3 business lessons learnt from Breaking Bad

Spotted the below today... I know there was a legitimate business reason for watching it...

1. Technical Expertise is Not Enough


When faced with insurmountable medical bills, Walt realizes that he is never going to make enough money working as an employee.Like so many other entrepreneurs, Walt is passionate about his technical skill (chemistry) and he starts a business that has the potential to maximize the return he can get from that expertise, albeit in this case, an illegal activity.

What he quickly discovers is that he knows nothing about actually running a business – inventory, distribution, marketing, collections etc.So he does what most entrepreneurs do – he wings it and finds out with disastrous consequences that he needs to educate himself quickly on how to operate a successful business and how to outsource the things that he does not have the skill or the time to do himself.

The Lesson: If you really want to grow your business, you need to invest in your development, put a good strategic plan in place, outsource tasks to others who can do them well and learn to manage your team members properly.Don’t expect success to be easy. Every business faces its own obstacles and challenges.Those who succeed, do so because of their ability to adapt quickly and take responsibility for their actions.

2. Establish a Premium Brand – Then Charge a Premium Price

Walter White was a world class chemist and as a result, he consistently produced the highest quality crystal meth that you could buy.In fact, his trademark “blue sky” was widely recognized by both the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and drug users as “the bomb”.Walter could easily have cut corners and produced a mediocre range of product that appealed to the mass market at a discount price, but he didn’t.His pride in his own expertise and his commitment to excellence meant that he owned the upper end of the market.

By creating unprecedented demand for his unique formulation, he could dictate the terms his product was sold under and the price consumers would have to pay.In Walter’s own words - “Corner the market, then raise the price,” White says. “Simple economics.”

The Lesson: If you insist on competing based on price, you are doomed to failure.Anyone can cook crystal meth (or make a mediocre version of the product/service that you are currently selling) but only one person can truly be the best in the world at creating the most pure version on the market. To grow your business and succeed, you must be willing to do what it takes to cure the #1 pain that your customer has with buying your product/service.

3. If You’re Good Enough, You Can Get Away With Murder


There is no denying the fact that Walter White was the best in the world at cooking crystal meth.This fact rendered him virtually untouchable. Waler’s unparalleled cooking skills keep him alive time and time again.Even Gus Fring (the chicken man and notorious drug lord) couldn’t afford to kill him after it became clear that both Walter and his junkie sidekick Jessie, were loose cannons. When Gus came close to finding a replacement, Walter was quick to eliminate his competition, thus restoring his own unassailable status. Even Jessie, as flawed and messed up as he was in his personal life, was excellent at distribution and sales, thus making it difficult for Walter or Gus to eliminate him easily.

The Lesson:If you are without question, the best at what you do, you cannot easily be fired or replaced and you can charge a premium for your expertise.

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