← Living Your Legacy
Loading summary
Transcript114 lines
- [00:00]
A
Being an entrepreneur and opening you up at your own place, you have to adapt.
- [00:04]
B
I love that, though. And now, I often say, out of adversity, in the darkness after, when you get through it, you come back stronger and sometimes get a whole new lease of life because of what that forced you to do.
- [00:17]
A
It's the daily struggle, and that's something that you really have to be ready for when you do something out on your own. Derek Curran is a trailblazing entrepreneur who turned a craft beer dream into a vibrant community hub. As the founder of Mississippi Ale House, he grew a small tap room into a regional brand with its own brewery, reshaping his town's view of craft beer and creating a space that brings people together. We've brought people together and we've brought families together. We brought a community together. I think that's the legacy of the L House.
- [00:44]
B
You've obviously got the eye for it, the design, the adaptation of this when you were faced with adversity, understanding why page one of Google is important and building to that. So what are some tips for local business owners?
- [00:57]
A
If you want to do a business, it spans the globe like a super.
- [01:04]
B
High cold Internet Elvis ready for free. Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.
- [01:12]
A
It's not over until I win the living your legacy podcast. For those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary. The impossible has been. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan, Open Chicago with the believe you said Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.
- [01:42]
B
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Legacy Makers. Here with Derek today, fascinating story how he went from winning Emmys to start in his own brewery. Now he's shipping locally and about to expand nationwide. Epic for a pretty epic story. Story. And the true entrepreneur story of got bored doing what they were doing, had a passion and then said, why not, right? So welcome to the show.
- [02:05]
A
Why not? Thanks, Rudy, man, it's awesome. But yeah, this is, this is really cool.
- [02:08]
B
Really appreciate it.
- [02:09]
A
Good.
- [02:09]
B
Well, I'm excited because I, I, I think America is the great country of entrepreneurship. And what makes entrepreneur great, entrepreneurship great is people like you in a business, in a, in a career where you go, I've had enough. Yeah, I want to start this. The community needs this or there's a gap in the marketplace. So screw it, I'm going to do it.
- [02:32]
A
Yeah, that's basically how it happened. You know, I was in TV news forever and was successful in that.
- [02:37]
B
Winning Emmys. Pretty successful.
- [02:40]
A
Really successful. I could have stayed in that, retired in it, but you Know, in that business, you get tired of seeing some of the things you have to see out in the field, you know, with the shootings and, you know, just the human tragedy. And I never was big on human tragedy. I wanted to be the good part of someone's day. I don't want to be, you know, someone's having the worst day of their life.
- [03:01]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [03:02]
A
And this is the face you see. I want, I want this face to be part of the good part of the day.
- [03:06]
B
Handing them a pine.
- [03:07]
A
Right, right, right. Giving them a beer is, is the best way to do it. Because, you know, even if you're having a bad day, you get that beer, your, your day starts to get better. Yeah. And even if you're having a bad day or a good day, you know, that beer is, you're celebrating, you're celebrating your day. So it's, it's, it's all celebratory Y.
- [03:27]
B
So let's talk about it, because I'm sure the shift wasn't easy. You had a comfortable, good career. Yes. Entrepreneurship is not easy.
- [03:35]
A
No. Why would I do something like that?
- [03:36]
B
Yeah, let's talk about that.
- [03:38]
A
Well, there wasn't, you know, you get off work at five o' clock and you want a cool place to hang out with friends, and there wasn't a, there wasn't any cool place to hang out. There wasn't a spot to go at the place to be, you know? Yeah. And so why not just put your faith out there and just, just see what happens under your feet? You know, that's kind of.
- [03:59]
B
So let's talk about it. You. You make a decision one day, you've got to finance the thing, find the, the building, the regs, the licenses. How. How is all that?
