What We Can Learn From Jimmy Buffett About Building a Cult Lifestyle Brand
My parents were living on the beaches of Florida right around the time Jimmy Buffett started making music about doing just that. They were in the perfect place and time to fully appreciate his songs about heading to the beach and living for the moment, and so naturally they gravitated towards it. But it was always about more than just the music with Jimmy Buffett.
Fast forward to the 90s, when they got a bit older and had a kid, and they were still listening to their favorite albums of his - even though we lived in Pittsburgh, far from any sunny beaches or barefoot boardwalks. He sang about Havana Daydreamin’ and having good times with friends and strangers and sailing off into the sunset (with a few margaritas in hand). That was an engrained mindset for them, no matter where they were in the world.
Jimmy Buffett created the “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” mentality that has seeped so far into our culture, but in even more subtle ways. It’s not just about taking a vacation to a beach somewhere - it’s a whole “fun first, work second” vibe - no matter where you live, where you are in life, or what mundane job you might have.
Today, it seems like everyone knows the key to creating a job that works for you - whether that’s selling digital products or courses so that you can work less and make more, or starting a freelance business your own way that allows you to work from anywhere in the world. That’s something he created for himself decades before we even had the internet (🤯).
He created a lifestyle brand that made him a billionaire by showing up consistently and speaking his truth.
He found out how he wanted to live, and decided that whatever he did with his life would have to work around that - and he created a brand that was his mindset. He sold people on the lifestyle he himself wanted to live by totally living and breathing the transformation, through his music, his hotels, and his restaurants. That’s what so many brand builders strive for.
He created a lifestyle brand that made him a billionaire by showing up consistently and speaking his truth, and his people ate it up. He wasn’t just a musician - he was the embodiment of knowing what your priorities in life are, of making sure your time isn’t wasted working yourself to death, and of having a damn good time while you still can. That’s something everyone on earth can relate to.
Margaritaville wasn’t just a song, it’s a way of life. Building off of this mentality, he created a physical and mental destination for people. A place where like-minded people could go to forget about their worries and really live out this mindset, in the moment.
As brand builders, it’s a perfect reminder just how important it is how you’re showing up. It’s about how you embody the transformation you offer, how you speak and how you connect with your people. This is how you prove that what you do, say and offer can take them to the place they want to be.
My parents still maintain this mindset from their Florida days, listening to Jimmy Buffett - create a life for yourself worth living, and make sure nothing gets in the way of that (and they did, and I hope to do the same!) I think what Jimmy Buffett accomplished both in business and in mindset is something we should all strive for.
As my mom texted me the day he died:
“He's one who knew the life he wanted and created his art and work around the way he wanted to live 👍🤠 Worth a billion! RIP Jimmy 💔”
“When I found Key West and the Caribbean, I wasn’t really successful yet…but I found a lifestyle, and I knew that whatever I did would have to work around my lifestyle.”
