From Job Seeker to Franchise Leader

Ever wondered if owning a franchise is your golden ticket to success? In this riveting episode, we revisit a classic discussion from two years ago on the "That's On Everything" podcast with my close friends Bruce, Jamaury, and Corey. Together, we unravel my journey from desperately needing a job to achieving my dreams as a successful franchise owner and business coach. We dissect the fundamental differences between franchising and starting an independent business, especially in the restaurant industry, revealing how franchising can streamline your path to success by saving time and reducing investment risks.

But it's not all smooth sailing—this conversation sheds light on the gritty realities of restaurant franchising. We demystify the common misconception that a hefty financial investment guarantees success, emphasizing the need for active involvement and on-the-ground experience. Using Chick-fil-A's unique owner-operator model as a case study, we highlight the importance of maintaining consistent operations across multiple locations. Additionally, we weigh the pros and cons of starting a food truck versus a traditional restaurant, offering strategic insights and practical advice on minimizing costs and maximizing flexibility.

Leadership and development are cornerstones of business success, and our discussion dives deep into the traits that make a great leader. We talk about fostering a positive work environment, providing growth opportunities, and retaining employees through development rather than just higher pay. To wrap up, we explore the importance of standards in the restaurant industry, the role of continuous self-improvement, and smart financial choices. This episode is packed with valuable lessons and thought-provoking scenarios, making it a must-listen for anyone aspiring to thrive in the restaurant business or any entrepreneurial venture.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:03

What's going on Pizza King Podcast family? We are back with another episode and you know this one. This one is pretty cool, special one. Not, we don't have a guest.

Speaker 1: 1:15

I was actually a little known fact. I was on another podcast before I started Pizza King Podcast with three of my close friends. My brothers called that's on everything. Uh, with with three of my close friends, my brothers called that's on everything, and we did an episode where, you know, we just kind of highlighted what I do and you know my journey in the restaurant business and you know my advice for anyone trying to get into the business, whether you're pursuing a franchise opportunity or starting something independent and I gave a lot of good tips, some valuable information. This is from two years ago actually. Uh, yeah, june or May 2022. So we got a lot of new, new followers, new listeners, um, new new people who are connected to us. So I thought it'd be important, or thought it'd be good, to bring that episode back and and just talk through some of those things, because the information is still relevant and still valuable today. So, uh, I'll, uh, you know, kick it over to to that and, you know, hopefully you guys enjoy. Let me know what you think about it. As always, reach out to me on Instagram at Tyrell Reese Senior or Pizza King Podcast. Make sure you check out the other social pages. We're on TikTok, we're on Facebook, we are, we are on YouTube, and who has shared? Who has, you know, just kept the growth going on all of those platforms. I am super appreciative of that and without further ado, we'll get into the episode Pizza King on that's On Everything podcast with Bruce Higgs, jamari Norris, corey Nicholson and myself, tyrell, my brothers. Hope y'all enjoy so a lot of that.

Speaker 1: 3:24

Finishing up school with the kids Today's the last day, so getting ready for summer. Summer camp, basketball in the summer, a couple of trips planned, so we're just really, really ready to enjoy that. Mixed in between all of the work that's going on, sprinkle some fun in there, right, yeah, because, because the work doesn't stop, it's a busy time for us, so had a good rally with my Florida team yesterday, actually Getting them excited and pumped up. We're just about to finish Q2 here, real soon. We're just preparing and talking about what the rest of the year is going to look like for us, with some new store openings and new people coming on board. So staying on the same page.

Speaker 2: 4:13

Really just making sure we're all, we're all ready for what's ahead of us. Beautiful, beautiful, all right. Well, look, let's get into it. And C-Real, we want to kind of start with the origin real quick. Maybe you can give us some background. You know, we know that you're, you know, in the restaurant game, in the franchise game, business leader, business coach. But let's just talk about real quick, you know how you, how you got started and why you chose the restaurant business.

Speaker 1: 4:38

Man, I got started really because I needed a job More than anything. When I moved to Florida I was, I was looking for somewhere to work. I never imagined myself as a restaurant owner or even growing a career in this industry to become an executive or in a coach now, like I do. But I needed a job and they were hiring. They had a pizza box in the window. Spot West Shore Pizza over in Riverview had a pizza box in the window. I could walk there. I didn't have a car. Um, so I, I, I, may, I applied and got the job and really got to know the business from the inside out and that's really what led me to, you know, to continue to pursue, um, the next level. It was always about pursuing the next level, Awesome.

Speaker 2: 5:29

So it's kind of like. I mean not to make light of it, but it's like my man, louis Anderson. He was, like I, started on lettuce and the next thing you know, he running the show.

Speaker 1: 5:42

Start rolling in and and to be honest, man, this is, it's the truth, though I mean you learn it. You get opportunities, you say yes to things. That's something that I'm big on is saying yes to challenges and opportunities, and you know there's some. There's always a little bit of growth out of that. I'm probably, you know, one of those lucky folks that just stuck with it and made something out of it, but it it has changed a lot for me for sure.

Speaker 2: 6:10

Yeah, I thought.

Speaker 1: 6:11

I thought I was gonna be a sports agent. Then I thought I was gonna be an engineer. I was in school and it turned out that this is this was my path.

Speaker 2: 6:20

Word up, word up, but I mean, yeah, that speaks volumes because it's like you said, you took an opportunity and whatever you were doing, you became the best at it you know what I'm saying and learn the business inside it out. Now you lead the business and you develop in other business leaders and franchises. So that's dope man. I saw you post something interesting on your page I think it was coming out of the workshop that I wanted to ask you about because I know you talk about, you know not just jumping out in the fire and you know owning a business, but in terms of franchising itself, it seems like a lot of people think about the restaurant business when they think about franchising. That seems to be the anchor of it. Now it seems to be a safe would you say it's a safer bet going into franchising over a mom and pop like small business.

Speaker 1: 7:12

I would say depending, depending on the type of business you choose to go into. For a restaurant, I would say 100 percent being successful in by buying a franchise or getting into a franchise business versus going out on your own, because of the time that it saves you and the investment that it saves you from building a brand, building a new brand. Um, the restaurant businesses is, you know, heavily driven on people and on on customers and climate. So you, you, you have to, you have to be able to to navigate those things, not just show up, cook good food and expect that it's going to be successful. There's so many other factors that go into it. Now, what other other businesses and I think you're talking about something that I talked about coming out of?

Speaker 1: 8:02

I was actually at a franchise show last weekend and about I was really surprised to see how many different industries are franchising now. So there are ways, there are different types of franchise businesses to get into. Whether you're, you know you'd like to get into insurance, or you'd like to get into, you know, doing flooring, or you want to do, you know you want to have a gravel business or a coffee business. There's a lot of different brands that you can you know partner with as a franchisee. That will help you. You know, learn the game and you know mitigate some of the uh, some of the challenges when it comes to starting a new business, cause it's hard. No matter what business you start, it's going to be tough.

