Top 10+ Inspirational Songs by Small Business Owners and Why
Part 1: Top 10 Inspirational Songs by Small Business Owners and Why
Every small business owner, whether in the startup or growth phase, has a tough day every now or then (or more often!!) when things are not going right, or when they just need a pick-me-up. What matters is how we handle those moments.
As a small business coach and consultant, I offer several programs and services for startups (launch or relaunch) as well as growth companies (established businesses with owners determined, no matter what, to go to the next level). I often work with startups initially through a How to Start a Business workshop. For both groups, I offer 1-1 small business coaching and educational programs, including business planning and masterminds. Many of my clients have grown from launch to several million in sales. I also love working with lifestyle companies.
What I have discovered is that music helps us through those tough days, helps us handle those moments. I often work with clients to find their Theme Song, the one that lifts them up, inspires them, gets them back in the game no matter what is happening around them. That became the inspiration for this blog.
The Call to Action and the Response!
I reached out to small business owners with an open question about what their go-to pick-me-up song was, their song of inspiration, their HECK, YEAH, I CAN DO THIS, NO ONE IS GOING TO STOP ME!! song. Following are some of their songs and why they chose them, in their own words. They will make you laugh. They will make you cry. They will inspire you. Do you feel a playlist coming on?
All the videos here are the property of the original artists. I encourage you to explore these songs, read why they inspire the small business owners who submitted them, and then purchase the songs that inspire YOU! Play them during your commute to a client meeting, in your office while working on a project, on your iPod while walking/running/jogging, or dance to the songs with your teams (and significant others!) when the mood strikes!
Note: They are numbered because the world loves numbers and for no other reason. There will be more than 10, because the songs keep coming in! Enjoy!
1. Walk the Moon -“Shut Up and Dance” (Movie dance compilation)
Why: The song is fun and makes you want to dance. The song tells you not to look back and keep your eyes on what matters. I also share an office with my husband and if I’m truly needing a break, I can sometimes convince him to dance with me.
Submitted by: Ami Neiberger-Miller, Steppingstone LLC, www.SteppingstoneLLC.com 703-404-4312
[email protected]
2. Sia – “The Greatest”
Why: I chose Sia’s “The Greatest” as my current theme song because first, it reminds me of how awesome of a time I had with 11 strong women all from different backgrounds, races, and experiences who came together to celebrate a friend’s birthday last October. That weekend we completed a 3.5-hour hike through the woods of Ojai, CA together. During the whole weekend, there were no arguments or cattiness, just laughter and good times. It just showed how powerful we can be especially as women when we put our differences aside and channel our positive energy to uplift each other and build good relationships. “The Greatest” happened to be one of the songs I was able to select as I put together a video to capture the moments we shared that weekend and I thought how fitting a song for such an awesome experience.
The other reason I chose “The Greatest” as my current theme song is because this particular song makes me feel that classic on-top-of-the-world feeling, yet it’s very humbling as the lyrics remind you of the trials and triumphs we must overcome in life, as we choose to persevere. As we make that choice, I know for me that strength only comes from a power greater than myself and that’s the strength I live my life by, the love, power and strength of God…”The Greatest”! You gotta listen to the song!
Submitted by: Melody Simmons, Sassy Spaces Organizing, LLC, www.sassyspacesorganizing.com
(Note: Play this one on You Tube.. If anyone has a better link, please email us at [email protected]. We want to keep this one in the lineup, but don’t want to infringe on anyone’s rights! This is the best link I have right now. Awesome group and song!)
3. The Script – “Superheroes”
Why: In my business, Angel Financial Services LLC, I work to resolve money problems. I go the extra mile just to see my clients get a fresh start in life and move onward to financial freedom. Although I have many songs, this is the one I most identify with right now. I play it almost every day, several times a day…especially before I meet with a new client. I put on my superhero cape when I fight the IRS.
Submitted by: Angie Toney, CPA, Financial Coach, Angel Financial Services LLC, 917-593-0754
www.angel-financial-services.
