Hi, This is Shauna, the CEO and founder of Fuel talent. One of the things I have loved most in my 25 year recruiting career has always been the stories that people tell stories of leadership, career choices, company ideas and team building. My inspiration for starting the wet fuels you podcast came from being curious about people's lives and wanting to help share their stories. What path brought them to this place? What decisions did they make that led to failures and successes, who influenced those decisions and what lessons were learned along the way? I hope you enjoy the what fuels you podcast. Elissa Lee, known in today's guest on the Wet Fuels You podcast, is nearing 24 years as the founder and CEO of Gore Mondo Catering. What started as a 470 square foot four table cafe and Pike Place market has evolved into Seattle's leading catering and gourmet box lunch company. Ellis has known for building her business around the Working parent model, leading by example while raising her two Children.

She is an Ernst and young entrepreneur of the year finalist of 40 under 40 honoree and an incredible part of the Seattle community among being a good friend. Welcome, Melissa. Oh, thank you for having me. You're so welcome. So obviously as as preparing for this and like, we only listed a few things. There's a ton of other things I'm like, What is a girl? You're so humble. I never like you. Don't brag about these things. Well, that's very kind of you. Yes.

And warm hearted and gorgeous to boot. So yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for coming. Okay. We're starting with rapid fire. And I know you well enough to know that you're gonna be What? Yeah. No, that's what I already got. You going. What I got you. Because it's here in the food business was the strangest thing that you've ever

eaten. Oh, gosh. And crickets. I don't know. Are

you If are you, like, open

to trying new things? You know what? Here's the thing. I am absolutely an equal opportunity when it comes to food. I mean, I think people often think Well, you're in the business. You're probably sophisticated. Diner. I'll eat corn dogs at 7 11 You know, and I think that I also been enormous amount of respect for fine dining. I mean, that's where the geniuses and it's an art form into itself. And so I have nothing but respect for that. But I also like a great diner and you'll find me a randy is down on airport way. So

I'm going with this one's heavier What's your biggest fear?

You know, my biggest fear, I think, is a business owner. I've been doing this for almost 24 years now, and I've got 253 employees, and some of them have been with me for, you know, 18 years. And I mean, I feel I feel a real sense of responsibility and a deep commitment to them. And I think my fear is you know, you want to try and build a business and you need to take a risk. But you want to be thoughtful because there's a lot of people that depend on you making the right decisions on being thoughtful about how you grow. So I would say my fear is, you know you don't want to fail your teams, and you know you want to make sure you protect the business so that you can take care of

the teams. Yeah, I love it. Um, what's your favorite cuisine besides corn

dogs? So that, you know I love a great steak. I really d'oh!

I have to say

how Well, you know, it's funny. I'm until a quick story here we can always

add It is How do you think this is Rapid? Oh, no, No kidding. I wanna hear your story. I mean, hear your story aboutthe

steak. So I've always loved red meat. I'm a big fan of that. But I remember I was in college and I went to meet my grandmother for dinner, and it was August 90 degrees out. So I pull up to meet her and we get in her big, huge El Dorado fancy red card. She's like, I'm taking a dinner. We're on our way. And I'm thinking, Oh, this is great. We're probably going to go to Anthony's, will be right on the water. Can't wait, get outside and she rolls up to the steward Anderson Steakhouse.

Don't want no, no, And she's like, Come on, get in here. And so we get in and you gotta adjust your eyes because it's super dark and you've got the big, huge. You know, booths. And we sit down and she looks at me and she's like, Elissa, I'm gonna tell you one thing. There is nothing better than a great steak in a very dark room. And so true. So true words of wisdom, Grandma.

She's right. That's exactly it. Was she a foodie? You know what? She she loved food. But you she was never a foodie. But, um, you know, she was a great cook, and and she was a beautiful, just a beautiful soul on a great personality.

Nice. Okay. Best trip you've ever taken.

Oh, Italy. I loved Italy. It was very inspiring. I actually did an exchange program over there. And that's when I realized I really wanted to do something in the world of food.

That's great. And, um, besides me, I'm just putting who makes you laugh more than anyone in the world.

You know, my kids, My kids are hilarious.

They're great. I can't wait to meet that, Um and this is our inside joke. But for our listeners, what beauty products can you not live without? Oh, that is so funny. That's a great one. We both love our

proud all we do, we're Yeah, that's for sure. I would say I love the Lord Mercy. A tinted moisturizer.

