Elizabeth Chambers of BIRD Bakery on How to Expand in Business with Authenticity
Interview with BIRD Bakery founder Elizabeth Chambers about expanding internationally, social media storytelling, and embracing hospitality in every moment.
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to Restaurant Influencers presented by Entrepreneur.
00:02 My name is Sean Walsh,
00:04 I'm founder of Cali BBQ and Cali BBQ Media.
00:07 I wanna give a special shout out to Toast,
00:09 our primary technology partner,
00:11 the sponsor of this show for believing in storytelling,
00:14 for believing in the hospitality business.
00:16 They power not only the technology in our restaurants,
00:19 but so many of the guests that we have on this show.
00:21 In life, in the restaurant business,
00:24 and in the new creator economy,
00:26 we learn through lessons and stories.
00:28 We have a very special guest today.
00:30 She is a TV host and journalist.
00:32 She is the founder and CEO of Bird Bakery, four locations.
00:37 She's a host and judge of Food Network,
00:39 and she is a Today Show contributor.
00:41 We have none other than Elizabeth Chambers.
00:43 Elizabeth, welcome to the show.
00:45 - Oh my God, why does everyone do the dorky waving thing?
00:47 I'm like pretending like I'm in TV, but it's not.
00:50 - That's totally cool. - Hi guys.
00:51 - It's internet TV, right?
00:53 - It is, yes.
00:54 Thank you, Sean.
00:55 I appreciate it, I'm happy to be here.
00:57 - Yeah, we're grateful for Entrepreneur and Toast
00:59 for giving us the stage.
01:01 Since we launched the show,
01:02 we've reached over 22 million people all over the world.
01:05 And we believe deeply that the restaurant business,
01:10 the hospitality business,
01:11 everyone's in the hospitality business,
01:12 but we want to learn more about Bird Bakery,
01:15 wanna learn more about you.
01:17 And in order to do that,
01:19 I'd love for you to answer our favorite random question,
01:21 which is where in the world is your favorite stadium,
01:25 stage or venue?
01:27 - I love that, or all of the above.
01:29 My favorite stadium is Dodger Stadium,
01:31 LA Dodgers for sure.
01:34 Venue, no, venue Bird Bakery, does that count as a venue?
01:40 - That counts as a venue, absolutely as a venue.
01:42 - All my Bird Bakeries, all my locations,
01:45 those are my favorite venues,
01:46 but my favorite stadium is Dodger Stadium.
01:48 - Perfect, we're gonna-
01:49 - Yeah, we're gonna take that if I'm with it.
01:52 - We're taking that and we're going to Dodger Stadium.
01:54 - I love it.
01:54 - We're gonna talk to Toast,
01:56 they put on these regional events
01:59 for hospitality professionals called Spark, Spark events.
02:02 And this year they hosted one
02:03 at the London and West Hollywood.
02:06 And I actually was on stage
02:07 and I told everyone in the audience that I can't wait
02:10 for one day where this is such a big event
02:13 that we're gonna be in Dodger Stadium.
02:14 So this is a very fitting answer.
02:16 So we're going to Dodger Stadium,
02:18 we're gonna fill the entire stadium with people
02:21 that we say are playing the game within the game,
02:23 the people that actually really wanna level up
02:24 their storytelling, their hospitality
02:27 and making an impact in the community.
02:28 And I'm gonna put you on the pitcher's mound.
02:30 I'm gonna say- - I love that.
02:31 - Elizabeth Chambers, it's keynote time, it's TEDx time.
02:35 Please tell everyone here who you are and what you do
02:38 and how did Bird Bakery come to be?
02:40 - I'm gonna hold you to that
02:41 because I played softball for 13 years
02:43 and I was the pitcher. - Perfect.
02:44 - So I'll go on the mound,
02:45 but then also go catch for anyone else.
02:46 - You get first pitch too, perfect.
02:48 - Yes, yes, yes, please.
02:50 Yes, Elizabeth Chambers, nice to see you all.
02:53 Founder and CEO of Bird Bakery.
02:55 I founded my company almost 12 years ago
02:58 in San Antonio, Texas as an homage to my grandmother
03:01 and my mother with all of our family recipes.
03:05 My grandmother was English,
03:06 she was a British culinary entrepreneur.
03:09 My mom founded one of the very first health food stores
03:12 in San Antonio when she was just 26, just out of college.
03:16 And so I opened between my grandmother's bakery,
03:21 a restaurant basically, and my mom's.
03:23 So we have basically like trifecta
03:25 of female powerhouse entrepreneurs.
03:28 And I just felt so right, it's what I wanted to do.
03:31 My background is TV, but I always knew that I would do this.
03:34 And I thought we'd have one location,
03:37 it would just be my little first baby.
03:39 It was before I actually had real children.
03:41 And now we are at four locations
03:43 and growing in a way that I never thought possible,
03:48 but I always knew that we would be successful,
03:50 I just didn't know on what scale.
03:52 So here we are, I'm speaking to Sean
03:55 and in a very different place than we were
03:58 when we opened in 2012.