- [04:08]
A
Everything lined up? It was, it's, it's, it's an amazing story. So we had to go before the city to get approval like you do for any business. And, and putting a small bar in, you really have to. In small town Mississippi, it's not like Miami, you can just. Let's open a bar down the street. N. In, in small town Mississippi, you have to go before, you know, some of the older community that, you know, you know, a bar is, you know, fighting and, and chicken wire, you know, that kind of thing. And, and that's not what we wanted to do. We wanted something a little nicer, so we had to go before the city. And it's an amazing story. I had left the TV business and had gotten into commercial production, marketing, and I was there for two years and the company was not doing great, so they started doing layoffs. So on a Thursday night, we had this meeting with the city where we got approved to open the brewery. Just got it. Got approved. Open a bar the next day at noon. I got laid off. All in. All in, brother. All in. So it's like, you know, that you turn the card over and there you go. I had to do it. I mean, it was just, it just lined up. So, you know, I, I got out of that and you know, I was just 100% in. And that was in April and in July we opened well, and now you.
- [05:24]
B
You know, you have the go to spot now in your area. But it's not been easy. You know, you got faced with lockdown. A lot of small businesses closed and suffered. Right. So you had to adapt. I know you're now, you know, you know, shipping obviously locally and about to go nationwide or trying to. So I want to talk about that. How is the lockdown, how did you push through that?
- [05:44]
A
It wasn't easy. So when, when Covid happened, you know, every restaurants and bars that you, you couldn't open unless it was to go. And so the day before we got locked down, I ordered the Crowler machine, which is where you can pour beer from the tap and you can can anything on site and just hand it off. So we made a little drive through with a pop up tent right out front. People would text in their orders, we can get it ready. We had them like we were out of Outbreak or something, giving people beer, you know, all dressed and everything because we didn't know what, what Covid was then laugh at it because, you know, Covid's just, you know, it's not as horrible. I mean, it was horrible.
- [06:20]
B
It's not the zombie play.
- [06:21]
A
Yeah, it was horrible when it happened because we all lost people. And it was very sad when that happened because we didn't know what we were up against. But now that, you know, you look back at it, it's like, well, we kind of reacted a little bit, but. But the crowd machine completely saved.
- [06:34]
B
Well, it must have been harder still though, right? Because I can see like, okay, lockdown, people are going to go buy pizzas, but like, beer is like, it's a bit harder to bridge that gap. So. So you had to adapt. You had to get this. But. So I mean, I imagine a lot of breweries and pubs didn't do that and they just suffered.
- [06:51]
A
Yeah, we were the only one that, that did it in our, in the Memphis, in the Memphis area.
- [06:55]
B
I'm sure some shut down probably. Right.
- [06:57]
A
Yeah, it was, it was bad for everybody and it was scary for everybody. But, you know, with, with being an entrepreneur and opening up your own place, you have to adapt.
- [07:06]
B
I love that, though. And now, and now I often say, out of adversity, in the darkness after, when you get through it, you come back stronger and sometimes get a whole new lease of life because of what that forced you to do. So do you feel that's the case?
- [07:20]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Really, really did. And, and it brought the community a little bit closer together too, because, you know, someone that. We'd have a line of cars and it's. Oh, there's, there's Bob in front of me. I didn't know Bob was here. So then they'd start talking and talking back and forth and then once Covid over, they're. They're at the bar every day.
- [07:36]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [07:37]
A
It's pretty cool.
- [07:37]
B
So now you're selling this, like, you know, locally, you're going to go nationwide and you're obviously back in, in person. What is the long term vision?
- [07:46]
A
Long term vision? I mean, stay open is one thing, and make sure people continue to come in and partake. And giving back is something that we do majorly to charities and things like that. So continue to give back and grow to the more the regional and statewide and national distribution would be the dream.
- [08:09]
B
I mean, and how do you separate yourself? How are you trying to make yourself unique?
- [08:14]
A
There's, there's not many breweries in Mississippi. I mean, I think there's eight, eight or nine. So there's not many. And it's just making a good product. It's just, you know, just having fun and trying things outside the box a little bit that, you know, will do well, you know, that tastes good to have.
- [08:29]
B
So constant brewer experimentation. Testing.
- [08:32]
A
Yes, yes. Constant experimentation. And like I said, you evolved.
- [08:35]
B
So you have to drink a lot of beer.
- [08:38]
A
You have to make sure it's, it's. You have to make sure your product is right. You know, it's like, because we have 30 beers on tap, so you won't, the bartenders and myself, we have to know what things taste like. Someone comes in and said, I want something that tastes like your standard beer or whatever. You, you have to give them what they want, you know, because they're paying eight or nine dollars a pint right now because, you know, prices for everything have gone up and so you have to kind of stay with that. But yeah.
