Bake Off business lessons: What are the key ingredients for success?

We love The Great British Bake Off in our house. We tune in every week. Reportedly, more than 10.8m viewers watched the first episode of the 11th series when it aired in September (6.9m viewers watched it live, the rest caught it on, erm, catch-up). It was Channel 4’s biggest broadcast since 1985.

The BAFTA-winning show was produced for the BBC before moving to Channel 4. And in case you’re not a fan, it stars no-nonsense master baker Paul Hollywood and fellow judge, food writer Prue Leith (who replaced British cookery royalty Mary Berry). Comedians Noel Fielding and new boy Matt Lucas provide the laughs.

Competing over ten weeks for the much coveted “UK’s Best Amateur Baker” crown are 12 non-professionals. Each week they attempt different baking styles and methods, creating  “Signature”, “Technical” and “Showstopper” bakes along the way. One contestant is named “Star Baker” by the judges, while another must leave the show, until one wins the final episode.

Smutty innuendo is a key reason why viewers love Bake Off. But among the “soggy bottoms” and bun and bap double entrendres, the GBBO offers many valuable lessons for business owners. Such as…

1 Good time management is essential

Not a single minute can be wasted when you have just a few hours to create a show-stopping Croquembouche or Flaouna to pass a tough technical test. The same is true in business. To maximise your productivity and profitability, you must make every second count.  

2 You must be able to handle pressure

Whether you’re in the Bake Off tent or running your own business, some pressure is inevitable, at least some of the time. If you can manage that pressure so it doesn’t turn into stress, you can overcome challenges and achieve great things. 

3 Proper planning pays off

Executing a well thought-out plan is essential to wowing the Bake Off judges. Contestants are often to be seen ticking off lists while working their way through highly challenging recipes. Similarly, sticking to a sound business plan strategy can ensure that you stay on track and achieve your ambitions.

4 Simplicity is usually best

Complexity often leads to disaster on the GBBO. Leave yourself far too much to do within your available time is setting yourself up for failure. And while pushing yourself is a good thing, setting impossible objectives isn’t. Better to keep things simple and do the basics well.

5 Success is built on consistency

Quality matters in baking and business, but you’re only as good as your last bake, task or job. Even star bakers and businesses can come unstuck if they fail to deliver quality time after time.

6 Everyone makes mistakes

Even those who have won the Bake Off have had mishaps along the way. Sometimes mistakes can be rectified, sometimes they can’t, but no one gets it right all the time. Making mistakes is acceptable – not learning from them isn’t.

7 You should listen to expert advice

There’s no doubting Paul Hollywood’s expertise. When things go wrong on Bake Off, he provides an immediate explanation, based on his deep knowledge and decades of experience. Bake Off shows that constructive criticism and advice from others can help us to improve.

8 Your personality should shine through

Your personality can help to set you part from other businesses, which is vital. Whether they’ve been tasked with making a macaron, bread roll or tea cake, successful Bake Off contestants put something of themselves into their creations. Being who you are can help to fuel your success. Viewers and customers like authenticity.

9 Appearance isn’t everything

On Bake Off we frequently see outwardly beautiful creations picked apart for lacking flavour or crunch. Sometimes they’re over or under baked. Similarly, an impressive business website can be undermined by poor customer service. Substance is more important.

10 Who dares (usually) wins

Sometimes you must be prepared to think outside the box and do things differently if you are to triumph. Whether that’s spicing up teacakes with masala chai or adding cream soda flavouring to your cheesecake topping, in business and the Bake Off – fortune favours the brave.

• You can watch the series so far on catch-up or by visiting the Channel 4 website. Blog written by Dead Good Content founder, Mark Williams.

Why it’s OK to fail sometimes in business

Chances are, you’ve probably never heard of Traf-O-Data. It was a venture started in the early 1970s by a couple of teenagers from Seattle, Washington. Using the Intel 8008 processor, Traf-O-Data analysed traffic data punched into paper rolls, so traffic flow could be improved. The budding tech entrepreneurs tried to market Traf-O-Data to local government.

The venture was founded by William Henry Gates III (now better known as Bill, of course) and Paul Allen, the dynamic duo that would later take their place among the world’s richest business men after setting up Microsoft in 1975.

Corporate history provides many other well-known business people who failed but went on to achieve phenomenal success

Flawed business model

In a 2011 Newsweek interview  Allen conceded: “Traf-O-Data was a good idea with a flawed business model. It hadn’t occurred to us to do any market research, and we had no idea how hard it would be to get capital commitments from municipalities. Between 1974 and 1980, Traf-O-Data totaled net losses of $3,494. We closed shop shortly thereafter.”

He continued: “Since then, I’ve made my share of business mistakes, but Traf-O-Data remains my favorite, because it confirmed to me that every failure contains the seeds of your next success.”

Corporate history provides many other well-known business people who failed but went on to achieve phenomenal success. Rowland Hussey Macy had many failed retail ventures, before (aged 36) launching R.H. Macy & Co, which became Macy’s, one of the world’s most successful department stores.

Henry Ford started two automotive companies that failed before he enjoyed enormous success with the Ford Motor Company (reportedly worth US$188bn when Ford died in 1947). Ford is quoted as remarking: “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”

Although we’re encouraged to fear failure, hide our mistakes and be embarrassed when we slip up, failure in business and life offers valuable learning opportunities

Creative thinking

Closer to home, Sir James Dyson made thousands of failed prototypes which sucked up his personal savings for 15 years before he finally created his hugely successful vacuum cleaner.

Speaking to Fast Company he recalled: “I made 5,127 prototypes before I got it right. There were 5,126 failures. But I learned from each one. That’s how I came up with a solution. So, I don’t mind failure. Schoolchildren should be marked by the number of failures they’ve had. The child who tries strange things and experiences lots of failures to get there is probably more creative.” The renown British inventor and businessman now has his own foundation, which “is dedicated to encouraging young people to think differently, make mistakes, invent and realise their engineering potential”.

Although we’re encouraged to fear failure, hide our mistakes and be embarrassed when we slip up, failure in business and life offers valuable learning opportunities. In many ways, failure is part of the entrepreneurial journey – it can drive us forward to achieve great things. And if you’re not prepared to risk failure by trying new things, you might never achieve great success.

We shouldn’t fear failure. Failure reminds us we’re human and that we can’t get it right every time. Never learning from your mistakes is another matter altogether, of course

Definition of insanity

In the USA, in particular, there’s a different attitude to failure in business. Indeed, some believe you cannot truly claim to be a success unless you’ve overcome failure. Many highly successful entrepreneurs have endured epic failures. The key is to recognise your mistakes, learn important lessons when things go wrong, don’t let it happen again and seek to improve. We shouldn’t fear failure. Failure reminds us we’re human and that we can’t get it right every time.

Never learning from your mistakes is another matter altogether, of course. Failure can lead to more failure – and eventually business failure. In the words of Albert Einstein: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

• This blog appeared originally on the HSBC Knowledge Centre website and was commissioned by Atom Content Marketing.