesson:

Always strive to be relatable to your clients. Realise that if you or your business are too aspirational then your clients won’t be able to connect with you. It is a very particular kind of client who wants to work with those super high end Claridges/ Oscar De la Renta/ 75 tier wedding cake kind of suppliers and I’d certainly prefer be myself in the way I run my business rather than ‘aspiring’ to be something I’m not.

So Jennifer, in a nutshell, I love you. I sure do want to be your friend. Let’s go do shots sometime soon OK? Sheesh, I really must stop with all the gushing, but in conclusion I’d just like to say that we really can all learn a lot from Ms Lawrence, not least of all how to style out an epic face plant.

Viva la revolution!