Interview with Phyllis Williams-Strawder, the Ghetto Country Brandmother, about branding in the restaurant industry, empowering your brand, and owning your crazy.
Welcome to Brandma’s House, where personal brands go to “grow the f*** up.”
Those are the wise words of Phyllis Williams-Strawder, affectionately known as the "Ghetto Country Brandmother.
She is a visionary branding consultant with a mission to transform business branding practices for her “brandbabies” everywhere.
The psychology marketing specialist and “HBIC'' shares her uncommon — and caring — approach to brand building via books, social media, and the Brandma’s House Show.
Welcome to Brandma’s House, where personal brands go to “grow the f*** up.”
Those are the wise words of Phyllis Williams-Strawder, affectionately known as the "Ghetto Country Brandmother.
She is a visionary branding consultant with a mission to transform business branding practices for her “brandbabies” everywhere.
The psychology marketing specialist and “HBIC'' shares her uncommon — and caring — approach to brand building via books, social media, and the Brandma’s House Show.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to Restaurant Influencers.
00:02I am your host, Sean Walchek.
00:04This is a Cali BBQ Media Production.
00:07We are so grateful because in life,
00:10in the restaurant business and in the new creator economy,
00:13we learn through lessons and stories.
00:15I have a very special guest,
00:17a guest that is not only a former restaurateur,
00:21but she is here to put on a masterclass in branding.
00:25That is the ghetto country brand mother herself,
00:27Phyllis Williams-Strotter.
00:29Phyllis is a dear friend
00:30and I'm so excited to have you on the show today.
00:33Phyllis, welcome.
00:34Thank you so much, Sean.
00:35You know, I'm always happy to talk to you
00:37when that whole float your boat kind of deal,
00:39you know I'm here for it.
00:41The rising tide lifts all ships.
00:43Yeah, we wanna give a special shout out
00:46to Toast, our primary technology partner at our restaurants
00:49for giving us this platform,
00:51giving us this stage to share stories
00:53with the best restaurateurs,
00:54the best storytellers on earth.
00:56And Phyllis, you're definitely one of them.
00:58I'm honored to have you on the show to share your expertise
01:01because you know how much we believe in storytelling.
01:04You know how much we believe in branding.
01:07We're gonna start with our favorite random question,
01:09which is where in the world is your favorite stadium,
01:12stage or venue?
01:16Oh my goodness.
01:16You know, being from LA, I'm gonna say Staples Center.
01:19Staples Center.
01:20Crypto, are we going to Staples?
01:22I'm a Staples guy myself, so.
01:25Yes, definitely.
01:27Fair enough.
01:27So we're gonna go to Staples.
01:28I'm gonna put you on center court.
01:30And you know what I tell people all the time is,
01:33it's so important to tell your story to one person,
01:37but it's even more important to tell your story
01:39on the internet.
01:40And it's even more important to believe in the things
01:43that are coming out of your mouth.
01:44And I know that there's no one on earth that believes more
01:48in the things coming out of her mouth
01:49than Phyllis Williams Stratter.
01:51I'm gonna give you the mic and I'm gonna take you back.
01:53I'm gonna say, Phyllis, please set the stage.
01:56We have hospitality professionals packing this arena.
01:59They're here for your TEDx restaurant talk.
02:02And they want to know what happened?
02:05What happened when you closed your restaurant
02:07and what helped you build the brand that you have today?
02:11Oh my gosh.
02:12If we don't take it back there,
02:13one of the things that I was used to
02:14when we had the restaurant was Neil's big ass mouth
02:17because Neil was a media whore.
02:18He still is, just not to the same level.
02:21And having him always be the face of our business
02:24and our brand was really great for me
02:26because I was truly behind the scenes
02:27and I liked being behind the scenes,
02:29even though it made me a bit resentful.
02:32But then one day I got tired of a job.
02:35I'm like, you know what?
02:36I just want to stay married.
02:38Cause it wasn't even gonna be the marriage or the business
02:40and I chose to stay married.
02:42And I told Neil, I did not want to do this anymore.
02:45And thankfully him always being the supportive husband
02:48that he is, he's like, okay, baby, I got this.
02:51But Neil, Neil don't like employees.
02:54He don't like people like that.
02:57He still realized that we were better off together
03:00but since we were not going to be together,
03:01he's like, baby, I'm gonna follow you
03:02cause I'm not doing this without you.
03:04And it was a great thing.
03:05And so I went out and I thought my notoriety
03:08as being Mrs. Mista and all of that kind of stuff
03:10was going to translate into business for me
03:13and people coming at me on how to run a business,
03:15how to be the back end of a restaurant
03:17and all of that kind of stuff.
03:19And that did not happen.
03:21And the biggest reason it didn't
03:22is cause I didn't know how to talk about myself.
03:23I didn't know how to talk about myself
03:25in a way that made me enticing.
03:31And I talk about branding as a way of being flirtatious
03:34and a lot of people do not know how to flirt
03:36in this day and age.
03:37So sad, it's such a lost skill.
03:39But I did not know how to operate on that level
03:42because it was usually Neil go do this TV show,
03:44Neil go be on the news and all of those types of things.
03:46It's like, you show up for all of your stuff.
03:48I see you when you're posting about the news cameras
03:51being in front of you and all of those different things.
03:53But when there's nobody else to push out front
03:56and especially when you're the founder,
03:58when you're the owner,
03:59when you should be the biggest influencer of your stuff,
04:03then it gets to a point where,
04:05you know what, I gotta learn to speak up.
04:07And this especially became true for me
04:09because I left the restaurant to become a business coach,
04:12but it happened shortly before the pandemic.
04:15And when the pandemic hit
04:16and I saw all the restaurants closing
04:19and all of the chains staying open and having drive-thrus
04:22and finding a way to work around the loopholes
04:24and that nonsense pissed me off no end.
04:28And I'm like, and it made me realize
04:30most restaurants do not have a brand,
04:32whether it's the founder having a personal brand
04:34or the business having a business brand,
04:37they do not have a brand.