4. Meriam Bellina – “One Day at a Time”
Why: The first time I played it was three weeks into the business, and I had a stack of receipts in front of me, something called a workers comp form, and a un-started Excel sheet that I thought would be enough for the business at that time. The song started playing, and I picked up the first receipt and started plugging in numbers. Now I use it whenever I’m behind the ball…..about every other day…lol
Submitted by: Keeler Hunt, Flowthrough Plumbing Co. LLC, 703-777-7930 [email protected]
5. Fabolous – “It’s My Time” (feat. Jeremih)
Why: This song gets me every time. It’s funny because after I told you my song this morning, I played that song on my way into work. Running a small business is a bit like a roller coaster, and to stay successful, you have to recognize that each day is a new one with new challenges and new opportunities. One of the first lines of that song is “Go hard today, can’t worry about the past because that was yesterday.” It’s so true! No matter what happened yesterday, whether you got that contract or not, whether you got that great yelp review or not, that was then. Today is a new day, you have got to get after it! The world owes you nothing, and if you lose focus, there can be much at risk.
Submitted by: Gina Crovato Gibson, Owner/Doctor of Audiology at Hearing Associates of Northern Virginia
6. Abba – “Dancing Queen”
Why: Dancing Queen: A friend of mine passed away many years ago. She was always one to uplift others, and other friends and I who knew Cherry often say she sends us that song when we really need it. When things get tough, there’s nothing you can do to that song but dance and sing along. It pulls you out of whatever is holding you back in that moment, shakes you up, and leaves you in a different frame of mind.
Submitted by: Chelsea Snyder, MojoWriting, LLC – Your voice on the web!, www.mojowriting.com
LinkedIn – mojowriting, Twitter – @mojowriting
7. Green Day – “Espionage”
Why: Why? For that “get going against all odds” feeling. It is very powerful and fun! Robin, your question of why this is my go-to song made me think about why one song over another is more motivational to me on a personal level, and how my emotions can be fundamentally shifted in as little as 3:20 or 4:02 minutes by any song. Why?
I think it is because the right music soothes the savage beast of entrepreneurial self-doubt, the emotional exhaustion of the uphill battle that at times is “entrepreneurship.” But, back to my song! For me, Espionage, through powerful music and a driven beat, embodies my thoughts as I get back into my zone: “I know something you don’t, and it is important to the world. I will succeed in the task at hand because it is vital to my role in your success. And I can do this because I have trained for this moment. I am prepared for this mission. And I am the best person for this job.”
To my fellow entrepreneurs, if you have time to listen to this music while reading this post and feel the positive energy surge from inside your soul out to your very fingertips, maybe this song will empower you, too!
Submitted by: Linda Black, LifeMark Securities
8. Asia – “Days Like These” (off of Then and Now, 1990)
Submitted by: Jim Huber, Huberspace Web Design, www.huber.space
9. Chaka Khan – “I’m Every Woman”
Why: Because it is jubilant and unapologetic, affirming of abilities, embracing of multiple/diverse talents, focused on meeting/exceeding needs and speaks of changing lives. And as the key changes ascend: striving for excellence.
Submitted by: Catherine Hogan
10. Lady Gaga – “Applause”
11. Abba – “Dancing Queen”
Why: Growing up in New York City in a wonderful loving family, my parents loved the theater and we often went, as a family, to the theater. I fell in love with musicals. I took lessons in voice and all areas of dance. The times in the car with my mother were the best. Just the two of us, twice a week. One year my dance recital was even on the Carnegie Hall stage!
My summers were spent at sleep away camp. When I was a counselor and a song played on the radio or tape recorder, I jumped onto the bed and grabbed a flashlight singing, laughing and carefree.
When I saw Mama Mia with my three best friends a few years ago and the longtime friends sang “Dancing Queen”, we laughed so hard tears flooded our faces. OMG! There they were, childhood friends, singing into the hair dryer!!!! Yes, today, you can still find me singing into a prop and feeling elated.
Submitted by: Elaine Gibson, Renewed Living, www.renewedlivinginc.com, [email protected]
Robin Suomi, MBA, is an experienced small business expert and founder of Startup to Growth. She has worked with thousands of small business owners through coaching, mastermind groups, education and training. Robin believes success is rarely accidental and her passion is to help her clients set and reach their goals. Working with clients remotely through video platforms, she helps clients answer their technical business planning and execution questions as well as supporting them while they explore their potential. She encourages clients to dig deeper, dream bigger, and works with them to create their tangible Success Steps. Check out the website for ongoing virtual Small Business Coaching, Small Business Blueprint Coaching, MEG (My Entrepreneurial Group) Connect and MEG Startup mastermind groups. Email [email protected] with your questions or to set up a free 1-1 consultation.