I love it. Yeah, it's a nice goatee. Disagree, Especially going into summer. Oh, yeah. Nice plug for Laura. Mercy. I love it. OK, so tell, um, tell our listeners. Obviously you're the CEO and founder of Armando, but we're going to take it back. Thio,

Um, old school, little girl. Elissa, you're from here to Seattle. Fourth generation Seattleite. Yeah. Yeah. What do you think of Seattle like? Do you feel proud to be from

here? I love Seattle. I mean, it is my community. And, you know, my great grandfather immigrated here from Italy, and he was wth e immigrant doctor in town. So we have roots back in Georgetown, in Seattle, which was the little Italy of the city back in the day. And I feel, you know, a huge connection to the city. Um, and I'm really proud to be a part of it. You have siblings? I do. I have one younger

sister, one younger sister. And so, what was your childhood like care? Were you like suburban city?

We were city kids, you know, And very, very close to our parents. Our parents divorced when we were young. I think my sister was about three and I was about five. Ah, my sister were closed. And you know, it's interesting because I think family can look a lot of different ways. And even the girls were divorced. They were really dedicated and devoted parents. And we knew that we were, Ah, big deal. We were prioritized. And,

you know, I think what I learned from them is is just the rhythm and the rituals of, you know, meals together. And I think also just the routines and traditions, their critical. And that's what creates family Phil. Real fortunate. The other thing I would say to is, as a parent myself, what's interesting about my family is they always believed in us that's here. And you know, what's so funny is that I think growing up with parents who had that mentality, you just figured you could do it. Absolutely. Because whether they really believed in you or not,

yes, you thought they did. Yeah, and there's something about that that allows you to take a risk, and I think it really creates a basic confident

Absolutely. Did you have, like, something to fall back on as faras? Um, Security?

No, Actually, one of the other things that I think my parents did that I want to continue to do for my kids is they were always there for me, for emotional support, and they're always there to help, but I need to define myself on my own. When I started my company, I refinanced my car. I started it with $4000 you know, and they were there to support me, but they were really clear. Like, this is your dream. You need to own it. You need to understand that value. They were my

customers, you know. Look at another

box lunch, please. No, no. Because the first day sales were $36 which didn't count, cause 24 bit was my mother. You know that,

Mama, you would do the same thing for your kids on My dad's the same. They're great. I love it when we're going to get more into you as a mom because that's one of the sides of you that I love the most. But what? What do you think? As faras their values? Or were they really

clear, really crystal clear. I would say my father there he has such an extraordinary integrity, and he also was incredibly humble. If there was anything I learned from my father, it is Hume. You've got to be humble and stay humble and bi curious and asked questions always be learning. And he held himself to really high standard of integrity. And he held my sister and I did that, too. And I think that that was really important. That was a business lesson that became really, really critical as I was growing the company. If you're aligned with your values, you know, that's what the foundation of your corporate culture relies on

is your values. Did you set those early on or

does it take a while? I did well, I think that you know your company develops out of what you value and what you believe in. And so I think it's really important Thio to recognize that. And then my mom was fearless. She was absolutely fearless, and she was a, um, working single mother, and she was an inspiration. I watched her that well. If she can own a company and she can figure it out. I think that's what I'll d'oh she really, you know, kind of blazed a trail for me, and

that's amazing. That's unique. Also,

have that. Yeah, back in the day, You know, when

it was tough for her, for sure. And so what were you like as a little girl compared to who I got to meet? It was very awkward. Very awkward.

I was very late, bloomer. So I read a lot, you know, Um, a little bit of

home body. Do you think that the people who knew you back then would be surprised to see your success?

I think as I got older, people could potentially recognize when I started working at 14. But what were you doing when you're what started as a dishwasher? Ferrell's, which was a girl

loved. We used to have one on our way. Lloyd's girls.

It's funny because I was in the dish pit and I was working on the dish pit for a few months and I went to my manager. Then I said, You know, I think I'm ready for more opportunity. I'd really like to advance with Farrells, and I remember looking at me no super scrawny and awkward. I was 14. Yeah, I just don't know if you've got what it's gonna take. And

so exactly

where she is. I'm not really clear on that. And I was like, Oh, okay, well, I might have to re I might have to come back to

that so interesting. And so you worked at Farrell's and then went to U

Dub. So I did Farrell's when I was 14. 15. And then I started working in restaurants right away. Um,

after that, ever regret that I never worked in restaurants? I think I would

have loved. It's amazing energy, The pace, the community you really do fall in love the industry. Oh, for sure. So I started working in some of the really great restaurants in the city. I had the opportunity to work with some really incredible restaurant tours. I worked with the Rosella family. Atze Stanza. I worked with Luciano Bardin, Ellie at Said to bellow and strays. Ah, um and I also worked with Jimmy Mellow Beat sees the Adriatic a single theme here. Yeah, exactly. And then I ended up with the University of Washington, got my business degree and tried to figure out. How could I go back into the industry and have a quality of life? Because I knew I wanted to be a mom, and I was worried about losing my nights in my weekends,

which came first. Commander of the Mondo came first s. So you knew you wanted to be a mom and you knew you wanted something in the food industry. But was there a moment where it was like, ha ha catering?