04:38They have a concept, they have a menu,
04:41they have some gitchy kind of crap,
04:44but they do not have a brand.
04:45And so there was no loyalty built in
04:48to help them counteract
04:50what was happening with the pandemic.
04:51Nobody was saying lawyers like, you know what,
04:53so sad for them, I'm gonna go spend my money somewhere else.
04:56And that truly broke my heart.
04:58And that's how I ended up kind of pivoting
05:00into branding in and of itself.
05:02But then also knowing that a lot of restaurants
05:05operate on the whole thin line profit margin nonsense,
05:11nobody really wanted to pay me what I was asking for.
05:14And it was like, you know what, this is too hard.
05:18F them people.
05:19Because no one in the restaurant business,
05:25and this was us too,
05:27nobody in the restaurant business
05:28really sees the value of a brand.
05:30They see the value of all my food is good,
05:32all my pictures look great,
05:34but they don't know how to open up their mouth
05:36and get people to stay loyal to the brand.
05:39And that's what people usually buy.
05:40And it's actually the biggest asset that you have.
05:43People don't want your recipes,
05:45they want something that's built up goodwill
05:47and longevity over the long haul.
05:50You don't think about it as an exit plan
05:52because you feel you're gonna ride it
05:53till the wheels fall off.
05:55But branding within the restaurant industry is so lacking
05:58and so many restaurants are still closing
06:01because now we have chefs and all that thing,
06:04they're trying to be personalities
06:06because all of the, what is it,
06:09the TV shows on the cooking channel
06:12and I forget, the Food Network,
06:15everybody wants to be on those.
06:16So you're making yourself serving
06:18instead of figuring out how to serve your audience
06:19and serve your staff, because that's your job.
06:24It is something that is near and dear to my heart
06:26because I believe food is more than just showing up
06:29and eating and get your bellies full.
06:31Food is the first date, it's a family gathering,
06:34it's a, you know what, let's go and chill for a minute
06:37and not have to wash dishes.
06:38It's all these different things,
06:40but you think it's about the food.
06:42Y'all need to stop that nonsense.
06:44So I truly believe that in this coming era,
06:47even though with automation and all that kind of stuff,
06:49sweetie, you're gonna have to learn
06:50how to be your own best influencer.
06:52And that does not mean saying,
06:54oh, we cook the best meat in town.
06:56You're gonna have to find a way to connect.
06:58Yes, you're gonna have to find a way to connect.
07:01And the best way to do that
07:02is find something that is near and dear to you
07:04besides the food, connect it with the brand
07:07and let's talk about it, let's be about it
07:09and make sure that everybody that's working for you
07:11is also feeling that same love
07:13so that they can tell the same story
07:16over and over and over.
07:18Do you remember when you made that decision
07:21to close the restaurant?
07:22Oh, hell yeah.
07:24What pushed you over the edge?
07:26What pushed me over the edge?
07:30I think I had always worked up to it,
07:32but one of the things that I did
07:34while Neil and I had the restaurant-
07:35How many years did you have the restaurant?
07:38How many years?
07:39We had our food business for about 10 years.
07:41For about 10 years, we worked together and we built it.
07:44We were actually on our way to open a third restaurant.
07:46We had two at the time, we're about to open a third.
07:48We were gonna do a whole nother concept.
07:50And I was like, you know what?
07:52This is not me.
07:52I don't even cook on purpose at home.
07:54I should not be-
07:55I should not be owning a restaurant.
08:02And the guilt behind parenting
08:05because Morgan became part of the business.
08:07We put her to work at nine years old,
08:09which was not necessarily a bad thing
08:10because we were able to start a retirement account
08:12and all that kind of stuff at nine.
08:16But it's like, I felt like I was dragging my child around.
08:19I felt like I had gotten lost.
08:21Being Mrs. Mista gave me an identity crisis.
08:23I got tired of people seeing me everywhere.
08:26It's like, oh, you gonna get some barbecue?
08:28And it's like, bitch, I do more than barbecue.
08:31But people see you and they think
08:33that's all they know you for and that's all you're about.
08:36And it was getting out of that.
08:38It's like when I went, I was somewhere with my daughter
08:42and someone went to the whole barbecue place.
08:45Oh, Mrs. Mista and dah, dah, dah.
08:47It's like, you know what?
08:47Enough is enough.
08:48Right now I'm not Mrs. Mista, I'm Morgan's mom.
08:50And you guys don't seem to see that.
08:53And you wanna infringe on my life with barbecue.
08:57I don't even eat barbecue half the time anymore
08:59because I'm around it all the time.
09:01So it was that moment in telling Neil
09:05and when Neil finally deciding
09:06that he was gonna roll with me, I promise you,
09:09we had the final discussion.
09:11We made the decision in June,
09:13sent out a Instagram and all this stuff
09:15that our last day was July 3rd.
09:17We sold our house as is.
09:19We were out.
09:20We left California and everything.
09:22We were just done.
09:23So we made the decision in June, closed down in July.
09:26By August, we were living in Oregon.
09:28That's how fast it happened.
09:31How did you feel when you moved to Oregon?
09:35For a while, relaxed, for a while.
09:39But being a lifelong learner, it's like,
09:41okay, I gotta find something to do
09:43because this was not getting in.
09:44And plus I did not know how to market
09:47as an independent business, as a solopreneur.
09:50And that got really hard.
09:52And then I went and I actually tried to get a job.
09:55Sweetie, I could never get a job again.
09:57Nobody in their right mind should ever hire me.
10:04But I did.
10:05I was like, you know what?
10:06And I mean, we had enough runway
10:08and all that kind of stuff where I did not have to rush,
10:10but I still felt panicked
10:11because for so long I had operated under the guise of,
10:15you know what?
10:16You don't work, you don't eat.
10:17Your income is solely dependent on you
10:19making sure that your business is doing
10:20what it's supposed to do to make money.
10:22And not having that and relying on living off savings
10:26till I figured this whole thing out.
10:29No, I had a child and I was trying,
10:31I told Neil, I was gonna turn him into a trophy husband
10:34and I couldn't do it based on what I was doing.
