WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS FOUNDED ON?

Well hello there!

The month with what seems like a 100 days is about to end. Can I get a Hallelujah up in here!

Once you peep your bank account 😂😂😂

Lucky you! Those of us who are out here unemployed have a whole other story to tell. Due to ukame mfukoni pandemic, I have been trying to come up with business ideas ili umaskini isianze kunizoea. It hasn't been easy. But I stumbled upon an amazing video that just shed so much light on what values i'd want my business to have once I start.

There is a series by the name Chef's Table. It talks about the lives of well renowned chefs around the world and their journey to where they are now in their careers. One of them happened to get my attention. It was about a lady by the name Niki Nakayama owner of n/naka based in LA. Having been brought up in a family where women aren't expected to reach high levels of achievement in their careers, she felt like she had a lot to prove to her family and the world at large. Her passion for food being of utmost priority to her, she has endeavored to make a name for herself in the food industry in Los Angeles by putting a more personal approach to her business.

As a woman in a male dominated field in the Japanese Culture, she had to work extra hard to be given an opportunity to work in one of the Japanese themed restaurants. Fortunately, her first job opened her eyes to a world of new culinary technique and most importantly customer relations most of which she now applies at n/naka. The owner of the restaurant made her understand the responsibility she owes to her customers. In terms of both the quality of food and service. The minute a customer walks in the door, if he/she is a returning client the head chef/ owner already knows what they like and will serve them as they sit down. That's how much interest he has in understanding and pleasing his clientele. (How amazing is that!!!!!)

She went ahead to open her restaurant there after. As a means to avoid the prejudices that came with being a female chef in her culture, she built a closed kitchen to allow people to only focus on the food served as opposed to who made it. She keeps binders with information of everyone who has ever eaten at her kitchen on what they ate, drank and gravitated towards. She makes it her personal duty to never cook the same meal at the restaurant twice! She wants to make the experience worth it for you by ensuring you enjoy all that her restaurant has to offer. I can only imagine how much pressure that may be. I think the minute you dedicate yourself to something you love and put as much heart as you can into it, going the extra mile will not only be a learning experience for you but a source of self fulfillment.

After the video, I wrote down a couple of questions that I am hoping will be my guide and may help you gauge yourself one way or the other:

• What values is your business based on? Are you fulfilling them?
• Do you feel like you challenge yourself on a day to day at your place of work? 
• How is your brand any different from the rest? What is the "IT" factor?
• Are you happy at your place of work or doing the business you are doing?
• Do you feel like you put your heart and soul in your work ? If no, what is stopping you?
• Would you honestly be a returning customer to your business, if you were a customer, based on your customer service and service delivery? if no, why aren't you changing the things that need adjustment?
• Does your personality and heart shine through the work you do?

This are questions we should be brutally honest with ourselves when answering. Only then will we create an environment for ourselves to not only grow individually but also improve our businesses.

May we do everything with:

• Focus
• Heart
• Gratitude
• Love
• Care
• Purpose
• Intention; and
• Faith.

Spread Love & Light

Njeri💋