Discussion Paper: Joy

Prior to Entrepreneurship and society, I have not spent time watching any cinema pieces that pertain to the origin story of a successful entrepreneur. I enjoy business movies that include all aspects of the business world, but I have never seen a piece that starts from scratch. To go from an idea to wealth all in a sit down piece of film was very inspiring to say the least. However the road to get there was one that was almost difficult to watch at times. Competition, betrayal, and fraud are all prevalent within the movie “joy”. Even without a supportive family Joy and her grandmother always always saw a light at the end of the tunnel.
I have always known that creating ideas from scratch was difficult, but for the main character Joy Mangano it seemed to come naturally. The movie takes place in the early nineties where it seems like inventions are much more prevalent than now. It is interesting to think about how much innovation of some ideas has slowed down in the marketplace today. I am sure that there is still a bountiful amount of ideas flooding into big companies, but I am sure that half of those are most likely close to something that has been seen before or is already patented. The case for Joy is that she has been coming up with inventions since she was a little girl. This is something the grandmother Nini always saw and knew she was capable of. I am not sure why much of the rest of the family never picked up on this talent of hers. Her sister Peggy was always teasing her over this sort of thing, but it had no impact on who she was bound to become. I think many people who start their own business have a very similar feeling to this. The first semester of my freshman year I had a guest speaker from New York come and talk to us about his businesses that he ran. He was a prior student to my professor at the time who taught the intro to entrepreneurship course I was taking. Anyways he continued to talk about this hustle mentality that got him through many of his hardships. I then decided to raise my hand during the questions portion of the seminar. I asked him how he learned and developed this “hustle” mindset he was talking so heavily about, and I will never forget what he said. He looked me in the eyes and said, “you don’t, you’re either born with it or you’re not”, and I knew exactly what he was talking about. I have never wanted to do anything else since then but work for myself. That is the mindset I think Joy had, and I think that is the mindset most successful entrepreneurs that start from nothing have.
The movie continues to start off with a crumbling family. Joy’s divorced husband of two kids is living in the basement. The mother spends all her time watching soap operas. Her son is sick, and her dad just got his third divorce and now lives in the basement with her ex that he despises. The only motivation she receives is through her grandmother, her childhood friend, and her daughter. She knows she has potential to be something great, but there is so much going on she feels like she is going to be trapped in this lifestyle forever. That is until she starts having these dreams at night. It is pretty ironic to say that her dreams keep her motivated, but it is the truth. She has one the night after cutting her hands on a boat where she is greeted by her younger self. Her younger self tells her that for 17 years she has been hiding, and when you’re hiding you're safe because no one can see you but the funny thing about hiding is that you’re even hidden from yourself. This was that extra push that helped her finally decide who she wanted to be. I have heard stories like this from entrepreneurs before. Some as children and some middle aged. I don’t think this is a required step, but it is common that people have this desire or urge to sell their ideas that may take personal growth to obtain.
Her product she attempts to sell turns out to be a household mop. She knows her product has value because she is a mother of two, and she is in the shoes of the customer everyday she has to mop. She knows her product is unlike anything on the market because she has been using mops for times and times in the past. I think this was a great breakthrough product because she did not have to hope that the product was useful. She already knows it is through her past experiences as a mother. This seems like a great safe option for a starting entrepreneur. Why not take something you do and are familiar with and create a better way to achieve that goal for others. Of course this is easier said than done especially when it comes to the marketing of the product, but if you are already comfortable in that field you have most likely already thought of an easier solution for the problem at hand. Every customer just simply wants to make their life easier for their own benefit. If it's not going to contribute to their well being why would they spend their currency on said item. Joy was having no luck whatsoever in the selling of her product. One of the characters pointed out to her why would I spend twenty dollars on a mop when I could just buy a few five dollar mops. She already thought through this question and created a washable mop head for continuous use. Entrepreneurs should have questions like this in mind during development of a product so they have a rational answer for the customer. This will ensure the product's value in the eyes of the customer you are attempting to sell.
Finally, the climax of the movie was the final thing I wanted to brief over and compare to real world situations. Right as things began looking up for Joy, her dad sent her half sister to discuss business with their manufacturer in California. Joy did not know much about the manufacturing process of her product, but her dad just told her it was going to be the quickest and least expensive option. Joy began not trusting this company once they demanded twenty thousand dollars for faulty pieces and broken molds, and then they demanded fifty thousand in royalties to defend themselves from lawsuits about a similar product being made in Hong Kong. While it eventually runs her dry and she has to file for bankruptcy, she finds an oddly strange discovery. The company actually was in the middle of patenting the product for themselves,, and there was no company in Hong Kong making similar products. This is little taste of how cruel the business world can be to early entrepreneurs. When they see a clever design most are not interested in benefiting the individual who created it. They see a silver platter with dollar bills on it. This is why it is important to have a team of individuals who not only you trust ethically but also trust them mentally with the jobs they are instructed to do. It is sad to see the amount of individuals who put their lives on the line just to see their product on the shelves. Big corporations see them as minnows. A trustworthy lawyer who has dealt with the field your product is in seems to be a good start based on the movie, and to never let big company decisions go through without confirming it with the owner. Nevertheless, Joy was a great story or starting from nothing, seeming like you failed, and then persevering through with your hustle mindset. I can see it being an inspirational movie for anyone with an eye for business inventions.