Digital Hospitality Shawn P. Walchef

Last week, the participants of the Rising Tides LinkedIn Live room hosted by Cali BBQ Media discussed their personal entrepreneurship journeys.



What they all discovered was the winding roads that have endured, led to the points they are at currently.



There were stories shared and inspiration available in spades. 



Take a listen to this week’s replay and join today’s conversation at 10:00 AM PST live on LinkedIn.




Rising Tides LinkedIn Room - https://www.linkedin.com/events/risingtidelinkedinlive7203485007925895168/




Key Quotes:



“No training is wasted.” -Elizabeth Doss



“The more you talk about what you believe in and what I have found is there are a lot of people who. Who align, but just not a lot of people like to, or are comfortable in kind of putting themselves out there.” -Stover Hargar



“If you never do anything, then you’ll never do anything.” -TJ Void



“And as visionaries and as leaders and as entrepreneurs, the story we tell ourselves is the one that has to come first, because that's the story that they're going to pick up on and how you're going to inspire them to follow you and get through the bad times.” -Michael Ungaro



“The more you talk about what you believe in and what I have found is there are a lot of people who align.” -Mike LaRue



Rising Tide LinkedIn Live



Every Wednesday and Friday at 10am PDT, Shawn Walchef hosts the Rising Tide live room on LinkedIn. Leading voices in hospitality, and otherwise, from near and far join to discuss all things business and much more.

Camilla Opperman, CEO and Founder of Nimbus, is revolutionizing the concept of dark kitchens by integrating front-of-house infrastructure to enhance customer engagement. Through innovative strategies and a commitment to creating immersive food experiences, Nimbus is transforming the perception and functionality of ghost kitchens.



Opperman and Nimbus are challenging the traditional notion of ghost kitchens, which often operate in industrial areas with no direct consumer interaction. 



Opperman explains to show host Shawn Walchef of Cali BBQ Media, “I think the word ghost kitchen or dark kitchen…there's no consumer interaction. And something that we're doing at Nimbus is not only providing the back of house infrastructure for food businesses to launch, to grow, to thrive, but also providing them with the front of house infrastructure to actually engage with the end consumer.” 



This approach includes offering hospitality spaces for cooking classes, dinner parties, tastings, and other in-person, food-oriented events, bridging the gap between ghost kitchens and traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants, offering a unique value proposition for potential investors by combining innovative food business solutions with tangible consumer experiences. For Opperman, this both attracts and justifies investments due to the unique business model Nimbus offers.



“We have about 75 members across our four facilities here in New York City. About ten of them have come to us through that front of house event space,” says Opperman. “We don't have institutional capital. A lot of those angel investors really resonated with that kind of experience of food and that understanding that when you're sitting around a dinner table chatting with friends, that's so much better than ordering food from some nameless, faceless ghost kitchen.”



Another standout feature of Nimbus is their website, which features a dynamic blog that plays a crucial role in engaging potential clients and answering frequently asked questions. This strategic use of content not only streamlines the sales process but also enhances SEO efforts. 



“I think those pieces that we've put out on our website are in direct response to the questions we get in our sales process.”Opperman highlights. “90% of our customers have come to us from inbound leads, and I think a big part of that is because we've been able to be really creative around that blog content and making sure that we're putting keywords out there.”



Camilla Opperman's leadership and vision for Nimbus is setting a new standard in the ghost kitchen industry.



Cali BBQ Media



Digital Hospitality is an interview-based video podcast hosted by business owner Shawn P. Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) and produced by his Cali BBQ Media company sponsored by DAVO Sales Tax (@davosalestax) and Marqii (@getmarqii) The weekly digital series explores the ways successful businesses and entrepreneurs have merged old and new with innovative digital strategies that harness the power of the Internet and social media. Shawn is the founder of Cali BBQ Media and creator of the Restaurant Influencers podcast on Entrepreneur Media.



➤ Restaurant Influencers — https://link.chtbl.com/RIpodcast➤ Business Coaching — https://forms.gle/cnQ3sefMcAxQXbKa6➤ Cali BBQ Content — https://content.calibbq.media

Shawn Walchef lives by two deep thesis statements:




Be the Show, not the commercial!



