Master Chef Lawrence Lee
I admire my good friend for his drive, motivation, charm, and passion, so I felt he's the perfect person to find out what it takes to start a successful business. He has owned a few businesses here in San Francisco including Mercury Lounge, JumpinDumplin, HayaHon and now his new venture called Street Food Dojo.
Aimee: What drove you to become
an entrepreneur?
Lawrence: I have always been driven to run my own business. I have always left companies at the highest
position available due to the fact that I could no longer learn anything new.
Essentially, I realized that I
was successful at making other people money, and wanted to try it out on myself.
Lawrence's first business Mercury Lounge |
Aimee: How long have you had
this dream before starting your own business?
Lawrence: Since, my sophomore year in high school, as soon as I got my
work permit, even though minimum wage during that time was $2.75. I enjoyed the
fact that I had a grasp of the economic cycle.
Also, I was able to provide things for myself that a lot of kids were
not able to do at that time.
Aimee: What are some elements
and inspirations of your creative thought process in creating a business?
Lawrence: Here are a couple of cheesy mottos that one of my mentors
growing up gave me. These have stuck
with me to this day and I tend to apply it to all aspects of my decision making
regarding my businesses and still continues to work.
·
#1-“You can’t make
Dollars if it doesn’t make sense (cents)”: Meaning it’s the little details
(coins) that you must pay attention to in order for the big picture to become
clearer. A lot of people tend to open businesses without a game plan or even a
plan B. If you cover all your bases then the BIG picture (dollars) will follow.
· #2-“Stop worrying
about if you CAN accomplish something, and worry more about whether or not you
SHOULD.” A lot of people nowadays tend to just follow others. They see a business that is HOT that everyone
else is getting into, frantically try to get involved, and do the same thing
without thinking it all the way through. Plus, they don’t take the time to
research all the mistakes others are doing to possibly learn from them, which in
turn causes them to make the same mistakes as they did.
"When it comes to running a business, you need to make TIME your
friend and not your enemy."
Aimee: Were you always a risk
taker?
Lawrence: I used to be, but I adapted the mottos above, used time and
knowledge to my advantage, and learned to make small risks to yield big rewards.
http://www.jumpindumplin.com/ |
Aimee: What are the top three
things you think about when you get out of bed?
Lawrence:
#1 REFLECT on what I learned
the day before.
#2 MOTIVATE myself on the day
ahead of me.
#3 REMIND myself that a lot of
other people rely on me to be on my "A" game and get motivated.
Aimee: When do you feel most
passionate about your work?
Lawrence: The fact that it is something that I created and nurtured from
concept to creation, and that no matter what it is, the public has decided that
it is of some use to society and has accepted it as a part of their lives.
Aimee: Describe if there was a
time when you felt like you were on the wrong path.
Lawrence: Honestly I feel this way every day, which is why the 3 things I do every
morning (above) are so important to keep me motivated. I am lucky to be a
single healthy man that can afford to take the risks that I do, day in and day
out. I do not have children or major
expenses to worry about.
Aimee: What personality
characteristic enables you to become a successful entrepreneur?
Lawrence: I make it a point to listen and understand the needs of my
customers/clients... not everyone has the same needs so you can't treat them
the same. Everyone deserves a careful and conscious customer experience with
you because at the end of the day, there is always someone else to do your job
BETTER, FASTER, and CHEAPER.
Aimee: Where do seek motivation
from friends, family, or a higher power? And how does it motivate you?
Lawrence: My mother raised me and my 5 brothers and sisters essentially
alone, not speaking the language and working 3-4 odd jobs on a daily
basis. She never complained and always
taught me to work hard at my job, but at the same time learn the person’s
job next to me as well. This way I am
never behind and ready to take the job of the person above me.
Aimee: What tactics do you use in order to
market your business?
Lawrence: Always find your target market and where you think they will be
in 3-5 months and make sure you are there. A lot of businesses tend to find
what’s HOT at the moment and immediately place all their focus on it. They are unaware that trends change so often
that what they found to be the HOT thing, most likely is on its way out. You
always have to make room for the next big thing. For Example, fashion and technology
is always evolving. They both take a lot risk, but if you just keep copying
what somebody else already did you will never be the next big thing and you
will be the thing that already was.
Aimee: What helps you stay
focused when you are dealing with constant stream of employees, clients,
emails, and phone calls?
Lawrence: I remind myself that the barrage is due to the fact that there
is a demand to what I am offering, that what I’m doing may be the NEXT BIG
THING, and do whatever it takes to stay driven and focused.
http://hayahon.com/pop-up-info/ |
Aimee: What tools do you use in
order to keep you on top of things and stay organized?
Lawrence: I hate technology as much as I know that it is essential nowadays,
but I’m old school and tend to hand write everything and manually keep files. This
allows me to retain this information in my brain knowing that I wrote it, read
it, filed it, and dealt with it myself.
It’s not rocket science, but it works for me.
Aimee: What types of contacts
are most important when starting a new business?
Lawrence: Your vendor/employee relationships. These people are essential
to running and maintaining your business.
They are the life blood of your product and an important support system
for when things are going tough.
Aimee: Whom do you go to when
you want to, or are starting, a new business?
Lawrence: The city, permits, licenses, taxes, etc. This is the part of the
starting a new business that you don't want to cut corners because it will bite
you later. Always do good by the city
and the city will be your best friend.
Aimee: Who helped you establish
your business?
Lawrence: My partners, I am blessed to work with a group of guys that have
the same passion that I do and look forward to growing our business together. It’s
always important to have this support group.
Aimee: Who is your support
network?
Lawrence: My partners, and friends and family of course. These
are the ones that were with you in the beginning and have supported you through
thick and thin. It’s only natural to gravitate towards them in your time of
need.
Lawrence's newest venture-Street Food Dojo He's still deciding which logo to go with, which one do you like? |
I enjoyed reading this post. I like that he is conscious about keeping his employee and partner relationships good ones. It is very important to nurture those relationships.
ReplyDeleteLawrence Lee is an absolute inspiration. It is almost as if everything he was saying should be turned into a book titled "Entrepreneurship Essentials." He is humble enough to admit that he constantly views himself as veering down the wrong path, and that is why he has to take the time to reflect, motivate and remind himself of his purpose and role as an entrepreneur. His humility will keep him successful in the long run, and others pursuing opening up their own business should take note. I sure did. Great interview!
ReplyDeleteI thought that Lawrence Lee is very intelligent in what his career motive is and I feel like this interview motivated other people to not give up and follow their dreams.
ReplyDelete