Speaker 2: 8:41

Exactly, yeah, no, yeah, exactly what I was talking about, cause I heard say that the franchise business has 75% greater chance at success than an independent small business. So it was like you said somebody wanted to get into the game. Do you want to do the mom and pop or do you want to buy into a brand, whether it be restaurant or something else that has a higher chance of success, be restaurant or something else that has a higher chance of success? Um well, let me ask you this too, because I think a lot of people, like even myself, I, I pull up to mcdonald's or whatever it may be and I'm like man, they in there slinging though, like how can I get one? Like but is that, is that the right mindset? Thinking that if I go buy the chick-fil-a boy or the mcdonald's, I'm good, I'm good?

Speaker 3: 9:27

oh, you could probably get a mcdonald's a little cheaper though can't you my buns have no seeds that mcdonald's might be worth a little bit more.

Speaker 1: 9:42

I get it, man. You know people. I get people that that look at that. They say it to me all the time Like man, it must be nice to do that. Or it looks like you know you killing it over there and I would tell you that that is. That is the result of a lot of things going right, and McDonald's is I mean, they're a powerhouse, so they have a brand that has been tested for generations. At this point it is and it's not.

Speaker 1: 10:10

It's not necessarily all that easy to say I just I want it, I'm going to do it. I think that's the misconception with franchising is, you know, people think that if you have, you have money, you can, you can do this. And the restaurant business I would. I would tell anybody if, if you're you got money and you're looking for an investment, you're looking for something to just. You know you're about to retire, you look, you're looking to generate some, some cash in retirement. You want a nice return. The restaurant business is probably not the right business for you and even though my business is in teaching and coaching folks to be successful in this, I would. I would try to stop people before they even got to that point. Because it is. It is a business that you buy, to operate and run, not to, not to invest in it and reap the returns. Now returns come and they come, you know, at a high rate when you're doing it right. But it takes time to get to that point.

Speaker 3: 11:01

So this? So, like you say, if you're looking for your straight passive income at 32 years old, it's probably the restaurant business is not passive income, by no means.

Speaker 1: 11:14

This is this is. You know, be attentive to what you're doing all day, every day, even on your own vacation, you're still checking messages. You, you're doing something. Go ahead, jay, what's?

Speaker 2: 11:25

up, no up. So you bring up a valid point. And so I used to work with Ecolab, so I used to service a lot of QSR restaurants and I noticed that, like with Chick-fil-A, like their system is totally different. You know what I'm saying. You go in there and you see like a million people Right, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2: 11:45

I remember going back back in the kitchen he was like one dude. He was fixing, he was squeezing the lemons for the lemonade. He was like man, as soon as I finish these lemons, I'm off. I was like you ain't got nothing else to do and he was like no, I came in just to do the squeeze lemonade. He was like that's it. So it's like it's so internally focused, like one person, like passing you to drink. One person taking the money, one person. So now also here, maybe you can correct this is like with the, the, the franchisees or the owner operators, that the max they can have is like three restaurants and you've got to be and that's very rare, but for the most part like if you have one or two, but for the most part, like if you have one or two they have to be in the vicinity where you live, where you can actually get to the restaurant because they're constantly working in a restaurant. So does that?

Speaker 1: 12:34

because the owner operators are constantly in the restaurants does that because it forces you to be 100 percent involved and engaged in the business. And what a lot of people don't understand and know about Chick-fil-A is that you don't actually own that franchise. You are a managing partner or operating partner and you you earn a good deal of the profit from doing that and you can make some good money I mean some real good money but you'll never actually own that. So Chick-fil-A has a beautiful system that puts operators in control of their businesses and you can't just do it. You can't just show up with a check, because everybody talks about the $10,000. It's just a $10,000 fee to get into Chick-fil-A. That's's all it takes, that's all the startup costs, because they front everything. They build the building, they, you know, they get all the equipment, they do all of it. But when I tell you, their process is highly selective. You have to, you know you, you have to be the right person, you have to fit their culture, you need to have some experience in in the industry. Um, it's not just you show up with a check and you can get it, because because I know I see four, four of us right now that would take $10,000 to a Chick-fil-A right now. If it was that easy. Let me get all three of mine. Tree. How many can I get? So it's, you know, their motto is beautiful, but that and they're successful because they've been able to keep a tight rein on the operations of that business.

Speaker 1: 14:11

Um, franchising can get out of hand when you, when you give up. So, so, people, for people to understand, franchising is allowing somebody to use your, your images, your name, your, you know, your company, your logos, you really build off of your brand and their individual business. So, but you give up a little bit of control as a franchisor when you, when you, you know, give these people, you know, the opportunity to use your name and use your brand. So, um, things can get out of whack. We used to. We used to talk about it all the time when we were, you know, back in the day when I was building an operations manual for West shore. Um, the guy that I was working with, he used to say t we got to write this so that the people in omaha can do it, because you're not going to be in omaha, but you got to make it so crystal clear that they can understand it from from your office here in tampa, florida, to where?

Speaker 1: 15:01

to these folks in omaha, nebraska, who've never seen what we're doing here today. They need to be able to read this and understand it, and that and that takes a. It takes a lot yeah, I had a.

Speaker 2: 15:11

I had a chick-fil-a owner. Tell me that you have better odds of of getting drafted by the nfl than becoming a chick-fil-a owner. What? Oh yeah, oh wow. He said that's how, that's how selective they are. The odds are that tight.

Speaker 1: 15:28

So imagine if you're Chick-fil-A and you have, however many thousands of people that want to join your system. Every single day, the applications are probably coming in nonstop from people who learn this, or some casual investor that wants to be, wants to be a millionaire, right, um? But you also have a whole pipeline of people who have been developed internally who would probably be a better fit to run that business because they've already, because they've already seen it, they've already been doing it, um, that that makes the process even more selective. So I'm sure there's some strategic partnerships in there with the right people on the Chick-fil-A's in the right areas, but this business is a small world. A lot of folks know each other, everybody knows everybody when you're, when you're moving around doing this.

Speaker 1: 16:18

So the everyday guy's probably not getting on. Yeah, I hear a little bit of feedback over there somewhere. Oh yeah, there it was.

Speaker 3: 16:29

Yeah, that's you.

Speaker 1: 16:30

But yeah, man, so highly selective, highly selective process and but just like getting drafted into the NFL, if you, if you are selected and you can, you can get through their process and their training and their training. You do have, you know, a high, very, you know, it's highly likely that you're going to be successful.

Speaker 2: 16:55

Let me ask you this, dan man. So I was listening to and to take it to another franchise, I was listening to how I built this and listening to the CEO of Raising Cane's, which is birth in Baton Rouge, louisiana. Similar to Chick-fil-A model, to similar. So my question is because his thing was everybody was telling him when he first started his deal he just wanted to do chicken fingers, coleslaw fries and Texas toast fingers, coleslaw fries and Texas toast. And they was like, bro, that ain't never going to work. We need to offer more. Because he was like during that time everybody was doing like salads, they offering shakes, it was just a whole bunch of stuff. So what's your take on a model like Raising Cane's, which I think is like the second behind Chick-fil-A as most successful franchises currently in a brand like, say, a McDonald's or even like a Cheesecake Factory? They got like a million things on their joint Jack in the box, all of it.