Every business needs a show.




Those ideas were brought to last weeks’ Rising Tide LinkedIn Live Room as the participants discussed just how to create a show. 



The enlightening conversation led to the realization that doing so may not be as difficult as some may think, and a discussion of consistency was also had.



Every Wednesday and Friday at 10am PDT, Shawn Walchef hosts the Rising Tide live room on LinkedIn. Leading voices in hospitality, and otherwise, from near and far join to discuss all things business and much more.



Listen to the replay of the latest room where the participants discussed creating a show and follow Cali BBQ Media to keep up with the latest and join the rooms to tell your story and have your voice heard



Key Quotes



“What I learned is if you have two identical restaurants next to each other, people will go to the one where they know the story and they've seen who you are versus the other one.” -Michael Ungaro



“It's that idea of not only is the content good, but the consistency is good.” -Richard Liverman



“You need you. And you need the thing that you're holding right now, which is your smartphone. Like, you need access. You need to tell your truth, and you need to do it consistently. That's it. Doesn't matter the platform.” -Shawn Walchef



“Make a lot of mistakes. Don't be afraid to make mistakes with your shows.” -Jay Ashton

During a Live Coaching Call with mentor David Meltzer, Shawn Walchef unlocked key insights into maximizing the value and distribution of content. 



Meltzer emphasized the importance of understanding the quantitative value of post-production content, explaining how a single piece of content can reach millions if distributed correctly. 



Unlocking Quantitative Value



"The quantitative value of the post-production content, if utilizing the stage theory, can be millions of people for every piece of content," Meltzer noted.



Maximizing Content Distribution



In this session, Meltzer also stressed the necessity of a strategic approach to content capture and distribution. He shared that effective distribution begins with planning and capturing content in multiple ways to ensure it performs well across various platforms,and underscores the importance of a comprehensive strategy that includes identifying key participants and leveraging their networks for broader distribution.



"It's the before, the during, and after that's captured in a way that is already aligned with certain platforms," he explained. “We maximize distribution. So it's capture and distribute internally and externally.”



Aligning Timing and Risk Tolerance



Aligning timing and risk tolerance is crucial for executing Meltzer’s Stage Theory. He advised focusing on building authentic relationships and managing them throughout the content creation and distribution process. He also emphasized the need for flexibility and ongoing alignment to ensure long-term success.



"Your focus should be on aligning both parties involved with the timing and risk tolerance at each period of engagement," Meltzer said. “I don't hold anyone to their agreement because I think that's one of the biggest issues that is counterintuitive; is that we can come to an agreement that's a starting point. But the real relationship is managing and developing the timing and risk tolerance aligned with what we're going to do at all times.”



This Live Coaching session with David Meltzer provided valuable lessons on harnessing the power of content and strategic distribution to drive business growth and engagement.



Cali BBQ Media



Digital Hospitality is an interview-based video podcast hosted by business owner Shawn P. Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) and produced by his Cali BBQ Media company sponsored by DAVO Sales Tax (@davosalestax) and Marqii (@getmarqii) The weekly digital series explores the ways successful businesses and entrepreneurs have merged old and new with innovative digital strategies that harness the power of the Internet and social media. Shawn is the founder of Cali BBQ Media and creator of the Restaurant Influencers podcast on Entrepreneur Media.➤ Restaurant Influencers — https://link.chtbl.com/RIpodcast➤ Business Coaching — https://forms.gle/cnQ3sefMcAxQXbKa6➤ Cali BBQ Content — https://content.calibbq.media

Many of the Rising Tide LinkedIn Live Room regulars took to the road to converge on the National Restaurant Association Show 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. The annual trade show brings together the best and brightest in the hospitality industry to learn, network, and build.



A previous Rising Tide Room discussed best practices as it pertains to attending industry events large or small, but after being a part one of the largest restaurant shows, participants returned home with amazing stories. 



