Why Field of Dreams is the Worst Movie Ever
Remember the movie “Field of Dreams?” It’s about a middle-aged guy named Ray Kinsella living with his family among the vast cornfields of Iowa. While farming the yellow fields one day…Ray hears a voice. The voice softly whispers “If you build it, he will come.” Taken by surprise, he continues laboring and tending his precious crops to feed his family. As time passes, the voice starts booming louder and louder – “If you build it, he will come” – “If you build it, he will come.” This sparks relentless ambition into Ray as he realizes what the voice is telling him: Build a baseball diamond. Thus starting the worst movie ever made…
Ok, it’s not a bad movie…I will admit that. It’s touching to watch his drive and dedication in building something he knows nothing about. When was the last time you listened this deep?
Just Because You Build It, Doesn’t Mean Customers Will Come
So he built it, and they came. This is why I feel it’s the worst movie ever. “If you build it, he (they) will come” is the biggest line of crap ever rattled off, at least from an entrepreneurial standpoint. Yet tons of entrepreneurs think with this mentality. Setup shop, sit back, and watch the cash roll in. Even worse, spend thousands of dollars in advertising and wait for customers to show up. What happens when nobody shows up?
Building a business takes hustle, patience, and perseverance. Just setting up shop doesn’t guarantee customers. This is true in any business, not just the food and service industry. Your customers are there, you have to actively seek them out. Hit the streets, make phone calls, network, and scrap for every last customer you can find. Get relentless and don’t settle…because the second you stop hustling, is the second your restaurant loses.
Social Media Makes Life Easy
Back in the day, people had to hustle much harder than us. Even Ray in The Field of Dreams had to drop all his chores and work to build a baseball diamond. That takes physical work. Can you imagine being an entrepreneur before computers? We have life easy. Our work is scalable. We have instant access to thousands of potential customers’ right through this screen. All it takes is hustle. If you own a restaurant, your time is now. Learn what it takes to succeed with social media and hustle everyday. Because just building physical walls doesn’t guarantee success.
What do you think? Are we too conditioned for instant gratification? Can meeting people through social media gain restaurant patrons? Comment below friends:)
Tags: hustle, if you build it he will come, marketing, restaurants, social media, work
[...] is EVERYTHING, right? Of course it is! Will you always be slammed? Not necessarily. The Field of Dreams idea “if you build it they will come” doesn’t really pertain to real life. Mondays, cold [...]
Ok, #1, I love that movie. (Maybe it’s just Ray Liota’s eyes as he’s plays Shoeless Joe Jackson, but I digress…)
#2, I agree with you about your “Sitting back and watching for money will not work” bit.
Recently, a “restaurant”/bar in a BUSY street traffic area began doing lunch service. Before, the only food they offered was bad bar pizza during their 8p-2a hours. Surprisingly, PEOPLE WE VERY INTRIGUED TO STOP BY AND TRY THEM OUT FOR LUNCH! I have heard it first hand! They were WANTING to give them their money.
However, they’re “lunch special” was literally an “out of a can” special, and immediately the bad word of mouth spread like wildfire. People began talking about how no effort was being put forth to really be a lunch establishment, no matter how cheap the food was.
Take note restaurateurs: You DO have a chance… Just never let your guard down! Every ounce of word of mouth is critical. Get off the bar stool and be as productive as possible, and put your best foot forward. If you are NOT going to take a new direction seriously, better off to stick to the original plan.