04:00 I feel like such a grandmother
04:02 when I'm constantly comparing our business practice
04:04 and our digital footprint and everything to when we opened.
04:08 I'm always like, well, in 2012, when we first opened,
04:12 if we had 10 interviews,
04:13 nine out of those 10 people would show up.
04:15 Now, 2023, when apparently no one can find jobs,
04:19 only one person shows up.
04:20 So I love looking at that history and the patterns
04:25 and where we are digitally now.
04:28 Our first location, I didn't even think about Instagram.
04:30 I didn't think about anything visual
04:32 other than the customers in-store experience when we opened.
04:36 All the other locations, we needed a digital wall,
04:38 we need an Instagram wall, we need to have the lighting.
04:41 So I'm really excited.
04:42 I'm looking forward to diving into this
04:44 because it's something that really keeps me up at night
04:47 in the best way possible,
04:49 but nobody ever wants to talk to me about it,
04:51 except for you, so I'm excited.
04:54 - We created a show because we know that,
04:56 at least I'm pretty convinced that I'm not crazy,
04:59 especially after going to
05:00 the National Restaurant Association show.
05:03 People are on the internet.
05:04 It doesn't matter what your hopes and dreams are.
05:06 That's why we started this show,
05:08 was to talk to the best restaurateurs on the planet
05:11 and the best storytellers on the planet
05:13 and realize this is really where entrepreneurs
05:16 are the original creators.
05:18 Business owners are the original creators.
05:20 And then the creator economy came when there was Web 2.0
05:24 and social media came about
05:26 and people started making businesses
05:28 because they were good at telling stories on Instagram
05:31 or telling stories on TikTok or YouTubers or podcasters.
05:34 And now we're at a very interesting place
05:37 where everyone's just trying to really figure it all out.
05:39 Can you bring me back?
05:41 When you were a little girl, did you dream of being on TV?
05:44 - Of course.
05:45 Now, when I was three, I said I was going to be Oprah.
05:47 So my mother is from a very small town in Mississippi
05:51 called Kosciuszko, Mississippi.
05:53 Try to spell that, I dare you.
05:55 I can't.
05:57 But my mom was from there and Oprah's from there.
06:00 And so my mom's family really knew Oprah's family growing up
06:03 and my mom's family had tree farms
06:06 and I just was always inspired by who she was
06:10 and how she told stories.
06:11 And for me, whether it's journalism
06:14 or whether it's being in the bakery
06:16 and serving guests cupcakes or lunch,
06:19 or now we're breakfast, lunch and dinner.
06:20 We are called Bird Bakery, but we do a full service menu.
06:23 It's about stories, right?
06:24 It's about talking and connecting with those guests
06:26 when they walk in the door, hearing how is your day?
06:29 Oh, it's this, it's that, we're going through this.
06:32 And then really just like experiencing
06:34 those joyful milestones with them,
06:35 whether it's baby showers and birthdays
06:38 and weddings and gender reveals.
06:40 So I find a very, very,
06:42 like very, like just such a connection between journalism,
06:47 storytelling, customer service, hospitality.
06:50 And you touched on that right when we opened
06:52 is we're all in hospitality, right?
06:54 And I tell my team that in every meeting, I said,
06:56 if you do not want to joyfully greet somebody
06:59 when they are in your presence, then do not be here.
07:01 I invite you to please walk out the door.
07:03 And you know, it may sound harsh,
07:05 but there is no reason for somebody
07:07 to have to force themselves to be joyful
07:10 when somebody walks through the door.
07:11 And so I think that that is true
07:13 because you have to have that urge to connect with a human.
07:15 You have to have that urge.
07:16 Listen, you don't have to like interview them.
07:18 I'm not saying that,
07:19 but that is what hospitality ultimately comes down to.
07:21 And there's a very, very, you know,
07:23 there's a huge correlation between storytelling
07:27 and between that welcoming hospitality
07:30 that you get in a restaurant or if any time.
07:32 So that's like, what's really important to me.
07:35 That's what's always driven me
07:36 along with my family history.
07:38 And that's what keeps us going every day.
07:41 We have 110 employees now.
07:43 We have four locations and you know,
07:46 it's just myself and my management team.
07:48 We don't have any investors.
07:50 We don't have a board.
07:52 And it's beautiful in the sense
07:54 that we don't have like a lot of red tape
07:55 for people to go through.
07:56 Like I am HR.
07:57 You're looking at it.
07:59 I am digital.
08:00 And it's wild.
08:02 You know, it's wild to kind of balance with everything.
08:05 But at the same time, this was my first baby.
08:09 12 years ago, like I said, I have two children now
08:11 and then four other bird babies.
08:13 But this was like what I put my heart and soul into.
08:17 And it was so meaningful because it was an homage
08:20 to my grandmother, who was my best friend
08:22 and my mother who's taught me everything I know
08:24 in the culinary space.
08:25 So yeah, it's just, it's so deep
08:28 and it's such a cross collaboration
08:33 as to everything else that I do.