In yesterday’s LinkedIn Room, they shared these stories, which included landing face time with the great Robert Irvine!



Listen to the replay of yesterday’s conversations, and be sure to join us every Wednesday and Friday at 10am PST.



Key Quotes:



“Energy is a hell of an awesome currency, and I loved trading currency with a lot of these people in the room at the show, magical energy is a currency.” - Jason Berkowitz



“One of my key learnings from it was just realizing even more so that people buy from people, they don't buy from companies.” - Justin Ulrich



“until you speak those stories and share those stories, people make up their own story. And if you don't control your story, someone else will control it for you.” - Michael Unargo



“Tell people what you want. Tell this community what you need. Tell people what you're working on. Tell people your ideas for whatever the fuck it is. Because we want to help.” - Troy Hooper



“It's amazing how showing up every day does that. So show up, raise your hands high, put everything you can into it every single day, and you will be absolutely amazed at where you're going to be.”  - Charlie Eblen

Cali BBQ and Cali BBQ Media Founder, Shawn Walchef spoke on The Restaurant Growth Show powered by Dynpricing to discuss dynamic pricing and restaurants greatest fear. He also spoke to hosts Gordon Paterson and Jose Albis about incentivizing customer loyalty.



Cali BBQ, have garnered national attention for implementing dynamic pricing. Often misunderstood as "surge pricing," Walchef clarifies the distinction between the two. Dynamic pricing involves adjusting prices based on supply and demand, a concept familiar to the restaurant industry. By partnering with tech companies like Juicer, Walchef ensures dynamic pricing benefits everyone, creating loyal customers through strategic pricing adjustments.



Walchef is careful to make the distinction between the two pricing strategies. 



“Dynamic incremental pricing is something that, as you guys know, we've been doing in restaurants since the beginning of time with happy hour and with early bird specials.” he explains. “We don't want to be cheated. No one wants to be cheated. And I think when you say the word surge, you think of 2X the price, 3X the price. That is surge pricing.”



Addressing the core concerns of restaurateurs, Walchef highlights the dual fear of being overly scrutinized or completely overlooked. Despite the growing national spotlight on Cali BBQ, the focus remains on serving their local community and leveraging technology to build trust and prioritizing doing the best job within their community while using technology to share their knowledge with other restaurateurs around the world.



"It's literally the greatest fear that every restaurant and every business owner has is that everyone's going to be talking about you or no one's going to be talking about you. And ultimately, it's somewhere in between everyone."  he says. “All we can do is do the best job that we can in our village, in our space, but also leverage technology to teach other restaurateurs and other people that believe in us.”



While acquiring new customers is crucial, retaining them is paramount for sustained success. Walchef and Cali BBQ have teamed up with Incentivio to create a custom app for their new Navy location, aiming to incentivize repeat visits. By gamifying rewards and creating meaningful incentives, Walchef aims to foster a loyal customer base that returns time and again, benefiting both the business and its patrons.



Walchef describes his vision for dynamic pricing and loyalty programs: "In my mind, that is what dynamic pricing is. Loyalty is really the key differentiator for how do you incentivize people to come more often?”



Walchef's appearance on The Restaurant Growth Show sheds light on the nuanced approach to dynamic pricing, the importance of local focus amidst national attention, and innovative strategies for customer retention. His insights are invaluable for restaurateurs looking to leverage technology and foster loyal customer relationships.



Cali BBQ Media



Digital Hospitality is an interview-based video podcast hosted by business owner Shawn P. Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) and produced by his Cali BBQ Media company sponsored by DAVO Sales Tax (@davosalestax) and Marqii (@getmarqii) The weekly digital series explores the ways successful businesses and entrepreneurs have merged old and new with innovative digital strategies that harness the power of the Internet and social media. Shawn is the founder of Cali BBQ Media and creator of the Restaurant Influencers podcast on Entrepreneur Media.



➤ Restaurant Influencers — https://link.chtbl.com/RIpodcast➤ Business Coaching — https://forms.gle/cnQ3sefMcAxQXbKa6➤ Cali BBQ Content — https://content.calibbq.media