Episodit
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No BS. That is the best descriptor for marketing specialist Erik Shellenberger.
His approach to teaching bar and restaurant owners the best way to market their business. Years in the industry have equipped Erik with a unique insight as to what works and what doesn't.
”There’s a lot of BS out there.”
Digital Hospitality podcast guest Erik Shellenberger uses his extensive knowledge of the bar and restaurant industry and no nonsense marketing approach to buck trends and teach his clients the tools to create measurable and effective marketing campaigns.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/8V05b2IjLFg
https://youtu.be/8V05b2IjLFg
Bar Marketing Basics: https://barmarketingbasics.com/
Erik Shellenberger on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-shellenberger-7b583634/
Keywords Everywhere Tool: https://keywordseverywhere.com/
3 Takeaways from this Episode —
Marketers Ruin Everything:
Marketing is budgeted into every business, and is vital to the success of each business. But beware. According to Erik Shellenberger, it is being done wrong by many “professionals”.
[WATCH]
Marketing is NOT Advertising:
Marketing and advertising are often used in tandem, or worse, interchangeably. They are not the same thing, and it is a grave mistake to not recognize this.
[WATCH]
Be The Show, Not The Commercial:
Content floods our brains at every turn. What converts casual scrollers into customers? What will be the hoo that causes them to stop and want to see more? Whatever it is, do that. Be that.
[WATCH]
Erik Shellenberger and Bar Marketing Basics —
As one who is a habitual truth teller, results have always been the name of the game for Erik Shellenberger. The third installment of his “Marketing & Bar Marketing” series, available on Amazon, is subtitled “Marketers Ruin Everything”. He believes that many of the accepted marketing practices are simply wrong. They don’t work, which causes restaurant owners to be a “little bit pessimistic” when he speaks of the services his company offers.
”Ok, well let’s stop doing that. Let’s start doing something that we can measure. Start doing something with a call to action. Something that we can actually, quantifiably say, yes it worked or no it didn’t work.”
Erik Shellenberger’s ideology derives from his time in the traditional marketing space. He spent significant time as the marketing director in the extremely competitive nightlife and bar scene in Scottsdale, Arizona. While working with those companies, Shellenberger experienced firsthand the fallacies of traditional marketing overlapping into the social media platforms. Likes began to take precedence over metrics. Much to his chagrin, measurable practices were not consistently put in place. Even more alarming, once the numbers were run, they were — in Shellenberger’s words — “awful”.
”If I care more about your wallet than you do, I’m out of here!”
Unfortunately, his efforts to analyze the numbers and adjust strategy according to what worked best fell on deaf ears. That was a turning point for Shellenberger. He knew it was time for him to branch out on his own, and he did just that with the launch of Bar Marketing Basics.
Focused on SEO and “reputation management”, Bar Marketing Basics takes the simple, yet neglected, action of saying Thank You. Shellenberger says, “Nobody seems to do it”. That seemingly obvious, mundane action is the starting point of what Shellenberger labels as Step One.
“How do you disregard step one? And how do you not optimize step one?”
You may be asking yourself what Step One actually is? Erik Shellenberger deems Step One as being accessible and able to be found. Period.
In his teachings, he hopes to drive home the importance of reaching the ocean of potential customers that are outside of any business’ proverbial “fishbowl”. As he puts it, “the more you’re everywhere, all over the internet, that’s when the magic happens”. -
Curbivore is a forward-thinking conference that highlights the necessary pivots of businesses and other tech pioneers in the modern era.
Jonah Bliss of Curbivore was a guest on the Digital Hospitality podcast where he talked about the March 4 Curbivore conference in Downtown Los Angeles and how commerce is moving to the curb.
Check out this episode to find out how you can get FREE TICKETS to Curbivore. (HINT: be one of the first 50 to use the code CALIBBQ when registering online.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnJDhRqHejE
WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnJDhRqHejE
3 Takeaways from this Episode —
Curb Appeal is Mass Appeal:
The pandemic has forced businesses to operate under new rules and increased flexibility. Whether it be increased outdoor seating or inclusion of food delivery, the “curb” has become a vital part of the livelihood of a business hoping to do more than survive during a time of fluctuating mandates and personal comfort levels.
[WATCH]
Car Dependency Disruption:
In many places in America, a car or two is an assumed necessity for families. The usage of cars, however, is tied to an increase of other space hogging property, such as parking lots. Ride sharing, eclectic bikes, and other alternate options provide the opportunity for urban development to occur with higher efficiency.
[WATCH]
Think Outside of the Walls:
The pandemic pivot caused retail stores to no longer have the luxury of focusing purely on the in house experience. Customer service must now be thought of in terms of a complete encounter that begins as soon as the decision is made to be a potential patron of a business.
[WATCH]
CURBIVORE 2022
Curbivore happens at 1061 S. Flower St. in Downtown Los Angeles. The 2022 conference is on March 4, 2022.
Register for Curbivore: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/curbivore-2022-tickets-205235293287?discount=CaliBBQ
Jonah Bliss and Curbivore —
Jonah Bliss has played an integral role in decreasing the carbon footprint of society. His list of accomplishments include helping to launch Turo, a peer-to-peer car sharing business that has taken off in recent years, and working as Director of Marketing for Evelo, an electric bike company.
With those experiences in his back pocket, Jonah ventured into the world of live events where he strives to connect the dots of customer service in retail spaces. This is where Curbivore comes in.
“There’s an important conversation that needs to be had here, and people are talking within their silo.”
According to Bliss, many companies are operating ineffectively due to them not having an understanding of what their gaps and blindspots truly are because they essentially are not asking the right questions to the right people. Bliss’ goal with Curbivore is to get the entities involved to talk to each other and problem solve from a more informed place.
“Oh, there’s so many things we could be solving if we just kind of were willing to challenge the status quo a little bit.”
Jonah Bliss has made a living looking deeper into accepted modus operandi. Whether it’s working with a company that challenges the traditional practice of a single customer getting into their personal vehicle to drive to their location of choice or curating a space where restaurant business minds can be stretched beyond the scope of their four walls, Bliss has perpetually sought to uncover the best practice with the realization that “sometimes there’s a better tool for the job.”
The exploration of those better tools is what Bliss is looking to accomplish with Curbivore.
Curbivore in LA —
Though set in a relaxing outdoor atmosphere in Downtown LA with networking being a foundational purpose, Curbivore’s first in-person activation is intended to be more than a social event. It is providing the opportunity for the public to cross reference systems and see, test, and experience new technology that is, or will, -
Puuttuva jakso?
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SparkPlug aims to propel retail businesses and brands through personalized experiences and optimizing their influence.
Andrew Duffy is a Harvard grad with the right amount of book smarts and business sense. Add tech savvy in the ingredients and one of the spark plugs behind the SparkPlug platform understands what it takes to build systems that optimize brands and retail businesses.
SparkPlug CEO Andrew Duffy was a guest on the Digital Hospitality podcast where he talked about starting his company, incentivizing employees, and building systems to help businesses.
https://youtu.be/b3UfmzFBY1o
WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/b3UfmzFBY1o
What is SparkPlug? —
SparkPlug is an "incentive management platform" that provides frontline employees with automated sales incentives and rewards to drive revenue for retail brands and other businesses. The technology company is based in San Francisco.
As the team at SparkPlug knows, brick and mortar shopping isn't dying — it's changing.
Both Andrew Duffy and his SparkPlug cofounder Jake Sky Levin studied behavioral science at Harvard University, giving them insights into how people inherently operate.
“What really fascinated us was the idea that our model of economics that we’ve used for decades and decades is built around a false concept. The belief that humans are fundamentally rational and that they’ll make decisions that are entirely rational…”
After college, Andrew took a job in the finance world that proved to be a serendipitous event. He fondly remembers the job as a “unique place and is all oriented around these really unique employee engagement philosophies. So they think about their employees as an asset that they want to develop.”