Speaker 2: 18:01

Tacos burgers, french fries pizza burgers, you know French fries pizza. So what's what's your? What's your your, your thought process as it relates to just niching down or just having a little bit of something for everybody to get down with at a restaurant.

Speaker 1: 18:16

So I think it can work both ways, and I and I got a lot of respect for Kane's too they are. Their motto is very similar to Chick-fil-A. Where they're they bring on operating partners or managing partners, give them a piece of the pie to come in and give all their attention to a business. They were like kind of like I mentioned before, where you start to franchise and you give people a piece of your business or you give them control over their own and things got out of whack.

Speaker 1: 18:48

I don't know if y'all seen the founder, but remember when Ray Kroc visited some of those, some of those restaurants, and they were selling chicken, selling chicken and all of that. It got out of control. Right From what I understand about Kane's, the same thing happened with them and they and they immediately stopped selling franchises. They, they, they changed their motto. It wasn't about selling a franchise, it became about expanding the brand and maintaining control. So, because he had, because he had that vision and he had an idea of what he wanted it to look like, he was able to, you know, keep that control and grow it the way they want it.

Speaker 1: 19:20

Now some, some brands and honestly really depends on who your customer is Some brands can be very successful successful with a variety or even a menu that changes day to day or week to week. I've seen it happen a lot of different ways. It's really just about who you're servicing and what those needs are. A lot of brands evolve to what they are now Like and I love Guy Raz too, listening to how I built this but like Panera Bread, which now is an iteration of what used to be St Louis Bagel Company, and then they started to add sandwiches and later became Panera Bread and what we see now, but they started out as just a bagel brand.

Speaker 2: 20:05

Yeah, what should take on? I mean, we see a lot of food trucks versus brick and mortar locations. So, uh, would you give the same advice to someone that wants to open a food truck versus getting into the franchise game and, you know, having a brick and mortar location? Uh, do you feel like they're safer or do you feel like there's a better entry point? What's your advice for somebody that's thinking about maybe starting with the food truck first?

Speaker 1: 20:31

So as a as a starting point for someone who hasn't done it before if you've never, you've never owned a restaurant, you never. You've never been in that world I would definitely say that the food truck is probably a safer starting point, definitely. You know, less expensive is in the way of startup costs. There's less exposure with just having a truck and insurance and just a couple of people. You're probably safer there to really get into the business and start to learn how to serve a customer and how to build a team and how to navigate suppliers and um hiring challenges and and HR nightmares and all of the things that come along with running a business.

Speaker 1: 21:19

The other side of it is yeah, you have a a a greater chance of success in a franchise business. But let's be for real. Most restaurants fail. Um, even though your your chances are higher, you know your chances of success are greater with with a franchise model, it's still a business where a lot of folks aren't making it.

Speaker 1: 21:38

And what gets scary is you start putting your name on these commercial leases and you're guaranteeing something for five years or 10 years, 20 years, to get the, to get the price down. You want to hook for that Um, and that's, and that's scary, you don't? It's going to cost you some money. You need to be ready for that.

Speaker 3: 21:57

So let me ask you this, bro. So, um, that's kind of one of my passions, right Is is is barbecuing, um, but when I see a food truck, I'm looking at like man, why don't you just open a restaurant? Do you sometimes think it's just a strategic move that's being made versus I mean, your food ain't good enough to be in a big store. That's why you you know what I mean, um, because some of the best food in, in my opinion, comes off of a food truck.

Speaker 1: 22:33

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no doubt, but it's like that is why not just open a restaurant. Yeah, so, because it's expensive to open a restaurant extremely expensive or it's extremely risky in the way of exposure. If you're taking, you know, lines of credit or you know setting up accounts with some of these folks or you're you know you're doing these things, it's very expensive and there's a high degree of exposure. A restaurant is is a long-term commitment. So if you're not, if you're not going to, if you're just trying it, it's probably not the way to go. You know what I mean. If it's not going to be your full time passion, it's probably, it's probably too risky.

Speaker 1: 23:08

A food truck is less risky unless you, you know, remain flexible, remain nimble and you can adapt. And I would tell folks, you know, if you're a good cook and you make great food, sell your food to the folks you know. Keep your business as simple as you can, even if you're selling them out the house or you're doing like a share kitchen kind of deal, these ghost kitchens or virtual kitchens there's so many different ways for you to get your product out there, to see what the customers are talking about and how they receive it, because what's good to us doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be great for everybody, or that people are going to buy it and pay you a premium price for it, or that suppliers are always going to have the products that you need to execute this on a large scale. So you need to test that out and I would find just the most simple path to that, possibly before you get locked into some to uh, to a restaurant, to a brick and mortar.

Speaker 2: 24:09

Yeah, so so what's the um, what do you think like the cost is like for, like a food truck, like compared to a restaurant? And I know you you've given us some numbers before but in comparison, if I just wanted to start a food truck, buy the truck, you know, get it all you know fabricated and what have you get the supplies and stuff in there, like what's a, what's a cost for that, you think?

Speaker 1: 24:33

So I mean to to build your own food truck is going to be a little bit more expensive because you're dealing with some custom stuff and you're going to buy new equipment. I would tell you, if you wanted to do it, go buy, go find somebody who who failed and buy their food truck, cause you're going to get it for pennies on a dollar. But a new food truck is probably going to cost you depending on the the uh, the nature of your operation, like what kind of equipment you need If you need a smoker, if you need a grill, if you need a pizza oven. Um, all those prices of equipment are a little bit different. But I was expect to put anywhere from $75,000 to $150,000 into a food truck, a new one, a nice food truck. We're going to stick with the used one. Then Somebody that paid $75,000, didn't love it, couldn't figure it out, couldn't get it going, couldn't find events to get to, they're probably selling that food truck for whatever you give it. You probably go pick one up for $30,000. Then you're in business.

Speaker 3: 25:30

It was funny, man, because not too long ago I had an opportunity to buy a piece of shop. T-rail happened to be in town. We shot up and walked through. I'm counting money as I walk through the door like okay, this dude has no excitement I'm like you, you know what I mean.

Speaker 3: 25:54

And uh, we, we walk through and we finish it, we get in the car. He's like man, don't buy that, everything's good. He's like, yeah, man don't don't buy that story. And he ran it all down to me and so I'm sitting back like like a kid. You know how you want to buy your first car. It's eight hundred dollars. And you got eight hundred dollars. You got no insurance on it, you got no registration. So, no, I, I definitely get it.

Speaker 3: 26:22

And when he broke in and like to buy the building and the buy-in, we could easily afford it. But he's like b, this building is 35, 40 minutes away from you. Right, you're buying a job. So on a saturday night, when it's at its highest and half your staff calls in, what are you going to do? I'm not gonna buy the building because it sounds like it's another job. You know what I mean.