Uh, I actually just came out of necessity. What I decided is I wanted to get into the food world, but I felt like the only way I could actually create some kind of, you know, enough income and not lose all my nights and weekends. I'd have to control my own destiny, which meant I'd have to open my own little place. So that's when I refinance my car. And I started the cafe with two other people at the time. It's just the three of us. And, um, you know, the idea was we were gonna actually have these little packaged meals and delivered them for dinner. But we were We were heart was not. There

was no, I'm

like that's happening that's not happening now, right? 20 years later. But at the time, that wasn't a market for it wasn't so innovative. Yeah, it's interesting. So we just had this four tables, and we just, you know, we had a really nice lunch business, but there's no way you're gonna make any kind of an income

off of that. So you have a business model and, like, a game

plan? Oh, yeah. Oh, no. I had a whole business plan. I had written an entire business plan, and the idea was around this dinner delivery program, which did not come off the ground. And so it was a slow start. I mean, we would do we would work like, tirelessly and 2 $300 a day in sales, you know, we'd have a little line up there or Yeah, we have a little line out the door, but we only had four tables and it was grab and go and it was lunch. And I remember thinking, Okay. How

are we gonna get this off the ground? This is too much work. And the other two

were business partners. Yes, we'd all gone it together. And we each made $600 a month. That was our take home pay.

Yeah, And where we'll get that? I

was in the Biltmore Apartments. So, like I was married at the time. Okay, Yeah, I was. I married my college sweetheart and we were together. And I remember we were struggling to figure out you know how to pay rent and how to get me to move forward. And so it was really truly out of necessity that I thought, What other revenue streams can we, you know, come up with to just sure. This restaurant, this little cafe I was really? Was it called Grimandi was calling Armando, and I was pretty confident we wouldn't make it the first year. Yeah,

but you know, how did your business do you feel about it? They're like, we're out. And they thought they were They were nervous. Yeah, and but and a lot of pride in the company. And I thought, Let's just let's do the best we can. And the market is incredible place to incubate a business. I mean, how did you The community is insane. Well, we found a tiny little four lease space. Right next to Madame was long of tattoo parlor. Hey. And she was our number one client. I mean, she was great. She

was fat. And she's still

there. Yeah, I love her. She actually moved across the street, but she was

great. It must be nostalgic for you to go

to the market like all the time of my kids. Go

with me all the time. I want to

go with you. It's really great because I know all these different vendors and they really helped Armando. I mean, Louis de la Renta gave us a line of credit. Solid, pure food. Fish came in little line of credit. Cristian Terry itl open. Yea, they helped me out with the bread and 24 years later, we still by their baguettes. First we get, like, 8000 month now from them. But they were extending me credit and helping me and giving me they better when nobody would, you know, paid attention or really even thought we'd do anything. So we were really fortunate.

Yeah, that's amazing. And watching me through. So you the other partners were like him out.

Well, what happened was my first partner. She actually got pregnant, I think after the second year. And she's like, You know, I want to be a stay at home mom And I said, Oh, God bless you know, I feel you there and I think that makes sense. So she, I think, had invested $3000. I was like, How am I gonna come up with a minor? You settle that? So I I think I took a cash advance on my credit card,

took care of that. And then, interestingly enough, she had a fabulous little baby boy and we were chatting. I think when her little son was like three or four months and she got emotional and she's like, This is hard. I'm having a hard time figuring out How do I be a mom and and still have something that's my own and contribute to, you know, to my family and have some source of income. And we were chatting and I was like, I don't know how about what If I just buy those little brownie cakes from you that you used to make for the little box lunches? I gotta buy the wholesale those to me. So she started wholesale, and then we put in the box lunches, and now we get 12,000 of those from her every month. And she has on her

how that I mean that alone. That's gotta feel good. Just

that alone. You know, I just think that really great businesses are built around relationships and around connection, and she puts the best possible product out. And I am proud to serve it, you know? And she's a woman that I admire and I love doing business with, and I have my own bakery. So what happened could take him on myself, you know, but But I'll never touch those because I love

what she is. Your loyal because you're you. Well, she's great. She's

on the run is a hit, right? Well, my second business partner, we we're in business together up until it was around 8 4009 and the economy was really in trouble, and Armando has taken a hard hit on, and we just had very different ideas of how to move the company through. That rice is because we were struggling. I almost bankrupt the company in 06 and from some aggressive business growth decisions, which we learned a lot from but way were back on our feet. And then the recession hit and it was really clear that we had to move quick and we had to be willing to pivot and we couldn't get in alignment. I think he really wanted to be conservative and just wait out the storm. And I wanted to take it as an opportunity to just jump into more market share. And don't know. It sounds like your mom. Yes, just like my mom. Right? Right. And so,

in what way did you do to do pivot?

