WEBVTT - EYL #195 Marcus Davis on Building The Breakfast Klub, Restaurant Empire, & Real Estate 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:03.120 Coach, the energy out there felt different. What changed for 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:03.800 the team today? 0:00:03.880 --> 0:00:06.000 It was the new game day scratches from the California 0:00:06.080 --> 0:00:09.440 Lottery players. Everything. Those games sent the team's energy through 0:00:09.480 --> 0:00:09.799 the roof. 0:00:09.880 --> 0:00:11.880 Are you saying it was the off field play that 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:13.000 made the difference on the field. 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:15.840 Hey, little play makes your day, and today it made 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:18.800 the game. That's all for now, Coach, one more question. 0:00:18.960 --> 0:00:21.800 Play the new Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco forty nine 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:24.960 ers and Los Angeles Rams scratchers from the California Lottery. 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:28.200 A little play can make your day. Peace made responsibly. 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:34.040 Must be eighteen years or older to purchase plate or claim. 0:00:32.200 --> 0:00:38.240 My graduates from my school being forced back drop bag drop, Mike, 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:40.440 drop back, drop drop. 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:54.640 All right, guys, welcome back EYL Atlanta Headquarters. This is 0:00:54.680 --> 0:00:58.640 gonna be a special episode for a variety of different reasons. 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:01.920 But you know, we travel around a lot. One of 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:03.960 my favorite things to do when our travel is to eat. 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:06.600 I'm a foodie, even though I'm a pescytarian. I don't 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:09.560 eat a lot of food, but I do enjoy fool 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:16.120 and I definitely love Southern cuisine. Soulful very important to me. 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:19.720 Oh so, when we went to Houston. They told us. 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:22.240 I'm not even sure how we actually got turned onto it. 0:01:22.600 --> 0:01:25.200 I think we visited the first time we went to Houston, 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:27.240 and I think maybe Chris. 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:28.600 Senegal was like, chrisentege, that's what. 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:31.559 We got to check out this restaurant and we pulled 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:33.640 up to it and the line was three blocks long. 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:36.160 We're like, we can't wait, no line. 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:38.920 We're not we're not fans of doing lines, and so 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:42.319 this time nothing was to say Chouter. 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:43.880 Chris, he made the phone for He was like, I'm 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:47.440 taking out to the breakfast club. Breakfast Eat breakfast. 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:48.680 Clus' man, I'm man. 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:51.320 So Marcus Davis, the owner of the breakfast club, was 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:54.840 actually there when we was eating. We had like thirty 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:58.280 people with us and they was, you know, scarfing down. 0:01:58.320 --> 0:01:59.920 Their food service was immaculate. 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:01.800 Yes, the food came out within five minutes. 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:03.200 It was crazy. Never see anything like that. 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:05.600 Within that he came, he introduced himself and we had 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:07.680 a conversation and we were talking about a lot of 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:10.040 things in business, real estate play. And then they would 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:12.560 educating me like how he's more than just a restaurant 0:02:12.560 --> 0:02:13.359 tour He's an investor. 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:17.160 The businessman does a lot of different things. So I'm like, 0:02:17.160 --> 0:02:20.119 we should definitely interview him. Yeah, so you know, put 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:23.720 the request in, We get the interview and made it happen. 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:26.720 Got a text message I said, let's do it, I mean, 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:30.080 and we talked about a lot about people, you know, 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:32.480 investing in their communities, a lot of people talking about 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:35.440 buying back the block, and we spoke about that with Chris, 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:37.960 and we didn't know that it was also happening in 0:02:38.000 --> 0:02:40.520 other ways, right, So like the restaurant business that after 0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:44.320 after night light night life business, it's a different way 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.000 to own the block. So it's gonna be an interesting story, man, 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:50.200 historic one, historic, one for the age. 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:52.000 Yes, so this is gonna be dope. 0:02:52.040 --> 0:02:53.880 We're gonna talk about the restaurant business, were gonna talk 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:57.119 about real estate, We're gonna talk about branding, trademarks all 0:02:57.160 --> 0:02:57.680 of the year above. 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:00.120 So first and phone, well, thank you for joinings, appreciate it. 