Speaker 3: 26:41

So, um, it kind of makes sense what you're saying, especially from my end, because if you look at the numbers and then you subtract all of what you're going to have in the headache and stuff like that, it's like man. I know it doesn't make any sense. So it was the best way to say this being being able to look at the business and know if it's going to fail right off the bat or if it's going to be work right off the bat or if it's going to be a passive income, that's huge, because I would have bought another job and that's not okay. Or I could have got a food truck and, like you said, if they're doing something at the riverfront, I'd go there today if I feel like it, versus being obligated 100 on a five-year lease. You know what I mean? That 1.2 mil.

Speaker 3: 27:31

I have to pay that out, you on the hook you on the hook and it's your name, even if you put your llc's name on there and be like okay, we need a personal guarantor on here too, if you don't mind oh yeah, especially if it's your first time.

Speaker 1: 27:43

So, and I were, and I remember that bruce, and you know that was that was a good walk. And I remember asking you one specific question who do you have that you can trust that's going to live here? You know what I mean, because being a cook and loving, you know loving to be in the kitchen and you know busting out these fireplace that's one thing, but running a business is totally different. And you have to really accept the fact that you know, and I learned a long time ago from my mentor, bob, that we might sell pizzas, we might sell tacos, we might sell whatever, but the business we're in is the people business and you have to be passionate about building and establishing you know long term business relationships and then growing a business from that point. You know long-term business relationships and then growing a business from that point. That's what it's about.

Speaker 1: 28:29

And and and there was just a lot of opportunities and I've come up I've come up tremendously on that that acquisition model where we find businesses that are for sale, they're failing and they all fail for one reason or another, but being able to assess that and then and then turn it into, you know, into something that is valuable to us, and it doesn't always work, but I've done it enough times to see look, hey, we got X amount of dollars in repairs that you're looking at. You're going to have to turn over a whole staff to make this work. There's a cost to that, and you're going to have to spend this amount of time, months or or years, to really regain the confidence of the community. So, and that cost, that's going to cost you some money. So, which is everything?

Speaker 3: 29:14

you know that I told you, don't do it yeah, I was gonna say man, he was like and you see the staff, he was like she got on flip-flops, like you're in a restaurant with flip-flops. On that, that's a problem, right there, you see that cooler right there, you see that, right there, you see that condensate. I'm like, wow. So even if he, even if I was gonna buy a tea, he was like yo, you need to offer significantly less on this. This is a failing business and as we kept talking, and that's what he hit, he was like and their reputation, I'm sure, is tainted. That's why he's selling it, because of the staff. So, nah, now, everything that looks like gold and gold sometimes is yellow plated, sometimes it's shiny. I'm looking at the numbers, thinking you mean to tell me to make it another hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year is not where it's at. He's like not if you put out two hundred thousand. Well, thank you, sir. I appreciate that.

Speaker 2: 30:04

Yeah, well, thank you, sir, I appreciate that word up and see, I love that saying that you that you always drop on us all. Business is people business. That's deep. Yeah, you take care of people, they're gonna take care of you. It is that's the other one I love. Right there I was. I was hoping he's gonna say that and uh, I want to pivot to that. Um, like I said, we're talking to tyrell, senior senior that is restaurant owner, business coach, and he has his own business leadership program where he can teach you how to do this. So I want to get into the leadership part and talk about your, your leadership program, a little bit. But before we do that, let's unpack real quick for the people. Let me hit you with a, with a, with a pop quiz, because you a leader, right? Uh-oh, here we go. Let me ask you a couple questions. Y'all ready, son? I hope the Reed boys is listening. Let me ask you something. First of all. What's your last name, sir?

Speaker 1: 30:59

Reed baby. What do Reeds do?

Speaker 2: 31:02

Reeds read I heard that Readers are what.

Speaker 1: 31:07

Readers are leaders. That's right. Okay, what makes a leader? Confidence, and what's confidence? Confidence is believing in yourself. What else makes a leader? Integrity, and what is integrity for the people? Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.

Speaker 2: 31:29

They're going to love this and last but not least, what else do leaders do?

Speaker 1: 31:34

Probably the most important thing A leader listens to other people but makes decisions for himself.

Speaker 2: 31:39

Can.

Speaker 1: 31:39

I get a sign. You listen and you learn and you make your own decisions. That's, that's too funny, man. Man. And for those that don't know, this is something that I do with my, with my kids, on the way to school every single morning. Um, they can't stand it, but we do it religiously, um, to the point that even you know I'm usually the one leading it, but sometimes one of the other boys will lead it. So, no, that's, that's cool. I can't wait to play that for them. They're gonna love to love it. That's dope. Go ahead, yeah, go ahead.

Speaker 2: 32:10

Now I was going to ask so yeah, keeping with the theme of the other of, you know, All businesses, people, business what have you found? What is one of the main reasons why employees leave an establishment? Why employees leave an establishment I mean, Especially in this light where we have, you know, we've, you know it's kind of hard to find people to stay, and you know you had all the stimulus money and then people weren't working. So what, what makes a person actually want to stay?

Speaker 1: 32:42

People. People stay in my business. People stay when we give them, you know, development. We give them opportunities to grow as an individual, um, on top of paying them fairly, giving them a, a, a great environment to be a part of and a family to really join. People want skills. They want skills that give them life beyond flipping burgers and dropping fries For me.

Speaker 1: 33:07

They want, they want to know how this is going to take them to the next level in their lives. These kids that work for me want to be lawyers, doctors, influencers, artists, like whatever it is. So they come to me and they want to know how, how this job is going to help them get to that, to that point in their lives. So I say people leave because it's a couple of different reasons. The number one reason that people leave is because there's just a conflict with somebody on the job, a leader or another another person on the team. But secondly, they leave because they're not being developed and they're not being poured into, or they don't feel like they're part of the company vision. They don't have any voice. And then the number three reason is money.

Speaker 2: 33:49

Gotcha, and that's funny that the last reason is money, because most people would think that money is going to solve it all, but you were talking about more development opportunity and things of that nature, because if I stroke you a check, but the environment or it's still no opportunity and that's probably going to fizzle out in a little bit.

Speaker 1: 34:10

Almost every single time I've had to give somebody more money to make them stay, they ended up leaving anyways. Wow, almost every time, and it still happens. We do it because some people hold you up, they want, they want a couple of bucks, but it's not the money. The paycheck is not enough to keep people. These days. You need to give someone, you need to give them ownership, not per se ownership in a business, but they need to own their role and own their development Word.

Speaker 2: 34:38

So let's unpack some of that Cause. I know you cover a lot of different stuff in your program. You know when it comes to being a leader and what what I have to do or what one has to do as a leader. You talked about development. I know you talk a lot about setting standards, taking care of people, so people will take care of you. You talked a lot about influence, even in the art of communication. So those are some of the things I wanted to unpack real quick for the people so they can get the tidbits. So let's start with development.

Speaker 1: 35:11

You know how do you develop people, how do you get the most out of people? Oh for sure. But even before I get into that, I think it's important to explain why I'm passionate about that. So I've been in a restaurant business for about 20 years now and I've seen businesses that have been incredibly successful and I've seen businesses that should have been great that failed.

