Day: April 10, 2020

Image via People.com

Well here we are at the beginning of April and things are much more different than they were at the beginning of this year. Yes, I am sure you are aware of what kind of circumstances we are under because it is all over the media and in our personal lives, but there has been one hero to emerge from all of this. While society is much more gloomy these days than before the beginning of this new decade, the world has been blessed with a personality to fill up an entire zoo. The man’s name is Joe Exotic and he has been the underdog hero the world needs as it reels from COVID-19. As the former owner of the G.W. Zoo in the middle of Oklahoma, Exotic has illustrated a few do’s and a ton of don’t’s as a business owner that might need a deeper dive on this blog.

In Netflix’s “Tiger King” anthology, Exotic is the main character amongst a cacophony of larger than life characters at his large cat zoo in Oklahoma. As the former main proprietor of the zoo, Exotic illustrated a certain charisma and knack for finding employees from all over the state that were at the proverbial “end of their ropes”. Indeed his ability to lead a group of park employees over time to work as a unit was one of his main strong suits. Exotic also illustrated his ability to leverage social media in a way that many parks were not doing at the time. Of course, he mainly used it to mock and threaten his rival Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue down in Tampa, Florida, but his ability to galvanize new forms of advertising at their advent is a tactic that many business owners can pull from in tasteful way of course.

While Exotic did certainly have some business school highlights in the show, he had certainly had a ton of “what not to do” in running his business. “I’m never gonna financially recover from this,” Exotic bemoans after one of his zoo employees has their arm accidentally torn off from a tiger cage. Truly a human resources nightmare, Exotic somehow recovers thanks to the truly tough as nails personality and his ability to circumvent conventional laws. Okay that might not be the case, but he certainly has illustrated a couple hard earned lessons over time. Also his eccentricity has come to bite him in the rear multiple times.

While I am by no means endorsing Exotic’s various flaws, it has to be acknowledged that his initial mission of trying to save and help rehabilitate these wild animals was at first a noble one. Also as some sources have acknowledged, he is also in some ways a “tragic hero” and in today’s modern society, a self-admitted “broke as shit”, polygamist, gun-toting man, is as relatable to anybody as it ever has been. Sure Exotic might be incarcerated right now, but his lessons on the show could be applied to what to do for your company and also certainly what NOT to do. Indeed his entrepreneurial nature and enthusiasm as a business owner could be quite successful if captured and projected in the right way. Especially when it comes to country music videos.

While I type this article, Exotic has asked for a pardon for his crimes from President Trump and some sources are saying it is being considered by the president. With the new roaring 20’s off to a very strange and bizarre start, who is not to say that Exotic could be walking free to ride off into the Oklahoma sunset once again? It will remain to be seen if he ever starts another business but his dealings with nefarious characters are a lesson to any business owner to always vet your connections and make sure you know who you are dealing with. Exotic’s journey can in some ways be seen as a cautionary tale, but in other ways can be seen that most anything is possible if you put your mind to it and also install multiple piercings on your body. So please below drop me a comment with your favorite scene from “Tiger King” or a line on Twitter @CDBoline.