08:34 And I can sense that you feel the same way
08:37 in terms of storytelling and just connecting with people
08:41 and finding out like what makes them tick.
08:43 - Huge news, Toast, our primary technology partner
08:45 at our barbecue restaurants in San Diego
08:48 and the primary technology partner of so many of the guests
08:51 that we have on this show have announced
08:54 they are expanding their business offerings with Google.
08:58 So now if you search on Google Maps
09:01 and you sign up for Toast Tables or Toast Waitlist,
09:05 you will have the opportunity
09:07 to improve the digital hospitality experience of the guest,
09:11 allow them to book through the maps
09:13 into the Toast reservation system.
09:16 One of the biggest difficulties that restaurant guests have
09:19 is when they search for your restaurant
09:21 and they want a table,
09:22 they do not have an easy solution to book a table
09:26 or to get on a waitlist.
09:27 This is huge news for the restaurant industry,
09:30 huge news for guests and huge news for you,
09:33 the restaurant owner.
09:34 Check out Toast Tables today
09:36 and find out the new integrated solution that they have.
09:40 This is something that we've wanted for a long time.
09:42 How do you integrate reservations,
09:44 waitlists into your point of sale?
09:46 Toast has done it, check it out.
09:48 My media mentor, David Meltzer,
09:50 he likes to talk about the stage theory
09:52 that Shakespeare, the world is your stage.
09:55 And for me in the hospitality business,
09:58 the, whether you own a coffee shop, a catering business,
10:02 a restaurant, a bakery, that is our stage.
10:04 That is our pillar,
10:07 that's what we put our roots in the ground
10:09 into the community and we welcome strangers.
10:11 That's what hospitality is, is welcoming strangers
10:13 and having those memorable moments,
10:15 turning a stranger into a friend.
10:18 For me, the reason why I'm so grateful
10:20 for this opportunity to have this show
10:22 is that restaurant owners, hospitality professionals,
10:26 were so good in real life.
10:28 In real life, if you talk to any hospitality professional
10:32 that has the hospitality DNA running through their blood,
10:35 they're just phenomenal at welcoming somebody to the table,
10:38 at making somebody feel at a tailgate, at an event,
10:41 please come in, be like you're part of the family already.
10:45 There's an element of that in media.
10:47 And I'm thinking, you know, I'm talking traditional media,
10:50 but now more importantly, omnichannel media,
10:53 which is internet media, of how do you connect
10:57 with somebody that you're not actually seeing
10:59 on the other side of the screen?
11:00 If you're able to help tell a story
11:03 and you're able to bring somebody into the village,
11:05 then maybe you can have a bigger business
11:08 than just that brick and mortar business.
11:10 That's really why we created this show.
11:12 Can you give me any stories
11:14 of when you start first being on camera,
11:17 where you decided like,
11:18 this is kind of where you found your voice?
11:20 - No, for sure.
11:22 So I studied journalism at University of Texas.
11:25 My goal was always to be on channel one.
11:26 I loved Anderson Cooper and Lisa Ling.
11:30 And I loved the way that that journalism
11:32 was the first journalism I really saw in my classroom.
11:34 So I actually graduated a semester early
11:37 to be on channel one and it became Current TV,
11:40 which was Al Gore's network and Joel Hyatt.
11:43 And I did really cool stories.
11:46 It wasn't international channel,
11:48 but we were really doing like viewer created content
11:51 before YouTube existed.
11:52 So timing wasn't right, but the content was.
11:56 - User generated content, I love it.
11:58 - We called it VCC, viewer created content.
12:00 Like it was great.
12:01 And then we also did really intense stories.
12:04 Like went to Mexico and cross-border with like immigrants
12:07 and kind of like, you know,
12:09 all of those experience that were very hard news
12:11 but in a very rogue way without having, again,
12:15 without having a huge network behind us
12:17 or a lot of red tape and a lot of,
12:20 I mean, it was sign a camera out,
12:22 take two producers and you're on your way,
12:24 which was the coolest.
12:25 Like I had an opportunity out of college
12:27 to go do weather in Houston for an ABC affiliate
12:30 or go to Current and channel one.
12:32 And, you know, that's what I always wanted to do.
12:34 So I would say those stories of speaking to people
12:39 and understanding someone's plight
12:41 that's very different than yours for me is what drives me.
12:45 And I, like my biggest fear is being in a bubble, right?
12:48 Like if I ever am in my bubble, kill me,
12:51 like send me out faster.
12:52 I don't want to be stuck in any bubble
12:54 and it's really easy for us all to get in those patterns
12:57 and those bubbles.
12:57 So that's really what was driving me for so long.
13:03 And then I think to your point about, you know,
13:06 restaurants and hospitality is what I love, love, love.
13:10 And I always tell my team this is I'm like a very,
13:12 I'm very much a person of faith.
13:13 I believe everything happens for a reason.
13:15 And I say every single person who walks through that door
13:17 is meant to walk into your life.