- [09:06]
B
And how many different, you know, what's your selection like?
- [09:09]
A
Oh, we have everything from seltzers, the ciders to IPAs, the dark beers to everything. I mean, we try to really. We've probably made 80 beers over the last three years.
- [09:21]
B
And I've seen a big rise in the last decade of these, you know, these more curated kind of bespoked bars and breweries. Why do you think that is? You know, why is it getting so popular these days?
- [09:33]
A
I think people get tired of the same thing. They want something different. Yeah. Like whenever ciders started coming out real big and especially a sour beer. A sour beer is just. It just tastes sour. It's like you can almost. It's like, you know, having a. A Starburst or something. Yeah. It gets you right here. And you can always taste your eardrums. Yeah, it's. It's kind of that you want to give people that experience and that's where it is. It's an experience. And they may love it, they may hate it, but they also may. They love it. And when they love it, they're back the next day.
- [10:05]
B
Yeah. So. So most, and I imagine being a small town, most of it's repeat customers and tourists. Is that the case?
- [10:11]
A
We get a lot of tourists. Heck, the other day we were trying to close down it. We had gotten three inches of snow and we're trying to close down. We couldn't close down because people call me when it's like we got nowhere else to go. Please open. But there were seven guys from Italy and two people from Costa Rica.
- [10:26]
B
Oh, wow.
- [10:26]
A
That was. The people that were there. It was amazing. And when you have something like that in there, you know, they're, they're so much fun to talk to. And they come from all these different walks. Yeah, yeah. People come into Memphis, they go to Graceland and they Google Mississippian beer. Well, we're the first page on Google that comes up and so they just come across the border and you get people from everywhere.
- [10:45]
B
Well, let's talk about that part then. The marketing side, business side. Right. Because I meet a lot of local business owners absolutely clueless to marketing, sadly. Right. You've obviously got the eye for it, the design, the adaptation of this when you were faced with adversity, understanding why page one of Google is important and building to that. So, so what are some tips for local business owners?
- [11:08]
A
Beat people to dev to death with your marketing brand.
- [11:11]
B
Yeah, I think that's a great tip for every business owner.
- [11:13]
A
Look at, look at Coca Cola.
- [11:14]
B
Yeah.
- [11:15]
A
I mean, you look back, you know, from the, what, the 50s and on it Was everywhere you saw, you saw that logo. Yeah, everywhere you saw. So now when somebody wants a fizzy drink of some sort of, they said they want a Coke.
- [11:27]
B
Well, and I remind people of Coke, apparently. I've never fact checked this, but it's what everyone says. They invented the image of Santa Claus through their ass.
- [11:35]
A
They did. Yeah, they did. I saw a thing about that too. Yeah.
- [11:39]
B
Yeah.
- [11:39]
A
What an amazing thing. Coke invented Santa Claus. I mean, so why not, why not base your marketing on that?
- [11:48]
B
Yeah. And I have one of my friends, he's one of the best in the world at what he does. Been doing it 50 years. And I said to him something about a year ago, and he always remembers it and teaches other people now. I said, I said, les, it's, it's not about being the best. I said, we live in a world today where the best known beats the best. And it's a sad reality sometimes because that's the truth. You know, you have to learn this. And so many entrepreneurs, especially local business owners, they're like, I have the best pastor in town, so I'm not going to advertise.
- [12:17]
A
Right.
- [12:18]
B
I'm like, it doesn't matter. Like, yes, you will get word of mouth, yes, you will get referrals from having a good product. But there's going to be someone out there, if they market 10 times harder than you, they're going to get all the customers, you know, and you see that on Miami beach, there's a bunch of crappy restaurants on the. Because they market well, they have thousands of people in. And then two blocks back you have the specialized restaurants that the locals like me go to.
- [12:41]
A
Which is the best stuff. Yeah, the best stuff.
- [12:44]
B
But, but it's half the people because of the marketing.
- [12:46]
A
Right, right. And marketing, I mean, it's, it's so key, as you know, with what you done in your past. You have to market and you have to beat people their head with your brand. You have to say, I mean, you know, from, from what you, you did before, you know, if you're training people, you've got to show them. You've got to show people in the gym, you've got to show the results. And like we do, we show people just having a good time.