Though the kickoff point for SparkPlug, its true origin dates back to Andrew’s days before college.
Andrew knows firsthand what it’s like to be the person responsible for driving business without receiving the benefit from doing so at a high level. As a server at the Cactus Cantina in Washington, D.C. as a teenager, Andrew sold the most Gold Cadillac Margaritas for three consecutive months. That experience became the inspiration behind finding a way for analytics to be tracked efficiently and specifically in real time.
“If we could make this scalable and make this easy, then I can't imagine an alcohol brand in the world that wouldn’t want to be able to do this,” thought a young, motivated Duffy.
It’s no secret that incentive manufactures enthusiasm. Andrew and SparkPlug attempt to close the circle of hospitality by creating an opportunity for the experience to be rewarding to all involved.
“You want a really incentivized and high quality employee to be interacting with you and getting the product in your hands.
"The retailer really wants that employee to be engaged and incentivized to make that experience great for the person who’s coming into the store, and the brand is really excited about getting the product into the customer’s hands and having that be an experience that they want to rave about.”
Incentivizing Employees in the Modern Age —
Andrew and his business partner have a mission to create high level work spaces for employees to feel energized enough to want to provide a first-rate experience for customers, which empowers the customer to influence others to purchase from or visit that particular retailer creating a desire for brands to want to work with the retailer. Ultimately, streamlining the value surrounding the life cycle of all transactions in retail environments.
“I think what we’ve seen is that a lot of people get burnt out in retail and restaurants,” Andrew Duffy states matter of factly.
“I’ve worked in a lot of restaurants. I've worked in a lot of retailers and it's exhausting,” he continues. “You’re not thinking about what can I do here that’s going to get me some extra value; that’s going give me a reward for the extra work I’m doing?” -
How did MÄNNKITCHEN raise millions on crowdfunding platforms? By finding a need and creating a solution.
How many cranks does it take you to pepper a steak using your pepper mill? Probably dozens, right? For MÄNNKITCHEN Founder Cleve Oines, it was around 70 pepper cranks one day when he realized there was a problem.
Why wasn't there a better pepper mill on the market? One for a man like him? That's when Cleve Oines saw the future of grinding pepper — The Pepper Cannon.
"786 days, 54 revisions, 11 prototypes, 82 tests, and 4,673 sneezes later," the MÄNNKITCHEN Pepper Cannon was born.
"Grinds faster than a roadrunner, feels like a lightsaber handle in solid aluminum…It may even replace my beloved Unicorn, which I’ve been loyal to for 14 years," J. Kenji Lopez-Alt said in "The Food Lab" of the New York Times.
Cleve Oines was a guest on the Digital Hospitality podcast where he talked about making millions of dollars using crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, and successfully marketing products on social media.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL9IWyMoXDs
• You can watch the full interview on our Cali BBQ YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/KL9IWyMoXDs
Mannkitchen Pepper Cannon —
The Pepper Cannon by Mannkitchen raised more than $1.1 million from 6,887 backers on Kickstarter alone. The success of the company's crowdfunding campaigns was thanks to part to help from and crowdfunding marketing company LaunchBoom.
LAUNCHBOOM INTERVIEW: https://calibbq.media/will-ford-interview-launchboom-crowdfunding-dh109/
"In my first campaign, I raised like $50,000 for a chef knife, and that was awesome. Doubled my goal. And it was successful in my mind," Cleve Oines shared on the Digital Hospitality show. "And then we did the Pepper Cannon and blew that one out of the water.
The main difference was attending that (Crowdfunded Summit) and learning from the people at LaunchBoom.
The products that Männkitchen sells are built to solve cooking problems, whether its a demand for a bigger, stronger chef's knife, or the need for a super-powered pepper mill.
WATCH: Pepper Cannon on YouTube
https://youtu.be/miz20QRTY-s
"If you can't say in 10 seconds what problem your product is solving, it's going to be a it's going to be a tough sell," Cleve Oines said.
• Mannkitchen Online: https://mannkitchen.com/
• Mannkitchen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mannkitchen/
***
CALI BBQ MEDIA LINKS –
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➤ Free Digital Media Coaching Application — https://forms.gle/cnQ3sefMcAxQXbKa6
➤ Podcast Archive — https://calibbq.media/podcast-episodes
➤ Cali BBQ Blog — https://calibbq.media/blog
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Ride1UP electric bikes (e-bikes) are built for performance and reliability. And so is the e-commerce company itself.
Ride1UP developed a product they felt was life-changing: electric bikes. But how did the company leaders make sure they could get their e-bikes to as many people as they could? By becoming an e-commerce company.
https://youtu.be/Wad95G5xic8
Ride1UP CEO Daniel Urbino was a guest on the Digital Hospitality podcast where he talked about running the San Diego e-commerce e-bike company with a mission to change how the world gets from one place to another.
"E-commerce is anything online. It's just another avenue to reach consumers," Daniel Urbino shared on the Digital Hospitality podcast.
• You can watch the full interview on our Cali BBQ YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Wad95G5xic8
"E-commerce can be selling a product, selling a service... You could sell products online through retailers, which are your big-box Target, Walmart, Costco... And there's what we do at Ride1UP, which is direct to consumer."
➤ Ride1UP - https://ride1up.com/?wpam_id=600
➤ CEO Daniel Urbino LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-urbino-a875ba22/
➤ @ride_1up on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ride_1up
The Ride1UP Story:
Ride1Up was founded in 2018 out of a love for bikes and a goal to sells consumers better-quality, innovative electric bikes at a very competitive price.
The founders of the San Diego e-bike company Ride1UP knew they had a vital product in electric bikes — one that could help the world. They just had to find a way to drive down the cost enough so more people could make the switch to riding an electric bike.
Enter e-commerce.
"We have no physical presence, but we have a customer support presence which rivals any in the industry. It is difficult to make a thousand-dollar purchase online, but we are here to make it easier." www.ride1up.com
3 Takeaways from Interview:
1. Making Affordable Products Takes Work -
Becoming an e-commerce brand and selling direct to consumer helped Ride1UP market affordable e-bikes to their customers instead of going through a distributor middleman.
“We're providing our customers with a better product, better components and really a higher quality at a fraction of the price that you would see in shop. So I think those are the primary benefits of the direct to consumer approach, and it really ties into our identity as a brand.” -Daniel Urbino
2. A Need For Hospitality -
The time it takes to bring an idea to fruition so it becomes a product people can purchase has changed. It's sometimes hard to get products manufactured in the current climate so it takes care and customer service to make the difference to a consumer.
“Anyone could go online, find a cheap ebike to order and have it shipped to their door. Anyone can do that. But if you're expecting someone to help you out after with assembly or should something go wrong, you're going to be out of luck." -Daniel Urbino
3. Plan For The Worst -
Nothing is guaranteed in life. That's why Daniel Urbino plans for the worst with not only a Plan B, but a Plan C, D, etc.
“When I graduated college, it was right around 2008 with the whole financial crisis and the whole economy collapsed. So I've seen it myself ... where I thought things were going great... And there weren't any jobs. So I think nothing surprises me today in my personal life and my business life as well. ” -Daniel Urbino
Take the Ride1UP Pledge -
“I will replace 5 driving trips per month with my electric bike.”
Are you buying an e-bike for recreation or transportation? If you pledge to replace more than 5 driving trips each month with your electric bike, then Ride1UP will reward you with a coupon for $40 off.
Details: https://ride1up.com/
CALI BBQ MEDIA LINKS -
➤ Subscribe to Restaurant Influencers — https://link.chtbl.com/RIpodcast
➤ Free Digital Media Coaching Application — https://forms. -
What does "From Scratch" mean to Chef Joe Gatto? When he does something — whether it’s hosting a food show on TV or cooking a meal — he goes all the way.