Speaker 1: 35:25

And while the failure of a business happens for a number of different reasons, usually related to financial things, the businesses that operate the best and make the most money are the ones that have leaders in place that drive that business. It's probably the most crucial component of a business is who's running that business at the at the store level. So, understanding the importance and the value of leadership at the store level, they are I mean, they're number one in our company. Our, our, our org chart is flipped, so the most important people at the top of the org chart are the people who are on on at the store level, making it happen that leader in that restaurant has control over us making money and not making money. I, I'm not the one, I'm not the one, you know doing all that this yeah, folks are doing it, so I got to support them.

Speaker 1: 36:20

I got to make sure that they have everything that they need to get it done. And what I've learned is that every brand that I've worked with and I've worked with national brands, you know a bunch of different brands they're really good at teaching you all of the technical stuff you need to operate a business day to day, like we go. They got training programs that's going to teach you how to roll the burrito. They can teach you how to stack the burger, how to you know even how to mop the floor and do all that. But what we miss is giving folks the soft skills and the leadership skills to develop as a human and as a person, as a man or a woman, to give these kids in this younger generation, you know the support and development that they need.

Speaker 1: 36:59

So you really got to work on that, and that's what I've been passionate about is teaching those other skills. Like I'm not going to teach you what, what your brand can teach you, I'm going to teach you what they don't teach you, and leadership development is a big part of that. So the big things for us are, you know, really based on three phases. Routine is everything. So what you do every single day, that's what makes you so really having having success. Routines as part of your day-to-day life is going to be critical. Um, the second thing is organization. Is the cheat code being organized? Being organized is like the, really the way to hack your time, your, your impact. Um, you know all of those things, and those are the most important skills to pass on to somebody.

Speaker 1: 37:45

And then, lastly, is communication can't fail. People who need to know things got to get the information. It's not, it's not about saying things just to have our voice heard. You know disciplining people, but a leader is somebody who communicates, and make sure that the person that you're communicating with is getting a message, because that's what's most important. It's not just about hearing my own voice, it's about making sure you heard me and you understood me so that you can go. You can go, act on that Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 38:21

In that capacity, what's more effective in your opinion corrective actions or disciplinary?

Speaker 1: 38:25

actions, always, always coaching and correcting on the spot, to don't don't wait. You know what I mean. People respond when you, when you go shoulder to shoulder and you can teach them the lesson, and you can, you can explain the why. Or, you know, just slapping somebody's wrist for doing something is not going to stop them from doing it again, because they didn't. They don't really understand what. What happened? You got to teach, you got to, you got to correct things so that you can move forward. That's how you move a business forward.

Speaker 2: 38:50

It kind of reminds me of the song Kingpin on Tommy's album. Oh, I love that. That's why he was like I'll write him up.

Speaker 1: 38:59

They call me Kingpin. Well, I'll write some up. And, tommy, I love that one because and he was talking in an educational setting and it works anywhere where you got to lead a team and develop people he was like imagine if people was happy to come here, imagine if somebody was looking forward to come here because they knew that they were going to walk away with more than they came in with. That's how you build a leader.

Speaker 2: 39:26

Shout out to Dr Tommy Mabry on that one Absolutely Real quick, just unpacking that list again. You talked a little bit about this in the beginning. I think the founder was it Roy Crock from McDonald's. Yeah my bad. Shout out to the goat my bad.

Speaker 3: 39:46

He's a Roy Jones Jr.

Speaker 1: 39:50

You know, Corey, you're going to jack your name up, no matter who you is that boy, ray Ray, he doing his thing.

Speaker 2: 39:56

But I remember that scene that you talked about. You know, when he pulls up and they got the chicken out there and they got the signs, they got the corn on the cob. You're like yo, we sell burgers, we have a standard. And that's where my question is, like, when it comes to standards, is it important to set standards and how do you enforce them, especially when it comes, you know, in terms of being a leader and with the employees or that brand?

Speaker 1: 40:20

Yeah, well, you got to set standards because it's not. We got a responsibility to the customer, especially in the restaurant business. I tell folks all the time we got one job and that's not to kill nobody Like Whoa, for real Cause, because you bring you, bring me your money or means that you're bringing me your trust that I'm doing the right things behind the closed door to ensure that you're getting the highest quality product and really it comes down to a value You're getting what you're paying for Right, and that comes with a lot of trust. In the restaurant business you see that we have a sign up, we got you know, we got posters, we got decor, we got all this and it builds in trust to the customer.

Speaker 1: 41:03

But if there are no standards behind that door and the chicken been sitting out and the floors aren't swept and the temperatures aren't checked and the bathroom sweep isn't done and all of this, I mean that could kill your business, that could kill an individual, that will kill your reputation and it will damage the future of those folks that participated in that because they don't know how to go. Do it the right way, going forward, yeah.

Speaker 1: 41:33

You got to have standards, and if you don't have and and there's no point in having standards if you don't enforce them either there's got to be accountability in that, because otherwise you're just not, it's just a free for all and that that just doesn't work.

Speaker 3: 41:46

It, you'll go to a less than perfect establishment just based on the experience, right. So I don't need you to hit a hundred in every category, but if you in the 90 percentile, we going back Right and you consistent, you know what to people they want, what they can expect. That's why you get the same McDonald's burger in Detroit that should get in Tampa, Florida. And then secondly, like you said, it's having those standards.

Speaker 2: 42:17

You may get the same. Mcdonald's burger you may get the same. Chick-fil-a sandwich but that McDonald's yeah.

Speaker 3: 42:24

Yeah, you're right, some of the fries cold, some of them got seasoning salt on them.

Speaker 1: 42:28

And it comes down to expectation Brands, and I don't want to, I would never, I don't want to, I would never. I don't want to shame anybody's brand, but there's some of those brands that you go to and you just expect that something gonna be wrong with your order and you still go back, but it's like put tomatoes on his mug again. I don't know why I keep coming here.

Speaker 3: 42:45

Well, my wings are large over at this one, but then you go across town. My wings are small, yeah. So you know I gotta be the one on Waverly because you went there one time and it was fire.

Speaker 2: 42:56

So he was like I'm just hoping I can get it, like I got it that one time, because I know you know how to do it yeah who hey who cooking tonight? Right, is mr charles back there. Is mr charles back there? Because if mr charles ain't cooking, I don't want it.

Speaker 1: 43:12

And the standards can be violated in the other way too. Where you got those if?

Speaker 2: 43:14

mr charles ain't cooking.

Speaker 1: 43:14

I don't want it. And the standards can be violated in the other way too. Where you got those? If mr charles giving a little bit extra in his portions, he's throwing a little bit of extra salt in the guac, so his guac fire like those are those are as as egregious as somebody who's doing it doing it with with total disregard yeah, yeah, I didn't even think of that.

Speaker 3: 43:36

We gotta be consistent, we gotta be yeah, wow, yeah, you like, you say you over there like no, put some of this on the go, that's facts because, like when I used to work at the waffle house all right for those, and I used to work, I used to.

Speaker 2: 43:49

I could have got promoted, but I didn't want to do that um so I used to.