10:40But yeah, it was like, man, I had to do something.
10:43And so going through school and getting the certifications
10:46because I wanted to be a master business coach
10:49and it required 10 years of training.
10:51I wanted to be a master business coach
10:52and it required 10 different certifications.
10:54But branding is where I stopped.
10:56That was my fourth one and that's where I stopped.
10:58And stuff just got, you know what?
11:00It got real for me.
11:02And I decided it's like, you know what?
11:04What is this?
11:05And we had a brand, Big Mister was a brand.
11:08And we were on TV and we,
11:11oh, don't ever do the great food truck race.
11:16That's a whole nother story.
11:17But we did all of these things and it's like,
11:20but I didn't fully understand what we weren't doing.
11:25And I tell people now, it's like,
11:26yes, we were a multimillion dollar business,
11:28but now I look back and I see how many millions
11:30we left on the table.
11:32And it's a hard lesson,
11:34but it's, if I had not went into branding,
11:37I wouldn't see the lessons.
11:39And like I said, I see people still doing the same thing,
11:41some of the same things that we did.
11:43And while they may be making money,
11:44they may be generating revenue.
11:47Sweetie, trust and believe,
11:48you're leaving millions on the table
11:50because you are not using your branding
11:52and marketing to the full impact that it could have.
11:54Just putting out great food pictures
11:56and making people hungry,
11:58I don't put no money in your pocket.
12:00That's the serious thing that I learned.
12:02Let's go inside of Ghetto Country Brand Mother.
12:06When did the idea,
12:09when did the brand, Ghetto Country Brand Mother,
12:11when did it come to be?
12:13Oh my goodness.
12:15I had always known that I was Ghetto Country.
12:19I just never really called it a thing.
12:22And I happened to be,
12:24when Clubhouse was really popping,
12:26Chris Doe was bringing in these massive rooms
12:28and I get on the stage with Chris Doe,
12:30I'm gonna ask this dude something.
12:32I don't know what it is and dah, dah, dah.
12:34And I get up there and my heart is palpitating
12:37and all this kind of stuff.
12:39And it's like, oh Lord, what am I gonna say?
12:40And he asked me to introduce myself.
12:43I said, well, you know what?
12:44I'm Ghetto Country.
12:44I was raised Hoodie Jason by a country mama.
12:47And I couldn't even finish introducing myself
12:48because he just fell out
12:49because he thought it was the greatest thing.
12:51Oh my gosh.
12:59And it was like, that was the beginning of it.
13:01But the brand mother didn't kick in
13:04until he started calling me.
13:08I forgot, he called me something.
13:10And I was like, you know what?
13:11And the thing that I realized,
13:13and I actually did some,
13:13I was doing a podcast about it this morning
13:16is that I've been a mother my whole life,
13:18my whole life, whether I had kids or not,
13:20I've always been a mom.
13:22And I act like that in my business
13:23because I used to call our employees, my barbecue babies.
13:27These are my barbecue babies.
13:28Eric was in marketing, Juan wanted to go in,
13:32Carlos wanted to go into,
13:34I think he wants to go into politics.
13:36Cameron wanted to go into fine dining,
13:38but these are my babies.
13:40And they knew that they could not stay with me.
13:42They had to outgrow me.
13:43And so it was like, you know what?
13:45I had to own it.
13:46And if I didn't,
13:47I would probably run my business a different way
13:50because one of the things that I had to let go of
13:52when I discovered branding,
13:53I'm not code switching no more, not for nobody.
13:56That got old real quick
13:58because I went back into my corporate mindset of,
14:02you know what?
14:03They're only gonna hire me if I act this way,
14:05talk this way, look this way.
14:07And I'm like, this is so not it for me.
14:10That the code switching that a lot of us think
14:14that we have to do in order to make money,
14:17I think is in our own minds.
14:20People would not think that as being ghetto country,
14:23because I'm, and mind y'all,
14:24I'm taming my tongue because I'm trying to make sure
14:27that Sean doesn't have to give this a R rating.
14:31This is entrepreneur.
14:32If we're true to entrepreneurs, we got a filthy mouths.
14:35Yes, and there's this whole thing about,
14:40I got to switch it up.
14:41I got to, and you know, being in the kitchen,
14:42you cuss every time you tap your toe,
14:44somebody drop a brisket, you ruin the sleeve, a lid,
14:49you see pennies or it's no big deal.
14:50But when you know that your money,
14:52you know who, I can't think of Mike's last name,
14:57from Murfreesboro, Mike Mills, Mike Mills.
15:01When I first got into barbecue, I went to his,
15:04I forgot what they used to call it, something Q,
15:08class they used to have our bootcamp.
15:10Amazing, with Amy Mills, phenomenal.
15:13Yeah, and there was one thing that he said back then
15:15that I have never forgotten to this day.
15:17He said, it's not in dollars, but it's in cents.
15:21It's like, you need to be counting the pennies.
15:23And when you see the pennies on the floor by way of lids
15:25and all this kind of stuff,
15:27because we get caught up in the whole thing
15:28of lean profit margins, sweetie, that's my money.
15:33And so one of the things that my staff always knew
15:38when I would hire somebody new, y'all tell them the one rule.
15:40One rule was don't fuck with our money.
15:43That meant don't waste my soap, don't steal my stuff.
15:45If you want something, ask for it.
15:47I might give it to you, but that's not the thing to do.
15:50Cause I will cut you to the white meat, seriously.
15:53I would love for you to talk a little bit more
16:00about the social audio at Clubhouse.
16:02What has it done for you?
16:03It connected you and I, I wouldn't know.
16:05I mean, I'm sure our circles are too small
16:08and you speak too much truth.
16:10I would have found you on LinkedIn or TikTok or Instagram.
16:13I would have found you somewhere, but the pandemic hit
16:17and Clubhouse, the social audio app came out.
16:19You mentioned Chris Doe, you connected me to Chris Doe.
16:22We featured him here on this show.
