If like me, you were unable to stomach even one episode of ‘The Osbournes’ series on MTV earlier this decade, you might assume that I’m overstretching the premise, – “You Can Learn Something from Everyone” -  when I offer up the “Prince of Darkness” as an example in entrepreneurial excellence – and frankly a few days ago I might have agreed.

However, when you go around saying things like, “you can learn something from everyone”, eventually someone will challenge you to put it to the test, or shut the #$*@ up, – and again, frankly I couldn’t accept the latter as an option.

Thankfully, a quick study of the life of Ozzy Osbourne, uncovered a wealth of entrepreneurial wisdom to offer fledgling business owners and seasoned veterans alike, which surprised me!

If you have any doubts, consider that according to the Sunday Times “Rich List”, Ozzy and wife Sharon are listed among the UK’s richest couples!

Some believe that most of Ozzy’s continued success is owed to the brashly opportunistic management styling’s of his wife Sharon, although early in life it’s clear that Ozzy sowed the seeds of entrepreneurial excellence.

Lesson One, starts with a deep hunger and finding your passion.

Born, no one special, just one of six children raised by working class parents, in what must have been a chaotic and claustrophobic environment, (8 people in a two bedroom house), no-one would have predicted “Ozzy” would go on to become not only rich but also, unarguably one of the most recognized “brands” on the planet.

“Ozzfest®”, “The Osbournes®”, etc.

Certainly, his early formative years gave no inclination. Battling dyslexia and a victim of bullying in school, called “Oz-brain” and “Ozzy” by children and teachers, (a derogatory unsympathetic reference to the confusion his learning disability caused), he dropped out early, in frustration at age 15. After which, he went on to hold tenuously to numerous menial odd jobs, in construction and slaughterhouses, until he rediscovered his passion in entertaining.

Seemingly a born loser, he drew from his passion for the Beatles, (Yes the Beatles) and from one of the few early childhood experiences in which he excelled, (playing a part in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera, “Pirates of Penzance” in school) Ozzy, decided to become a singer.

Come hell or high water he wasn’t looking back.

(Ask yourself, what is your passion, and draw from whatever is in your past, to pursue it!)

Lesson Two, is about finding your sub niche and sticking to it.

Ozzy’s music career was lackluster in the beginning, starting and quitting several bands until he and a few friends, Geezer Buttler among them, got together and formed a group called Black Sabbath, with which they developed a unique dark bluesy sound and stage presence, based on their discovery that many fans seemed to enjoy being frightened.

Fun fact: – The song Black Sabbath, written by Osbourne and Geezer is said to have been after Geezer allegedly shared a dream with Ozzy, in which a dark figure visited him at the end of his bed. (Further bolstering the idea that more than one can follow a “dream” to success).

Ozzy and Black Sabbath had found their niche, and despite what Osbourne recalls as a band lament, “…in those days, the band wasn’t very popular with the women…” they stuck to it.

(Pick a niche your passionate about and stick with it. It’s called goal oriented success, and you’ll never achieve anything worthwhile unless you stick with it. Sure, there will always be greener looking grass on the other side of the fence, and you can expect that it will always look that way until you get off your ass, and start taking care of your own!)

Lesson Three, is on standing out from the crowd and over-delivering.

Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath were not the only acts to compete in the early days for the attention of this emerging sub-genre, known today as “Heavy Metal”.  Many other bands’ throughout the years have had more songs, which topped higher on the charts, sold more albums, and provided them with more chances to perform at more venues around the world.

However, no one has achieved the riches and name recognition that Ozzy has amassed.

Unarguably, this is due to the fact that he offered his market niche much more than mere music. He gave himself wholeheartedly over to his fans’ penchant for the darkly-bizarre, and suffered for his “art” during various publicity stunts, resulting in him getting several painful rabbi shots in the process.

Rubber bat or not, tell me, what is your first inclination when one is thrown at you?

I believe, most people would not bite off its head, whether or not their theatrical character’s credibility as the “Prince of Darkness depended upon it, but here again Ozzy the artist, over delivered.

May fleas of a thousand camels infest my armpits, if I’m misconstrued as defending this inhumane stunt in any way, but the fact remains that this is the kind of stunt that makes Ozzy Osbourne, the “Godfather of Heavy Metal” and that other guy… well that other guy.

Furthermore, who would subject themselves and their entire family to public ridicule on MTV at their dysfunctional worst, for a buck?

Again, Ozzy goes the extra mile.

(Whatever you do you, you owe it to yourself to give it 200%, and you can never be lukewarm in your approach. Don’t wimp out; you need to be on fire with passion if you want a RED HOT business! There is no other way to do it!)

Lesson Four, highlights how to grow your base through partnerships.

Here, Ozzy’s wife might deserve most of the credit, but then having married Sharon to begin with, Ozzy shows he has his own penchant for creating financially viable partnerships.

Of course, I’m talking about the incredibly successful venture lovingly referred to by metal heads as Ozzfest, and it happened like this…

Faced with a diminishing fan base, in addition to the rising costs associated with security and liability insurance, filling a large venue with metal-heads for a concert featuring one or two bands performing outdated arena scale anthems, was becoming unprofitable until…

“The Godfather” of the genre, united all of the past and upcoming heavy-metal super-stars into one blowout get your metal fix festival!

This again bolstered his own brand’s recognition, solidifying his title.

(It’s like a Big Mac without a Coke, alone they’re alright, but together they are an All-American staple! Seek out, complementing offers and claw your way to the top together! The right partnerships will extend your brands reach, and build your credibility. Why spend a lifetime building what you can borrow instantly from a good partnership?)  

And to sum it all up…

I don’t propose that anyone should hold Ozzy’s life up as a blueprint for success.

Thankfully, there is only one Ozzy Osbourne.

However, his life certainly holds memorable examples of the concepts entrepreneurs must embrace, if they want to reach the pinnacle of their niche and the zenith of success!

What are your thoughts? (You can post your comments below)

Warm Regards,

Jeremy & Simon