Chef Joe Gatto (@chefjoegatto) was a guest on the Digital Hospitality podcast, where the “From Scratch” host talked about making a streaming series, moving from film to food, and his process of digital media content creation. Thanks to friend and supporter Jason Jepson (@talkingduringmovies) for introducing us to Joe.
➤ Follow Chef Joe Gatto online: https://www.instagram.com/chefjoegatto/
➤ Stream “From Scratch” on Pluto TV: https://pluto.tv/where-to-watch
➤ Seriously From Scratch Cookbook recipes: https://www.joegattosfromscratch.com/recipes
3 Takeaways from Interview:
1. Be a Problem Solver
Whether its big feature films or micro-budget shoots, Chef Joe Gatto learned the most important part of producing content isn’t just about putting out quality content, it’s about putting out metaphorical fire after fire until you have something to publish.
If you’re on the production side of content creation, that means you have to constantly think on your feet and solve whatever problem is put in front of you.
“So for me, from doing it since when I was like, 18. It just kind of taught me … you never stop. You're always improvising; always have to be malleable. That a problem is just an opportunity for a solution.” -Joe Gatto
2. Pay Attention to the Journey
Joe Gatto makes sure to slow down every day to take in the important parts of life. Everyone has important goals they want to accomplish, but if you don’t also learn to enjoy the magical moments around you, then you’re missing out on a part of life.
Learning and sharing knowledge is valuable and only comes from paying attention to others on your journey.
“Passing that baton on and watching my kids comfortable in the kitchen and like making things together and sharing that time... I do take a breath and take it in. I do. Because I'm a big believer in that you have to pay attention to the journey.” -Joe Gatto
3. Help Others. Don’t Compete.
A rising tide lifts all ships. Chef Joe believes in abundance, that there’s enough space for all of us to thrive. That’s why he gravitated to the hospitality industry — he found lots of sharing and caring, rather than the hyper-competitive nature of his prior career in the movie industry.
“I always think there's space. I'd rather help someone come up and prop them up and do things together. I love that. That gives me a buzz.” -Joe Gatto
WATCH ON CALI BBQ YOUTUBE
https://youtu.be/rOs7k0uU_t4
Joe Gatto from Hollywood to Hospitality —
When Chef Joe Gatto moved from Hollywood to Hospitality, he knew he had found his calling.
When Joe was younger he was a filmmaker. He worked for Sony Pictures, made music videos, created a feature film, and lots more production work on tv and movies.
When Joe and his wife Carey became parents they decided raising kids in LA wasn’t for them. He also realized he wanted a career change from film to food. The shifts let him realize a dream come true and find an industry that was a much better fit for him.
“The food space, all I found, from like Andy (Husbands) and everybody, everyone wants to help you. They want to share with you. Food, time, recipes, love. The heart of the house, that attracted me so much,” Joe shared on the podcast.
When he began to look away from Hollywood and his early career path, Joe realized he had acquired lots of valuable skills he could take into the “Wild West” of modern content creation.
“I can take the food part, the from scratch part, the filming part. The love being in front of an audience part. And I'll have my own little niche,” Chef Joe Gatto said on Digital Hospitality about finding his aptitude for creating fun food content.
Like our former guest Ryan Redondo believes, “Blossom Where You’re Planted.”
Making “From Scratch” from scratch — -
The secret to YouTube is simple. It's not about you. It's about your audience.
On this special preview episode of the Restaurant Influencers Podcast, Sam Zien (Sam The Cooking Guy) talks with host Shawn P. Walchef (Cali BBQ Media) about how he grew his YouTube channel to millions of subscribers and running multiple restaurants.
“YouTube is a really simple concept: it's not about you, it's what your customers want.”
https://youtu.be/uymy2CLFHSs
• SUBSCRIBE TO RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS: https://www.entrepreneur.com/listen/restaurant-influencers
• LEARN MORE: https://calibbq.media/blog/new-restaurant-influencers-podcast-series-from-entreprenuer-yelp-cali-bbq-media-toast/
NOMINATE A RESTAURANT INFLUENCER — Do you know someone who is killing it on social media? Let us know by emailing [email protected] or sending the @calibbqmedia team a DM on social media.
Sam The Cooking Guy is a Restaurant Influencer —
After years spent grinding out little-seen YouTube content, Sam Zien (@thecookingguy) began making authentic content about things his audience actually wanted to see. From there the YouTuber saw his star rise quicker and quicker.
Sam Zien, affectionately and professionally known as Sam the Cooking Guy, serves as the face of Graze, Not Not Tacos and two Samburger locations. He has flipped the food industry on its head by simply being himself.
A man of many hats and few cares, Sam The Cooking Guy has defined conventional wisdom by creating concept restaurants that serve mashed potato tacos and popular videos that teach young men and others how to cook.
“I think you learn more when you’re enjoying it,” notes Sam Zien while talking to Shawn Walchef on the first episode of the Restaurant Influencers podcast.
While Sam admits it took him seven years to discover this simple truth, the proof is in the pudding as Sam is teaching the world how to cook simply by teaching them to make things they can actually make.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN from this interview? Let us know in the comments! https://restaurantinfluencers.media
EPISODE LINKS:
• Sam The Cooking Guy YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbRj3Tcy1Zoz3rcf83nW5kw
• Sam The Cooking Guy Online - https://www.thecookingguy.com/
• Behind the Scenes of Sam’s Restaurant - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apfwiUblg70
• Graze by Sam - https://www.grazebysam.com/
• Not Not Tacos - https://www.notnottacos.com/
• Samburgers - https://www.eatsamburgers.com/
ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS:
Are you SICK and TIRED of scrolling through your social media feeds and not seeing your business anywhere?
Welcome to the Restaurant Influencers podcast series, sponsored by Toast (@toasttab).
TRY TOAST
Every week host Shawn P. Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) talks with leaders in restaurant and hospitality about their secrets to Smartphone Storytelling and how to show up and engage where customers are spending time online.
The weekly digital series (audio, video, writing, images) is hosted by Cali BBQ Media Founder Shawn P. Walchef and presented by Entrepreneur Media (@entrepreneur), Yelp for Business (@yelp), and Cali BBQ Media (@calibbqmedia).
• Entrepreneur - https://entreprenuer.com
• Yelp for Business - https://biz.yelp.com
• Cali BBQ Media - https://calibbq.media
Subscribe to the weekly podcast wherever you listen to audio shows.
Follow @calibbqmedia on social media for updates on the show and Digital Hospitality content.
https://restaurantinfluencers.media
SPONSORED BY TOAST:
Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.
Toast — Powering Successful Restaurants
Learn more at pos.toasttab.com -
David Meltzer is a mentor to many. However, there are two titans he studies closely himself.
Their names? None other than William Shakespeare and Albert Einstein.
Taking lessons from both, David Meltzer (@davidmeltzer) has been able to pivot from being a powerful sports agent to a motivational media maven at the age of 50.
“I am an optimist,” smiles Meltzer from SoFi Stadium while being interviewed for a pilot for the Cali BBQ Media podcast production Restaurant Influencers.
“I'm a top-imist, I'm on the top of the optimists. I believe in other people. I'm a celebrant. I live my life to elevate others. I try not to laugh at people, scoff at them or make fun of them.”
Watch the full interview on location from the top of SoFi Stadium on the Cali BBQ YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZGxIbt71kA
David Meltzer Went All-In On Empowering Others:
When David Meltzer decided to go all in on modern digital media and his mission to empower a billion people to be happy, make a lot of money, help people and have a lot of fun — many of his peers laughed at him.
Leaning on the lessons of a great playwright, he powered through.
According to Shakespeare, the world's a stage. In a world now with many media platforms and thus stages within the stage, Meltzer began publishing on YouTube, going live on IG and using every medium possible to begin his mission to empower.
Daunting? Yes. However, Shakespeare once again inspired him.