Speaker 2: 43:54

I used to, uh, as the, as a manager, you were the cook as well. So there was a. You know the the sop was for like an omelet, it was like a ladle of a very small ladle but a ladle of oil. That was like the standard for the cooking. But walthouse was known as the greasy spoon. So I didn't like cooking with all that oil, so I would just like grease the pan and pour the rest out, but my food was fire. You know I would get tips and everything but, like you said, I wasn't following the standard operation. You know what I'm saying. But at the same time it did help my food costs.

Speaker 2: 44:30

And the question is that so we will get bonuses based on food costs and like. Food costs would range between like if you did like a thirty one, thirty one, like thirty one and lower you were like you would get a nice little bonus. But if you hit that thirty two or higher, just like, you basically just going to get your normal pay. So how, how important is food costs and why does that play a major factor in the success or the failure of your restaurant?

Speaker 1: 44:58

So it's we talk about. When you talk about making a profit in a restaurant, we always talk about big two, that's food and labor. Those are the two most costly expenses in a restaurant business. So cost of goods, food, food is expensive Thirty one percent. I would take thirty one percent right now if we could get that. But the way, the way the world is working right now, we probably run in thirty four, thirty five Just with the, with the cost of everything going up. So imagine, you know and I teach my folks this all the time, so we know that we got a 30 to 35 percent food cost on most of our items. When we do it wrong or we make mistakes, then we pay for that. It costs us double. So then you lost because I still had to pay for the labor.

Speaker 3: 45:47

You had to pay.

Speaker 1: 45:48

We still had to pay for all of the other expenses that are wrapped into running this place, all of the other expenses that are wrapped into running this place. So you know, mistakes are costly. Food cost is your, is your, greatest cost, because it's because it's part of, I mean, it's just the cost of doing business. Those are the goods that we're selling, so we got to pay for them. They don't just give restaurants food to sell to, to sell to the world. That would be nice, we would all be so rich right now.

Speaker 1: 46:10

But you got to pay for those items and they're perishable. You, but you got to pay for those items and they're perishable. You know, I mean they're, they're highly, you know, they're highly sensitive to temperature and time. So you got to you have to control it. It's really your, your, your number one responsibility as a leader in a restaurant is control that food and control that labor. That's, that's where you make an impact and we bonus our folks off the same thing, off of, off of their food costs and their labor off of their food costs and their labor.

Speaker 2: 46:36

Check this out just to kind of switch gears a little bit. So let's kind of just talk about like an anomaly. So of course you know who Pinky Cole is right, I'm a fan.

Speaker 2: 46:46

For those who don't know, she's the CEO of Slutty Vegan right. So tell me this, because to have a vegan restaurant and to do the numbers that she has done and success that she has accomplished being very niche, like what, what do you attribute to her success? Because there's a lot of vegan, plant based restaurants starting to pop up, but hers is just like on steroids right now. Yeah, and knowing, knowing Pinky Co's story.

Speaker 1: 47:11

I think everybody sees the success right now. Yeah, and knowing Pinky Co's story, I think everybody sees the success right now without understanding what happened in the previous years, where she did like I said before, she did the ghost kitchen, tested her products out. She started with a very small, simple operation, understood what the customer was looking for and grew it from there. And, coupled with the fact that she is a next level marketer, I mean the way that they, the way that they present their product, their brand it makes people want to stand in line for hours. It makes people want to get a part of it, because there's like this, there's like this fear of missing out.

Speaker 1: 47:51

Wow, Cause I was in line for two hours, I drove. I went to the line after seeing it out. Wow, Cause I was in line for two hours, I drove. I went to the line after seeing it on their Instagram page. I was in Jackson, saw it on IG or maybe I think Jay even Jay has said it Jay said oh, a slutty vegan is in town today. I had a flight to catch, but I saw on their page where they were at over there off Lakeland drive. I drive over there. The line was crazy. I'm like I can't, I can't miss my flight just to get this and this is Mississippi being vegan in the sip.

Speaker 1: 48:19

But yeah, so she, she expanded regionally. She, she owns Atlanta, she started in Atlanta. So everybody in Atlanta understands and it is, and you know it's this thing which is kind of like a driver in the South, in the Southeast for sure, right, if it's hot in Atlanta, it's probably going to be hot Most, most of the areas around here. So she built her business right around there and then just strategically starts to expand into different areas and she's, she's incredible at it. I love, I love Pinky Co. Her story is dope.

Speaker 2: 48:50

Word up. Hey, real quick, we got to plug the business man, tyrell Reed. That's what we talking to helping restaurant leaders double their profit and their free time. So he focuses on business and leadership development. Tyrell, tell the people where they can find you.

Speaker 1: 49:06

Baby, if you want to work with me or you want to book a strategy, call you can. You can go to work with Tyrell or, excuse me, work with readcom. You can go to Tyrell, readcom, to learn more about me. You can see some of the products. We have a book out that was published in January, called it, doesn't Cost Anything to Be Nice, really, just building on the, the mindset that it takes to be a leader. So we have that available. We do free workshops almost every single month. It's all there. So if you want you follow me, I'm going to give you everything that I've learned, give you the whole game, um. And if you want to work together, we can do that too.

Speaker 2: 49:49

Oh yeah, got that little, got that little little battery on my iPad. Let's try it again.

Speaker 1: 49:54

Oh, it's working. It's working. That's right. Building leaders that build businesses. Baby, that's what we get with the boys.

Speaker 2: 49:59

Nice man, how long have you been in just a restaurant business, how long?

Speaker 1: 50:03

I've been in. I've been in the restaurant business for 20, 20 years now. Yeah, wow, 20 years now I've been coaching for I mean, technically I've been coaching for about 15 years, but really starting to offer this program. And I can't even talk about coaching without giving a shout out to my dog, to Jay, because he saw my program when I was just doing it internally for my team, my coaching course and my leadership course, and he told me T, you got to do this for the public because this is worth something, this is valuable information. So shout out to him. That was probably maybe three, four years ago when we started having those conversations. So really just working on building that coaching business, we've been live for a couple of years now. So we try to help people. That's what we are.

Speaker 3: 50:55

So let me ask you this man Um, a lot of people feel like why do I need a coach? A lot of people say why do I need a coach? Why do I? Why not just take the money that I'm going to pay you and do it myself? Why should someone work with?

Speaker 1: 51:12

you. You don't even have to pay me. You just follow me. I'm going to give it to you. You can get it. So my email, my leadership course, is free. It's not going to cost you anything. The only thing that I would tell you if you're considering hiring a coach or you're considering getting into any program, it's the accountability piece. You have someone that A understands the game, has been through the ups and the downs, has learned all the lessons, and you get essentially a shortcut by working with somebody like that. But you also get a community and you get accountability. That's wrapped up all into that, because most folks are not going to follow through on most of the plans and things going on in their head. I've done it. I bought coaching programs and didn't finish. I bought books and didn't read them. So because nobody there wasn't any, there wasn't any incentive behind it, there wasn't anybody pushing me. So getting into the right program can change not only change your mindset, but change your outcome, because you have hit it just a little bit harder.

Speaker 2: 52:11

And I like to, I like to mimic it to like kind of going to a concert and having VIP, because you get to skip the line right. So coaching allows you, like you're in the back of the line and they're like oh, you got the VIP tickets.