So basically, we ended up ending the partnership. I bought him out, and then I just went in bags. So I we started marketing heavier. And when he started, you know, looking at how do we refresh the brand? And and how do we, you know, expand our platform and refresh the website? So just jumping into that

and a lot more in order

to grow. You know, we did take on a little bit of debt t grow, and the challenge was we we were just barely breaking even. But I had some cash that we've been sort of, you know, whole reserves and reserves. So we deployed that, and we didn't. We held steady with all of the quality. We never, you know, adjusted. Any of that was just just continue to reach out.

And And who was your grocer at the time?

Those years in a mom? Yeah, my mom and my dad. They were both great. I mean, they were really always there. And I think once again, they just believed in me. Even when I wonder if they actually really did. They sure seemed like they did, right?

Gave you the confidence to come forward. At what time did you feel successful? For the first time.

It's such an interesting question, I think is an entrepreneur. You never feel like you've got it right now. Actually, for the first time, it was about two years ago, I think, as you grow a company and I've never taken on, um uh, you know, I own the company 100% myself now, and I don't have any private investors. I've never even given away equity and I don't have the only dead I have is a little bit of bank debt. And about two years ago, we closed out the company, and I think when you have bank that you always feel like If something horrible happened, the bank kind of owned you,

so you never really feel like it's all yours. So about two years ago, when we were closing out the year end and tying up the books, that was when I realized, you know, the company was so healthy. We we've done a really good job of preserving capital and taking out debt and building up reserves that, you know, I I own every crappy pot and pan every vehicle all gotta feel. It was all mine, and that felt really good. And that's not like you know what it truly is. Mine.

Yes, that was a moment. Was there any sort of moment in time in the past 24 years? I know you've had a great run this past several years. Um, where you're like, holy smoke. We just got such a big order. This kind of changed our business.

We never had a massive order that shifted the business, but I will say that we entered into new markets that were profoundly impactful on the company. And I'll try and kind of make this, you know, as tight as I can. But in 06 I wanted to go into this corporate dining world, which is where a lot of great larger companies they have their own campuses. And so you like an Amazon, has their campus. Microsoft has their campus and we were given an awarded an opportunity to go on to a corporate campus as their food operator, and I was a $1,000,000 company at the time. This was another $1,000,000 book of business. So I was literally gonna double the company overnight, and I was super excited about it that there's a huge opportunity for success there. We went into it. We've never been. We never done it before.

We didn't know what we didn't know, and it just blew up on me. I couldn't catch up to it, you know, weed big over, over promise. You know, we'll know what happened was we didn't really understand the actual market, you know, we were We were being awarded the project by the executive team, but actually, when we started opening this cafes and working with the people who were supporting the cafes, the different employees, it was a lot of people from shipping and receiving. And it was a lot of people who were looking for just really nice, economical,

approachable meals. And we had a little, you know, we had a wild mushroom york crab cakes and the little salads. And they're like, Hey, what are you going to do? The chili dogs? And, uh, that's a problem. 00 dear. And so I think we need to learn to understand the voice of the customer and then make sure that we created products that support it. So we're never gonna do a chili dog. But we did do really great, brought worse with roasted peppers,

and we got thumbs from Julie's in the market, and I think the challenge with that project was it was very complex. It was in a space we never been, and I literally took the company to bankruptcy. I mean, I took it to the mats. I I lost $300,000 in about three months. I couldn't catch up to it, and we were literally losing the company. I had the bookkeeper coming in tears, and she's like, I don't know what you're gonna do about payroll were now on C o d. Nobody's delivering to us. We're in big trouble. And what year was this? This was an 06 and I remember I'm just It was happening so fast I couldn't keep up.

Please. Could you married with me?

Yeah. I had two little kids at home, and I just remember thinking, Oh, my God. I'm gonna lose the company. I've got 50 employees at the time, and I'm like, and some of them had been with me for, like, eight years. I'm like, I cannot believe one stupid decision, and I'm gonna lose it all. It's gonna I'm losing everything. And remember, went home that night and I called my mom,

and I'm like, Mama screwed up. I'm gonna lose this company a 10 years. I made one stupid choice, and I'm gonna lose everything. Where is she? Got quiet. And then she was Oh, shut up! And I was like, What? Look, Mom, this night, empathetic. You didn't even hear music?

No, I heard you. Fine, Elissa. She's like we're entrepreneurs. This is what we do. We play Vegas. Okay? She's like, here's a news flash. You're going to make mistakes and you'll make more. It's not the mistake that matters because we all do that. It's how you recover that's gonna define you. So if you could just get over, get over yourself and start figuring out how you're going to fix it. That's where you're gonna find your success.

Wait In shells. No, it was huge, Mom. For me, it gave me. It was like, Well, first, it was a huge epiphany, and it also gave me kind of like this open door to stop beating myself up. I was so ashamed. I was so angry at myself, I couldn't stop thinking about the failure, and it allowed me to let that go and just focus on how am I gonna get out of this? So I took the weekend. I read, I figured out how we're gonna work through

it. Did you do that by yourself?

