The Apprentice

Last night saw the conclusion of The Apprentice and former check-out girl Michelle Dewberry winning the opportunity to work for Sir Alan Sugar .

There have been plenty of snotty comments regarding the show from those who find business and profit-making an unseamly occupation or the brutality of the, "You're Fired!" method a bad way to manage, but they all miss one of the underlying positives to come from this great show.

Namely, showing would be entrepeneurs and everyone in general that it can be quite easy to make money. The apprentices had to go out into areas of business they had no or little experience of and work hard to sell....yet they invariably came back to Sir Alan's boardroom with a profit.

That's a lesson that we should all take note of, especially in a long-standing trading nation like Britain, and even act upon. If the apprentices could go out, create and sell calendars for example, then what is there to stop the rest of us from doing so. Ok we're not going to create multi-million pound businesses overnight from a standing start, no one does, but we can certainly create the foundations of one and hopefully have a lot of enjoyment in doing so.

I think The Apprentice (And the first series shown last year) also show us that business isn't a closed shop, prices are up for negotiation and if you have a good product, or can convince others you have, then you'll be given the opportunity somewhere to sell it and make a profit.

Another of the positive messages to emerge from the show is that those with management and/or consultant backgrounds are quite often full of shit, making it up as they go along and utterly clueless. If The Apprentice in anyway goes toward knocking down the high and influential pedestal that such 'professions' have built for themselves, then i'm sure Sir Alan and many others would be more than pleased.

Ebay and car boot sales have already led thedacs to make our first forays into the world of commerce and come out with a profit (Not to mention a great sense of accomplishment and enjoyment), now we need to build upon the lessons observed from The Apprentice and see if we can actually create something to sell and make a profit on.