8 Inspiring Movies For Business Owners

All of us need some inspiration from time to time. And business owners are not excluded. Entrepreneurs and marketers deal with so many challenging tasks within the day. Obviously, sometimes it’s necessary to break and find the strength for reaching new peaks.

What about watching inspirational and thought-provoking movies? As well as a good book, movies can inspire and bring new ideas for your business. So if you are a business owner or just started your entrepreneurial way, be sure that you’ll enjoy watching the movies featured on the list.

Check our list of top 8 inspiring movies that every business owner should watch.

1. The Pursuit of Happiness

This masterpiece is based on the true story of entrepreneur Chris Gardner. Within nearly one year, he was homeless with his son while going through an unpaid internship as a stockbroker.

The main character was played by Will Smith. His portrayal of Gardner brought him an Oskar nomination.

Why should you watch “The Pursuit of Happiness”?

If you still have never watched this movie, you are lucky! Because you can feel those emotions for the first time. The main character got over unbelievable challenges to achieve his dreams. The circumstances of his life are very similar to what early-stage business owners meet.

This movie teaches us to never give up, stay persistent, and keep your values and beliefs first regardless of the circumstances.

2. The Social Network

That’s one of my favorite movies! It tells about the creation of Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg. Directed by David Fincher, “The Social Network” is based on true facts. So you can watch how while studying at Harvard, Mark came up with the idea to create the most popular social network ever, the stages of product development, and how he got over the situation of claiming that the idea was stolen.

Why should you watch “The Social Network”?

First of all, if you are an early-stage entrepreneur, you can get inspired by how big empires start with very small beginnings. It’s never late to invent something new.

Besides that, the movie has amazing direction and a great cast, including Justin Timberlake.

3. Joy

It’s a biographical story about a divorced mother, who invents a detachable mop. The main character, played by Jennifer Lawrence, overcomes significant obstacles to build a successful enterprise then. The movie is about hope, dream, creation, and belief in yourself.

Why should you watch “Joy”?

Every business owner could get a lot of lessons by watching this movie. It teaches on how to believe in yourself, feel the audience and sell, find motivation even if it seems that the whole world is against you.

“Joy ”proves that resilience triumphs over knowledge and skill. Your passion can fuel you to reach your dreams against everything.

4. Jerry Maguire

If you are an entrepreneur, you know how it’s important to have a vision for yourself and your business. Every business starts with a goal to bring value for consumers, but over some time we can forget about that and focus on profit maximization.

“Jerry Maguire” tells a story about a successful sports agent, who is willing to do anything to get large contracts and increase profitability for his company. But within the movie, he goes through lots of situations that teach on how to run a business, communicate with people, and provide true value for the audience.

Why should you watch “Jerry Maguire”?

It’s just a romantic comedy, as many could consider, but an amazing manual of tips for business owners. How to interact with customers; show the experience, rather than a product; build trust and focus on the vision rather than just profit.

5. The Wolf of Wall Street

I couldn’t ignore this masterpiece! I rewatched it a few times.

In case you didn’t hear about this movie before, here is a brief description of the story.

It’s based on the true story of Jordan Belfort – from his rise to a super-rich stock-broker to his fall involving crime and corruption.

The cast is amazing: Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey.

Why should you watch “The Wolf of Wall Street”?

The main character is the perfect example of an entrepreneur who made crucial mistakes: got drunk by money and power, lost empathy and rationality, and became involved in crime. Obsession with money will never bring happiness.

6. The Founder

I assume there are no people who haven’t heard about McDonald’s. That’s the biggest fast-food network in the world. And the movie “Founder” tells the story of the creation of that restaurant business. It stars Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, and John Carroll Lynch.

Why should you watch “The Founder”?

Because the story of Ray Kroc, the main controversial figure, is very inspiring for business owners. From being a milkshake mixer salesman, he became a professional manager and talented entrepreneur. Ray transformed a typical fast-food restaurant into a global empire, based on franchises, and the most recognizable brand in the world.

7. Thank You for Smoking

Are you involved in marketing and selling? Or probably do you want to learn how to promote any kind of business? Then you will like this movie.

“Thank You for Smoking” is about Nick Naylor, chief spokesman for the Big Tobacco company. He speaks on behalf of cigarettes while trying to be a good father for his son.

Nick promotes smoking as a positive image to the public and educates his son to have “flexible moral”. Sure, that’s food for thought, but just watch how the main character performed PR and Marketing campaigns.

Why should you watch “Thank You for Smoking”?

It’s an inspiring movie, including lessons about selling, PR, and marketing. If you want to be able to sell anything, it’s worth watching.

8. The Great Hack

Have you known about the largest scandal in 2018, related to Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data? It’s when a British political consulting firm had stolen the personal data of millions of Facebook users without their consent and permission. They did that for political advertising goals, including a presidential campaign of Donald Trump.

So “The Great Hack” tells about that scandal through the eyes of participants and people, who just were involved in that.

Why should you watch “The Great Hack”?

We all know that Facebook collects our private information, but after watching this movie, you can see the volumes of that and how our data is used for advertising purposes. Any business owner relates to data privacy, so the movie shows how it works nowadays and what we shouldn’t do to protect private information.

Summing Up

Just watch or rewatch these movies if you need a dose of inspiration and food for thought.

What movie do you consider as the most inspiring for business owners and entrepreneurs? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Author Bio: Julia is a professional business development manager with proven experience in customer acquisition, strategic partnerships, and outbound marketing. Now she takes care of global marketing and business growth at Wincher, an affordable keyword rank tracker.