I did. All by myself. Yeah. And so then I, um you know what? I did what my dad always told me. It's all about integrity, you know? It's all about being honest. And so I called all my vendors. I'm like, Hey, hello, Melissa. Yeah. Okay. Yeah,

I know I haven't paid you in, like, two or three months and guess what? I'm not gonna pay it for a little bit longer, but I'm gonna pay you, and it's probably only gonna be about two or $300 this week, but I'm going to keep it up. I need you. I just I just need you to not give up on me for about another 30 60 days. I got this. I've been doing this 10 years. I promise you, I'm gonna do it for another 20. I need you to bet on me on this. And, you know,

it was awesome about all these vendors. And God bless Ron Rose, Ellen Rose, Ella's produce. That man kept a lot of us in business. And he's an extraordinary man, but he and he and particularly sick Elissa, I'm not happy about this, all right? But I got you. You take care of business. I got you. And a lot of the vendors were like that and in first. And that's why I think relationships are so important because everybody's gonna have a time when they trip. And when you have your community, that's they're like,

Hey, okay. We believe in you. You're not gonna fail them, you know, it makes you feel even that much more like, determined to be successful. And they gave

me a runway. Oh, my gosh. And I gotta say this in your instant young interview. I don't know that I I want her toe e. I mean, this

is incredible story, but, you know, the best part of the story is that we How'd you get out of this year's? A deal I took. I was operating all these cafes as if they were their own little restaurants. Full inventory, full staff, the whole bit. And we couldn't pencil it. We were losing too much cash. And it was It was it was brutal. So we reduced it all down, and we just basically started commissary in everything from Gore Mondo doing a really beautiful grab and go program. And just having this little grab and go feature in these cafes, we had to get out of the program. The contract. The contract was about to end. We knew financially

I had to stabilize the company. Can you say the company that you were doing

was Actually we were working with group Health and they're a great company, but we just couldn't We couldn't do the program. And so we got out of that. And But I tell you, I was like, You know what? I'm gonna learn from this. I'm gonna come back, too. And ironically, 34 years later, I came back into it, but I took what I learned, which is if we do a beautiful program and we do small spaces and we just do grab and go we can create a nice amenity for these corporate partners that allows them to give a high quality product, too, to their working families. So their employees,

that's fast and convenient, a fraction of the cost of these heavily subsidized big corporate campus programs. And it's now become the fastest growing division of the company. And it's been a big part of the success of the business. I mean, I've tripled the size of the company in three years on these can really strong driver in that So

and so's a menu. Are you do like an R p or how does

that work? You know, we will obviously learned a lot from the, you know, big mistakes in the beginning, but we want to make sure that we've got the right audience that they like our food. And then we present a proposal. We talk it through, we'll customize different pieces for them. And then, um, we'll, you know, we'll we'll pop up in these different cafes. And what's nice is we can have a holistic approach to support the employees of the building. You need catering. If you need box lunches,

whatever you need, we can really take care of it. So they're synergies to the other divisions of the company. So it's very healthy for the business. Yes. So we see a lift throughout all the divisions of the company. And how many in place yet now 253.

I mean, obviously you've got people working, driving the trucks and you've got people working in the cafes every different type of human being. Is there a common thread among the Gore Mondo employee?

You know, this, I think, is probably one of the things I'm most proud of. We did. We've done some different surveys, like, you know. Okay. What do you think of Armando? What's one word? What would you say? The word that keeps coming up his family, which which I love because for me when I started Go Armando. I knew I want to have kids and I knew what I wanted to be home to pick up my kids from school. My parents worked hard and we were latchkey kids. And I remember thinking,

Hey, when it's my turn, when I'm up to bat by open a company, I want to try and and take their sacrifices and see if I could do it a little differently. So I decided if I was going to start my business, that I wanted to create a plan where we could do a production schedule so that everybody could be often time to see their kids and pick him up from school. If I wanted that, if I valued it, then I want offer that value to the teams. So people were part time. Everybody works from about five in the morning till about one in the afternoon, one or two in the afternoon, 80% of the team. We still have some people in the office that'll, you know, grab calls until 5 80% of the company has gone in time to pick up their kids. Even the cafes were closing by you know three o'clock, so it's important to me and I developed a whole business around that, and

he's a unique

while. We also close the company down between 10 15 and 10 45 and we have a family lunch together. And I think that's one of the most critical times of the day, because that's when the teams are collaborating and they're talking and there's a community there. So I think those are the values that I circling back to what we talked about in the beginning. That might not be for everybody, but I know they're important to me because money comes and goes.