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:02.120 And thank you for having me. Brother. I am excited 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:06.480 to be here with y'all. I appreciate the invitation and 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:09.840 appreciate the opportunity, you know, or good or good And 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:14.639 more importantly, man, I'm I'm as I told look as 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:16.200 I told you when I when I saw you, you 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:18.480 came to the restaurant, and I shook your hand like 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:22.040 I was your uncle shaking you. I was like, hey, man, 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:24.600 how you doing. You'll do it. I'm good. Good. He 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:27.800 looked at me like, hey, But I was just genuinely 0:03:27.800 --> 0:03:30.560 excited man, to see y'all, because I was genuinely excited 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:33.800 about you know this, this, this movement that that that 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:37.840 y'all have been on the forefront of changing the dialogue 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:40.000 in the barbershop and and and beyond. 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:42.800 I appreciate that. Thank you so much. All Right, so 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:45.600 let's get into this. So you've built a nice portfolio 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:47.480 for yourself in the restaurant. I believe you have four 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:53.360 storefront properties. Then you have a restaurant inside the airport 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:56.040 inside the airport. Yeah, that I'm sure as a money maker. 0:03:56.360 --> 0:03:58.240 And then you have real estate places as well. So 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:03.080 how what was your starting point into getting into the 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:04.120 restaurant business. 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:06.760 So my starting point for getting to the restaurant business 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:10.400 man goes back to when I was a kid. My father, 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:14.200 who was a huge inspiration in my life. He was 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:19.480 an educated by profession, but he was passionate about two things, 0:04:19.520 --> 0:04:21.560 and he was damn good at both. Of them. One 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:24.599 was music. He was a musician, and the other was food. 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:28.400 You know, best cook I ever met. And he was 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:31.640 the person that was responsible for showing me how to 0:04:31.760 --> 0:04:36.800 create spaces where people enjoyed themselves. So when you say, 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:38.880 you know, ask me what do I do? I create 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:43.359 spaces that facilitate memories and moments of fellowship. And that 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:46.839 came from my father, you know, putting food on the 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:50.919 stove and inviting folks over, and you know the laughter 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:56.640 that occurs in your house from folks enjoyed themselves. And 0:04:56.720 --> 0:04:59.120 that was my interest into the food business. He had 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:02.040 a side aside, catering business. First place I got hired, 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:05.520 First place I got fired. Yeah, very important, both of 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:08.320 them both important. Yeah yeah yeah, Pop Pop Pops fired me. 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:11.920 So he had this catering business, right and uh he 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:14.240 he did weddings and banquets and things like that. And 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:16.599 so he would bring my brothers and I to go 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:20.520 and work the events. And uh, working the event meant 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:22.800 working the front side and the backside. The backside was 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:26.120 all the prep work. The front side was putting on 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:28.960 our bow ties and combo bums and survey. So one 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:31.880 day I was slacking just a little bit and he 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:34.880 told me. He warned me. He said, hey, you keep slacking, 0:05:35.080 --> 0:05:37.159 you're not gonna make the trip, which was which was 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:39.599 kind of devastating because my cousins and my brothers it 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:42.600 was fun, but we also made money paid us. Yeah. 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:44.160 I didn't make that trip. He told me. I had 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:46.479 to sit this one. I so, yeah, he fired me. 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:48.480 I got it, I got it backed up. But go ahead. 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:51.960 So you said your dad was educated by trade. He 0:05:52.000 --> 0:05:54.040 was educated by it, and I know you were educated 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:56.200 by trade. Oh, so I get this question a lot. Yeah, 0:05:56.240 --> 0:05:58.400 it's like Troy, I know you were a teacher. I 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:01.120 know you were teaching. Obviously you were a history teacher. 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:03.120 They asked me all the time, like when did you 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:05.920 know it was time to transition? How was that transition? 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:07.440 So what was that like for you going from the 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:09.760 classroom or were you doing both at the same time. 0:06:09.839 --> 0:06:12.320 So Noah wasn't doing both at the same time. The 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:16.479 difference for me was I was in food before I 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:20.080 went into education. Gotcha, I worked, you know after my father. 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:21.960 I started working in food when I was fifteen, worked 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:24.400 in fast food, worked my way up from you know, 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:28.160 fries to you know, sandwiches to cash here to night 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:30.600 manager to day manager, so on and so forth. Real 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:33.160 coming to American Yeah, yeah, the whole, the whole shabank, 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:34.839 and work my way all the way to you know, 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:38.000 a nice position in the corporate office. With the corporate house. 