They talk about their perspective on working with influencers, the most rewarding part of launching the restaurant, how the pandemic influenced their approach to business and the advice they’d give those looking to launch a brand or a restaurant.
0:00
What do you think about influencers? You got the wrong one, and you just wasted your time and energy.
0:08
Another thing about the restaurant business is that everybody thinks they know how to make a drink. Everybody thinks they know how to cook a hamburger. There’s an art to this stuff.
0:20
Welcome to this episode. I’m Valerie Jennings. Jeff Grath and Kurt Holden are joining me today. Jeff has launched restaurants across the country, and Kurt has also owned and operated restaurants, as well as many other business ventures. Let’s get started with some questions.
0:36
What do you think about influencers? Influencers, in a sense, are kind of the new category of journalists, but in a different sense — we pay them to promote products and companies. What do you think about that, Jeff, Kurt? You guys have been through all aspects of marketing and advertising.
0:59
I think it’s so important, but the trick is to make sure you have the correct influencers, right? Everybody’s doing it out there. So it’s about making sure that you have the right person, who’s drawing the right crowd that you want.
1:06
We’re a family oriented business, right? So we want those influencers to be family oriented, based around food and service and hospitality. I think it’s very important — it’s almost like hiring another employee. You have to interview those influencers as well.
1:32
Yeah, I’ve never ever used influencers, ever, until we got together with you. So I’m interested to see just where it brings us. And like Kurt said, if you don’t have the right one, you got the wrong one, and you just wasted your time and energy.
1:51
Yeah, that matching process is really important. And I think a lot of people think you have to work with a celebrity influencer, or an influencer that has millions of followers.
1:59
And really, especially when we’re dealing with a location-specific brand launch, we want local micro-influencers. Maybe they have a little bit smaller following, but their influence among their followers and their engagement rate is actually higher than the bigger influencers.
2:24
The brand matching and aligning brand values is absolutely critical. And that is one of the biggest mistakes that brands make — they get too focused on the numbers and not on the authenticity and brand alignment.
2:45
And honestly, it’s kind of advertising 101. You wouldn’t run your ads on a show that has nothing to do with a restaurant or the values that your brand represents. So it’s very much the same strategic thinking process there.
3:01
So so far, you guys are what, days away?
3:08
Days. We’re days away. Yes, days.
3:08
What’s been the most surprising or rewarding part of the process so far — either you guys’ journey together, or just, I know this isn’t your first rodeo, but is there anything that’s really been surprising and rewarding for this particular launch?
3:23
Well, with regards to here — I’ve opened up about 15 places in my lifetime, and every single one is different, of course. Dealing with the cities and licensing and stuff like that. I’ve had multiple licenses in Florida, so it streamlined the process a bit.
3:46
But it’s just hurry up and wait. We did a lot of renovation to this place. It used to not look like this, and with Kurt’s blessing, we have totally revamped this whole place, front and back. I think when people walk in, they’re going to go, “Wow.”
4:09
Like I said, it starts in the parking lot with the signage, and then when they walk in here, it’s going to give them that “yes” experience. And then it’s up to us not to disappoint them. But that ain’t going to happen.
4:25
So what advice do you have for other business owners who are either launching a brand, or maybe specifically a restaurant?
4:31
Again, I hate to do all the talking here, but the worst thing — I’ve seen so many restaurants that are in business for two years and they’re gone.
4:45
And getting back to the principles of selling within your four walls: consistency in product, consistency in service. But what I’ve found most of the time is that if somebody has a business card with the big O for “owner” on it, they don’t work. They’ve got to work in the places.
5:01
With the multiple ones that I’ve had before, I was there every two days. I’d be at one of them. I’m an executive chef in my past, too. So my places up in Minnesota — every Tuesday, they knew Jeff was going to be in the kitchen. On Wednesday, the next one would know it.
5:19
And so they knew I was a worker, and people appreciate that. And everybody likes to know the owner. Everybody says they know the owner, but everybody would like to at least be an acquaintance on a first-name basis. That’s so important. But if you’re not there, you’re wasting your time.
5:34
I’m here to be absolute total witness of this. How we became friends is that I got to know the owner, and we started socializing together. And I know so many people who have had the same experience with Jeff in the restaurant.
5:49
I’d like to go back to another thing you said. I think you need to look at a business, no matter what it is, as you would an investment, right? If you’re investing in stocks — for example, today and yesterday the stock market is crushing, right? The numbers are horrible.
6:05
It’s about being consistent. It’s about staying in the game and not panicking when it’s a Tuesday night and the numbers are down in the restaurant. It’s about Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and staying consistent and continuing that investment — not only of money, but of your time and energy into that business. So I think that’s the key to any business.
6:35
Yeah, both of you make excellent points. Jeff, like a lot of executives or business owners, they think the goal is to have a business but not really work there. And for me, I’ve had my agency over 20 years. I can’t imagine doing anything else. I love what I do, and I like to work with my team and be involved.
7:03
Retired?
7:03
Yeah, I don’t know that I’m a person who can be retired either. But that falls into passion, too, right? If you’re passionate about what you do, you want to work there. And I always say, if you don’t want to work at your own business, then why would anybody else want to work there?
7:19
Well, another thing about the restaurant business, too, is that everybody thinks they know how to make a drink. Everybody thinks they know how to cook a hamburger. There’s an art to this stuff. And if it’s just us three together, you can do the cooking. But there’s going to be 300 people here. That’s when the world changes.
7:36
And staying consistent across those 300.
7:44
Exactly, matching up. And then Kurt, your point is also really key. Not to keep bringing up the pandemic, but a lot of people got scared. They stopped advertising.
8:00
We told our clients, “This is a time to build trust with your clients and customers. Don’t abandon them.” And maybe the messaging changes, but it is about consistency.
8:17
And past research actually shows that businesses that stay consistent, no matter what is going on economically or otherwise, actually advance faster than the businesses that react and fail, or change their strategy, or abandon their process. Sounds like that’s kind of your message here.
8:39
And like everything, you have to ride out the highs and lows and figure out how to reinvent yourself, right? You want to gain on an investment — when do you invest? When the market’s down, right?
8:56
Yes. When the market’s down, you pour more into it, because on the other side you’ll have more buying power once the market starts to change. And that goes for the restaurant business, it goes for aviation, it goes for the stock market, however you want to look at it.
9:11
Down here in Florida during the pandemic, we really never closed. Everybody around us closed, and we delivered to the cars out on the street. You couldn’t come into the restaurant, but you could get your drink and you could get your food, and they would walk it out to your car and give it to you.
9:32
Yeah, they never closed the door.
9:32
Well, thank you both for the amazing interview today. It was really nice getting all the insights, and what a great story to tell. Stay tuned for future episodes where we explore strategies and tactics from behind the scenes. I’m Valerie Jennings. Thank you for watching.
9:53
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