13:20 So are you going to receive that
13:21 or are you going to ignore it?
13:24 And that's your choice.
13:25 And if you think if you're in New York,
13:29 you're background and you're going right instead of left
13:31 and you run into somebody,
13:33 let me, I don't think that's an accident,
13:34 whether you believe in God or the universe
13:36 or whatever you believe in, I don't think it's an accident.
13:38 And I always tell them if you are behind the counter
13:41 working at a restaurant or you're serving somebody
13:44 table-sided barbie, whatever it is,
13:46 whoever walks to that door,
13:47 whoever's at your table is meant to be there.
13:49 So are you going to absorb it and really connect
13:53 and see why that, what that reason is,
13:55 or are you going to ignore it?
13:57 And I think that that's like how you go through life,
13:59 right? Life is super short.
14:01 For me, I want to absorb every single moment,
14:03 every single interaction, every single happenstance.
14:07 And that's the beauty of not only interviewing somebody
14:12 who's crossing the border or interviewing somebody
14:15 who happens to come into the studio,
14:16 but it's really served on a platter, no pun intended.
14:20 But when somebody comes into your restaurant
14:22 or when someone comes into your space,
14:25 it's like every romantic comedy plus a lot more work,
14:29 but it's just there, it's meant to be.
14:33 And I think we're all doing ourselves a disservice
14:36 if we don't absorb and connect and honor that moment
14:41 and see what that moment might be.
14:44 Obviously when we're super busy,
14:46 I don't expect everyone to have like a 30 minute conversation
14:48 with someone, but whatever your beliefs are,
14:51 I think it's really pretty magical
14:54 that every single person who's in that space
14:57 is meant to be there because you were there
14:59 during those hours.
15:00 And that's why I love, I love, love, love
15:03 working at my locations and it makes me so happy.
15:06 I wish I could clone myself, but it's like, you know,
15:10 just that daily affirmation and connection
15:15 that is so special to me that you don't get anywhere else.
15:19 Yes, you get it if it's not a brick and mortar,
15:21 like yes, you get it in interviews,
15:23 but if you're in a brick and mortar space,
15:25 when people are coming to you,
15:27 maybe they're coming home from school to take their kids
15:30 and then they just like whip in, there's a reason,
15:33 you know, it's destiny.
15:35 - For sure.
15:35 - And so I feel really passionately about that.
15:38 And I think that the same thing applies
15:40 with interviewing and with journalism.
15:44 - When you opened up your first international location,
15:48 can you bring me to the event, to a story that happened?
15:53 - Yes, of course.
15:55 We've always been visiting the Cayman Islands.
15:59 That's where I am now,
16:00 you can see some palm trees in the background.
16:02 We had always visited the Cayman Islands for Christmas
16:04 and for spring break.
16:06 And it's always been just a place where my family
16:07 has spent time.
16:09 Right in the beginning of COVID,
16:11 I was on a little trip with my kids.
16:14 COVID hit, we were advised not to go back to LA
16:16 and we were meant to be in the Cayman in April.
16:18 So we moved here.
16:20 - Wow.
16:21 - They basically shut down the island,
16:22 which was really great at the time
16:24 because there was no online schooling.
16:27 The kids went to school here.
16:31 There were no masks at the time.
16:33 I went through a super public divorce.
16:35 There's no paparazzi on the island.
16:37 So it really ended up being a beautiful sanctuary
16:41 and a place of protection,
16:43 a little cocoon for my children and myself
16:46 and for our whole family.
16:48 And the island gave so much to us.
16:50 It was wild.
16:52 My daughter started horseback riding,
16:53 all of a sudden I had people ringing my doorbell
16:55 with chaps and, you know, 'cause it's really difficult.
16:58 You can't like order Amazon here.
16:59 So they're like, "Here's some chaps,
17:01 "here's some riding boots."
17:02 And people were so kind and so lovely.
17:03 There's an expression here called Cayman kind.
17:06 And we really, really saw that.
17:08 And I wanted to give back as much as I could.
17:10 I did a little pop-up for the bakery here
17:13 to help with the local community when there was no tourism.
17:16 I did a lot of charity.
17:18 I raised $125,000 with a couple of my friends
17:21 for this food pantry here.
17:23 You know, when somebody does something nice
17:25 and when a place welcomes you in a way
17:27 that you've never been welcomed before,
17:28 because I've never been displaced from my country,
17:31 you know, you're in a different country,
17:33 you don't know anyone,
17:34 you wanna give back and you wanna say thank you
17:36 and you show gratitude.
17:37 So I've always wanted to open a bakery here.
17:40 We've been here now three years.
17:42 And I thought people love the cupcakes.
17:45 And because it's a small island in the middle of the sea,
17:48 as an island is, most of the cupcakes that people enjoy
17:52 are from the grocery store.
17:53 And they're frozen or it's, you know, pre-made mixes.
17:57 And so when I did our pop-ups, people could not believe it.
18:01 They're like, "Oh my gosh."
18:02 Like brought to tears.