I think everybody listening probably has some more values. But how? That's the hard part. How have you done this? How he organizes like, Hey, don't check my email or I do work at night after the kids or No, no, what do you do

All that I think it takes for me. It took a lot of discipline. It's hard once again, as an entrepreneur, you feel like the way you add values by working the hardest, working the longest, doing everything for the company, showing leading by example, and I think what I learned is that I had to be honest with myself and recognize where I actually do add value for the business and where I get in the way. Yes. And then making sure that I bring in really, really strong leadership to support those areas where the company really needs help. Where I

just can't I can't I don't have any skills today,

I would say, For me, it's about business development. Business strategy brand. You know, those were the things and and culture and community within the company. Those

air important, the high touch

thing. Yeah. Yeah, well, I'm not a good operator. I am not gonna the details. And so bringing in a president, we have, Ah, Jonathan Zimmer, who is our president, who is absolutely extraordinary world class talent. And he's just in extraordinary operator. And he's great at execution.

Yes, and I know that you're really happy with your chef. Oh,

my gosh. My chef's extraordinary. I

have to tell you, I'm on your team. Members listening. Elissa brags about you guys all the

time. No, Bill Morris is a rock star. He's insane. I mean, and he commands such extraordinary respect within our industry and he's our executive chef, and I'm immensely proud to work with them. But I'll tell you something, we often say, is entrepreneurs. Oh, you know, hire people who are smarter or more educated, who are more experienced. I think that's just the ticket to the big show. I think the magic happens when you get out off their way. Yes,

let me let them be their greatness. And my job is to give them the resource is and the support to do great things. And that's not just a the leadership level that's in the dish pit. That's what the drivers, that's what the cafe workers that's on the line. That's what the customer service teams you want tell it

all around you. Are you running ads and hoping they respond? Are you asking around to find out who's really good in the industry and then going out and actively

recruiting? It's a combination. I mean, we're always we always have ads out. We're always looking for people, and then it's also the teams like who who do you know who's who has, who has got a lot of talent, whose is hungry to work and wants to learn and so a lot of times within your own network, when you have great people who work with you, they often have another cup of great people, and

so that's important. They know that you've talked about some of the failures on that. You're kind of as an entrepreneur, not ever really feeling 100% successful. But is there a moment of like, Oh, if we hit X and profit or revenue or corporate campuses that were on that I will feel like we've arrived?

I think for me success looks like, uh, you know, I've got a balanced life. I'm involved in this community. I'm producing a product that I am proud of, that I've got teams that I can support. Oh, I like growing the company. I have a lot of energy around that and the teams, they're hungry for it. So I want us to continue to grow. I wants to move into secondary markets. I want us to. We're looking at her opening and launching a retail line in the grocery stores, so there's lots of that would be exciting. I think opportunities for us that we're in the middle of pursuing,

um but I also think that you know, I want to I want to make sure that whatever I developed for the business also is thoughtful, intentional for the quality of life for the teams. And you asked about, you know, how do I create my schedule? And I only work two and 1/2 days a week. I had

that schedule for unique 20 years to talk more about that because I'm sure people listening or blown away to hear that.

Well, when I had my daughter, um, she was really tricky. She's very hurt, baby. I got this really very challenging job here, and I realized at that moment I don't think I could never work full time again. This child is very, very difficult. And I don't know if I'm good at the mom job. I need way more time and effort into this. And so I made a decision that it would never work full time again, and but it was really heard because it means meant I had to let go of things like that's very vulnerable when you're not there every day and you're not doing everything you have to trust that the people you have in place are going thio to to do great things and they may make mistakes, but you gotta allow them to make those mistakes. I guarantee they don't make

him again. Were you driven at the time by money?

No, actually, it really wasn't because I think what I had learned is that money was gonna come and go. I had to be proud of what I was doing. And I had to be growing, and I had to be. We were always profitable, except for 06 That was a disaster. And we had a couple of years where we were pretty flat. But in general, it's been a healthy, profitable company that I've grown slowly about Three years ago, I really kicked it into high gear and like, Hey, what can we do? And that's when we went off to the races. But my kids were a little bit older,

too. Yeah, so for me to keep that part time schedule, it's about having a disciplined schedule. It means if I don't work on Wednesdays and Fridays, I don't schedule anything on Wednesdays and Fridays because it's too easy to let it

slip, let it slip, and do you check your e mails

on with Susan, right? Nails? No, no. Yeah. I never even had my emails linked to my phone until maybe about a year ago. Okay? And that and that

helps. So because of that, they have those emergency calls.

