How do I turn attending a weekday Broadway matinee with my daughter into an entrepreneurial venture? Seeing Dolly Levi portrayed by Bette Midler on Wednesday provided an easy answer.

It was beyond thrilling to be less than 50 feet away from this mega-icon. That would have been quite enough. Her performance including singing, dancing and chowing down on a turkey leg, was the best! I had seen Carol Channing in the role eons ago and had forgotten all but the fact that Dolly was a matchmaker.

What made this a perfectly teachable posting was the lead character’s effervescent marketing behavior. With every interaction she had onstage, this way-ahead-of-her-time business owner (late 1890’s) pulled out a card perfectly suited to her prospect.

“I’m a 23-year old man who doesn’t know how to dance,” (I’m para-quoting) the young romantic lead states. Dolly whips open her jewel encrusted pocketbook and withdraws her card with a grand gesture. With incredulity, the character reads it aloud, “Dolly Levi – Expert in teaching 23-year old men how to dance.” This happens repeatedly with increasing hilarity at the preposterousness of her abilities and her uncanny way of knowing just what is needed.

Now that’s marketing, chutzpah and an example of the tenacity it takes to be a business owner. Aha! There’s my subject matter.

Happily for me, it came wrapped in this extraordinary performance by one of my all-time favorite entertainers. Bette is only a year or two older than I. What an inspiration for me to keep doing what I love as well.

I also got to share the day with my daughter, Lindsey Pollak, who is one of the most successful entrepreneurial women I know (and love). Lucky, lucky me.