Speaker 3: 52:25

Oh, come to the front Exactly. You know what?

Speaker 2: 52:27

I'm saying so it's like with the coaching, you get to skip the line, and the line is basically all the bumps and bruises that you're going to go through you know what I'm saying In the process of you trying to figure this out on your own, especially if you have no idea where to start. So by you know getting with Tyrell and you know learning the ins and outs, because there's a lot of moving parts when it comes to the restaurant business, you know what I'm saying. It's multifaceted, with different branches as well and multiple trees if you will.

Speaker 3: 53:01

So it's a whole force.

Speaker 2: 53:02

You know what I'm saying. So if you're even thinking about it, or if you've been in a restaurant business and you've kind of hit a plateau or you've tried and you fail, but that's your passion, now definitely you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't get with my guy yeah, and it don't cost you anything.

Speaker 1: 53:19

I mean to get on a call with me for an hour. Let me take a look at what you're doing, understanding where you are in the game, or if you already started a business, or you're thinking about buying a food truck or doing that. It's that hour that you spend with me will at least give you some insight on you know what the next few years are going to look like for you. You should, you should definitely do that. These guys are lucky. We get to ride in the car and talk all the time together. But you can get on my calendar. We can do that. I'm happy. I'm happy to help people. I do it all day, every day.

Speaker 3: 53:48

And it's a cheat code, right? You have three entrepreneurs and on the mic right now.

Speaker 2: 53:57

If you could, go Soon to be four.

Speaker 3: 53:59

Yeah, yeah yeah, oh, he's coming.

Speaker 2: 54:00

He's coming, word up, he ain't going to be around here long and just not do something. Boy, you're over there making the questions like well, you know what I'm saying he's going to do something, he's going to make some beats, he's going to fry some chicken.

Speaker 3: 54:17

I'm like brandy, I wanna be down, no doubt because, because it's it's a great opportunity. You know what I mean. And so if, if you could go back I even throw that j if you could go back from where you started and let's just say you found a coach that was gonna, you know, charge five grand to teach you or call you to the front of the line, will, would that 5k investment 10 years ago have been worth it?

Speaker 2: 54:43

Oh, absolutely.

Speaker 3: 54:44

That's why, you need a coach. That's why you need a coach right, because, like, like T was saying, jay was saying I'm gonna pull you to the front of the line, right, so you're not gonna have to y'all be right there with them people and it just front loads you significantly. Um, you know goals wise, where you should have been right. That's why you learn how to ride a bike from somebody who already knows how to ride a bike. Two people who don't know how to ride a bike should never teach you so you gotta, you gotta, pedal down there.

Speaker 3: 55:16

That's that. Look like it might be something we probably should use.

Speaker 2: 55:20

So you don't put it backwards, oh, because that stops your progress, okay, you guys and I like it.

Speaker 2: 55:25

I liken it to this because, like you know, we, you know you talk about the price and stuff like that, and I think that's that's irrelevant, because we go to school for like four years. Some people go to school even further and pay almost a hundred grand for a degree, especially if you're becoming a doctor, and you in school for four years Minimum. So you hiring a coach to do something that you're passionate about, you're basically getting a master's degree for like 90 percent off and in the field that you exactly want to do. Because I went to school I didn't know what I was going to do. I was out.

Speaker 3: 55:58

There Are you in your major.

Speaker 2: 56:01

Well, I got a degree in business management, so that would be a negative Exactly, even if I would have gotten in finance. What I teach in finance and what they teach in finance as a major is not what I teach, right.

Speaker 3: 56:14

And JSU is still like don't forget about me, right?

Speaker 2: 56:21

Oh yeah, they still want to still send a little something, something. You know what I'm saying. But because I mean I did, I did not from a financial standpoint, but just from a maturity standpoint and a networking standpoint. It was definitely worth it, but I wish I would have did it for free, that's for sure, because Sally Mays, the last one, was going to get paid.

Speaker 1: 56:38

And what I want people to understand is yeah, we, you know I got coaching program and we have. You know we all have coaching programs and we teach people, but I have a coach, like you know. I'm in programs and I'm learning and I'm teaching and I'm bringing and I'm bringing this all back to help, to help the people that are connected to me. So you know, you get, you get a cheat code or an advantage by by just being involved with folks that are pushing themselves to, you know, to get to the next level and reach higher heights, for sure.

Speaker 2: 57:10

Coach, coaches have coaches better Get you a coach that got a coach. Better Get you a coach that got a coach. Yeah, I think, and just to chime in on it, it's all about like being obsessed with progression. Right, not being perfect, but you know, progressing and learning every day. You should be trying to get one percent better, whatever it is. So, if that's reading more, exercising more or, like you said, investing in yourself that's what I hear you guys talking about getting a coach Okay, this person is going to teach me how to perfect you know, this skill or this craft that I'm passionate about. So that's an investment.

Speaker 2: 57:43

You, long run If it's two years, five years down the line you've learned something, or you should have. You know, had something that you could take away to replicate in the market, or you go out and build something or, you know, even give to your family. At the end of the day, you learn something. You can invest in yourself. So with that, I want to. I want to drop a quote by my boy, t reed, because the man is deep. Like I said, you need to get into this, but this is what the boy said. You know, I'm saying he said the past. The past is your lesson. Learn from it. The present is your gift. Appreciate it. The future is your lesson. Learn from it. The present is your gift. Appreciate it. The future is your motivation. Get to it.

Speaker 1: 58:21

Let's go Go out, let your boy go Go ahead, steal that and put that on.

Speaker 2: 58:27

I mean, the boy is very passionate on TikTok. You need to go follow him. That's all I can say.

Speaker 1: 58:30

Yeah, he's dropping it. No doubt, no doubt, that might have came off.

Speaker 2: 58:34

Twitter. All I can say yeah, he's dropping it. No doubt, no doubt that might have came off twitter. Hey, yeah, it was. Yeah, you. You dropped it on twitter and then you repurposed it for tiktok and it was done. I caught it on I caught it on, uh, on tiktok, so it was pretty dope. Um, and before we end, I think we got a this or that. Uh, jay, know if you, if you got that queued oh yeah no, absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 58:54

So I got a red door. Blue door you know I'm the finance guy, so it's always related to finance. But so, blue door, go back 10 years and fix all of your financial mistakes. Go back 10 years from now. Red door two mil in cash. Right now I'm taking the cash on me.

Speaker 1: 59:22

All right See look, look.

Speaker 2: 59:25

Hey, we need some controversy, so everybody can't be the same. All right. So why are you taking the cash? Wait, you said, fix all my mistakes from 10 years ago.

Speaker 1: 59:34

All your financial mistakes. All your financial mistakes.

Speaker 2: 59:38

Blue door go back 10 years 2 million ain't enough, son, fix all your financial mistakes. Or red door 2 million cash. Right now I'm taking the milli baby. I'm good you taking the cash.

Speaker 1: 59:54

Done, done, cut the going, you taking the cash, you taking the cash Done, done, he said, cut the check.