There's definitely two or three people that know where to get me how to get a hold of me. And I'm always available. If there's an emergency, if anybody text me or calls me, they know they're gonna get a call within, you know, a minute. I'm available to them, but they also are great. They don't call unless they know that. Hey, this needs to be dealt with and then we make sure it gets taken care of. And it's managing the team's expectations, too. I mean, when I bring in leaders of the company, I'll say,

Hey, I want to give you tools and resource is I want you to be successful. That's critical. We need you to be successful. I want you to have, you know, to feel a sense of ownership in the business. But I also want to tell you another. Another measurement of success is that I'm not here full time I'm here two and 1/2 days a week. If I'm here full time, something's probably gone terribly wrong in the company. Yeah, and somebody might be getting it. And you have any guilt? I don't, Because when I'm there,

I have meetings. I am. I am engaged. I'm involved. And so I make sure that if I say I'm gonna be there on that Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, I am there, and I am present, and I am. The teams were great about hate. Just the facts. Let's, like, drill into this stuff. Let's get it done. And they have a lot of support to I do not micromanage anybody on. And so I think they feel you know, that they have the abs ability to

to make decisions and that they have my support. I mean, I love that they would describe the company as like, family has a word, but what word would they use to describe you? Oh, gosh, I don't. Come on, baby.

I've heard before that, like the owner of Gore model leads from the heart, you know, and I do think that

that's so Yeah, that's not

things about your heart centered lady. Thank you. But then I've also heard she leads with her heart. Virtual rule with an iron fist, you know? So we have a We have a strong team. Yeah, I'm scared. I think I've

only seen you happy and, like, generous. You're so

generous. Thank you. Thank you. I I don't think you can run and grow a company for 24 years. If you can't also make sure that you've got some chops and you're able to take a punch, you're able to get back up and you're able to swing when

you need to swing. Yeah. So you're not suffering from guilt. These are just some of the female kind of generalities, not a gnarled run around. What about imposter syndrome?

I think I would suffer from guilt if I wasn't managing expectations. If I was telling, people will be there full time and I wasn't there. Then I'd feel really guilty, and I did struggle with that in the beginning. Was first shifting to part time. I had a hard time with it. But once I made that commitment, and that's made it known, you know, expected. It was very

easy. So on. What about imposter syndrome, I think. Yes, I think we all have that. At least I know for me, you know, like, how did I get here in this room? Do I deserve to be here?

I think that's an interesting question. I think that, um I think I always

feel like I'm never doing enough. And I can always do more successful.

You know, maybe that's it. You never feel like, really I'm in a podcast. Like why she won't talk to me. You gotta be kidding

me. I mean, I'm already I've had a lot of incredible leaders on the podcast, and I am already thinking of all the things that people are learning from listening to the broadcast, I'm learning as a business owner. I mean, it's incredible. What do you do for you? Like just to relax? Besides working two and 1/2. Basically, I know I haven't, like, truly if you just want to chill,

it's no secret that obviously I'm in food and I love the business food, and my kids are foodies, too, and so we're kind of a food family, and we we often go to dinner. I can getting out of the house, getting away from the phones, having a meal together, cooking with my kids, not a cook. And I think that's important, too. So, um, really, I haven't I don't know that there's anything that I'm doing in rhythm or in a routine. I mean,

I like to read, you know, doing the yoga. Yeah, I really need to get a little bit more on the ball with all

that. What's happened? It makes you feel good. It really does, really does. And what about, um, your kids like, how do you like to spend time with them? And what do you think's most important? As far as the legacy that you leave for them?

I really want my kids to be humble. I want them to be kind and I want them to know howto work hard, those air really important, you know? And I think those air the tools where they will find their success. And, you know, I don't know what that will look like for them. I I they both seem very entrepreneurial to me. I love to potentially see them involved in the company, but that might not be weird. They find their voice. They may do their own thing.

Um, my nine year old Leila, who you know, is like, Yeah, I'm gonna be taking over fuel talent one day, and I might actually you need to cook at a

job. Well, we don't just get todo eso Both my kids start working at 14. And my daughter started in a dish pit and the retirement home. And when we came to see, we've always lived in Seattle. We lived in Bay Bridge for a little while, and then we came back to Seattle, and, um, she was looking for a job. This is two years ago. She was 17 and we had just opened three cafes and I really needed just some warm bodies in the cafes. And so I talked to my cafe director. I said, Hey, I know we need bodies.

I can throw my daughter in there for, you know, just this summer. But I swear to God, if she sucks yanker, I do not want her messing with the family name, you know, But just let's

give her a shot. Let's

see how she does. And she actually to her credit, she worked really hard, and I didn't anticipate how passionate she would be about it. So I was proud. And at first I'm like, Oh, this is rainbow zing unicorns. Look at her. She's the 1st 1 and she's the last one to leave. What a great job. Second week, I'm like, Oh, I don't know if I like this anymore. Every day. Hey,

I have a thought. Mom, I think we need this. I have been looking at this and we need another chicken sandwich and like, No, we don't. No, we don't. We're fine. Oh, no, we do. I talked to three different people. We got a habit. I'm like you have a chicken sandwich. So now all of a sudden,

I got pressure at home, right? We're goes by and the chicken sandwiches, like chirping in my ear every day. So I have to go to management, meaning like what's going with the chicken sandwich? Consumptive. Please make a new chicken sandwich like no, with a fabulous chicken sandwich. It's on a baguette. She's fine. Tell her she's fine. We don't know what she's talking about. She's like, Oh, no,

there was only come on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We need a hot chicken sandwich, so I have to go back the next week because and then I have a myriad of other, you know, suggestions. Right? But she will not give up on the chickens and her. Oh, it gets better. So the second we could go back and they're like, OK, well, we'll put it under consideration. Tell her we'll think about it like Okay, fine. So I tell her she buys that for about a week.