18:03 This is bad, this tastes like my grandmother's cupcake.
18:06 And so we ended up doing,
18:10 I'm doing a Hulu show now
18:11 about opening the restaurant here.
18:14 - Really? - Yeah.
18:14 - Amazing.
18:15 When is that gonna be live?
18:18 - It'll be in the fall.
18:19 Yeah, it'll be in the fall. - The fall, very cool.
18:21 - We're doing our, we're in our fourth month.
18:23 We have a few more days.
18:25 But it's fun because, you know, there's so much red tape.
18:29 Like I said, I'm not Comanian.
18:31 You have to find a Comanian partner.
18:33 You have to do a full build out.
18:34 And for me, I'm just like,
18:35 I just wanna bring homemade from scratch desserts
18:39 to this place that has done so much for me.
18:41 Like it shouldn't be that complicated,
18:42 but you know, as anything is, it really is.
18:45 And I have an amazing partner.
18:47 And so I was really stressed out to answer your question
18:51 about like, what does this look like?
18:52 I was really stressed out 'cause I wanted to have,
18:54 we have 33 flavors in total of cupcakes.
18:56 We have seven cookies, we have, you know, nine sandwiches.
19:00 And I was like, I wanted to do a bridge menu,
19:02 but also knew that it had to be something
19:05 that was very doable because a lot like golden raisins,
19:08 who knew, not super available in the Cayman Islands.
19:10 So there are certain items that we couldn't get
19:14 and certain items that were legitimately 12 times the price.
19:18 But, you know, with everything that we've done,
19:20 I've never wanted to compromise our quality.
19:21 I never wanted to change the recipes.
19:23 So I basically did like a highlight reel of our menu.
19:27 And we, but I couldn't do all at the same time
19:31 because we were missing a piece for our bread maker.
19:33 And it was stuck in customs.
19:35 And I was so nervous about having everything perfect
19:37 on our opening day.
19:38 And it was just such a life lesson.
19:40 People are just so grateful for anything.
19:42 We started with like five cupcakes, three cookies.
19:45 We still don't have sandwiches.
19:46 We opened two and a half weeks ago.
19:48 The piece is still in customs.
19:49 And people are just like every day,
19:50 hi, are the sandwiches here?
19:52 And, you know, people are just grateful.
19:54 And I think that, I don't know if COVID taught us that.
19:57 I don't know.
19:59 I just don't think it's shift
20:00 because I do feel like if I'd opened four years ago,
20:02 there wherever I'm opening, right?
20:04 There are very high expectations
20:05 and you have to come out all at once.
20:07 But again, it's like how you frame things
20:09 and how you communicate and store online
20:12 and marrying those two forms of communication are key.
20:17 But people are just so grateful.
20:19 I mean, people have literally been brought to tears
20:21 because they're so happy to have these from scratch recipes.
20:24 And I never compromised quality of the Flugra butter,
20:28 just peanut butter for my cookies
20:30 because that's what my mom always used
20:31 when we were growing up.
20:32 I like, I do not mess around with changing my ingredients.
20:36 Quaker oats for my oatmeal cookies.
20:37 Like I'm not taking your generic oats.
20:39 And it's crazy.
20:42 We're here, you know, 3000 miles from our original location
20:45 and everything tastes exactly the same.
20:47 We have Texans here every day.
20:49 I met this beautiful family from Dallas yesterday
20:51 and they're like, it all tastes the same.
20:53 It's bringing us home.
20:54 So it's wild.
20:57 It's wild to have our first international location
21:00 so far away from original
21:02 and have it all feel the exact same.
21:05 Like it doesn't have to be expansive
21:07 but it does have to be right
21:09 in terms of the things that we are doing.
21:11 - Yeah, I think it's super interesting for me
21:14 'cause we started a barbecue restaurant in 2008
21:19 at the height of the economic recession
21:20 in a difficult location in San Diego
21:23 and basically got ignored by all the local media.
21:26 So we ended up creating our own media company.
21:30 So when we talk to restaurant owners
21:32 usually that's the story that most people have yet.
21:35 The reason we have this show
21:37 is back to what I was talking about
21:38 which was the creator economy of people
21:40 like my friend, Sam, the cooking guy
21:42 who has 3 million YouTube subscribers
21:45 because he's incredible at content.
21:47 He was phenomenal on TV.
21:48 Now he does content, he does cookbooks
21:51 but he's also in restaurants.
21:53 So for him, I'm fascinated
21:55 when somebody has a strong following
21:58 such as yourself on Instagram and all the platforms
22:01 and then you have a brand that is also strong
22:04 on all the platforms like Bird Bakery.
22:07 How do you judge content?
22:09 How do you judge where am I gonna post?
22:11 What am I gonna post?
22:12 How am I gonna post?
22:14 - That's a really good question.
22:14 And I am probably gonna give you an answer
22:17 that you don't love
22:17 because I used to be obsessed with judging the content.
22:21 There was a time in my life
22:22 when I was checking it nonstop
22:26 and seeing how many followers and engagement
22:28 and all those things.