16:25That's a phenomenal episode.
16:26I recommend anybody that's listening,
16:27go back and listen to Chris Doe's episode.
16:29But can you talk a little bit about Clubhouse?
16:31Because we actually today,
16:33the day that we're recording this
16:34was the day that we moved.
16:36We have a weekly room on LinkedIn audio now.
16:38So LinkedIn created an audio platform,
16:41social storytelling online using audio,
16:45but Clubhouse is a special place.
16:46Can you tell us what it did for you?
16:47What it done for your career?
16:48Oh my goodness.
16:50I would say Clubhouse got me out of my own way.
16:53And I think it helped me cause it started at a time
16:55when I was pivoting and I was being more vocal
16:59because I started Clubhouse with a friend of mine
17:02and it was called conversation with the aunties.
17:04And we would have real raw conversations
17:07about what it is to be a woman,
17:08what it is to be in relationships,
17:10all of these different things.
17:12And I began to find myself in other rooms
17:15or actually put myself in other rooms
17:17because I did have to build my brand and my business.
17:20It was getting on a stage that was full of people
17:25and I got so tired of the pitch,
17:27but having to find a way to talk about
17:30what it is that I do
17:31because people always want you to introduce yourself,
17:33which I think is such BS.
17:35Now-
17:36Hey, I make you, I make people introduce.
17:37You don't, but no, but here's the thing.
17:39They do it for a reason.
17:41That's awesome.
17:42They do it for what?
17:43They do it for like, they want you to introduce yourself
17:46so they can say, oh, she's so phenomenal and she's great.
17:49It's the whole fake hype stuff that got on my nerves.
17:52It wasn't necessarily introducing yourself,
17:54but it's the fake hype that went after it.
17:56Yeah.
17:58But again, getting out there and saying what was out there
18:02and seeing how many people were trying to start businesses
18:03or saying they were businesses.
18:05And I'm not saying you can't be an entrepreneur
18:09and have a job,
18:10but it kind of takes something away
18:14from your entrepreneurship
18:16when you're trying to push somebody into a $1,000 course
18:20and you barely, you have a minimum wage job
18:23or you know what, you're barely one step ahead,
18:26but you're trying to tell people
18:27how to get three steps ahead.
18:28And there was just so much fake and fuckery on there
18:31that part I did not like.
18:33Hey, you told me I can cut loose.
18:35So here we go.
18:36That's fine, you're good.
18:36You better cut loose.
18:38We're not publishing this
18:40unless I get the real brand mother.
18:42But then it was, there were also these rooms
18:45where you got to sit and learn and listen.
18:48So like even finding you,
18:50when we used to go into the food room
18:51with some of the chefs and different things like that,
18:55because I did want to help chefs
18:57and listen to them and some of their problems.
18:59And it was still always the same problems.
19:01They were either trying to grow their catering business
19:03or they were trying to be private chefs
19:05and they were trying to do all these things,
19:07but no one wanted to talk about brand and marketing.
19:09They want to know how much should I charge
19:11for this catering job?
19:13Which if you look at your numbers,
19:14you would know how much to charge for a catering job,
19:17but no one wants to talk about numbers.
19:18They don't see how your numbers are connected
19:20to your brand and marketing.
19:22If you don't position yourself to charge a higher price,
19:25then it doesn't matter what you charge
19:27because nobody's going to pay it.
19:28Or either they're going to get over here
19:30and they're going to tell you, you know what?
19:32Well, how about I get a discount?
19:33Sweetie, if you don't know me,
19:34you cannot ask me for a discount.
19:36That shit is not happening.
19:38And we get all caught up in all of these different things,
19:41but Clubhouse was showing me all of these things
19:43that people were doing and calling themselves businesses.
19:46And while they may have been a business,
19:48they were, all I saw was like,
19:50you're going to continue to struggle.
19:52You're going to continue to have a hard time
19:54because every time I went to a room,
19:56somebody was always asking the same question.
19:58How do I get more leads and how do I increase revenue?
20:01That question is as old as time.
20:04Yeah.
20:05And the thing about personal branding for me,
20:08sweetie, instead of,
20:09even now they tell you to hire influencers.
20:12How come you're not an influencer?
20:13You should be influencing somebody.
20:16I'm just saying for your own brand.
20:17Oh yeah, 100%.
20:18You should be the top influencer for your own brand.
20:20Absolutely, 100%.
20:21But people are constantly telling you,
20:23oh, hire an influencer.
20:24Why am I paying them
20:25when I don't even know how to talk about my own shit?
20:27That does not make sense to me.
20:29So if I can't talk about it,
20:30how am I going to tell you how to talk about it?
20:32But because someone has 100,000 followers,
20:34you think because all of those followers are there,
20:38that they're actually going to make you some money.
20:40But you didn't do your due diligence
20:41because their audience is not for you.
20:43You trying to sell pajamas
20:45and you going over here giving it to the cookie lady
20:46because she got 100,000 followers.
20:48What kind of nonsense is that?
20:50And because she doesn't know how to wrap herself
20:51in a blanket and curl up with your cookies
20:54in order to promote them,
20:55you ain't made no money.
20:57You just spent some.
20:58And so now you're worried about the return
21:00on your investment when you're advertising
21:01and you're hiring influencers
21:03and you're doing all these things.
21:04Sweetheart, open your own damn mouth,
21:07say something, advocate for your own shit.
21:10And it does not have to be you constantly selling
21:12or having a pitch in your back pocket.
21:15I don't believe in pitching anymore.
21:16I believe in having a conversation.
21:18I can tell you what I do.
21:19You can go look at my website and see what I do,
21:21but that's not how I'm coming out the gate.
21:24Yeah.
21:25And every time you run into somebody
21:26that wants to tell you how to do your business,
21:28oh, well, let's hear your elevator pitch.
21:30I don't have one.
21:32Ask me a question and I will answer it
21:34based on what I know how to do.
21:35If you want to ask me about personal branding,
21:37well, what is this right here?
21:39Okay, well, you're having a pricing strategy problem.