- [13:06]
B
Yeah, yeah. That's the outcome for you, right?
- [13:08]
A
Yeah. And you, you've got to do that. And so if you're starting a business out, if you want to do a business, if you want to take that leap, that's the main thing you have to do. Because word of mouth is only going to go so far.
- [13:18]
B
Well, and I guess a bit maybe your advantage is if you photography side you've got a creative mind. You have to be to find the angles and stuff. Right.
- [13:26]
A
Being creative and thinking outside the box, doing things that other people don't do. That's, that's an obvious thing to do. We do every year we do. When Girl Scout cookies come out, we do a flight of girl Scout cookies matched with beer.
- [13:38]
B
Oh okay.
- [13:38]
A
We, we take five ounce beers and on our flight plate and pick five Girl Scout cookies and match them to that and it's a big success. But no, I mean a lot of people don't do it but it's an, it's an, it's an. Who doesn't love a Girl Scout cookie?
- [13:50]
B
Sure, sure.
- [13:51]
A
And then with that your match passion, we match it with beer that normally people wouldn't drink.
- [13:56]
B
It's like the cheese and wine. He got the big.
- [13:59]
A
You're exactly right. You're exactly right. It's an obvious thing to do. And it, and it's, it was a, it was a great thing that started doing the first year and people ask, oh when a Girl Scout cookies come out, when, when does this happen? When does this happen? Well, it's coming and so that day that it happens, it's just packed good. Love it.
- [14:15]
B
And let's talk a little about the mindset. Right. So to be a successful entrepreneur, one common theme, everyone that's in legacy makers sat in that seat. They've gone through a lot of adversity. What was one of your biggest things you'll always remember that you came out the other side on every day. Okay.
- [14:33]
A
Every day making sure someone, I mean every day you're worried about someone coming in you don't want to. You know what your, your bottom line is every day. So every day you're facing that adversity is like you know where people going to come in. What do I need to post on social media that's going to get people to like it or share it or what algorithm do I have to beat today to make sure it gets the.
- [14:52]
B
Ever changing mystery algorithm.
- [14:54]
A
But you know, going from things with employees and having to do some shifting around with employees, that's always difficult because being small like we are, everybody gets to know the bartender. So whenever you have to do some.
- [15:06]
B
If someone leaves that or whatever.
- [15:08]
A
Yeah. So you have to kind of check on that. That of course Covid was as we've talked about was, was huge you know to get on the other side of that. But it really, it's the, it's the daily struggle. And that's something that you really have to be ready for. When you do something out on your own, it is a daily struggle. I mean, even with, with legacy makers, if you did this and set out and no one answered your call, you can do everything you want to do. Right. But you know, it is going to depend on people wanting that. People wanting that product.
- [15:37]
B
Yeah, yeah. Business, I say, never gets easier and it gets harder. You just get better at ad to it and dealing with it. And I ultimately say, at least with entrepreneurship, like, if you do a job, you're still going to have hard times in your job and stuff you don't like, like you did, at least as an entrepreneur, you can control it and drive it more.
- [15:55]
A
Well, when you have that job, you're still getting the paycheck. If you suck at your job that.
- [15:58]
B
Day, that's the benefit.
- [16:00]
A
You know, if you work in sales and you don't make a sale, you're still getting paid, you know, you know, blinding people commission, but you're still getting, you still get your base rate. But for an entrepreneur, you don't have that luxury. Yeah, you're, you're, you're getting paid for people coming in the door and that's it.
- [16:15]
B
Yeah, good. So. So let's talk a bit about the legacy side. Right?
- [16:19]
A
What, what.
- [16:20]
B
You know, obviously you've got your local business, but where does legacy come into all this?
- [16:24]
A
Legacy is a big word. Legacy is a strong. Legacy is like, like love. Yeah, love and legacy. I mean, you know, what does love mean to you? I mean, what does legacy mean to you? Is, is, is another way to do it? Because legacy is humbling. Legacy is, is a humble. I mean, I feel like I'm a pretty humble guy. And legacy, I mean, I've thought about this a lot ever since we first started talking months ago. It's like, what does legacy mean to me? And I mean, it's just being considered to be part of a legacy is something. I never thought that because I just did it to have a place to hang out.