22:30 And then I just went to a place of like,
22:32 it reminded me when everybody,
22:34 like people who read books
22:36 about how to be the most interesting person in the room
22:38 and they're just not the most interesting person
22:41 in the room.
22:42 - Yeah, sure.
22:43 - And then they're trying to do weird, kitschy things.
22:46 They're like, "Oh my God,
22:47 "you've read too many self-help books."
22:48 - Trying to hack the algorithm.
22:50 - Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
22:51 And then I just,
22:52 I felt like there was this beauty and authenticity
22:55 of stepping back a little bit,
22:56 not necessarily because it was a decision
23:00 that I felt like I wanted to make,
23:02 but just because of what was happening in my personal life
23:04 and because I do, obviously do my own social
23:07 and I do the bird social.
23:09 And for me, I just needed to take a step back
23:13 authentically for myself.
23:14 And I could have brought other people on,
23:16 I could have had other people do content.
23:19 And listen, did we lose followers?
23:22 Personally, for sure.
23:24 But I also feel like I didn't wanna force something
23:26 that wasn't authentic to where I was
23:28 at that point in my life.
23:30 And my bakery is where,
23:32 it reflects where I am at my point in my life.
23:34 And maybe in five years, I will bring on a team
23:38 and have investors and somebody else who's running it,
23:41 who can do something independent
23:43 of whether I'm having a personal crisis or not.
23:46 But right now, bird is me, I am bird.
23:49 And if I need to go into a little moment of hibernation
23:53 with my children for five days,
23:55 then we won't be posting content.
23:57 So I don't think that's probably the answer that you want,
24:02 but I also think we have to go back to authenticity,
24:05 whatever it is, and true followers and true community,
24:10 I think feel the same way.
24:14 People don't always wanna, nobody wants to,
24:18 I still have the most beautiful,
24:20 precious Mother's Day photos that I,
24:23 what are we now, 10 days from Mother's Day?
24:25 And I'm like, I will post those in my own time.
24:27 And I think that there's something to be said
24:29 for not always being on this crazy deadline.
24:32 I didn't wanna wake up on Mother's Day
24:34 and ignore my kids while I'm trying to get a photo
24:37 and then get the right filter on it.
24:40 And then that's not Mother's Day.
24:42 And for me, Mother's Day was leaving my phone at home
24:46 and going to the beach with them and being super present.
24:48 And so I think it's honoring where we are in our space
24:51 and then also communicating that to our communities as well
24:55 because people do feel the same.
24:57 And I think there has to be a little bit of correction
25:00 on this intensity to always be posting content.
25:04 But yeah, I don't think that that's probably the answer
25:08 that you wanted, and I hope that-
25:10 - That's 100, the truth vibrates the fastest.
25:13 - Yeah.
25:14 - And as much as I talk about content and publishing
25:17 and telling your story to business owners,
25:20 sometimes it's important to not.
25:24 Sometimes it's important to be in airplane mode.
25:26 As somebody that literally spent,
25:30 I have an inherent belief in the internet
25:32 because it kept our business alive.
25:34 It launched this show,
25:35 it allowed us to do all the things that we do.
25:37 Sometimes it's okay to not, to not post.
25:40 And I think that is a strong message.
25:42 And I think it's a very important message.
25:45 When you look at your brand today in 2023,
25:50 what kind of hopes do you have for it into the future?
25:54 - I have so many hopes for our brand.
25:57 I hope that we remain authentically who we are
26:01 in terms of, like I said, our ingredients, our story,
26:05 our mantra, our internal communications
26:09 and our internal operations.
26:11 And then I would really love just to bring Bird
26:15 to as many people as possible.
26:16 Whether that's our granola on the shelves of Whole Foods
26:19 or whatever, like really figuring out our e-commerce
26:26 in a more strategic way and figuring out our shipping.
26:30 I always say whenever it's Christmas or my birthday,
26:33 I'm like, what do you want?
26:34 I'm like, I would like a How It's Made factory.
26:37 I have 110 people creating our product from scratch,
26:40 which is so beautiful, which is why it is the way it is.
26:43 And it's very rare and unique.
26:44 I mean, we do not cut any corners
26:47 despite how many food suppliers are always trying
26:49 to get me to save money with this product
26:51 or this ingredient, but I love what we're doing
26:54 and it's so rare, but like our granola could probably
26:56 be made in a co-packing facility.
26:58 So scaling e-commerce, bringing on a larger team.
27:04 Like I said, we are doing things,
27:06 it's a mom and mom company that's been run
27:08 the same way for 12 years.
27:10 I've done everything I can.
27:12 I really do feel like I'm doing the best I can do every day
27:15 and I'm doing all that I can every day,
27:17 but there are people who are more qualified than I am.
27:19 And as long as they have the heart for the company
27:23 and care about my baby, like I would care about it,
27:26 then that will be the right fit.
27:29 I've been taking meetings and entertaining
27:30 those thoughts for years and I haven't met that person yet,
27:35 so, or that company yet.
