Many moons ago, I played in a band.
We weren't rock stars. But we weren't bad either. Good enough to get booked, and good enough that people showed up.
Then one year, the gigs started rolling in. Regional venues, a few festivals, the local pubs. The kind of momentum that makes you think this is actually working.
The highlight was playing at a packed motorcycle club festival near Rotorua. Four to five thousand people. The sun was out. Engines rumbling in every direction.
We hit the stage and the whole place came alive. One of those gigs where everything just clicks, the kind you end up talking about for years.
We were riding high.
Nobody Told Us What Was Waiting
The following week, a new booking came in. Gisborne. Sounded like another festival. Nobody checked. Not the expected crowd, not the ticket sales, not even a quick call to the promoter.
After all, we were a semi-successful band on a roll. And rolling bands don't stop to read the fine print.
After six hours of winding road, spectacular scenery, and the quiet, creeping suspicion that the road never ends.. we finally arrived.
To our surprise, it was an indoor hall. Fine, we thought. No need to worry about the rain.
We spent hours setting everything up. Sound-checked the whole rig. The excitement levels in the band were very high.
Then the opening time arrived.
Four people showed up. Not four hundred. Not a quiet forty. Four human beings in an empty room. We had more people in the band than the audience.
Every Business Owner Has a Gisborne
Now here's the thing about moments like that. You have two choices.
● You can pack up early, drive home bitter, and quietly start wondering whether any of it's worth it.
● Or you can play the best damn show of your life for four people and hold onto the belief that momentum isn't built in a single room.
We played the full set.
I still think about that room.
Why It Matters for Business
I think about that Gisborne gig a lot when I'm working with business owners. Because most of them have had their Gisborne moment.
● The campaign that flopped.
● The hire that didn't work out.
● The quarter where the numbers were poor.
● The year they worked harder than ever and somehow ended up more exhausted and less ahead.
And the temptation, every single time, is to take it personally. To question the whole thing.
But here's what I've learned:
The owners who build something great aren't the ones who avoid the bad gigs. They're the ones who play them anyway and then get smarter about which ones to take.
That's exactly what the STEP framework is built around. Not blind optimism. Not hustle harder. But a clear-eyed look at where you are, what's working, and what needs to change.
If You're in a Gisborne Moment Right Now
You don't have to figure it out alone.
Our BSP Discovery Session is a structured, no-obligation conversation designed to help you get a clear-eyed view of where you are, uncover opportunities, and see what may be possible next.
Kind regards,
Phil Wicks
Co-founder/Director
BSP Advisory Group