21:41That is not a brand problem.
21:42You're having a messaging problem.
21:44You're talking to the wrong audience.
21:46All of those are different things,
21:47but you think the whole thing that's going to fix your shit
21:49is an elevator pitch.
21:51Get out of here with that nonsense.
21:54Let's get to the personal branding.
21:55We have lots of restauranteurs that listen to this.
21:57We have technology professionals that listen to this.
22:00We have content creators that listen to this.
22:03For me, having someone like you on the show is a real treat
22:07because you talk about the truth
22:09that comes out of someone's mouth.
22:11You talk about a personal brand.
22:13And I think for me, it's very important
22:16when we think about social media
22:17and we think about I have an Instagram for my restaurant
22:21and then I have my own personal Instagram,
22:24which is private and I don't let,
22:25that's only for my family,
22:27yet I have a problem building my personal brand
22:29for my restaurant.
22:31Well, how do you solve that problem?
22:34I believe in keeping my personal life
22:36and my personal brand separate to the best of my ability.
22:39Now, I say that because of, like I said,
22:47my problem with having an identity crisis
22:49when I was Mrs. Mista.
22:50And so I make that separation.
22:53But when you have things in your life that are relevant
22:56to how you got here, to how you stay here,
22:58to how you do here,
23:00then that's when you bring in the person.
23:02I work with Neil as, Neil does voiceover now.
23:05So when you see my husband is because he's working for me.
23:08I've hired him as a voiceover artist to do something.
23:11But I'm going around telling you
23:12when we go hang out at the cigar lounge
23:15and sit down while he's having his bourbon
23:17and I'm smoking my cigar, I don't share that with y'all.
23:20I don't tell you when I'm taking my daughter to the movies
23:22because I'm sorry.
23:24I always had this fear that someone would step
23:27to my daughter, not meaning any harm,
23:29but you will step to her
23:30and you don't know me as a real mother.
23:32I am that.
23:33I tell people I am one lifetime movie away
23:35from being the crazy.
23:36Yeah, don't mess with my kid.
23:39Don't mess with her.
23:40So how I am as a mother,
23:42when you see me talking to Morgan about something
23:44is different than how I am in public.
23:46Don't just step on my child.
23:48And so there are certain things that I just don't mix.
23:51But when you're trying to grow your personal brand
23:54and if your child is a part of that,
23:55like I said, when Morgan was in the restaurant,
23:57oh, she was always in the photo.
23:58She was working the front counter.
24:00She knew how to cashier.
24:01She knew how to cash out.
24:02She knew how to go to the bank.
24:03And she got the biggest tips
24:05because she was the cutest kid in the joint.
24:08And people were like, where's Morgan?
24:09I want her to take my order.
24:11So there was a reason for her to be there.
24:13And there was a reason why she worked there.
24:15She got a check on Friday, just like everyone else.
24:17And so if you're going to bring your family
24:19and friends into it, trust me, first of all, ask.
24:23Because not everybody wants to be a part of it.
24:25I don't necessarily, the things that I share about my family
24:28when it comes to my business,
24:29I always ask them, you okay with me sharing this story?
24:32I don't just think because it's my life and my story
24:35that I get to share it all willy nilly.
24:37But if you're going to incorporate them,
24:40then do it in a way that they're okay with it.
24:43Don't just tell your kid, oh, well, come on and do this.
24:46You probably didn't have this kind of parenting.
24:49But we had the marriage that one,
24:52it was do as I say, not as I do.
24:55And two, there was do what I told you.
24:56Don't ask me no questions.
24:58So under that, guys, if you have kids
25:01that you're going to make them stand in front of the camera
25:03and you want them to fix your face,
25:05hit your face right now.
25:07Yeah, that's some hostile stuff.
25:09You know what I'm talking about, don't you?
25:13I do, I know what you're talking about.
25:15Fix your face, of course.
25:17But if you're going to blend your personal life
25:22and your personal brand,
25:22make sure people are clear on the boundaries.
25:25Because the reason I named my personal brand,
25:28I could talk to the ghetto country grandmother.
25:29I am that level of crazy.
25:31I will talk to her.
25:31It's like, yeah, no, this is not your time.
25:33This is not your place.
25:34And I also tell people, you know what?
25:36Ghetto country grandmother is an empathic bitch.
25:38Phyllis is a petty bitch.
25:39Don't cross over into this land unless you want all of this.
25:43But knowing these different things,
25:45knowing where the boundaries are,
25:47and I've started terming like what you do
25:49as far as your brand with your family and all,
25:50is branding out loud.
25:52Because this is all how I want to bring this to the game.
25:55But not everyone wants to do that.
25:57But you still have to recognize
25:59how you're going to bring your personal brand
26:01to the forefront,
26:02even if you don't want to share your personal life.
26:04Sweetie, personal branding does not mean
26:06that you have to put your life on display,
26:08but you have to find a way to be comfortable with it.
26:09Because this is the new currency.
26:11Personal branding is a new currency
26:13because people want to know, they want to hear you.
26:16And we talk about brand voice
26:17and all of these different things and how we do this thing.
26:20You want people, when they read shit
26:21or when your face decides to go across the street
26:24on a bus or something like that,
26:25when they see it, they're going to hear you.
26:28Because audio branding is a thing.
26:30And not enough people consider audio branding
26:32because I don't care if they see you or they don't see you.
26:34If they're putting you on a podcast
26:35or they're putting you on a pedestal,
26:37wherever they're putting you,
26:38your voice is going to resonate in their head.
26:41People, when they read my book, it's like,
26:42you know what, when I read your book,
26:44I hear your voice all up and through.
26:46Because I talk.
26:48I talk.
26:49And it's all of these different pieces
26:52that we need to put together for our personal brands
26:56that people don't understand
26:57or they don't want to understand.
26:59Oh, I'm just going to show up and just show all my ass
27:02and act a zip damn fool and call it a personal brand.
27:05Sweetie, that's not how you're going to make your money.
27:08Because if you also understand what your sales strategy is,
27:10your sales strategy should fit your personal brand strategy
27:13because you got to get people in this funnel.