Then I come home. She's made prototypes of the chicken sound that she believes needs to be sold in the cafes. And she tells me, Could you please give these to the decision makers at the company like, Oh, my God. So I said one to give one to the executive chef. One of the president wanted the cafe director, and they're fine, like, Okay, that's it. We're

putting the damn thing on the menu. That is so great. You have to give

it her name. So that's the next thing. So then they say we're gonna name it the Olivia like No, no, no, no, no. There's no personal glory. I just want her off my back, okay? And they're like, No, it's gonna be called the Olivia because if it's a good one, we want the other cafe team members to know. Okay, if you get excited about something, there's an opportunity. So we launched that thing. It's the number one selling sandwich in the whole Kathy Division.

It's been that way for you. To you, Olivia, Go girl. Apparently your listens daughter and grandmother's granddaughter runs it runs pick in the family. Crazy fearlessness and tenacity. We like it. I think that's a great

qualities. And, you know, and so that's my hope for both Olivia and my son Joe. And you know, I'm real proud of how hard they work and

how passionate they are. Well, it's no surprise that that what about your such a long Joe rolls into the cafes this summer, so this will be his first. All right, we'll make it. Remember the guy that we met at that event, and you like somehow it came up that you were the commando founder and CEO, and he had worked on Amazon and he went crazy like your Madonna. Or like Michael Jackson. He just wanted to talk and talk and talk out his favorite meals

that made my night and then It was so

cute how touched you are. And it's so you'll be so humble and be like Oh, really? You know who I am? And I was like, Yes,

no, we said a ton of food to him the next day. I was really, really appreciative of his company. Was it meant a great deal of us, and you know that that was a great night.

Nice. Um, okay, So my final question for you, I ask all of my guests is what fuels you

In my business, we have the opportunity to, um actually to create opportunities for people that I believe are often underserved in our community. And I think if I look at what fuels me, when I'm proud of Is is having a company that can can create these opportunities for people who might have English as a second language or for people who are starting from a tough background. And they just need a new new shot at life for a second a second start or, you know, at risk youth who are coming to us off the streets. You know, watching them succeed and watching them grow with the company is profoundly and um, impactful to me and you know, I had a dishwasher. This was about four or five years ago on Ah, Lucy. She's amazing. She's our dishwasher at the time and vivacious, great personality.

And I walked by and she gives me this huge hug like, Oh, Lucy, Hello. I'm loving this hut. What is happening here? What are we celebrating? And she said, You know, Elissa, I didn't want to say it cause I was ashamed. But when I came here, I lived on the streets and I was homeless, and you guys gave me a shot and you gave me an opportunity. And I, you know,

I eat lunch with everybody every day, and I feel like I'm a part of this place and I feel like I'm a part of this community. She's like in today. I signed the lease on my very first apartment, and she's like, I just want to thank you So that of course I am emotional. She's emotional, like Lucy, I I need to tell you how grateful I am to be a part of this. I'm like, I am so proud of you. And this is a gift to be able to help celebrate this with you. So those are the things that fuel me. And I think I want to say one other thing. I think in Mike in my community, in the restaurant industry,

it might sound silly, but you think about like the Statue of Liberty, you know, like bring me your masses were often the gatekeepers were those that are helping support lifting people up. We're helping them. We're not giving them a handout. Were given the hand up we're creating resource is and opportunities for for people to get livable wages and entered advance. And not every industry can do that. And I take an enormous amount of pride in being able to toe, hopefully help lift up people who are coming to us, who just who wanna work hard

and they just need a shot. I love that, and Lucy's just one story of like you just happen to intersect with that day. But I'm sure there's yeah that you touched along the years, and that's got to be incredibly rewarding.

That's thank you so much. Appreciate it If we go shop now. Yes, let's

do it. Let's go shopping. Thank you. Bye. Thank you. for listening to the wet fuels you podcast. Be sure to subscribe. Rate and review on iTunes. Google podcasts are Spotify and follow us on social media to keep up with the latest news and episodes. You can also contact us at podcast at fuel talent dot com to provide feedback, ask questions and share topics or guests you would like us to cover in the future. We hope you feel inspired by our guests and that we have helped fuel your day. Join us next time for another episode of what fuels you.