Business Lessons Learned from Rio Olympics

Ronn Torossian

The Olympics are a business, and like any business, it needs to look at prior games — or similar companies — and see where success was achieved and where business failed. If you proceed, know how you are going to attract the public and why they should spend their money with you.

Before changes are made, decide how beneficial it will be in the long run

It’s important to do research. How beneficial is a change or a significant capital investment going to be for my business, how is the short-term benefit going to translate into a long-term outcome? After the games, will Brazil’s investment translate to an ongoing source of revenue, and will the new venues be used enough to pay for their upkeep?

Do your planning and do the follow through

Ideas are cheap, what next? You have the idea, but what do you need to make it work? Research is such an important part of any business venture. How do you plan to implement your ideas, what are the costs, and will it work? Learn from other companies’ failures and successes, make a plan and follow through once you’ve found what is needed and know it is financially sound. Look at, and work the plan to find the weakness and the strengths. Don’t be afraid to adjust and change your goals. And never forget one of the most important questions, is it cost effective?

Know your budget and stick to it

The research on the benefits has been done, the planning and follow through established, next look at your financial resources and set your budget. Be realistic. Can you afford it? Do you need to bring in outside investors to make it work and how will you pay them back afterward? Remember to add some cushion into the budget for when things go wrong, because they will.

Make a plan and stick to it. Wise spending can mean the difference in success and failure. Don’t overspend or put your current business in jeopardy for short-term glory. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, so keep yourself well-grounded, and again know what you want to achieve.

Don’t alienate your current client base

It’s fun to dream big and hope to make money, but at what cost? The Rio games have shown how much can happen when trouble strikes. The games sounded great, but when it came to virtually robbing funds that should have gone to help the citizens or ousting people from their homes to build a fancy stadium that may not get enough use once the games end … it may prove to cause more problems than it is worth. The one-time visitors should never come before the client relationships you have worked hard to develop. Your current customers are the ones that will be there after the Grand Opening, or once the Olympics are over. Unless you alienate them.

Recognize them figure out ways to make them part of the events. There are ways to honor them and let them know how valuable they are to you and your company. Consider offering your local customers loyal customer deals. Current clients are the ones who will be there after the festivities or newness has worn off, and you want to make sure you keep them. They can make or break you. They are valuable never forget that.

With any Olympics planning is key, and it’s no different in the business world. Know your goals, do the research, and then do more planning and research. The goal is to succeed, not fail with fanfare.

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Ronn Torossian is the founder and CEO of 5W Public Relations. 5WPR is a leading independent PR Agency in the United States.