27:16You got to get them through this process.
27:18But if you don't understand your sales tactics
27:20the way that you know how to do them comfortably,
27:22you know, if you have a car time
27:24with the money conversation.
27:25Oh, when should I bring up money?
27:28When should you not?
27:29Yeah.
27:31If you understand how you fit, if you're going to,
27:33what is it, farm, what is it?
27:35I'm trying to think.
27:36Farm trap or, what's the other one?
27:39Farm trap or hunt.
27:42There you go.
27:43Yeah.
27:43I remember you were telling me that.
27:45Yeah.
27:45If you know your personality does not make you a hunter,
27:49then don't go out here trying to be boss ho
27:51and tell people how to buy something.
27:54If you know that you're more of a trapper,
27:56then how are you going to set the trap?
27:58Yeah.
27:59Because that's going to fit your brand personality
28:00and make it easier for you to ask for the money.
28:02When you ask, can I cater a job?
28:04You know how the pitch is supposed to go.
28:07When you ask, can you be on a panel?
28:10You know how that's going to go
28:11because currency is all up and through,
28:14whether it's in marketing, whether it's in money,
28:16whether it's in time with someone.
28:18There's different types of currency
28:21and how you get out there and you talk about it,
28:23how you be about it, sweetie, trust and believe.
28:26Your personal brand is going to be the saving grace
28:28because that is the new currency for 2024.
28:30So you, I've been podcasting since 2017.
28:35I've interviewed so many incredible people.
28:38Yes.
28:38You came on my show.
28:39You came on Digital Hospitality sometime during the pandemic
28:43and you said something that I've repeated
28:45in clubhouse rooms, I've repeated on stages.
28:49I asked you, why do people have a problem?
28:53Why do business owners, why do entrepreneurs
28:56have a problem with creating content
28:59and creating content that actually resonates
29:02with an audience?
29:03And you said, honey, it's easy.
29:06They don't lean into their crazy.
29:09What do you mean they don't lean into their crazy?
29:11Yeah, I believe in owning your crazy.
29:15You can lean or you can own it,
29:17whichever way you want to do it.
29:18But in owning your crazy is saying that,
29:20you know what, there's some character flaws here.
29:23And it's not that I'm putting on display.
29:26I'm not that I'm picking at the scabs of it,
29:28but owning your crazy is like, you know what,
29:30this is the real part that I want to show on a daily basis.
29:33Because sometimes when you're doing business,
29:36you're not always in the mood to do business.
29:38But if you have that persona,
29:40that part of you that knows how to get the job done,
29:43then that's what you bring to the personal brand.
29:45That level of crazy is what you own.
29:47I own ghetto country in my brand
29:49because you know what, this is how I get shit done.
29:52If I don't do this, if I go back to code switching,
29:55it would be a lot harder for me to sell
29:57because I'm so worried about
29:58what's going to come out of my mouth.
29:59Did I use enough $5 words?
30:01Am I speaking the language?
30:03Am I not being offensive?
30:04Sweetie, I'm a walking trigger, I'm sorry.
30:07I'm a walking explicit warning.
30:09I'm all those things.
30:10And so that's the level of crazy I have to own
30:13and be comfortable with.
30:14There are haters out there.
30:15Oh my goodness, they don't like me.
30:16Folks like, ooh, she don't represent all black women.
30:18You, thank God, thanks.
30:20Those people are crazy.
30:21Yeah.
30:23But if you own the crazy that makes you comfortable
30:25and comfortable enough to make your money,
30:28then that's what you need to own.
30:30And it does not matter who is,
30:32I don't even believe in competition anymore.
30:34I believe there are alternatives.
30:36People are going to spend money
30:37where they want to spend money
30:38because I am not at the competition level.
30:40I'm not trying to take down Pepsi and Coke
30:42and the rest of them.
30:44I'm trying to operate over here.
30:45And there are seven, what?
30:47Seven, eight billion, trillion people,
30:49however many people in the world.
30:51And as a solopreneur on this side of the world,
30:54if I can't do enough to make my money,
30:56then you know what?
30:56It does not matter.
30:57I'm not competing with you.
30:59You can be sitting right next to me
31:00doing the same damn thing.
31:02I tell Chris, because Chris does personal branding.
31:04Now he's analytical, I'm empathic.
31:06So you're going to go where you want to go.
31:08I'm going to spend my money with Chris
31:09because he got an Emmy.
31:11Fine, go.
31:12I'm going to spend my money with Liz
31:14because she's going to kick me in my ass
31:15and tell me to shoot.
31:16Okay, fine, come on.
31:18You get to pick where you spend your money
31:19and that's how you show support.
31:22Where you spend your time is how you show support.
31:25So trying to sit up here and look at somebody and say,
31:28well, I'm going to do what they do.
31:29No, sweetie, you got to own your own level of pricing
31:32because even though they look good,
31:33does not mean that they're making the money
31:35that they claim that they're making.
31:37People talking about all the dollars they cocking
31:38and you know what, show me the receipts.
31:40Miss me with the bullshit, seriously.
31:42Seriously.
31:44So on your website, in your LinkedIn profile,
31:48you give away a two-word branding kit.
31:50Can you give us a behind the scenes,
31:52what is a two-word branding kit?
31:54Two-word branding is about giving it a name.
31:59And whether you give it a name or give it a description,
32:01having that two words explains a lot.
32:04Ghetto country, again,
32:06hooded Jason by a country mama, that's me.
32:08So that is my two-word brand.
32:10Being a brand mother, that's another two-word brand.
32:12Sweetie, I'm a mother to everybody
32:14and it's all about branding.
32:15I'm not trying to be your mama mama,
32:17I'm just trying to be your brand mama.
32:19So having a two-word brand and a lot of people
32:22try to do it on a level of being clever.
32:29It's like you saying you going for the easy,
32:32the low hanging fruit
32:33and saying like you're curiously creative.
32:36That's low hanging fruit.
32:38Come on now.
