What Can Small Businesses Learn From Gordon Ramsay ...

Gordon Ramsay is more than a huge celebrity with a knack for getting bleeped on network television. The man is a walking business, cash and a brand of his own. But he was not made overnight. Between his days a lowly hotel cook and his current status as one of the world?s most recognizable chefs, he had to learn the ropes of the restaurant business and, eventually, the television entertainment business.

Now he dishes out his expertise on?his numerous TV shows, including ?Kitchen Nightmares,? where?he overhauls failing restaurants. And the issues Ramsay deals with afflict many small businesses, not just restaurants. Here are a few of the valuable lessons to be found??between his expletive-laden tirades.

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3 Tips Small Businesses Can Learn From Gordon Ramsay

1. Acknowledge your market: Ramsay often comes into restaurants where there is a disconnect between their menu, prices, and the local clientele. Indeed, no business can expect to be successful if its products or services are not correctly priced for the target customers. They have to be the correct products and services too. For example, is your target market is the local college student population, high-ticket fine dining may do so well ? it?s too expensive and?it may not be of interest to the target audience.

Solution: Do some thinking about your target market. Are you a brick-and-mortar retail business that needs to connect with people within a certain radius? If so, what products and services would appeal to them, and at what price point? If your business is online, who should you be selling to? Discount searchers on the hunt for a bargain? Or maybe bigger spenders with discerning tastes?

2. Focus on doing some things well: We?ve all been to restaurants where the menu is too long and the food is less than stellar. This is a common issue in ?Kitchen Nightmares? ? the menu is too large, often because the owners want everything to be available to every customer. Instead, Ramsay encourages chefs and owners to pare it down, and focus on doing a limited selection really well instead of a large selection somewhat poorly.

Solution: Particularly for service providers, assess whether or not you?re overextending yourself. Many first-time business owners and solo entrepreneurs bite off quite a bit. Instead, focus initially on offering a limited amount of services. This will allow you to focus on doing great work and making a good name. Then, let those services start growing. They will naturally lead into a wider menu of offerings

3. Check your ego at the door (or the desk):?Gordon Ramsay may seem to have a fairly big ego. But have dinner at a Ramsay restaurant, and you?ll see how the entire experience is about you, the customer. An issue Ramsay crosses in his show is a chef or owner who tries to make their restaurant a monument to themselves. Experimental dishes, absurd decor, and poor service plague the restaurant industry, but similar problems face all kinds of small businesses.?Successful businesses don?t lose sight of the fact that they exist to serve customers. Solution: Examine every portion of the customer experience you provide. Is it about you and what you want? Or is it about what the customers want and need? Remember that customer loyalty is crucial to the financial well-being of most businesses and customers will return to those businesses that do the most for them. Valuable emails, great customer service, and the right fit of products and pricing will help ensure that your business is about your customers.

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Source: http://www.pbsmartessentials.com/2011/08/what-can-small-businesses-learn-from-gordon-ramsay/

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