Written by: Emma Johnson

Joy, the feature out this week starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Dinero andBradley Cooper, follows the real-life story of Long Island’s Joy Mangano. Decades before entrepreneurship was cool, or the majority of babies were born to unwed mothers, Mangano — like her Hollywood doppelganger, was a single mom, barely getting by, when she invented the self-wringing Miracle Mop. After much trial, error, debt, blockbuster sales on QVC , being swindled by male business partners, and loads of family drama, (of course) Lawrence’s character ultimately experiences personal and professional redemption.

The film has been slapped with not-so-great reviews, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Yes, I am a single mom and do love me a good rags-to-riches story, especially if the protagonist is a woman, and most especially if she is a single mother — and most, most, most of all if she is a kind person — all of which make Joy a noteworthy endeavor. After all, save for Melanie Griffith’s character in Working Girl, I can’t think of a single major movie in which the main character is a female who succeeds at business while being decent (though one unsung single mom entrepreneur character is Juliette Binoche’s chocolatier Vianne in the 2000 charmer Chocolate.)

If nothing else, the lead character in Joy offers up a host of business advice for women business owners:

1. You can’t do it alone. So many women — single moms in particular — are subliminally sent the message that because they can do it all, they must do it all: Bring home the bacon, raise the kids, cook the meals, and mend the pipes when your depressed soap-opera obsessed mom rinses her hair brushes in the sink and let your sexy bum of an ex-husband live for free in the basement (per Lawrence’s character’s life). This message of independence unconsciously holds women back, because they transfer this to building a bigger career, business and life. They believe that they must do those things by themselves, too — and that seems impossible. Because it is. In Joy, Lawrence is able to launch and build her business thanks to investment from a harsh, but smart wealthy matron, belief in her from an ailing grandmother, a critical introduction from said ex-husband, support from a BFF, and a mentor at QVC. Takeaway: Don’t even start to think about doing something big all by yourself. Everyone needs to outsource, you need expert advice and you need support.
2. You must be open to help. This is a different than No. 1. It is one thing to seek out help, but another to be welcome help that comes your way, magically. In Joy, Lawrence’s character lands her big break thanks to an introduction to a QVC exec via said ex-husband who offered the connection. While he was a crappy spouse, turns out he was a fantastic business partner who deeply cared for his ex-wife as a friend — a partnership that transpired in Mangano’s real life as her own ex-husband continues to be vice president of her nine-figure empire today. Had Joy not been open to his outstretched hand, we may not have the opportunity to shell out $15 to watch this fantastic story today (and we’d all still be wringing out our own mops — manually!).

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