Junior Apprentice 2010 BBC UK – Episode 3 Business lessons

This guide has been written to be useful even if you have not seen the episode discussed, however it is recommended to take the time to view the episode also.

I’ve been a big fan of the Apprentice series for many years, and recently when a friend found all the notes I make after each episode, I was encouraged to start releasing them on my blog.

I start here with the third episode of the first series of the Junior Apprentice (BBC – UK)

For those not in the know, the Junior Apprentice is a ‘youth’ version of the apprentice aimed at 16-17 age group. Filmed in Britain, with the manager being Lord Alan Sugar of Amstrad fame. Episodes can easily be found on ‘YouTube,’ and should be watched to have a better understanding of the various business lessons I present below.

Business lessons from Junior Apprentice 2010, Episode 3

Task: Decorating and icing cupcakes, which then have to be sold within one day at a stall within a larger department stall.

Key thinking points:

• Think about quantities
• Think about delivering what you promise
• Thank about pricing

Similar businesses: Fast moving perishable goods (especially food)

Key lessons learnt from show:

• Only estimate price and quantity with help of market research (see my special lessons below on advice on how to estimate how much you can sell)
• If someone is ill, be sympathetic. Understand things may not go entirely to plan and support them. Expect they will need help, but make it clear that you need and value them and therefore any contribution is vital.
• Leaders should lead from the front. Regardless of how capable your troops are, a solid leader allows them to concentrate well on their tasks.
• Be realistic in how much you can sell (find out how long each item takes to make for a basic starting point)
• If personalising stuff takes more time, then charge more for it, if people are willing to pay (market research would have shown these guys that people would be willing to pay more)
• Have an organised system for how you will fulfil orders. Rehearse it if neccesary to iron out problems. (should always write down orders as when the panic sets in, nobody remembers anything)
• How will you ensure what customer has ordered is the same as what you think they have ordered? (gap in expectation is a massive cause of customer dissatisfaction)
• What is your strategy to get stock cleared quickly, for example, at the end of the day? (cupcakes are perishable and task was time limited)

My bonus lessons:

How to guesstimate how much you will sell:

calculate:

1. How much time does it take to make/customise an item (realistic time needed)
2. Using above and guesstimates of footfall at various hours of the day, realistically estimate how many you will sell each hour
3. For a very simplified but quick version of Step 2, simply multiply the guesstimate of how many you think you can sell in an hour by the total number of hours.
4. Do some market research to see how competitors are doing for another method to compare ow realistic your estimate is.

Avoiding the expectations gap between customer and provider

Common problem is that what the customer has in mind, is often not the same picture we have in mind, so it is important to clarify what we vision as the final product, is in fact, what the customer perceives as the final product also. This is called the expectation gap and naturally leads to customer dissatisfaction (meaning more problems).

Simple steps:

• Put contracts in writing. That is why we have invoices and receipts.
• Don’t assume what you have in mind, is the same picture the client has in mind.
• Restate what you think they said, so that there is another verbal confirmation of the expectation of the completed product.
• In a task like the cupcakes, allow the customer to draw their expectation so there is no blame for spelling or other discrepancies.

I know that these guys are young, however, even following their adventures can remind you of valuable business lessons. I encourage you, if you havent already to watch the episode and leave a comment on my blog, sharing your thoughts.

Tagged as: Apprentice business lessons, Junior Apprentice, Uk Apprentice, what you can learn from apprentice