Speaker 2: 59:57

Why are we talking Right? Because, I don't know fixing those mistakes. I mean, what's the return on my investment? I don't know. Am I saving money? Is that what we're saying? I mean whatever you deem as something like.

Speaker 1: 1:00:09

Oh, I would have bought this I would have bought that.

Speaker 3: 1:00:16

I would have spent that somewhere else.

Speaker 2: 1:00:18

Give me $2 million, right now I made those mistakes and I've learned from it. I can use this $2 million to butter them up, baby.

Speaker 3: 1:00:27

About 35 miles. About 35 miles.

Speaker 2: 1:00:32

That's a good point. T what you doing.

Speaker 1: 1:00:36

I'm actually I'm going to go back and fix them. I feel like there has been choices or decisions that definitely will be worth probably $100 million today Just thinking about you making some big mistakes in the back. You know I mean mean small what small mistakes.

Speaker 1: 1:00:57

Small mistakes in the moment that would have, that would have, you know, grown to just be worth so much more. So, really, I think having just being short-sighted in my thinking then cost me a little bit, a little bit more than than what it was worth at that point. So yeah, 10 years ago, new, new dad, a lot of a lot going on, a lot of things moving, I just got into a new restaurant, actually one that that ended up failing and closing. So I would go back and correct some of those mistakes, because they would be worth um, maybe 100 million is a stretch, but probably worth 10 no doubt, no doubt, bruce, what you doing, man yo, that's hard right, and I'm gonna tell y'all why okay, you can take that and be like man.

Speaker 2: 1:01:42

I'm finna buy me a duplex. I'm finna buy this 18 so you're 2 into 20.

Speaker 3: 1:01:48

You're 20 into 40 and so here's why it's different, because I understand my business a lot better now because you made those mistakes, that's true. Okay, example, right, I'm in real estate. When the crash happened, everything along MLK was nine $10,000. Now they're selling for 150, $200,000. So if you just buy 10 of those, hold them, sell them I mean there's, there's your bread, you know what I mean. You got two, got two, three mil, but during the, the downside, like I was still broke, you know, just because I made man, that's bro, I'm gonna need a lifeline man I need. I need remember, remember, like the old a ball you had to shake it like if I go back, will I be any more successful? You know, try again later. I don't know man. So, knowing what I know now, I know how to use the two. So I would probably take the two now, because knowing that I should have bought that doesn't change the fact that I couldn't afford it.

Speaker 1: 1:03:10

You see what I'm saying. I still didn't have the bread. I downloaded it. What I'm saying? I still didn't have the bread. I downloaded it. I had a program to mine bitcoin on my computer, like two and a half years before we ever invested in crypto. Yeah see, that's how that we could have mined it when it was, when no one was doing it.

Speaker 3: 1:03:30

Damn that was a good red blue bro like ah so I don't know.

Speaker 1: 1:03:34

Hold on what jay say though yeah, I um.

Speaker 2: 1:03:38

I mean y'all kind of making me rethink my answer now you know what?

Speaker 2: 1:03:43

I'm saying because because, like you said, with the, the current knowledge, you know I'm saying you know exactly what to do with it, but but I'm still going to go back 10 years, because 10 years is a good bit of time for just the compounding interest of knowledge. Because it's those little tweaks you know what I'm saying. It's the little tweaks and not to say that you would have made a million off the top, but some of the decisions that I've made, definitely those small little mistakes, could have definitely put me in a superior financial position. I've made some mistakes, knowingly. I had the knowledge. But I went the other way. I had the knowledge on some of this stuff, and you know what I'm saying. So I had the knowledge on some of this stuff, and then I look back and I'm like damn I should. So I'm going to have to go back to 10 years and fix those financial mistakes.

Speaker 1: 1:04:43

That's a good one.

Speaker 2: 1:04:43

See, but it's like I think it was Jay-Z. It's like you're looking to be the butterfly without the caterpillar. That's why you need those lessons.

Speaker 3: 1:04:51

That was OutKast wasn't it. My bad baby.

Speaker 2: 1:04:57

I don't know much about rap, but I'm with you, JG, why Ho couldn't have it?

Speaker 1: 1:05:02

He does yo I don't know too many.

Speaker 2: 1:05:05

I could take it if T-Real would have said it, but you like the Al Green specialist.

Speaker 1: 1:05:09

You don't hit him with. The Hold on, bro. You don't know nothing about rap. Let me tell you something about rap.

Speaker 2: 1:05:17

Oh, so we did. That was big boy, my bad. Yeah, it's all good, love you.

Speaker 3: 1:05:23

Let me ask you this, Jay Let me ask you this right. So would you still? Because I think the only reason why I didn't take you still don't have the financial means. So going back and changing, would that change? Because I started my business with 13K so I can go back, I still only got 13K. That's true and I'm just asking.

Speaker 2: 1:05:49

Yeah, that's true. So, yeah, it doesn't change your financial means at that particular time. That's true. So, yeah, it doesn't change your financial means at that particular time. But, like you said, if you're correcting every financial mistake that you made over the last 10 years instead of ending up where you are now financially, you know it's like the IUL you never lose, but you just gain just a little bit.

Speaker 2: 1:06:11

The lessons still get learned, the lessons still get learned, but you're just making better decisions per se. So it's like it's to me, it's still a win. Win because, like I said, instead of OK, I got this 13K, I'm going to start this business. Well, what if I, you know, in the process of, you know, flipping this first house or what have you? Maybe I hire somebody sooner so I can spend more time with the family and maybe I'm not taking as much profit, but at the same time, I'm getting better peace of mind and I'm able to flip more houses because I got a crew. So you see what I'm saying.

Speaker 2: 1:06:47

So it's just those little things that you think about now that, man, I could have started doing that on a smaller level Because, like, most people think that they got to get like to a million, got to reach today, yeah, yes, no, most people think they got to get to a million to live the life that they want to live. And that's not necessarily true. It's about the decisions that you make Because, like, for instance, if you, if none of us, had a mortgage right now, like that ain't making you a millionaire, but, man, that show going to free up some things, definitely that's going to free up. That's going to change your whole decision-making process. Like, you know what? Yo, my man, give her two pieces of cheese.

Speaker 3: 1:07:34

Hook it up, definitely.

Speaker 2: 1:07:37

You know what? I'm saying hey, you may have gotten that 15-year mortgage instead of that 30-year mortgage. You could have been out by now.

Speaker 3: 1:07:44

Who knows, it's definitely not provoking. Yeah, yeah, that's it, I'm going to have that word up, word up, word up.

Speaker 2: 1:07:51

Hey, things that make you go. Things that make you go, things that make you go All right. Well, we appreciate it. Y'all know where to find them. So if you're looking to get down like four flats on the Cadillac, go holler at your boy. Yes, sir, and this has been another episode of that's On Everything podcast here to give you everything that you need and that you don't.

Speaker 1: 1:08:15

And that's on everything. That's on everything.

Speaker 2: 1:08:16

I thought he forgot for a second he was trying.

Speaker 1: 1:08:20

That's the. Uh, we have a sticky note right on his computer. You know what I'm saying hey, what's the name of this podcast again?