November 20, 2018 By SmartBiz Team

Small business owners need down time. And what better way to relax than by watching a great movie? Forgo superhero, romantic comedy or horror films for a while. Check out these motivational movies that feature successful start-up stories, Wall Street adventures and more. Keep a paper and pen handy, you might just want to jot down notes and quotes!

 

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Jobs

Apple is synonymous with Silicon Valley success. This wouldn’t be a proper list of entrepreneurial movies without recommending the must-watch film Jobs. Ashton Kutcher, proving he’s not just another pretty face, is excellent in the story of Steve Jobs' rise from college dropout to one of the most creative entrepreneurs of our time.

Founder

“You deserve a break today… so get up and get away! To McDonald's! McDonald's! McDonald's!”

Is there anyone on the planet who doesn’t recognize those golden arches? Founder stars Michael Keaton and is the story of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc. IMDB writes that the film shows how Kroc’s combination of ambition, persistence and ruthlessness helped him build the largest restaurant business in the world.

Chef

Chef follows a talented and creative (but unhappy) chef who abandons his job at a top restaurant. Instead of going to another establishment, he starts a food truck operation. The film features a star-studded cast of Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson and is described by IMDB as a happy, uplifting and feel good movie.

The Social Network

Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook. The story covers how he’s sued by two brothers who claimed he stole their idea and how it pans out. The Social Network is a fascinating look at how a world-wide platform started in a dorm room.

Pro Tip
Facebook can be a great way to promote your small business! Visit the SmartBiz Loans Small Business Blog and read How to Use Facebook for Business Marketing. You’ll get details on how to initially set up your page and how to track your results.

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Moneyball

Moneyball tells the story of the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt. It’s being nice to say the team is an underdog, it’s bleeding money and all of their star players have been picked up by bigger teams. Beane tries to create a winning team without the bucks to back it up. This movie shows how a company’s bottom line doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be successful.

Jerry Maguire

“Show me the money!” When slick sports agent Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) has a crisis of conscience, he writes a heartfelt memo distributed company-wide. He gets fired immediately. You’ll get chills when the star of the film, Tom Cruise, walks away from the office he helped build in dramatic fashion. There’s also a nice love story in there too!

Erin Brockovich

Want to see how far tenacity and hard work can get you? Meet Erin Brockovich, an unemployed single mother of three children. She goes to work as a file clerk in a legal office where she discovers a cover-up causing devastating illnesses among its residents. Erin shows what good can happen when you refuse to take no for an answer. An important lesson to learn for entrepreneurs with a promising start-up idea.

Office Space

Finally, every hard-working business owner could use a laugh. Office Space delivers and provides validation that running your own business is the right choice. Office Space satirizes corporate culture of a 1990s software company, touching on work relationships and office politics.

 

Need more stress free ways to unwind and get inspired? Visit the SmartBiz Small Business Blog for reading suggestions. The 10 Best Books for Entrepreneurs has a great list of books read by the likes of Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates. The SmartBiz Loans team shares their favorite business books here: Favorite Business Books from the SmartBiz Executive Team

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