27:37 So I'm very much open to it.
27:39 I'm really looking forward to this Hulu show
27:41 in terms of a global platform for the brand
27:45 and for the company and for people to really see
27:48 who we are because we have a huge following
27:50 in Texas and Colorado.
27:52 But to really put this out there,
27:56 it's gonna be interesting and I'm excited,
27:58 but it's also something I hold so close to my heart
28:03 and I will never compromise if it doesn't feel right.
28:07 And no amount of money in the world is worth giving away.
28:11 People are like, "Divorce yourself from the emotion.
28:14 Divorce yourself from the emotion."
28:16 I cannot tell you how many times I've heard that
28:18 from other entrepreneurs and from mentors
28:20 whom I really, really respect.
28:22 You can't tell someone to divorce yourself from the emotion.
28:25 It was my greatest joy to create this company
28:28 other than raising my children.
28:31 And so while that is probably smart financially
28:36 and doable for some people,
28:39 it's just not something that resonates with me
28:42 at this juncture of my life.
28:43 Like Bird will always be my baby
28:45 and until I find somebody that I can co-parent with,
28:48 then that will remain the same.
28:52 - As someone, we have so many amazing fathers and mothers
28:57 that listen to the show that are in hospitality.
29:00 And one of the discussions we like to talk about
29:02 is because we're in hospitality,
29:05 we spend all of our time taking care of others.
29:08 We take care of our guests, we take care of our village,
29:10 we take care of our team.
29:11 Very rarely do we take care of ourselves.
29:13 And for me, watching, having the opportunity
29:17 to have a son and a daughter growing up
29:19 and it's their restaurant.
29:22 They're like, "We love Cali BBQ, Daddy.
29:24 When are we going to the restaurant?"
29:25 And as someone that grew up in the restaurant business,
29:28 I too, I was at a point when I was a teenager
29:30 that I didn't love the restaurant business.
29:32 It took me later on in life.
29:34 You as a mother, how do you balance
29:37 between letting your kids know
29:39 this is the bakery business,
29:40 that we're in the hospitality business
29:42 versus we're going to let them do what they do?
29:47 - No, I think you hit the nail on the head.
29:48 They take so much pride.
29:50 They see what I'm doing every day.
29:52 And listen, I could be a lawyer
29:53 who's in the office every day
29:55 and they don't know what I'm doing.
29:56 I could be gone for 11 hours a day in finance.
30:01 They hear my conversations, they see my meetings,
30:05 they know our whole team,
30:06 they come to our in-person meetings.
30:09 They wanna say hi when I'm doing our manager Zoom.
30:14 They know my team.
30:15 And I think that's really beautiful.
30:17 And on a much lighter note,
30:19 they loved physically being in the space.
30:21 I mean, it's basically a birthday party
30:23 for them every day, right?
30:23 They have cake, they have cookies
30:25 and they have their friends.
30:26 And then they're like,
30:28 Ford is like his power move.
30:30 He has these little girlfriends in Dallas.
30:32 He's like, "Let me show you where the graveyard is.
30:34 Like all the broken cookies."
30:35 I'm not sure that's gonna get them there.
30:37 And he comes and shows them like all the decorated,
30:39 like undecorated cookies,
30:40 like takes all the girls in the kitchen.
30:42 And then Harper loves to have her friends in the kitchen too
30:45 and show them all around.
30:46 And that pride that they take knowing
30:49 that they see me every day create and sustain,
30:52 this is, it's immeasurable.
30:55 It's the greatest gift for me.
30:56 And it gives them a sense of understanding,
30:58 hard work and purpose.
31:00 And like, I couldn't ask for anything more.
31:03 And I feel grateful to be in a position
31:06 that I do have the privilege of working from my phone.
31:09 Like both of my kids have been sick the last three days
31:12 and they are the kind of kids,
31:13 like they do not want you away from their side.
31:17 Like, "Mama, mama, mama."
31:18 And, you know, but I'm doing it off my phone
31:20 and I don't take that for granted.
31:22 I know that that is a privilege.
31:23 And I also know that they understand what I'm doing
31:26 and they have a context for that.
31:28 Like they know who I'm speaking to.
31:30 They know when I'm doing my annoying voice texts
31:32 over their movie that they're watching
31:34 when they have like 103 degree fever.
31:35 Like it works.
31:36 It works in a way that gives them
31:40 like a visual sense of what's happening virtually
31:46 and also physically.
31:48 And I love that.
31:49 Yeah.
31:50 - So every single Wednesday and Friday
31:52 on the social audio app Clubhouse,
31:53 if you guys are listening to the show,
31:55 we created a room called Digital Hospitality for you,
31:58 the listener, the viewer to come on stage,
32:01 raise your hand, tell us about your restaurant.
32:03 Tell us about if you're in sales, if you're in marketing,
32:05 if you're a content creator.
32:08 This is a place that we build community.
32:10 So this is an open invite every Wednesday,
32:12 every Friday at 10 a.m. Pacific time.