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:40.400 I said, I was a troubleshooter for a particular region. 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:44.920 But nonetheless, when I when I left the company, I said, 0:06:44.960 --> 0:06:46.960 well what am I gonna do now? And I started 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:48.760 teaching school. I went to the family business. Mom and 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:51.080 dad both thirty year educators. So I went into the 0:06:51.080 --> 0:06:53.000 family business. But to ask you a question about when 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:55.279 did I know it was time to go? I knew 0:06:55.279 --> 0:07:00.400 it was time to go when that that this ease 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:06.040 started to set in right where I was not comfortable 0:07:06.040 --> 0:07:07.720 where I was, and I knew I was supposed to 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:12.040 be somewhere else, and uh, there was a moment. Oh, 0:07:12.360 --> 0:07:16.080 speaking of real estate, this is how I found the 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:19.920 location for the breakfast club. I was dabbling in real 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:23.080 estate right when I left corporate. I left for a 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:25.840 six figure job, and so when I went into teaching, 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:29.200 you know, it wasn't a six figure job. So I 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:31.520 had to find a way that I had to find 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:35.520 a way to subsidize my income and I had to 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:38.480 find a way to fulfeel that entrepreneur me. So I 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:40.840 started dabbling in real estate, buying little pieces of property, 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:44.600 putting my plan together on how many little townhomes and 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:46.640 condos I was gonna build and how big I wanted 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:49.080 the portfolio to be by the time I got to 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:50.800 this age and when I could retire and so and 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:52.480 so forth. Because if I was gonna be in education, 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:54.960 you know, I had to have something to do. But 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:58.800 I'm going through the newspaper. And as I'm going through 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:02.600 the newspaper looking for spots, I found a spot for 0:08:02.760 --> 0:08:06.520 a restaurant, uh, and it kind of piqued my interests. 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:09.080 Drove down and looked at it, talked to the lady, 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:11.920 left work on my lunch break, talked to the lady 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:14.440 about the spot, told I'd be back tomorrow. I went 0:08:14.480 --> 0:08:18.080 back to my office, pulled out a legal pad and 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:20.760 wrote my resignation. I knew the menu, and I walked 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:23.400 in that building and saw that space. So I went 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:26.080 I went back to the office, pulled out a yellow 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:29.840 no pad, and I wrote my resignation because you know, 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:33.520 I saw the spot and I knew that it matched 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:35.200 where I wanted to be and what I wanted to 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:37.040 do as much. Don't get me wrong. I love the kids, 0:08:37.120 --> 0:08:41.480 right love. I loved teaching right But but but I knew, 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:46.240 you know, deep down inside that that you know, restaurant 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:49.640 was what my passion was. And I knew deep down 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:52.160 inside that I was. I was an entrepreneur. And I 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:53.760 can't cage an entrepreneur. 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:56.680 So when you said something interesting during that, you said 0:08:57.559 --> 0:08:59.960 it wasn't where you were comfortable, comfortable in terms of 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:01.839 fun end so it's comfortable. 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:04.760 I'm not in my purpose. I'm not where I'm supposed 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:06.840 to be. I know I'm supposed to be somewhere else, 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:11.280 and I had to get to it, you know, Like 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:14.160 I said, I knew, I knew I loved teaching, and 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:16.880 I knew I loved the kids. Uh And as much 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:19.920 as I thought about it as a career, the entrepreneur 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:22.000 and me knew that I was, I had to be 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:28.480 back out there just because you know that ADHD comes 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:31.679 sets in and you can't sit still. You gotta you know, 0:09:31.760 --> 0:09:35.640 you gotta give birth. You're dealing with labor paints. Look, 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:37.960 I tell you, after I wrote the Resigonation, that wasn't 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:39.760 that wasn't the highlight of the story. It was a 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:43.280 two year drought before I actually got to open the restaurant. Uh, 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:45.240 and the time I quit my job, so I went 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:47.400 a whole lot of you know, showing up at my 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:49.280 mama house and my baby. Don't you think you ought 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:53.199 to go back and get you man? Look that over 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.320 those two years, my nickname had become Marcus gonna open 0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:58.960 a restaurant Davis. That's what the fellas called me behind 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:02.160 my back, right, and and it was it was so crazy. 