In his quest to find the perfect toy, Howard fends off advances from a psycho mailman, a vengeful cop, and his neighbor who’s bent on moving in on Howard’s wife, usurping his role as husband and father.

After hours of careening from store to store, Howard finds himself in the town’s annual holiday parade, dressed up as – you guessed it! – Turbo Man. All ends well when his wife and son realize his heart is in the right place. Don’t you just love happy endings?

You may think there’s no lesson here for a business owner, but there are plenty. We could talk about work-life balance, or the importance of keeping your commitments, but the main one to highlight is the role that serendipity plays in business.

Many successful business owners will tell you that the second they became crystal clear on their objectives, things just seemed to fall into place for them. Sure, they faced some obstacles along the way, but somehow the person they needed to meet or the book they needed to read or the lesson they needed to learn fell into their path.

Preparation is a great thing, and it’s necessary for day-to-day success. It’s what gets us through the tough, repetitive and sometimes boring stuff. But often the big leaps forward in our business occur because of some force stronger than us that’s at work in the universe.

Consider this quote from renowned poet Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” Even if you aren’t the “woo-woo” type, it can pay to be open to seemingly miraculous coincidences and occurrences.

Some people consider these types of coincidences to be signs that you’re moving on the right path. But whether you believe in the “great divine” or not, smart business owners will take advantage of any opportunities, regardless of source. And the more clear you are on your end goal, the more you’ll be able to recognize these opportunities.

The twist: Aided by pure-of-heart and diminutive Cindy Lou Who, the Whos celebrate the Christmas spirit, even without the wrappings, and the Grinch’s frozen heart melts. And in the Carrey version, he also finds true love with the sexiest Who of all, played by Christine Baranski.

It’s the updated version that brings us our lesson for today, and the lesson is this: There’s really someone for everyone. If a grumpy, stinky, pants-less Grinch can capture the heart of the nubile Martha May Whovier, then out there, somewhere, there’s a customer base for you.

Go online and you can find plenty of proof of this belief. There are people selling gun-shaped soap, frozen yogurt for dogs, and Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavor Beans. If they can make it, you can, too. Take these tips from the Grinch:

• Be absolutely clear on who you are. Don’t waffle. If you’re strange, revel in your strangeness. The more clearly you reveal yourself, the more easily you’ll appeal to your “tribe,” as Seth Godin calls it.
• Don’t apologize for who you are. If you’re a gun-toting survivalist, so be it. If you are a tattooed, be-ringed 60-something, go with it. Your customers don’t want someone who is embarrassed; they want to be led by someone who’s confident and embraces their different-ness.
• Come down from the mountain. It’s not until the Grinch leaves his hermit-like cave at the top of Mt. Crumpet and emerges into the “real world” that he finds acceptance and love. You need to be where the people are.
• File down your rough edges. “Authenticity” can be an excuse for bad behavior. There’s a difference between being transparent and honest, and being downright unpleasant and rude. Even at the end of the movie, the Grinch softens a bit – without losing his Grinch-ness.

Their friends and neighbors object to their lack of Christmas spirit and heckle and bully them, attempting to force them to get back in line and get their jolly on. They successfully resist… until they learn that their daughter is unexpectedly returning home for Christmas.

The Kranks have to scurry around in order to create Christmas at the last minute, borrowing Christmas trees, pulling together an eleventh-hour party and trying to woo back the neighbors in the community they’ve alienated. Of course, all ends well once the Kranks respond to the external pressures and get back in line.

So, what do the Kranks teach business owners? The main lesson is that you can make all the plans in the world, but sometimes you just need to respond to what your market wants.

Poor Luther and Nora don’t think they’re doing anything wrong. So they want to head in a different direction this year. What’s the big deal?

Well, the big deal is that the Kranks’ audience (neighbors and friends) like things just the way they are. They don’t want the Kranks to change. They want things to stay the way they always have been – even if the Kranks have different ideas.

Think about trying to change something in your business – your website, your pricing structure, your offerings. Even if you’re positive the changes are for the better, you can hit serious backlash because your customers like things a certain way. They like knowing that the “buy” button is in red at the bottom of the page, or that your podcast comes out every Wednesday – not Tuesday, and certainly not Thursday. If you mess with their routines, you may have to pay the price – just like the Kranks.