32:14 We also do a social shout out.
32:16 So this week social shout out is going to Aaron Roberts
32:19 of Rising Tides Creative.
32:21 So this is my media team.
32:23 I just put them through, I guess,
32:25 the content ringer
32:27 at the National Restaurant Association show.
32:29 Aaron, his wife, Michonne and Tony,
32:33 the cameraman, Tony Angotto.
32:35 I can't thank them enough for what they did from going,
32:39 I mean, we probably hit 70 different brands,
32:42 hospitality partners, content partners, influencers,
32:45 people that have been on this show.
32:47 Chicago was an absolute blast,
32:49 but this is a shout out to Rising Tides Creative.
32:51 Give them a follow.
32:53 Elizabeth, who on your team,
32:55 this is going on entrepreneur.com.
32:57 I know everyone always wants to say the whole team,
32:59 but I need you to single out one individual,
33:02 somebody that's gone above and beyond
33:04 for your brand, for Bird Bakery.
33:07 - No, Christina Gandy.
33:09 She is extraordinary.
33:10 She's a twin sister, four girls in their family.
33:13 They've all worked at my company at some point.
33:15 Her sister, Melissa, was my manager before she was.
33:18 The Gandy sisters are immeasurable.
33:23 Christina, I couldn't do without her.
33:25 If she's ever like, "Hi, we need to talk right away."
33:28 I'm like, "What's going on?"
33:29 I'm always afraid she's gonna leave me
33:30 at every moment of my life.
33:31 No, she is as good as they come,
33:35 and their parents raised them all right,
33:37 because those girls have played a huge part
33:42 in growing our company.
33:43 - That's awesome.
33:44 So if you guys wanna interact with me,
33:46 it's @SeanPWalchef, S-H-A-W-N-P-W-A-L-C-H-E-F,
33:51 and that's on all the socials.
33:53 I look forward to learning about you, following you.
33:56 We believe a rising tide lifts all ships.
33:58 And if you're listening to this, watching this,
34:00 then you're part of our community,
34:02 and we can't wait to meet you in real life
34:04 and also see what you build.
34:07 Elizabeth, what's the best way for people
34:09 to interact with you and Bird Bakery?
34:11 We'll put links in the show notes.
34:14 Check out the article that accompanies the interview
34:17 on entrepreneur.com.
34:18 Where's the best way, place for people to interact?
34:20 - Thank you.
34:21 Elizabeth Chambers is my Instagram.
34:23 Bird Bakery is our Instagram.
34:25 I'm great on DM.
34:26 Like slide into my DM.
34:28 - There you go.
34:29 - Let's talk restaurant.
34:30 - There you go.
34:31 - Let's talk slower.
34:32 Yeah, no, honestly, I love the community.
34:34 I love everybody sort of sharing their own experiences.
34:38 And exactly as you said, we're all better together.
34:42 - And any parting words of wisdom
34:44 for the entrepreneur, would-be entrepreneur out there
34:47 that's just waiting?
34:50 - On the edge of the cliff.
34:52 - The only way-
34:53 - Knowing that there's something bigger calling them.
34:55 - Yes, the only way to fail is by not trying.
34:58 But that's the, it's so simple.
35:00 It's obviously the Wayne Grodzki.
35:01 You miss a hundred percent of the shots.
35:02 You don't take it.
35:03 So cliche, but I tell my kids this every day.
35:06 You, the only way that you can ensure
35:08 that you're going to fail is by giving up now.
35:10 And don't give up.
35:13 You will always find a way.
35:14 No, it's just the jumping off point
35:16 and you will find your guest.
35:19 All of those things that are so cliche, hold true.
35:23 And they are saying to reason
35:25 and just don't question yourself.
35:27 I feel like, you know, self-doubt is just,
35:31 it's just the nail in the coffin.
35:32 So talk yourself up, positive self-talk and push forward.
35:37 - That's awesome.
35:38 Yeah, I teach my kid the Batman saying,
35:40 and that's why do we fall?
35:42 So we can learn how to get back up.
35:44 So you gotta have the courage.
35:45 You gotta have the courage to fall.
35:47 Thank you guys for listening to the show.
35:48 Elizabeth, thank you for coming on the show.
35:51 Bird Bakery, please check them out
35:53 and we will follow up with you guys next week.
35:56 Thank you for listening to Restaurant Influencers.
35:58 The best way that you can help us with the show
36:01 is to subscribe and write a review.
36:04 We love the opportunity to connect with you
36:06 no matter where you are on the globe,
36:08 no matter what restaurant you are running.
36:10 Please send us a DM on social @SeanPWalcheff.
36:15 If you are interested in toast,
36:17 if you wanna improve your digital hospitality,
36:19 please send me a DM.
36:20 I will get you in touch with a local toast representative.
36:24 We appreciate you listening to the show.
36:26 The best way that you can help the show
36:28 is share it with a friend
36:29 and we will catch you all next week
36:31 or we will see you on one of the digital playgrounds
36:34 that we call social media.