Here are some business tips you can learn from my teenage son…
Recently, my son Harrison got up at the crack of dawn and travelled to Newcastle with other students from his college to compete in the North of England Barista Championships.
Although he wouldn’t like to admit it, Harrison is much like me – he doesn’t like doing things for the sake of it but comes alive when doing things he’s passionate about.
I could draw many analogies to business owners who are feeling exhausted because they’re not doing what they love but, instead, I’ll use Harrison’s story to make the point.
Follow your passion
Harrison is an advert for what can happen when you follow your passion. Having been given sound advice about choosing to study GCSEs he was interested in, he passed them with flying colours last summer. His grades exceeded all expectations, proving that his apparent lack of attention span and tendency to be easily distracted could be overcome. These were terms I’d heard 30 years earlier…
He now studies catering and hospitality management at college four days a week and works the other three days in a city centre café where he indulges his love of food, meeting people and coffee while earning money to save up for his next motorbike. He’s barely had a day off in over a year.
Having said that, he’s a teenager, so getting out of bed at 5am for a two-hour coach trip to Newcastle wasn’t high on his agenda.
Thinking on his feet
The competition was in four categories and saw 10 other budding baristas competing for the prizes. These covered best flat white (we’ve all had a latte with a pretty picture on the top), best espresso, best signature coffee and best overall.
There was a hitch when Harrison came to make his signature coffee – a peppermint latte. Both Harrison and his teacher thought the other one was bringing the syrup. Thinking quickly, Harrison crushed up some peppermint Matchmakers to substitute for the syrup and served his drink with a couple on the side.
At the awards ceremony, for the first time in the history of the competition, all four awards were presented to one person. Yes, you guessed it, Harrison. As you can imagine he was over the moon when he got home after a long day, and I’m extremely proud of his achievements.
Even at just 17, Harrison is proof that when you discover your passion for something, success can come easily and the hard work doesn’t seem that hard.
How does this translate into business tips
Most of the business owners I meet, who are struggling to achieve their desired results, are struggling because they’ve fallen out of love with their businesses. They’ve lost the passion for their work and feel trapped and exhausted.
If you’ve worked with me to develop high growth strategies, or you’ve seen me keynote, you’ll know that we spend a lot of time in the early stages making a strong connection to purpose and passion. Unless these are clear, it’s easy for business owners to lose sight of them. But, without them, you’ll struggle to get the freedom you desire.
Harrison’s story, along with those of all our clients, is proof that when you spend more time serving your purpose and following your passion, you can achieve significant focus and results.
When you fall out of love with your business, and are no longer passionate about the job you’re doing, you’ll feel trapped, demotivated and may even dread the thought of an early start on a Monday morning.
If that sounds familiar, you’ve been building the wrong business. The good news is that it can be fixed. Your strategy needs work, but it can be done.
Do you have a lengthy business plan and never look at it or maybe you have no plan at all? Many business owners don’t manage their company strategically, know what to focus on or measure daily, to have complete clarity and control.
If you would like to manage your business on a single page, access our tool here to get started: tendo-uk.com/plan