Now, this isn’t to say that you can’t ever make changes to your business. It’s just a warning that you’d better make sure the risk is worth the reward, and that you’re not changing just for change’s sake.

Don’t mess with your customers’ Christmas.

Ah, but this is Christmas, so not only does Buddy convince his new family that syrup tastes good on everything; he also wins the heart of his stepmother, half-brother, and the cynical Jovie, his new love. And yes, Walter eventually sees the light.

So business owners, here’s your business lesson from Buddy the Elf: “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

So… what if you’re not Santa? Buddy would tell you it doesn’t matter. Enthusiasm is catching. No one is going to be more excited about your business, your product, your podcast, your class, your blog than you are.

Sometimes we feel a little hesitant to show our enthusiasm. It can be risky to show how much we care about something. But if we don’t show our passion, we’re not going to convince anyone else to follow or act on our recommendations.

Think about the last time you went out to eat. If the waiter or waitress gave a lackluster endorsement to the daily special, you likely took a pass. But if she or he said, “I just tried it before my shift and it was delicious!” you’d be a little more likely to partake. Enthusiasm sells. Period.

Here are a few tips to make like Buddy the Elf without sounding like a used car salesman (or an escapee from the North Pole):

• Be honest. Don’t sell or promote something you don’t believe in. It never works – people can tell, and you’ll damage your reputation.
• Be yourself. You may be the understated type who isn’t going to jump out of a helicopter a la Richard Branson to promote your latest business venture. You don’t have to be! (One Richard Branson is enough for this world.) But do show your energy in a way that is natural for you.
• Be realistic. If you promote every new thing that comes down the block, or have a new solution du jour, pretty soon no one is going to listen to you.

You don’t have to dress up in pointy shoes to get people to buy your new e-course. But hey… if the shoe fits… why not?

Keywords count

Just as with other types of search engine savvy, the keywords you use so that you are seen by real-time search engines have a big impact, too. Use relevant keywords in your titles and in your updates. For example, you could be writing content for your “Widget X” website and the latest and greatest product updates, so you can update what you’re doing on social networks like Twitter, too.

This real-time inclusion helps your subscribers and customers feel “in the know,” which is going to bring them closer to you and make them more likely to check you out and stay on top of things — and thus keeping them loyal to you, which also means more cash in your pocket.

What keywords should you use?

Just as with any search engine search, your Tweets or status updates should include those relevant keywords. That way, someone searching for content on those keywords is going to come up with your updates or your Tweets — which in turn will lead them to your site. Remember, if you want people to find your updates, you need to use the proper keywords so that they can keep finding and following you just because they’ve put those keywords into the real-time search engine.

What do you like about your favorite “Tweeter”?

If you follow someone on Facebook or Twitter, and just maybe they happen to be a little bit “famous” (even if they are simply an expert in their field and not a celebrity), what do you like about following them? You like the intimacy of being able to see up close what that person is doing, right? And just maybe, that makes you feel a little special, right?

You can use that to your advantage with your own followers. Even though yes, of course, the ultimate goal is to get people to go to your website and give you more business, it helps if your customers (and prospective customers) feel like they know you, too. So it’s okay to cultivate followers simply because you want them to follow you and not necessarily because they’ll become customers — although of course, they almost certainly will. And again, the best way to help these people find you is to use the proper keywords.

A learning curve?  Sure

As with “the good old days,” when we were learning about keyword optimization for regular search engines, so, too, is there going to be a learning curve when it comes to real-time searches. The thing is, though, if you get ahead of the curve, you’re also going to be the one to reap the benefits. So get in on real-time searches now by using the proper keywords in your updates. It’ll bring you a lot more visibility, a lot more traffic, and a lot more customers.

About the Author:

Ken Ivey, aka “the Web Czar” – wants to help you leverage technology to reach your goals.  Need to know what YOUR keywords REALLY are? Contact Ken for a free initial consultation to see how the web can work for you.  His website is www.kenivey.com