“The first Shakespeare lesson, which is most important, is thine own self be true,” notes David Meltzer. “Because in the context of today, your own self is true, those people can laugh and scoff at you and make fun of you. However, it also provides you with a directional aptitude towards your own frequency.”
By being true to himself, he was able to spread his wings, ignore the critics and find his tribe as they say. Early encouragers included Gary Vaynerchuk who David Meltzer had previously consulted when the entrepreneur was working on a sports agency.
As Meltzer continued to lean into the stage theory and better be himself, the numbers he began reaching increased, yet not exponentially. In a world of instant gratification and validation by numbers this could’ve crippled many, causing them to drop their dreams.
Instead, Meltzer studied Einstein.
“The rule of 72 says that at one percent better, it takes 72 turns in order to double where you're at,” Meltzer says of the genius’s philosophy. “Well, if you can become two percent better, it takes 36 turns for you to be four percent better."
"I did the math. I study Einstein. I knew that in 20 years when I was 70, I'd be the most popular 70-year-old in the world because I would have two million ambassadors telling two million people to watch.”
Happiness Is The Pursuit:
By studying the greats, continuing his pursuit and being powered by faith, David Meltzer believes in his ability to make others believe in themselves.
“It's not the pursuit of happiness,” states Meltzer on the Digital Hospitality podcast. “Happiness is the pursuit. That's why I try to teach people to find the light, the love in the lessons and everything to enjoy the consistent everyday pursuit of your own potential, not other people's.”
To many, this relentless optimism may sound hokey. Even Meltzer admits many dreams appear outlandish even in hindsight.
“If Jeff Bezos would have told me 25 years ago when he was selling books out of his garage, that he was going to make over a trillion dollars and be the richest man on Earth and have the biggest marketplace on Earth, I probably would have laughed at him, scoffed at him and made fun of him,” shrugs David Meltzer.
20 years from now, we could be talking about the world’s most famous 70-year-old the same way.
***
-Feature Article by Ian Stonebrook. Get in touch with him on social media @ianstonebrook
SIGN UP FOR UPDATES ON RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS AT WWW. -
At the heart of the annual Holiday Bowl is hospitality and community.
On this episode of the Digital Hospitality podcast, Holiday Bowl CEO Mark Neville talks about the history of the NCAA bowl game in San Diego, the nonprofit's future at Petco Park, and how the live event gives back to the community.
https://youtu.be/P03v6u47_Ds
At Cali BBQ we are very proud to support the San Diego County Credit Union 2021 Holiday Bowl at Petco Park. The game takes place December 28, 2021 at 5pm.
LEARN MORE: https://www.holidaybowl.com/
ABOUT THE HOLIDAY BOWL —
The mission of the non-profit San Diego Bowl Game Association is to generate tourism, visibility and economic impact for the San Diego region by producing the Holiday Bowl and other outstanding events and experiences for visitors and local fans of all ages.
The San Diego Bowl Game Association is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization which produces the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl and a year-around festival of events.
For 40 years, the Holiday Bowl has played a significant economic role in the success of San Diego’s tourism industry. The nonprofit San Diego Bowl Game Association fills hotel rooms and provides patrons for restaurants and shops during one of San Diego’s slowest tourism weeks of the year. Since its inception in 1978, the San Diego Bowl Game Association has created an impact of more than $850 million for the region.
The Big Flag:
The Holiday Bowl Big Flag is one of the largest ceremonial American Flags in the United States that is regularly used in conjunction with large public sporting events. The Big Flag has been presented at the Super Bowl, World Series and numerous NFL, NCAA and MLB events.
HOLIDAY BOWL FACTS:
• 800,000+ San Diego hotel room nights generated since the recession of 2008
• $950 million in economic benefit for the San Diego region since the Holiday Bowl’s inception in 1978
• 242 Holiday Bowl and Poinsettia Bowl alums who are currently on NFL rosters
• 23 of Holiday Bowl games not decided until the final two minutes
• 19 of Holiday Bowl games decided by 7 points or less
• 2 of Heisman Trophy winners who have played in the Holiday Bowl
• 11 of times BYU has played in the Holiday Bowl
• 34 members in the SDBGA Hall of Fame
• 65,416 is the largest attendance in Holiday Bowl history
CONNECT WITH CALI BBQ MEDIA:
➤ Free Media Coaching Application — https://forms.gle/cnQ3sefMcAxQXbKa6
➤ Digital Hospitality Podcast Archive — https://calibbq.media/podcast-episodes
➤ Cali BBQ Media Blog — https://calibbq.media/blog
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RELATED CALI BBQ MEDIA CONTENT:
Wonderfront Festival is a labor of love for Mr. San Diego Ernie Hahn (DH 007)
Marketing with Influence | Farmers Insurance Open (DH 017)
Marketing Insights from a Career in Sports | Luke Gilbert, San Diego Seals (DH 021) -
You have a great business concept, but how do you raise the money needed to realize your vision?
Check out the Digital Hospitality interview with My Yard Live Beer Co. co-owners Mark McLarry and Jamie Minotti to learn how they turned their grand vision into reality step by step.
"(We thought) let's do something brick-and-mortar that encompasses (the) festival spirit: bringing people together, live music, good food, good beverages," said My Yard Live CEO Mark McLarry on the Digital Hospitality podcast interview. "What space can we create where everyone's going to be happy?"
My Yard Live Beer Co. is a 17,500-square-foot entertainment center, restaurant, and brewery, in San Marco, California. The company was founded in 2019 by entertainment and hospitality industry entrepreneurs Mark McLarry and Jamie Minotti.
As you'll learn in the Digital Hospitality podcast interview with the friends and business partners, the story of My Yard Live is inspiring because it shows confidence and perseverance. As business owners, those qualities help you move forward even in the face of adversity (of which there will be lots).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEIOIxekwUM
My Yard Live had to shut down in the pandemic. What the owners learned from the experience was how dedicated their regulars were to their community space.
"During the pandemic, we had people who were regulars that actually approached us to invest," Jamie Minotti said on the Digital Hospitality podcast interview recorded live at My Yard Live. "And they actually ended up investing in is in the middle of the pandemic. And we told them not to."
"They said, 'This is our space. We don't want this to go anywhere."
"We are doing something more than just flipping burgers and selling beers," he continued. "We are doing something for the community, and that's why we're here."
LINKS TO CLICK —
• My Yard Live Beer Co website: https://www.myyardlive.com/
• Order My Yard Live online: https://www.toasttab.com/myyardlive/v3/
• Meet Mark McLarry (SDVoyager): http://sdvoyager.com/interview/meet-mark-mclarry-yard-live-san-marcos/
• Mark McLarry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mclarry-mark-81b5353/
• Jamie Minotti on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamietminotti/
• Meet Jamie Minotti (SDVoyager): http://sdvoyager.com/interview/meet-jamie-minotti-yard-live-san-marcos/
My Yard Live —
My Yard Live combines many entertainment concepts into a unique venue for live entertainment, dining, and events. The restaurant is for both the young and young at heart, with fun activities for all ages, including all types of games, play structures, and much more.
One of the goals for My Yard Live Beer Co. was to bring together the elements of "a community center, park, upscale beer garden, diverse eatery, and a one of a kind live entertainment and event venue."
My Yard Live Beer Co.
https://www.myyardlive.com/
760-798-0779
288 Rancheros Drive, San Marcos, CA 92069
[email protected]
CONNECT WITH CALI BBQ MEDIA:
➤ Free Media Coaching Application — https://forms.gle/cnQ3sefMcAxQXbKa6
➤ Podcast Archive — https://calibbq.media/podcast-episodes
➤ Cali BBQ Blog — https://calibbq.media/blog
Related Content:
#086: San Diego’s Next Great Brewery Experience – My Yard Live
National Restaurant Week Supports Local Restaurants | #nationalrestaurantweek served by Toast
If You Build It, They Still Might Not Come | Chip Klose (Restaurant Marketing Strategy) | DH118
Who the F@*% Doesn’t Love Toast? | Sam Zien (Sam the Cooking Guy) and Howard Solomon (Solomon Leaders) | DH066
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Hospitality and Media Maven Kyle Inserra knows that one of the most valuable currencies of our modern era is attention.