32:39And you think that that's going to get someone
32:41to notice you.
32:42And for me, when you have a personal brand,
32:45when you give it a name,
32:45one, you can separate yourself from it
32:47and two, you can use it like magic.
32:50Because even if you're networking,
32:53I can go into a room and somebody will say,
32:55hey, or walk up to me and say,
32:57how you doing and dah, dah, what's your name?
32:58Oh, sweetie, I'm the ghetto country brand mother,
33:00but you can call me Phyllis today.
33:02And it's like, wait, what?
33:04And they remember ghetto country brand mother
33:06more than they remember Phyllis.
33:08And this is especially important
33:10for people who are still new to the game
33:12and trying to build their network
33:13and trying to get known.
33:17Because our names are so commonplace
33:19with everybody having a social media,
33:21people are not going to remember your name.
33:23And sweetie, that's the one thing
33:24you want them to remember.
33:26How you give it out means a lot.
33:29It's like, I don't remember her real name,
33:30but she said ghetto country brand mother.
33:32I remember that shit.
33:34And they can go and Google that.
33:35And everybody like SEO is a played out tactic as well.
33:38Because if somebody remembers your two word brand,
33:42it will look that up before they look up your name.
33:43And your two word brand should be the only thing
33:45dominating that page.
33:47Of course.
33:48And trying to use that and tie it to your crazy,
33:51what does that look like?
33:53It's like if I were gonna,
33:56if like you even have your whole digital hospitality,
34:00that digital hospitality, that's a two word brand.
34:04Because the name of your company is Cali Barbecue.
34:07But the two word brand is, you know what?
34:09It's about digital hospitality.
34:10And you've tied so much that in rising ship.
34:12I mean, rising tides lift off ships.
34:14That's a part of it.
34:16Your grandfather saying, be curious
34:18and all of that kind of stuff.
34:20That's tied to the two word brand of digital hospitality.
34:22And there's so many things that now are,
34:25that have become a part of it.
34:26It's like, you couldn't separate it
34:27from the brand if you tried.
34:29Yeah.
34:30But people, it's like, I may not remember Sean,
34:32but I remember digital hospitality.
34:34And look at what it's gotten you.
34:35It's gotten you on the advisory board of toast.
34:37It's gotten you to speak in front
34:39of all of these different crowds.
34:40And it's gotten you sought out.
34:41And people will look at your social media.
34:44Oh, he only got 10 or 12 likes.
34:46Y'all, Sean be bossing the fuck out.
34:48Y'all just don't know.
34:50People are coming for him to pay him money to do things
34:53because they remember digital hospitality.
34:56Well, I want to run something by you
34:58because I heard it recently.
34:59I'm going to start talking about it more.
35:01But the problem that most people have,
35:04we live in an influencer economy, a creator economy
35:07and everyone wants to be viral.
35:09Everyone wants to have all this influence,
35:11all these followers.
35:13And the problem is, is that you shouldn't want
35:15to be well-known, you should want to be known well.
35:20If you're known well, and especially in the world
35:22that we live in, we're talking about B2B content
35:26and B2C content.
35:27But in the B2B content, to your point,
35:30those 10 likes, the people that are liking the page,
35:33those people have actual influence
35:35because they have legitimate business.
35:38They have legitimate business
35:39and they have legitimate buying power.
35:41And known well is something that because
35:44of that deep knowledge of who you are and what you do,
35:47now they can be a referral source
35:48and go out and tell other people,
35:50you got to work with Phyllis.
35:52Why? Because I know her well.
35:54It's not about being well-known.
35:56It's not that a hundred thousand people know,
35:58it's the hundreds, it's the thousands that know you well
36:01and know you deeply to go and refer you to other people.
36:05And that's the power of personal branding.
36:07I totally agree with that.
36:09And when we look at numbers and metrics
36:12and all that stuff, that's great for analyzing your data.
36:16But at the end of the day is the people
36:18that you connect with on the regular basis
36:20that become advocates and adversaries.
36:22It's like, if somebody came for Sean in my face,
36:25oh no, hold up, dude.
36:27You don't, I think I get to check them
36:29because I know on that level.
36:31And then they get to say, it's like,
36:32oh shit, Sean got bodyguards out here.
36:34You damn right he do.
36:36At least in my world he does.
36:37A hundred percent, absolutely.
36:39And you get to have that.
36:40And a lot of people do not have that.
36:42It's like, you think that I have to buy from Sean
36:44in order to advocate for him, in order to stick up for him?
36:47No, but I know his brand and I know what he's doing.
36:50And I know that brother is legit.
36:52And that's what people don't get.
36:53You think that everybody that is following you
36:56and I've seen people build up their following.
36:58Like, okay, tell me how much of that converted to dollars?
37:01Correct.
37:01You got a whole slew.
37:03You got 2000 more followers.
37:04How much money did you make off of that?
37:06Correct.
37:07Oh, I wasn't trying to make money, bullshit.
37:09Because the whole point of being in business
37:12is to make money.
37:13Of course, not trying to go out of business.
37:16Number one goal of business is to stay in business.
37:18And that was something else that hit me.
37:21When restaurants were closing and even still closing,
37:25a lot of them refuse to increase their profit margin
37:28because they're afraid.
37:29But see, if you show the value of your space
37:32and not depend on the price of your burger,
37:35trust and believe.
37:36People will pay the higher amount
37:39because you've shown the value of not just dining out,
37:42but having an experience.
37:43And I'm not talking about flames off of buildings
37:46and I'm not talking about flames off of desserts
37:49and all that kind of shit,
37:51but there's a feeling and a vibe that people get.
37:53You know what?
37:54We are the destination spot for first dates.
37:56And being that destination spot for first dates,
37:58you make sure that everybody knows it.
38:01Oh, I hired her when she came here for her first date.
38:04So now she gets to tell her first date story.
38:07And you get to have these experiences
38:09that no one else is having.
38:11Now somebody else is gonna try,
38:12oh, well, we wanna do first date stuff.
38:14Oh, but you're too late
38:15because you're at the bottom of the rung.
