How to Build an Online Business

PrefaceWhat’s your ‘pinch of salt’?

I have a confession to make.

I don’t like cooking. But ironically, I really like watching cooking shows.

The show I love most of all is MasterChef and the reason I love it is not because of what they cook; it’s about how they cook and how that cooking process reveals their true entrepreneurial personality. I’ll give you an example.

There’s a segment on the show where all the contestants are given a recipe. This recipe is often prepared by a famous chef — such as Heston Blumenthal — a chef renowned for creating fiendishly difficult recipes. The contestants’ job is to re-create this recipe to the letter. If a contestant gets it wrong, they run the risk of going home. If you watch the show, you’ll know that going home is to be avoided at all costs.

So, the contestants start cooking. Halfway in, the recipe calls for a pinch of salt. One contestant — let’s call her Sue — puts in the pinch of salt, stirs it, stares into space, tastes it and declares to no-one in particular, ‘I think it needs more salt!’

At this point, people like me at home start throwing popcorn at the screen, yelling, ‘Are you crazy?! It’s a recipe! It’s been salted! Don’t mess with the recipe!’

You can see Sue wrestling with her decision. ‘Will I put more salt in …? Won’t I …? Will I …? Won’t I …?’ and then …

Boom! In goes the salt! And all hell breaks loose.

The judges descend and declare Sue to be ‘crazy’ for messing with the recipe.

The fellow contestants hover like ghouls ...