- [17:00]
B
Sure.
- [17:00]
A
And now if, you know, if, if I leave this behind or whatever and the business keeps going and the friendships keep going, that's the legacy. I've had so many people come in and didn't know each other and they end up ordering the same beer and they start talking about it. These people are going on vacations together. Some people have. We've had weddings there because they met there. We've had families start. Well, you know, we mean that's the legacy. That's. I think that's when I really think about. I think that's the legacy that we've brought people together and we've brought families together, we brought a community together. I think that's the legacy of the L House.
- [17:38]
B
Yeah, I love that. And again, I want to highlight. Highlight, like, you know, I see you as such, as. Yeah, I work mostly online, so it's so great to see that. True. Like, I see it as a true American entrepreneur story, right? Starting in the community, grassroots for the community, quitting a corporate job you were successful in. Like, to me, that's like true entrepreneurship at its finest. Someone's listening and they want to do what you've done. They're in a corporate job, they've always had this dream, haven't pulled the trigger, because, as you know, there's a lot of fear. It's easier to say in that you don't know if it's going to work out. What tips would you give them?
- [18:13]
A
Find something you love. Find something that, you know you can go in and do it day in, day out. Find something fun because it. It's fun. I mean, come on, I have a bar. Yeah, I mean, it is. And I really can't complain that much, you know, Find something and find that need, the need in the community and give back.
- [18:31]
B
And what about, though, the mindset, right? So say they've got the idea, but they're paralyzed by the fear of making that leap.
- [18:38]
A
Faith, not fear. Faith, not fear. I mean, you gotta. You got. I mean, whatever your belief is, that's fine. But we all have some sort of faith, whether it's religious or whether it's personal, whether it's entrepreneurial, you know, you gotta have faith in yourself and you need that support behind you, too. Whether it's friends or family or whatever, you've got to have that. You've got to have that backing. You've got to have someone to talk to about it, because you're going to have days where it's like, well, why am I doing this? Like, what have I done?
- [19:07]
B
Yeah.
- [19:07]
A
Like, why would I do something like this? Who does this stuff? Yeah. And you're going to have those moments. I mean, you've had those moments, I'm sure. Like, what am I thinking? I'm building this amazing studio in South Beach. What if no one shows up? What am I thinking? And then you'll have a day where no one answers your calls. Like, what? What am I doing? But you had that faith. You had that you knew that need was there. You knew people like me and some other people I've met through legacy already, they had that need and they had that passion to be able to get that word out.
- [19:35]
B
Yeah.
- [19:36]
A
So, you know, you got to have that passion as well. You've got to. It's all in. It's all in. And you need the support and you need the love from people around you that will be there. And you. Anybody can make a difference, and a lot of people can make a difference. They don't even know it. So if you think you can make that difference and you think there's that need, and you're all in love it.
- [19:58]
B
Last question. What are some nuggets, lessons, stories, more exciting moments? They're going to hear from your episode.
- [20:05]
A
Oh, my gosh. Well, I mean, I'm sure we'll hear about my background in. In news and the Emmys and why. Why, out of all places, when I'm right outside of Memphis, pick Mississippi to try to sell beer into when it's an impossible thing to do? Why be so strong on the Mississippi and why be so prideful of. Of. Of where I'm from? And then just the building of. Of the whole thing and where we're going and some of some more trials and tribulations that I've been through and just persevering and just pushing through.
- [20:39]
B
Good.
- [20:39]
A
Just taking that leap.
- [20:40]
B
Love it. Last question. When you go nationwide and they want to order some or if they're ever in town, how do they find you guys?
- [20:47]
A
Mississippiel House.com.
- [20:48]
B
Great. And socials.
- [20:50]
A
Social. Same thing on Facebook and on Instagram and just Google Mississippian beer. You'll find me.
- [20:56]
B
Love it. Well, that's a great place to be, and that's what you want to do if you're good at marketing, is get to a point where they can just Google you.
- [21:03]
A
Yeah. Just beat the people over the head with your brand. Just. Just make them bleed from your brand, you know? Yep.
- [21:08]
B
Love it. Well, there you go, guys. Another episode in the wrap. Check out the full episode. And of course, if you're ever in town, check out all of the amazing selection. I'll see you guys soon. Keep building a legacy. Take.