38:18But now because we talk about laddering
38:20and all of that kind of stuff,
38:21because we're only gonna remember the top three of anything.
38:24So that top three of being, you know what?
38:26Being the dating destination,
38:29there's only three at the top and I was first.
38:31So everybody else comes after me.
38:33But when you start deciding like,
38:35oh, well, I want this to be this,
38:37now you just changed the brand
38:38and people are gonna stop coming.
38:40Now you're gonna start seeing diminishing returns
38:42because you tried to be something other than.
38:45It's like you selling forks all day long
38:47and then all of a sudden
38:48you're gonna try and sell a spatula.
38:50I can't eat with a spatula.
38:52I eat with a fork.
38:52So, you know, show me different forks
38:54or something like that.
38:55But even at that, you know this,
38:57don't give me too many options
38:58because the more options you give me,
39:00the harder it is for me to make a decision.
39:04And so if I can't make a decision based on the menu,
39:07let me make a decision based on the experience.
39:09How about that?
39:10Yep.
39:11So every single week on Wednesday and on Friday
39:15at 10 a.m. Pacific time,
39:16you can join us on LinkedIn Audio.
39:18It's a chance to talk to Phyllis.
39:20It's a chance to talk to me.
39:22It's a chance to talk to so many other
39:24digital hospitality leaders all over the globe.
39:27I'm so impressed with this community.
39:29It's been a true honor to start on Clubhouse.
39:31Now we're on LinkedIn Audio.
39:33But you, the listener, if you're driving in your car,
39:36if you're driving onto the restaurant,
39:38if you want to be a content creator,
39:40if you're looking at the business creator economy,
39:42if you're listening to this show,
39:43if you've stayed this far, you matter.
39:45Your voice matters.
39:46And you need to get on stage
39:48and you need to start telling your story.
39:50It doesn't matter if you're in sales.
39:51It doesn't matter if you're in marketing.
39:53Everyone's in sales.
39:54Everyone's in marketing.
39:55And your voice matters.
39:57So that's why we host those rooms.
39:58You can join Phyllis.
39:59You can join myself.
40:01We also do social shout out.
40:02My social shout out's gonna go to AtRealBigMista.
40:07Why?
40:08Because I love him.
40:09He tags me on Instagram, on all of his crazy ass videos.
40:14He tags me on TikTok.
40:16He hasn't joined us on LinkedIn Audio,
40:18but I'll bug Phyllis and get him on stage
40:20so he can join us there.
40:22But that goes my social shout out.
40:24How about you, Phyllis?
40:25Who's your social shout out go to?
40:26Oh, my social shout out would be,
40:29who's my favorite person?
40:33Probably would be you.
40:34Ah, no way.
40:36Because like I said, you don't change your message
40:40in order to get numbers.
40:41And I know people who are number chasers and metric chasers
40:44and it's not anything,
40:46but you have stayed consistent and true to the game
40:50since I've known you.
40:51And even before Toast became a thing
40:54and before Entrepreneur Magazine became a thing,
40:57you were talking about digital hospitality.
40:59You have told us about your grandfather time and time again
41:02and how he stays there.
41:03And it always just touches my heart.
41:05And it's that level of consistency
41:08that people need to understand about branding.
41:11Jumping from thing to thing is not where it's at.
41:15Trying to please everybody is not where it's at.
41:18And you, like I say,
41:20you hold it down for digital hospitality
41:22and nobody else can take that throne from you.
41:24You cannot wear that crown, sweetie,
41:26because baby, everybody that knows
41:29about digital hospitality,
41:30if you try to say, I came, I was the first,
41:33we will whoop your ass.
41:36Phyllis, you are too sweet.
41:38I am grateful for you.
41:39Where's the best place for people to buy your books,
41:42to book you, to come and speak at their company?
41:45Where can people find you?
41:46Oh my goodness.
41:47You can always find me on LinkedIn.
41:48I'm always causing trouble over there.
41:49They kicked me out for three weeks, but now I'm back.
41:52You're the only person I know that's been kicked off.
41:55I know plenty of fools that have been kicked off of Twitter,
41:58but not LinkedIn.
41:59Oh my goodness.
41:59I was kicked off LinkedIn for three whole weeks.
42:01But yes, you can find me with my nonsense on LinkedIn.
42:04You can check out my podcast, Grandma's Podcast.
42:07I'm coming new and different.
42:08And Sean, we get to do this again,
42:09because you're coming on my show.
42:10Absolutely.
42:13But you can get my book on Amazon.
42:15It's called Branding Boundaries and Bullshit.
42:17It is my process of what I call PB and Slay,
42:19personal brand and slay.
42:21And it is about how you get to own your shit
42:25and not worry about everybody else.
42:27And it's about being courageous.
42:30Excuse me.
42:31It's about being courageous.
42:32People will tell you to be confident.
42:33Everybody can't muster up confidence.
42:35I'm sorry.
42:35I'm not one of those people,
42:36but I can damn sure find me some courage to do some shit.
42:39So it's about being courageous and owning your crazy.
42:42Get out there and do it.
42:43So that's it.
42:44Phyllis, one of my mentors, David Meltzer,
42:47he talks about the truth vibrates the fastest.
42:50And when I heard your truth, when I heard your voice,
42:54I knew that was someone that I needed to connect with.
42:56And I'm so grateful to call you a friend, a mentor, a mentee.
43:00We both teach each other on a daily basis.
43:02I love what you're building.
43:03I'm grateful for your friendship
43:05and I really appreciate you sharing your secrets
43:08with our Restaurant Influencers community.
43:11I appreciate you too, sweetie.
43:12And stay true to the game, that's all.
43:14You got it.
43:15Now, if you guys wanna keep in touch with me,
43:16it's at Sean P. Walcheff, S-H-A-W-N-P-W-A-L-C-H-E-F.
43:22Find me on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, all the platforms.
43:25As always, stay curious, get involved,
43:27and don't be afraid to ask for help.
43:29Appreciate you guys.
43:30We'll catch you next week.