The Business Kitchen works with ambitious small businesses to help them achieve their goals.
We do this by bringing together groups of 6 to 8 businesses working with them each month for a year in a structured programme.
I am old enough to remember 50 years ago when Man first walked on the moon – getting up at 4am to watch Neil Armstrong take the first steps on the moon.
An amazing achievement – the culmination of years of work and amazing spirit.
I watched a brilliant programme last Wednesday night on BBC2 where they used all the voice recordings between the astronauts and Houston to recreate the 8 days of the Apollo 11 mission.
What’s that got to do with business – well the success of the Apollo 11 programme against huge odds is great lesson for ambitious business owners.
Firstly, you need a great vision for your business.
In 1962 President John J Kennedy said “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth".
"We choose to go to the Moon...We choose to go to the Moon in this decade not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win"
It’s apocryphal that after the speech someone at NASA photocopied hundreds of copies of the Words “The Moon” and stuck them all over the buildings from offices to toilets so everyone had a clear vision of the goal – one of the things you would do in a business kitchen course is develop a clear vision for your business which you can revisit on a regular basis and focus your energies and increase your chances of success.
What else was needed to achieve the first moon landing?
First of all you need a pretty good plan - we encourage all BK members to have a 3 year plan so they are very clear where they are trying to go. At each monthly workshop we turn that into a 30 day- plan so you have razor shop focus on the activities which will take you to your long-term goal.
You obviously need a great team – for small businesses that might be a virtual team – people with the skills and knowledge to help with accounts, marketing. Admin etc.
Don’t try to do it all yourself – concentrate on the things you are good at and enjoy!
You must learn from your failures and mistakes and maybe try piloting new ideas before going full throttle for a new business activity. Apollo 8 went all the way to the moon and came back to test all the processes ahead of the Apollo 11 mission. We are currently piloting new ways and locations to present the great Business Kitchen material.
You need to practice – the astronauts practised every aspect of the landing – and all the things that could go wrong. Do you practice before you go to an important sales meeting, pitch or presentation – I am sure you do.
You need bravery – how brave were those 3 men who sat on top of a 32 storey rocket of which 95% is fuel – that’s twice the height of the Eagle Star Building. We find bravery is also needed in business to take the steps you need to take to grow your business – having a team of like-minded businesses working with you to give encouragement and support helps you take the brave steps to grow your business.
You have to be cool under pressure – when things don’t go quite to plan. In descending to the moon – alarms kept going off but the astronauts were as cool as cucumbers – they had just 20 seconds of fuel left to find a landing site after travelling 1/4million miles. If things go wrong for you – don’t panic – regroup and carry on.
We all remember Neil Armstrong’s "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Do you think he worked on those 11 words and practised it a few times? Like your 60 second pitch do you wing it – or put in some preparation to make it as memorable as possible.
I was amused to see Neil and Buzz had a detailed checklist on the arm of their spacesuits to ensure they did everything they should to in the 2 hours they had walking on the moon’s surface. The checklist didn’t include taking a call from President Richard Nixon – so that was put on hold! We use checklists before every event we run – it saves masses of time and makes sure we don’t forget anything – we encourage our members to do the same – how stressful and embarrassing is it when you turn up for a meeting or presentation without a critical item or document?
So, hat’s off to those 3 brave men and the team behind them and their vision and persistence.
If you are a small business can you do it all on your own – or would being part of a supportive team help you achieve your goals? If so, think about joining our Main Course which starts in September.
Or join our free taster workshop Thursday July 25th Find your ideal client at the Tewkesbury Growth Hub
We do this by bringing together groups of 6 to 8 businesses working with them each month for a year in a structured programme.
I am old enough to remember 50 years ago when Man first walked on the moon – getting up at 4am to watch Neil Armstrong take the first steps on the moon.
An amazing achievement – the culmination of years of work and amazing spirit.
I watched a brilliant programme last Wednesday night on BBC2 where they used all the voice recordings between the astronauts and Houston to recreate the 8 days of the Apollo 11 mission.
What’s that got to do with business – well the success of the Apollo 11 programme against huge odds is great lesson for ambitious business owners.
Firstly, you need a great vision for your business.
In 1962 President John J Kennedy said “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth".
"We choose to go to the Moon...We choose to go to the Moon in this decade not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win"
It’s apocryphal that after the speech someone at NASA photocopied hundreds of copies of the Words “The Moon” and stuck them all over the buildings from offices to toilets so everyone had a clear vision of the goal – one of the things you would do in a business kitchen course is develop a clear vision for your business which you can revisit on a regular basis and focus your energies and increase your chances of success.
What else was needed to achieve the first moon landing?
First of all you need a pretty good plan - we encourage all BK members to have a 3 year plan so they are very clear where they are trying to go. At each monthly workshop we turn that into a 30 day- plan so you have razor shop focus on the activities which will take you to your long-term goal.
You obviously need a great team – for small businesses that might be a virtual team – people with the skills and knowledge to help with accounts, marketing. Admin etc.
Don’t try to do it all yourself – concentrate on the things you are good at and enjoy!
You must learn from your failures and mistakes and maybe try piloting new ideas before going full throttle for a new business activity. Apollo 8 went all the way to the moon and came back to test all the processes ahead of the Apollo 11 mission. We are currently piloting new ways and locations to present the great Business Kitchen material.
You need to practice – the astronauts practised every aspect of the landing – and all the things that could go wrong. Do you practice before you go to an important sales meeting, pitch or presentation – I am sure you do.
You need bravery – how brave were those 3 men who sat on top of a 32 storey rocket of which 95% is fuel – that’s twice the height of the Eagle Star Building. We find bravery is also needed in business to take the steps you need to take to grow your business – having a team of like-minded businesses working with you to give encouragement and support helps you take the brave steps to grow your business.
You have to be cool under pressure – when things don’t go quite to plan. In descending to the moon – alarms kept going off but the astronauts were as cool as cucumbers – they had just 20 seconds of fuel left to find a landing site after travelling 1/4million miles. If things go wrong for you – don’t panic – regroup and carry on.
We all remember Neil Armstrong’s "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Do you think he worked on those 11 words and practised it a few times? Like your 60 second pitch do you wing it – or put in some preparation to make it as memorable as possible.
I was amused to see Neil and Buzz had a detailed checklist on the arm of their spacesuits to ensure they did everything they should to in the 2 hours they had walking on the moon’s surface. The checklist didn’t include taking a call from President Richard Nixon – so that was put on hold! We use checklists before every event we run – it saves masses of time and makes sure we don’t forget anything – we encourage our members to do the same – how stressful and embarrassing is it when you turn up for a meeting or presentation without a critical item or document?
So, hat’s off to those 3 brave men and the team behind them and their vision and persistence.
If you are a small business can you do it all on your own – or would being part of a supportive team help you achieve your goals? If so, think about joining our Main Course which starts in September.
Or join our free taster workshop Thursday July 25th Find your ideal client at the Tewkesbury Growth Hub
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