Kyle Inserra (@kyleinserra) is an attention merchant. How does the commercial real estate strategist with a long history in the hospitality industry get attention these days? He publishes compelling video content online every day.
On his National Restaurant Owners Podcast, host Kyle Inserra and his guests open up about the restaurant industry and share first-hand insights about hospitality, marketing, and much more.
• LISTEN ONLINE: https://anchor.fm/restaurantowners
The NRO Podcast is just one of the many digital media projects Kyle Inserra has published. He also cranks out interesting industry specific content all the time using his smartphone.
Short form videos give Kyle a place to showcase his strong opinions and useful advice. Publishing content online on a regular basis also lets him connect with like-minded peers all over the world.
That's how Cali BBQ Media first met Kyle Inserra — we connected with him on Clubhouse and TikTok.
Our relationship strengthened IRL when we visited New York City for the Toast IPO in 2021.
Of course we had to team up and make some longform and shortform videos with Kyle while we were in his neck of the woods.
The National Restaurant Owner Podcast | Shawn Walchef and Kyle Inserra
Kyle Inserra featured our Cali BBQ Media story on The National Restaurant Owners Podcast, which he let us repurpose on our Digital Hospitality RSS feed and YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCcJCpPp1AI
We hope you enjoy this conversation and don't forget to let us know what you liked and learned in the comments or in a podcast review. Each review we get helps us grow our Digital Hospitality thesis with even more people.
A Rising Tide Lifts All Ships.
LINKS TO CLICK —
• Restaurant Owners Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restaurant_owners_podcast/
• Kyle Inserra LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleinserra/
• Subscribe to National Restaurant Owners Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGuiy3a6JnMAs7vwXrGhWfg
• The Restaurant Consultant on TikTok: https://anchor.fm/restaurantowners
• Kyle Inserra on Digital Hospitality Podcast: https://calibbq.media/kyle-inserra-real-estate-restaurant-industry-dh095/
About The National Restaurant Owners Podcast w/ Kyle Inserra —
Owning a restaurant can be a lonely, stressful existence. Kyle Inserra knows this first hand as a 15 year veteran of the hospitality industry. On the show, he shares his experience and interviews fellow industry professionals to provide you with the insight our industry often lacks. Whether you're opening your first restaurant or considering adding units to your current concept, there's always something new to learn, and who better to learn from than those who have successfully done it.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcayoov1tw3a6M8fpHlnwq_jlI9px2YgM
SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL RESTAURANT OWNERS PODCAST: https://anchor.fm/restaurantowners
Related Cali BBQ Media Content:
• Dont Be Scared To Share Your Secrets Online | Kyle Inserra (Restaurant Growth Strategist) | DH095
• Guide to Opening a Virtual Ghost Kitchen | Part 1: The New Digital Economy | DH106
• Subscribe to these Restaurant Business Podcasts
***
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The 8it App was created to solve the problem of food ordering overload.
8it app co-founder Steve Raggiani is a guest on the Digital Hospitality Podcast where the entrepreneur talked about simplifying the search for the best food, online food reviews, digital marketing, and much more.
➤ Connect with @8itapp online: linkin.bio/8itapp
Three Takeaways from Interview:
1. Simplicity is Accessibility – In the world of apps and the new web, less is more. By creating an interface that’s simple, easy to access and direct, you create the ability to better serve a wider audience and gain traction in a competitive space. [00:11:21]
2. Drop Culture is More than Clothing and Concert Tickets – For years, teenagers and young adults have lined up and camped out for rare sneakers and limited streetwear. In recent times, drop culture has expanded to a wider range of demographics and also the world of food. When selling story, scarcity and hype, does drop culture work to add energy to your business model? [00:18:29]
3. Your Market is Bigger than Your Echo Chamber – The best way to understand your core consumer is to be them, but it’s often a big mistake to think that your entire audience is that siloed. In a world where we all live in online echo chambers and our own friend groups, do deep dive research to really find out who could be interested in your business, why they would be interested and where they might find out about it. [00:09:41]
Watch the full interview: https://youtu.be/SfU6qejfSBU
Steve Raggiani and 8it:
Steve Raggiani isn’t afraid to get hangry. But don’t worry, he won’t take it out on you.
A problem solver, not a problem starter, Steve put his hunger pains in perspective by co-founding the 8it App.
“8it is the simplest way to find the best food,” beams Steve Raggiani when talking about his 8it app on the Digital Hospitality podcast.
“It's trusted food recommendations from people in the industry who know what the hell they're talking about.”
After moving to the Big Apple for work years ago, Steve was taken aback by the food scene but bombarded with the overabundance of information on where to eat.
Let’s be honest, if you’re seriously craving a burrito, who has the time or discipline to read five articles, phone three friends and watch a YouTube review?
This was Steve when he first touched down in NYC.
“I got to New York City completely overwhelmed by all the options to eat in that city,” recalls Steve. “There's so many amazing restaurants you don't even know where to start — and this was like 2016.
"If I go on Google and I'm in the mood for a burger, I search ‘Best Burger in New York’ and I get an Eater article, an Infatuation article, a piece from The New York Times and a Guy Fieri video. I'm getting lost in the content. You can spend up to 45 minutes doing research to figure out what you want to eat.”
The bulk of information and the time it took to sift through was enough to make Steve even hangrier.
Thankfully, Steve doesn’t want to be hangry anymore and his team at 8it App want the best for you, too.
“We pride ourselves on solving problems,” begins Steve. “I’ve worked in advertising and marketing my whole career. We solve the biggest brands in the world's problems. At 8it we said, ‘Let's solve a problem for ourselves.’ We gave ourselves a challenge: how do you go from hungry to eating something certified delicious in three thumb taps?”
So, how does the 8it App work if it’s 7:49 PM and you’re hankering for a burrito?
The first part is an accessible interface.
“Design is the first thing people notice,” points out Steve. “If it's not clean and it's not simple, you're going to turn people away. When you open the app, you see how clean it is. When we made it, we were like, ‘I want a 14 year old to pick this thing up and use it like they'd use every other app and I want an 80 year old lady to pick it up and feel the same way I do.'”
The second part? -
Smartphone Storytelling doesn't have to be difficult. These tips will help you learn to tell your story online.
Speaking as a guest of honor at a Foodservice Sales and Marketing Association (FSMA) webinar, Shawn Walchef (Cali BBQ Media) shared the secret sauce to online storytelling, digital marketing for business, more inspiration and ideas.
➤ FSMA Online: www.fsmaonline.com/
3 Takeaways From This Episode:
1. Smartphone Storytelling is Your Job –
It doesn’t matter your title at your company, you have the tools to be a smart phone storyteller. By amplifying your story and your brand story, the ability to raise awareness and connection around your company starts with you. Why? Because no one can tell your story better than you.
2. You Already Have the Most Important App –
Over the years, we've seen smartphone storytelling evolve from Facebook to Instagram to TikTok and everything in between. While platforms change, one app remains the same: the camera app on your phone. Regardless of how new your phone is, the camera app is the most powerful resource when it comes to smartphone storytelling.
3. Where Are You Online? –
The beauty of the internet is that you can work from anywhere. However, they have to find you somewhere. By claiming your profiles and pages online and showing up in search, you're giving yourself and your business the best chance to be seen and the best ability to have your story shared.
https://youtu.be/0DzJ57wmp34
Learn to Tell Your Story Online —
Shawn Walchef knows who he is, and if you’re reading this story there’s a good chance you know who he is, too.
Why is that? Because the Cali BBQ Media founder is invested in online storytelling to connect with the world.
https://youtu.be/Y2E-17dIwCk
Whether creating content for his restaurant, sharing videos about the power of social media, or posting photos of his family, Shawn Walchef is fully sold on the idea that digital technology has the power to propel both business and relationships.