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:03.960 I was I was out one day and I went 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:05.640 to higher at the fellows. What's up? Man? So we 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:07.880 talked and you turn your back and you walk away. 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:09.920 And when you turn your back and you walk away 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:16.320 and you allowed laughter? Was that me? Right? And so Uh, 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:18.400 I just took it grain of salt and kept and 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:20.640 kept it moving because I knew where I was gonna do, right. 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:23.320 I knew it was taking a long time. You know, 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:26.360 I quit my job eighteen months before. Uh, and it 0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:29.120 ain't looking so great. I've been turned down by bank 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:32.840 after bank, investor group after the investor group. But I 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:35.439 still believed in the picture that I saw the day 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:36.480 I walked into that building. 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.520 So how much did you bought a building for man. 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:45.319 So that's a whole nother story because the original deal 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:49.880 that we had ended up falling through, right because it 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:52.200 was something in like a quarter of a million dollars 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:55.840 uh in or in order to get that building, but 0:10:56.000 --> 0:11:01.360 because all the pieces didn't fall into together, ended up 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:02.320 being twice as much. 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:06.640 So, yeah, that eighteen months that's got to be tough, right, 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:10.360 you left the position, right. Yeah, So now you're going 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:12.760 to banks, but you don't have income to show them 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:15.040 that you didn't get. So how are you approaching the 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:16.839 banks saying that you know, I need this loan when 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:18.960 you don't have the income to show them that you can. 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:21.959 Pay it back? Because I had a great idea, That's 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:24.600 what I'm telling the banks. Now, Look, here's one thing 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:28.439 that that that I want to share. Right One, Obviously, 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:31.480 the generational wealth in African American community doesn't exist the 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:34.040 way it could A should a will in the future 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:37.160 after eyl is done with doing what they're doing. But 0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:41.960 the idea that we didn't have, my father didn't have 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:46.360 money to pass down. I found the things that he 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:49.880 did passed down, Right, My father instilled three great things 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:53.599 to me. One was, uh, save your money you know, 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:57.120 be a saveror Two was because he didn't know how 0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:01.040 to he didn't know how to invest. Two was keep 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:04.640 your credit clean. And then the third one was know 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:06.800 how to bust your ass. You gotta work hard. And 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:09.440 so those three things paid off for me. And so 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:12.199 when I went to the bank, I had a seven 0:12:12.280 --> 0:12:14.800 hundred credit school. Right when I went to the bank, 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:18.839 I did have some money stocked up in my savings account. 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:21.840 But it still wasn't enough for them. It still wasn't 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:24.080 enough for them, but they still rejected me. They still 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:26.319 turned me down. And here's the crazy part. They were 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:30.319 turning me down because restaurant has such a high failure rate. 0:12:30.640 --> 0:12:33.920 And I heard that speech over and over and over again. 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:36.800 I got tired of hearing. I got so tired of here, 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:38.400 and I went to find out. I said, let me 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:41.280 find out what is it that makes because I'm sensitive. 0:12:41.280 --> 0:12:43.800 This is my industry, and why y'all saying my industry 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:46.439 has such a high failure rate? And I bought it 0:12:46.480 --> 0:12:49.719 down to a couple of things. One is lack of capitalization. Right, 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:52.680 a lot of restaurants failed because they started out underfunded. 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:54.840 Second one is a lot of people go into this 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:56.959 business because it's sexy and they don't have the experience 0:12:57.280 --> 0:13:00.640 to know how to work in this business. My approach 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:02.560 to the bank turned different. I started going into the 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:05.160 bank and told him I had done my research on 0:13:05.480 --> 0:13:09.800 you know why they were failing funding and experience, And 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:13.040 I said, look, I got eleven years in this business. 