I'm not much into reality TV. I think I've made it through one whole episode of "American Idol". I've never watched "The Housewives of mumblemumble". I've never even started an episode of "Survivor". I last a little longer with the cooking reality shows but I often don't make it all the way through them either.
I am, however, fascinated by two reality shows: Restaurant: Impossible and Tabitha Takes Over.
In "Restaurant: Impossible" the host is invited to save a failing restaurant. Update the look of the dining room, revise the menu, address management problems, overhaul the kitchen staff (often hiring a new executive chef). In 48 hours and with $10,000.
In "Tabitha Takes Over" the host has a whole week to makeover a community business, often hitting the same issues -- appearance of the physical setting, services, management, staff.
I'm fixated on these shows because they are all about running a small business! Most of the issues are the same from one business to the next and most of them can also apply to a massage therapy practice. Hours, prices, physical environment, customer relations, services, etc.
Also, the problems aren't solved with the injection of magic amounts of cash. The shows often pay to spruce up the workspace but not with hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the restaurant show, they are limited to $10,000 to completely renovate a dining room. In Tabitha's show, I'm not sure what the budget is but a lot of what makes a difference is a new coat of paint!
There are a lot of places to learn important lessons about running a business, not all of them from "official" channels. Pop some popcorn and pull up to business school!
I agree with you on reality TV (when I watch TV, it's usually to escape reality v. get immersed in someone's really messed up idea of reality). I haven't seen Tabitha's show yet. I'll have to look out for that one! I do love food TV though (probably because I love food) and other than the fact that I am sometimes so grossed out by the restaurant makeover that it keeps me from eating out for awhile, I agree! I think it's so easy for small business owners to get so stressed out by their business that they forget the commonsense things that their businesses need in order to thrive and therefore, they fail. In fact, I think we all need some schooling on how to do our jobs better from time to time, lest we forget how good we need to continue to be and why we are doing it in the first place.
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