The ingredients may surprise you, however, if you’re reading this on a smartphone consider yourself prepared to jump into smartphone storytelling.
***
1. Smartphone Storytelling Starts With You:
For starters, you’re probably wondering, ‘Who in my company should be in charge of smart phone storytelling?’
Well, whether you’re the owner, accountant, public relations director or the janitor, the answer is the same: you.
“It's your job to tell your story, no matter what position you are in the company,” Shawn states. “The more people that start talking about the work that they do in sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution, the bigger impact that you're going to make.”
Now that you know it’s on you, how do you get started?
By doing it every day. Just like any other facet of business, having consistent deliverables and real goals go into the practice of making smartphone storytelling a habit.
“It doesn't matter if you're on an Android phone or an iPhone,” Shawn Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) said. “The most powerful tool you have is the camera app. If you do nothing else, you need to move the camera app to the home screen of your smartphone, and you need to accept the fact that nobody on Earth has your perspective of your business.”
With the camera app, your storytelling begins.
2. Post More Short-form Videos #shorts:
Creating content should go deeper than just taking a photo and posting a caption on social media.
“Video is the easiest way to solve all of your social media problems,” declares Shawn. “Short form video specifically."
"Do all of your knowledge in less than one minute. You post that video on TikTok, that video works on LinkedIn, that video works on Instagram and that video works on Facebook. And it is a terrifying experience, but for the 10% of you that decide to actually take action, it's not about posting one video, it's about developing the habit. In doing so, -
Jottful is the solution to the problem of website creation and management for small business owners.
Business owners are busy. It pays to find a sustainable path to having a living, breathing e-commerce website. We all know websites are hard to make and hard to keep alive. They are expensive and difficult.
That's why Digital Hospitality podcast guest Dawn Verbrigghe founded Jottful. To make websites easy and affordable.
https://youtu.be/5iugoqK3R7g
➤ Jottful Online: https://jottful.com
3 Takeaways from Interview:
1. Invest in Your Marketing the Right Way –
If you buy a sports car, be prepared to pay for the premium fuel. If you buy a clunker, be prepared to pay for the ongoing maintenance. In business, investing in marketing can cause the same conundrum. When building a website or working with an agency, make sure the money invested doesn’t just mean spending more money down the road.
2. Always Research and Add Value –
When hopping on a call, learn as much as you can about who you’re talking to before you take their time. In doing so, not only do you bring a level of respect, you have the ability to form a relationship that isn’t merely transactional. Just the same, there’s nothing wrong with adding value through knowledge, ideas or advice before a deal is done. This mini investment can make all the difference in actually doing business and building a relationship.
3. Make Your Website Punctual –
When a potential customer visits your website make sure it’s clear to them that they have a reason to be there. In big bold text, have an obvious call to action on your homepage to guide your visitor and create value for both parties.
Founding Jottful To Help Small Businesses —
Dawn Verbrigghe knows the hurdles of running a small business from the inside out.
Raised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Dawn’s parents ran a bridal shop in which she often assisted. In college, she would go on to study graphic design and marketing, eventually completing her MBA.
As Dawn evolved, so did the world. Because of this, her new-age business and tech skills were of even more need to her parents and their small business. They needed a website and luckily Dawn was capable of making them one.
“For small business owners like my mother, there just weren't great solutions out there for her to get a website,” Dawn Verbrigghe recalls on the Digital Hospitality podcast.
“Because not everybody has a kid who is a graphic designer and can take care of this for them.”
Seeing her family in need and her skillset of service, Dawn grew curious as to just how other small business owners afforded to get a website built and have it maintained.
Surprisingly, the answers were costly and common.
“It’s always $5000 across the board,” laughs Dawn. “For a little bridal shop like this, spending $5000 on a website is unaffordable. And then once the website is launched, you have to go back to the agency all the time to get changes made and you're paying on an hourly basis after that. It doesn't make any sense.”
That gap in the market inspired Dawn to start Jottful. With Dawn serving as CEO, Jottful builds websites for small businesses by simplifying the process and making maintaining the website intuitive.
In an era where every business must operate and tell their story online, Jottful’s timing couldn’t be better.
What is Jottful?
Jottful makes and manages "do it together" websites for small businesses and others in need of a professional page. https://jottful.com/
The Jottful Process:
Share your website dream
Jottful builds your website
Jottful launches your website
Jottful manages your website
With Jottful, small business owners can provide their own content, and have it implemented seamlessly into their online website.
In an era where algorithms push down posts and third-party platforms take major cuts of profit, having a strong website that captures email addresses and pr... -
Brian Dempsey of TribeVideo wants business owners to learn to use video marketing like rockstars.
Most Americans consume 2.5 hours of video content per day. That's a lot of ways to reach them. So, why aren’t all business owners in front of the camera telling the story of their brand?
Find out how to harness the power of smart video marketing on this episode of the Digital Hospitality podcast featuring Brain Dempsey of Tribe Video Marketing.
Watch the full interview on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/HcCzPvNB958
3 Takeaways from the Interview:
1. Start Where You Are –
What social network do you spend most of your time using, connecting and engaging on? Well, that’s where you should start posting videos. Whether it’s going live on Facebook or uploading to Instagram reels, the platform will always be most purposeful if it's native to you and your brand.
2. You Already Have the Camera –
The first step of creating video isn’t researching the best camera on the market, it’s using the one you already have – which is likely your phone. As Brian says, most of the video we consume is not professionally edited. Additionally, the biggest hurdles in creating compelling video are not tied to tech, they’re tied to mindset.
3. One Video Makes Multiple Pieces of Content –
Through one video, you already have audio, written and picture content merely from recording, transcribing and screenshots. On top of that, you can cut up a single video into multiple clips. On top of trust and connection, video is by all means the most bang for your buck.
Brian Dempsey and Smart Marketing —
Brian Dempsey, President of Bright Tribe Marketing, knows the power of smart video marketing firsthand.
“Video is the fastest pathway to trust,” digital marketing expert Brian Dempsey points out on the Digital Hospitality podcast. “People do business with people they trust, and video allows us to connect in that way. That is the fastest pathway to building trust with our existing and potential customers.”
➤ Brian Dempsey LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/brighttribe/
➤ Brian Dempsey Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/40_something_style
Having worked for years in the marketing world and getting his feet wet in video for fun thanks to his love of menswear, Brian Dempsey (@40_Something_Style) quickly made the connection that video content wasn’t just the future of brand storytelling, it was the most important component of content marketing right now.
“My passion has shifted to helping people connect in meaningful ways using video to grow their business,” shares Brian. “A lot of my time and energy is doing a lot of coaching and working with agencies to help them provide video marketing services to their clients.”
As alluded, this pivot inspired Brian Dempsey to found TribeVideo.
➤ TRIBE VIDEO MARKETING — https://tribevideo.co/
Understanding the importance of connecting with consumers through video, Brian is here to shift the mindset of clients to help their business reach its full potential.
“There's a gap between having the tools, the clarity, the confidence, and a content strategy,” says the marketing maven. “I'm passionate about helping people bridge that gap so that they can use the tools that they have effectively to grow their business.”
Having years of experience in public speaking and marketing, Brian is shifting the mindset of his clients that fear criticism.
“People are watching you because they're there for you,” explains Brian. “They are your cheerleader and they're there because of the content that you produce. Over time, practice makes progress. We're never going to make perfect, but practice makes progress.”
He also helps clients that are afraid of not being polished when it comes to production.
“What I help people to understand is that the majority of content is not professionally produced,” shares Brian.
Take it from a guy who went from using his iPhone 6S as a camera and a... -
Some people wake up and pour a cup of coffee. Steven Musielski wakes up early to pour into people he has never met.