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:15.960 I've you know, turned p and ls from losing two 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:17.840 hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a company to making 0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:21.320 that store profitable. So I got eleven years in this business, 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:23.960 and you got a tank of money back there. We 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:25.960 can solve this problem. Just give me some of them 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:28.959 so I can open the restaurant. Yeah, he wouldn't. He 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:30.960 wouldn't buying it. He wouldn't have it. 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:34.800 So how did so? Eventually a bank loans your money. 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:35.520 How'd you get the money? 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:39.880 Now? Eventually a family friend. The most common way entrepreneurs 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:44.760 African American get funded is that family friend. Law and 0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:48.160 a family friend who knew that I was on now 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:52.559 a twenty four month journey, and I was that we 0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:56.839 were together, and then and his wife walked in and 0:13:56.880 --> 0:14:00.000 said that you're still trying to open your restaurant. I said, yes, mama. 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:02.559 I was a nickname. I guess my mom still, well, 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:03.640 you need to go in there and talk to Papa. 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:05.120 I went in there and talked to pop. Paul said, 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:08.400 I showed him my plane. Uh, he agreed to meet 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:12.240 me at the location. We met at the location, and uh, 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:16.440 he wrote me at check, what a bit chack? What 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:17.280 did you see? Right? 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:19.440 So when you saw it two years ago, you said, 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:21.040 you walked in, you knew it. It was just the 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:23.400 place I had to be. What were the characteristics that 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:25.200 you saw that you said this is going to be. 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:27.480 The place is one of the one of the common 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:30.600 questions that I get on Saturday morning, Sunday morning, and 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:33.920 the place is bumping, as you said, lying three blocks 0:14:34.240 --> 0:14:36.640 up the street. I'm often asked, and this is this 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:39.400 is a point that that that you know, entrepreneurs have 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:44.640 to have to get lines out the door, places bumping, 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:47.040 And I get called up to the table and they say, baby, 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:50.280 let me ask you a question. Did you ever think 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:52.800 that this? Yes, I did. It got so it got 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:56.600 so common that I started answering it before. And the 0:14:56.640 --> 0:14:58.920 reason I started doing that was because I wanted them 0:14:58.960 --> 0:15:03.160 to understand the power of vision. Right. So when I 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:06.720 took that exit, I saw something completely different than the 0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:10.360 dilapidated building that sat there. It was run down, it 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:13.280 was unattractive, it was in a desolate area. But that's 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:17.120 not what I saw, right. I saw this nice esthetic. 0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:21.040 I saw this nice, bright yellow building. I saw on 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:24.320 the inside where the dusty tables and cheers were in 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:28.400 the torn out ceiling. I saw, you know, nice mahogany 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:32.120 wood with colorful walls and paintings on the wall. And 0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:36.960 I saw people sitting in there, and I heard Miles Davis, 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:41.040 I heard John Coltrane playing. So my response to that is, yes, 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:43.200 I did think it was gonna happen. I saw you 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:46.800 here before you got here, and so I shared with 0:15:47.600 --> 0:15:50.760 and so you asked about that twenty four months. The 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:54.480 reason that vision is so important was because after being 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:56.800 turned down by bank after bank, and that investor group 0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:59.040 after invest room, the only thing I had to hold 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:01.800 on to was a picture that I hate in my head, 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:04.520 and that's what kept me sane at night, and that's 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:06.600 what kept me hopeful in the daytime. 0:16:06.880 --> 0:16:09.920 Hennessy celebrates those who never stop and never settle in there, 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:13.280 never end in pursuit of greatness. Maurice Ashley lives this 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:16.320 passion through his love of chess. He made history in 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:19.080 nineteen ninety nine as the world's first black grand master. 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:22.960 An inspiring story of intellect and brilliance. His ability to 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:25.560 push the potential of his own mind to new levels 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:30.640 of greatness is universally inspiring. Visit www dot Hennessy dot 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:33.400 com to learn more about Maurice Ashley in the world 0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:36.800 of the mind. There are no limits, Hennessy. Never stop, 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:40.600 never settle twenty one and over. Please drink responsibly. 