The Raw Chef

Russell James, better known as The Raw Chef, joined IconicShift looking for growth and to take his business to the next level, but found the first thing he needed to do was to slow down.

 

Turning a passion into a business

Russell James started telling the world about his passion and it turned into a business - therawchef.com - that provides courses, recipes, ebooks and information about raw food. He joined an IconicShift mentoring group in 2013.

 

"IconicShift put me into a group of proper business owners who were using a language I didn't really understand at the time, but it was exciting. It was a great feeling to become a person who really understood business terms and how to run a business with things like raising funds.

 

"When I joined IconicShift my business was driven by passion, but there was no real plan. I went on the course looking for growth and new skills to take things to the next stage and push myself forward to help the business."

 

Slowing down

However, instead of instant growth, Russell found he needed to slow down first: "I spoke to Mike and he said - take stock and slow down before you plan your next move. I had growth at the time, but it had come from pure passion and it was almost naïve growth. I needed to really look and think about the business and to get the foundations right.

 

"And that was really important, because there's only so many courses you can make or you'd want to make. I used the pause IconicShift gave me to recreate the business' Dream, its Purpose and decide if I really believed in that and if I wanted to do it. The whole process gave me a renewed vision and passion."

 

Business doesn't have to be ruthless

"Mike showed me that business doesn't have to be ruthless. IconicShift was very different, it uses a lot of your heart and there's elements in there that I wouldn't consider to be 'traditional' business thinking. It showed me that there's many things that can positively impact your business - it's not just about accounting seminars - you can use your inspiration.

 

"It also helped me to look at and assess opportunities. Everyone has an opinion of how and what you should do - and in the past I would have probably tried to do everything. Now I look at an opportunity from the basis of the Road Map, what I'm strategically trying to get done and I'm saying no a lot more.

 

"I feel really great about the stability of my business and how I want it to improve. IconicShift made me think about my Game, a Road Map and a Brand Experience, which has enabled me to plan for the future - it has been hugely beneficial."