Digital Hospitality podcast guest Steven Musielski is the host and founder of The 4:13 Experience clubroom on Clubhouse. Every morning before 4am (3:38am to be exact) Steven opens up the audio app to connect with and inspire whoever joins the room.
➤ THE 413 EXPERIENCE ON CLUBHOUSE — https://www.clubhouse.com/club/the-413-with-steven
“We're building up emotional toughness,” he shares about his 4:13 club’s mission on the Cali BBQ Media podcast.
“If you're thankful, encouraged and forward thinking those are great building blocks because you're going to get hit. You're going to take rejection like any person.”
➤ Watch the Interview on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7YDBgoFWuU
Takeaways from Interview:
1. New Networks Preselect Innovators –
At this point, many of us are overwhelmed by the number of apps and social networking platforms that pop up every day. While this is a fair way to feel, it’s important to keep in mind that each app has the power to attract early adopters and thus innovative thinkers.
2. Emotional Toughness Matters –
Steven and his community at 4:13 focus on stewards of positive thinking not because they’re starry eyed but rather because they know adversity always hits. By being in a good mental space, you’re better adjusted to valleys and plateaus because your base level of perspective is higher.
3. Audio Apps Allow for Deeper Connection –
While photo and text platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter provide the platform to meet new people, what’s more intimate than already having heard their voice? With Clubhouse, jumping on the phone to make a game-changing call is all the easier because a conversation and vocal context already exists.
The 4:13 Experience —
By building a community through the Clubhouse app, Steven Musielski has the chance to inspire regulars and strangers with the inspiration to take on the day. Through creative conversations that build emotional toughness, 4:13 attendees begin each morning with a positive outlook for whatever comes their way.
The best part of the 4:13 community?
It’s different every day.
“The community is a powerful group of people and it’s totally unexpected,” Steven shares. “You couldn't predict who’s going to come in or who's not going to come there. So, based on who shows up, that's going to determine the direction. You can go with business minded people, personal development minded people, leadership type of people… It’s all who shows up that’s going to determine the direction of everything.”
While waking up before the sunrise to connect and converse with strangers might seem like a stretch to some, Steven has already seen the benefits of joining the latest audio app that’s taking off.
“Here's the pitch on Clubhouse,” begins Steven about the exciting audio social media platform. “You're by nature going to get early adopters, creative people, innovative people, people that think way outside the box. They're going to take more chances and they're going to do more things in business. And then you get the 04:13 room that's so outside the box that it’s outside the building. People that are taking chances and doing things. Super exciting people.”
Connect with Steven Musielski —
➤ https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-musielski-054a6515/
➤ https://www.instagram.com/stevenmusielski/
Not a bad community of people to build with, right?
While the innovators and outliers on Clubhouse can become the next leaders in industry due to their outside the box thinking and risk taking tendencies, Steven has been most happy with the fellowship that comes from the 4:13 community.
“There are people in the community that care about one another in deep ways,” acknowledges Steven. “People that will reach out to you on your Instagram and on your LinkedIn. There are people that will look for ways to hel... -
Delivering the Digital Restaurant teaches how to build a successful digital restaurant business that will survive and thrive into the future.
Authors Meredith Sandland (@meresandland) and Carl Orsbourn (@carlorsbourn) were guests on the Digital Hospitality podcast to discuss what they learned while writing their must-read restaurant business book, Delivering the Digital Restaurant Your Roadmap to the Future of Food.
➤ ORDER THE BOOK: https://www.deliveringthedigitalrestaurant.com
➤ GET THE AUDIOBOOK ON AMAZON
Three Takeaways From This Podcast Episode:
https://youtu.be/Wgqlw9npU28
1. Monthly Services Make Daily Differences –
There was a time when only corporate companies could afford access to digital innovations that optimized orders or operations. That time has passed. Regardless of your size or scale, consider implementing software or systems that might come with a monthly fee but will change your business for the better day after day.
2. Your Competition is Your Community –
We are all in this together. By having conversations with the restaurants in your community and discussing trends in your industry, you can create a better food landscape for your city or neighborhood as a whole.
3. There’s No Such Thing as Throwaway Content –
With all the research that went into writing a book, Carl and Meredith still had 90 percent of their conversations scrapped from the final copy that hit Amazon. So, did they just discard it? Of course not! They will continue to share untold stories through their social platforms as should you.
When Carl Orsbourn and Meredith Sandland began writing their book, Delivering the Digital Restaurant: Your Road Map to the Future of Food, they didn’t know how they’d finish it, but they knew why they had to.
“Our 'why' is really about helping restaurants navigate this digital change,” beams Meredith Sandland on the Digital Hospitality podcast.
“We are incredibly passionate about the magnitude of this change and want to see everyone successfully get through it and thrive because they have figured out how to master it.”
As alluded, that change is seeing restaurants of every size, shape and scale embrace evolving technology to better serve their customer base and grow their business.
For years, both Meredith Sandland and Carl Orsbourn have worked in different ends of the food industry, expanding brands such as Taco Bell and British Petroleum to a new world with new customers.
“I was seeing the enormous level of change of better quality food in the gas station environment,” reflects Carl Orsbourn.
“There's so much change happening, so many exciting things that really are only at the front of where I think this industry is going.”
Meeting at ghost kitchen company Kitchen United, the co-workers turned co-authors were already on the cutting edge of where the food industry was headed in the 2020s. After years of working for big brands and joining forces at a start-up, both could see that change was imminent.
However, no one knew just how much 2020 would expedite this dramatic digital shift.
“Everything that's happening is really an existential crisis for the restaurant industry,” Meredith Sandland shares. “We started the book back before the pandemic when we thought this would all take three to five years to play out. Of course, the pandemic accelerated all of that and laid bare the digital divide.”
Digital Restaurants:
Because of the rapid change the restaurant industry faced due to the Coronavirus pandemic, restaurants either adapted or closed during the tough and evolving times.
Even for those businesses that are still standing, it’s essential that they learn through their competition and peers to best adjust their strategy and tools for the good of the communities they serve.
“It is critical to figure this out together,” notes Meredith. “When I think in particular of our local independent restaurants, -
Marketing Strategist Chip Klose knows you have to promote your business online to make it take off.
The modern restaurant business is not Field of Dreams. If you build it, they won’t necessarily come.
“Thirty years ago, you could just be good,” shrugs Chip Klose on the Digital Hospitality podcast. “Pretty place, good food, good service and you could survive. But now every place is great. Every place has interesting dishes, great service, and a cool dining room.”
➤ Watch the full interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_vPkwskBMU
3 Takeaways From This Interview:
1. Implement Table Ordering –
By using digital kiosks instead of standard servers, restaurants can increase their revenue by cutting costs and increasing up-sells. Even better, servers can better assist customers in true hospitality.
2. Pay to Play on Your Posts –
Social media is a must for modern restaurants. However, if no one sees your post how can it benefit your restaurant? Be willing to pay social media platforms to promote your post strategically and increase reach.
3. Exceed Operations –
Chip shares that in a dream world, most operators don’t actually want to be at their restaurant every day. Implement systems to relieve daily duties through modern technology in an effort to better focus on your customers and yourself.
Chip Klose has made it.
Starting his career in hospitality as a host in college, Chip has spent the last two decades in New York ascending in the industry he calls home.
“I launched multiple brands to rave reviews and great openings in one of the most saturated markets in the world,” Chip Klose notes.
➤ https://www.chipklose.com/
As they say, if you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere. After storied success in the space, Chip quickly realized that his success was rare in such a crowded space, yet it was easy to identify why.
Marketing.
Marketing Restaurants —
While the ‘m’ word can feel like an impossible cost to restaurant operators, it was clear to Chip that marketing was the reason for the success of his multiple brands.
“I started looking at marketing,” Chip recalls on his eureka moment and pivot. “I suddenly realized that restaurants really don't do very well because they usually don't do marketing.”
Chip Klose has evolved into a respected coach and consultant in his space.