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:44.640 So moving along as far as the business is successful, 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:46.240 I would So you've been in business for two decades, 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:49.240 but you said one of the main reasons why restaurants 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:53.400 fails because cash flow and not being properly funded. 0:16:53.720 --> 0:16:55.560 Because it's ups and downs right right right. 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:58.360 And you know you have to pay your staff no 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:00.800 matter why. You have to pay chefs, no matter what. 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:02.360 You got to pay the light bill, no matter what. 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:04.360 But you might have a bad week, or you may 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:06.600 have you know, some downturns, you might have bad weather. 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:11.560 How have you been able to get those obstacles and 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:13.800 still be profitable for twenty years? 0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:19.320 Man? Look, I tell you one. When I started the business, 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:22.160 I made sure that I had money saved up, Right, 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:23.919 I said, I want to make sure I have at 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:26.480 least six months of rent in the bank, right, and 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:28.600 I want to have some payroll stacked up because I 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:30.480 didn't want to run in a week to week and 0:17:30.560 --> 0:17:32.520 I had already, you know, agreed what I was going 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:36.919 to personally contribute to the to the business and that 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:39.560 and that, and that went well for a while, but 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:43.120 I did I did run into I did run into 0:17:43.160 --> 0:17:45.360 a wall at one point, kind of like the moment 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:48.240 we have in right now, right, two thousand and six, Yeah, 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:52.199 think about it. Two thousand and six, gas went up, right, 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:55.840 the last two years of Bush. I'm not blaming him. 0:17:55.880 --> 0:17:59.240 I'm just giving you know timeframe. Last two years of Bush, 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:03.480 gas went up, and the price of food shot up, skyrocketed. 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:06.960 It was the highest food had been since the nineteen eighties. Right, 0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:11.520 So we had these transportation surcharges, right, We had We 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:16.199 had food that calls there was outrageous. And the problem 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:18.640 I ran into is that I couldn't move my prices 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.600 up fast enough. And I'll never forget, man, I'm having 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:25.240 I'm having, you know, a moment because this is this is, 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:27.639 this is when I think, oh, man, I've been successful 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:30.760 for five or six years, and it's about to something's 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:34.760 about to happen. And man, I called one of my 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:38.240 mentors who had been in business for thirty years Frenchish chicken. 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:41.639 They ever, you know that long standing chicken business in 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:44.680 the city of Houston, And next time y'all come, we 0:18:44.680 --> 0:18:47.119 gotta take it to get some go there. You gotta go, Okay, 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:50.320 I gotta go. So I called him and I said, hey, 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:52.280 I want to talk to you because I don't know 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:54.480 how to figure this out. And he came in and 0:18:54.480 --> 0:18:56.399 it was a five minute conversation. Was less than that. 0:18:56.680 --> 0:18:59.240 He walked in. He said, first of all, stop always 0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:01.400 god damned crying. I can't hear what you're saying over there. 0:19:02.240 --> 0:19:05.760 I'm keeping it real. I'm keeping it real. If you 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:08.200 ever had some long nights and days as an entrepreneur, 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:12.359 you know, yay for you, but they come, they happen, 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:15.359 and so uh, he said, you know, this is what 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:16.639 you need to do. And he looked at the menu 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:18.560 and he had me make the price to Johnson and 0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:21.040 I said, mister King, I can't. I can't make the 0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:24.440 adjustments that quick because I'm gonna run people away. He said, 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:27.200 if you don't, they're gonna run away anyway, right, because 0:19:27.200 --> 0:19:30.399 your door's gonna be closed. So I learned the value blessing. 0:19:30.480 --> 0:19:32.560 Going back to what you're saying, So I from from 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:36.600 that day forward, I never priced a grit or a 0:19:36.640 --> 0:19:40.520 piece of chicken based on today. I always priced it 0:19:40.560 --> 0:19:43.280 based on tomorrow. And then I moved from pricing for 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:46.040 tomorrow to moving it to next month and next year, 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:49.359 and today I tell entrepreneurs, do not be afraid to 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:54.159 price for being in business next week, next month, and 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:56.880 next year. Don't get caught where you have to catch up. 0:19:57.119 --> 0:20:00.240 And there's a whole lot to not pricing for today, right, 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:02.000