While marketing can sound overwhelming and expensive to operators that are already strapped, Chip sees it as three simple questions.
Marketing Questions:
What’s your product?
Who is it for?
How can you reach them?
The third question has become all the more important in the modern digital age.
“It used to be Craigslist and the Yellow Pages,” said Chip Klose on Digital Hospitality. “Now it's Google, social media and Yelp. It's now on our phones that we walk around glued to."
To reach your customers, you have to optimize your social media channels. This means posting, and in 2021, it also means occasionally paying to promote your posts. The algorithms have changed, and restaurants have to adapt.
Now that you’re marketing your restaurant, what’s your next goal? Is it more money?
Most will initially say yes, but Chip finds the answer is usually much more holistic.
“Look 12 months in the future,” begins Chip. “What do you want for yourself, your life? Your business? What kind of money do you want to be making? What do you want your day to day to look like?"
Through systems, any operator can eventually achieve this point of freedom and success.
What’s a system you can implement now to change your business and free up your time, staff and budget?
Table ordering.
“It's becoming very obvious that table ordering really has the power to create a better guest experience and make a more profitable restaurant,” says Chip about technology like Toast Order & Pay, which is used at Cali BBQ and other places like Eats By Sam and many more of our favorite food s... -
Social Media is an important tool for all business owners. But how do you make it easier to post content everyday?
Our Clubhouse Roundtable Series dug into the topic of How To Make Social Media Effortless so we could brainstorm tips and content ideas to help make posting to social media easier to do.
https://youtu.be/_ospbYZ710w
➤ Join the weekly Digital Hospitality Club room on Clubhouse on Fridays at 10am (PST). Raise your hand and take the stage during the open conversation to have your voice heard.
Don't have Clubhouse? It's free and easy to sign up. Just download the app on your smartphone and signup like you would any other social media profile.
Sign up for Clubhouse at https://www.joinclubhouse.com.
What topic should we discuss next week? Let us know in the comments or email the Cali BBQ Media team at [email protected].
How To Make Social Media Easy —
You've got to build this into your life, but it does not have to be all consuming," Troy Hooper said in the Digital Hospitality Clubhouse room. "You do not need 15 platforms. You do not need to dominate on all of them. You need to get started by pulling your phone out..."
As proven by our guests on Digital Hospitality you don't need a production crew or fancy equipment to grow an audience on social media — you just need a story to tell and your smartphone.
"You don't need a fancy camera. You sure as hell don't need fancy lighting," Troy continued. "You can tell big pieces, little pieces, things about tomorrow, things about your origin. The content never ends."
When you focus on only trying to get the largest follower count possible or view numbers, you're missing the point. Not everyone will get millions of followers (and those numbers you see are often artificially inflated anyway).
"I think when you start focusing on growing as much as possible or you're comparing yourself to other people, it becomes more of an effort," shared Corey Nelson, content producer for Best Served Creative.
"That's a hard thing for people because they want to quit when they see that they're not hitting those numbers or are not growing as fast as they would like."
Greg Rempe from The BBQ Central Show has been working for years to grow a passionate and engaged audience online. "I love my audience," he said while admitting that, "I'm not happy with how quickly I grow.
"I might not have 125,000 followers on Instagram, but when I post, I do get a large percentage of engagement from my audience, which to me signals that there's a little bit more buy-in from my folks... so at least my fan base seems to be engaged."
Change Your Social Media Mindset —
When you're stuck in the mindset of only wanting to get more followers, you're missing out on the potential joys and benefits of social media, which is to be social.
"We really need to honor the followers that we already have and show up for them because they want to know more," said Elizabeth Doss of Izzy Ink Studios.
"They want to see you. They want to remember you."
One way to make social media effortless is to focus on quantity over quality. Online more is often better. That's because they more places you show up, the more places followers can find you and your message.
"You can create a habit for yourself by doing quantity," Stover Harger III from Cali BBQ Media said in the Clubhouse conversation. "And we know that social media needs to be a habit. Or else, let's be honest, we won't do it."
"I'm always at my best on social media when I'm doing it every day and I'm thinking about it every day."
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MORE CLUBHOUSE CONTENT:
How To Become Your Own Media Company | Best Served Podcast + Cali BBQ Media on Clubhouse | DH112
Crowdfunding Marketing and Promotion Tips from an Expert | Clubhouse Digital Hospitality Club
Cal Ripken Jr. of Clubhouse | Guy Clarke (Restaurant Marketing Consultant) | DH102
STAY INVOLVED | ASK FOR HELP | GET INVOLVED -
Mandi Graziano has lots of Sales Tales and lessons to share after living the hustle herself.
Business and sales coach Mandi Graziano is our guest on this episode of the Digital Hospitality podcast, where she shared stories and lessons about sales, writing a business book, digital marketing, and much more.
Learn more about Mandi Graziano at https://www.mandigraziano.com.
Mandi Graziano, author of Sales Tales
Mandi Graziano was an author her whole life; she just didn’t have the title.
Always carrying around a journal, Mandi kept track of her observations in her everyday personal life and her blossoming career in sales. While building relationships and crushing quotas, the dream remained alive of writing the next great fantasy book based on a fictional character crafted from her imagination.
However, a plot twist occurred: yes, Mandi was an author, but she was actually the hero in her own non-fiction story.
“I ended up writing a fun business book instead,” smiles Mandi Graziano on the Digital Hospitality podcast.
Mandi's first book, Sales Tales, tracks the trials and triumphs she has experienced in all her years on the job.
SALES TALES BOOK: https://www.mandigraziano.com/sales-tales-book
Hiring a writing coach and going through over 70 journal entries that detailed her clients, conversations and closings, she sought to bring the same sense of joy, curiosity and adventure she enjoyed in her personal reading to that of the often-dry business book world.
“I wrote it because I really wanted to disarm the stigma of sales,” admits Mandi Graziano. “I believe so deeply that we all need sales in every part of our life — our personal lives and our professional lives."
Professionally, this proves true for Mandi's peers who are incredibly acute analytically but may lack the messaging to sell themselves or their ideas.
“I have great friends that are inventors and they are awesome at engineering,” begins Mandi, “But they don't know how to make a pitch. I've got great friends that are really good at time management, but they don't know how to say no, set boundaries or make a presentation. So, I wrote Sales Tales with all these different people in mind.”
Just like a journal, Sales Tales is personal when it comes to revealing the details of Mandi's day from the real-life interactions to the vulnerable inner dialogue.
“I share all the stories,” notes Mandi. “I share stories from people that I've worked with that I admire, and I share stories about bad clients. It's all to be as much of a sales advocate as I possibly can, because we need it. We’ve got to get comfortable with it.”
More Stories and Lessons from Mandi Graziano:
https://www.mandigraziano.com/post/that-time-i-found-a-new-client-by-watching-the-millionaire-matchmaker
https://www.mandigraziano.com/post/chasing-olympic-torch-in-sanfrancisco
https://www.mandigraziano.com/post/business-bed-side-manner
This even includes stories about one of the most difficult parts of working in sales: getting rid of your own clients.
“I tell deep, detailed stories about firing clients,” shares Mandi. “If you wake up with a gut pain because of a client or because of customer feedback from them, it's not worth it.”
Always an advocate of preparation, Mandi's years of journaling put her in a place to write a book that serves its readers and creates a new lane for business books.
MANDI GRAZIANO ONLINE: https://www.mandigraziano.com/
Now officially an author – as well as a public speaker, public speaker, conference specialist, hotel expert, sales professional and business coach – Mandi Graziano is sharing her story through Sales Tales while working on the sequel through living and journaling.
A storybook ending, indeed.
— Feature Article by Cali BBQ Media Writer Ian Stonebrook. Get in touch with Ian online @ianstonebrook.
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Mandi Graziano Sales and Business Coach
Mandi Graziano is a sales and business coach. - Näytä enemmän
