Latest / Power Moves Media / How Great Service Grows a Business with Candi Dailey of Potomac Hospitality Group: Power Moves Ep. 12

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How Great Service Grows a Business with Candi Dailey of Potomac Hospitality Group: Power Moves Ep. 12 · Power Moves Media

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Power Moves on Lit106, where we explore ideas, strategies, and stories shaping business, entrepreneurship, and growth across Press Shorters County and the DMB region.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Alexander Kay Austin.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm Rose Johnson.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for joining us.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: On today's show, we are sitting down with Candy Daly, founder of Potomac Hospitality Group, to talk about the power of service, creating memorable customer experiences, and how those experiences can drive business growth.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_02: And stick around until the end.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: We'll wrap things up with On Our Radar, where we'll share business and community events and opportunities happening that you'll want to know about.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: So, Alex, this is the fun part where we kind of get to talk about the things that we've been seeing happening.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: And this one is happening right here in Prince George's County.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: Recently, the council adopted a resolution establishing the Own the Block Education Initiative.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: And I absolutely love that name.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: And so the initiative is a program that is designed to teach county residents how to invest in and own commercial real estate.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: And so we're talking about finding properties, securing finances, negotiating purchases, understanding regulations, managing the buildings, all that good stuff.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: And so just to be clear, the initiative it's a program that is educational, but it does not give money to purchase a property.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, that's correct.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it it really is a great initiative, uh, sponsored by councilwoman uh Shayla Adams Stafford.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: And we I had the privilege of uh speaking at the press conference when she first introduced it, uh and then it passed legislation last week.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and it's it is really good.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: I like I like the focus.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you know, the money part will follow.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if you find a good opportunity, you know, you can leverage the real estate with uh to some of the money that you want to borrow or some of the debt.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I think you can find the money, and we have we have strong partners in the county who will also lend to those type of real estate assets.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: But I think the initiative of the community investing in their own community is powerful because it's giving um it's giving maybe un it's giving consideration to things that maybe have not been discussed in our communities through ownership.
• 2:38
  unknown: Yes.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: And if you frequent, you know, a convenience store or gas station or shopping center, why not own it?
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: And to that point, you know, we know ownership is key to generational wealth, to being able to sustain your business.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: I've heard a lot of stories from businesses that have been around for a long time.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: Take, for example, Lise Flowers.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they talk a lot about the fact that they're still here is because they own their building.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so being able to use that as leverage for other things is where it is at when you talk about sustainability in a business.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, this um this legislation kind of reminds me of what happened in DC with Angel Gregario, the founder of uh Spice Suite.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but the difference is that Angel received$287,000 in a down payment, um, in down payment assistance through a program that DC had, uh, what was it called?
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_02: Commercial property acquisition fund.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: Because they were also, they are also promoting ownership.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_02: And so we are approaching it in a different way.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: But Alice, kind of talk about some of the barriers that funding, access to funding does create when we are talking about ownership.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Wait, well, so some of it could be affordability, right?
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: You uh when you talk about commercial real estate specifically, uh you a lot of times you have to have skin and game.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: And if they're if that 20, 30, or 40% is not available, um, it's hard sometimes to get a deal done.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and and typically with those types of deals, um, you can find uh some creative financing and creative methods to acquire.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, if you buy a million dollar building, you may need to have two or three hundred thousand um that you need to put down.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, you have to you have to do kind of do a fend a friends and family.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh could be retirement.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um but but it's but it's also doable.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, one of the community investment mechanisms that was happening pre before COVID, where we were doing a lot of the crowdfunding, right?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Those crowdfunding mechanisms still exist.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that could be a way, you know, if we're talking about a neighborhood, if you have you know 30, 40 residents who are buying a shopping center and there's an equity stake that they all kind of um split equally over the long term, that could be pretty beneficial.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um a lot of our young people now are moving in that direction uh where they're buying buildings, right?
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: They're buying and creating spaces for their business.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and you know, I think there's the way to go.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: But but ultimately, when we talk about uh advancing economic development and advancing wealth, it is going to be through ownership.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um I heard I heard uh uh a segment from Andre Perry, who's a resident of the county fellow with the Brookings Institute recently on a podcast with Angela Yee and talked about this economy um is different for two types of people.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's the it's the ones that own assets and the ones that do not.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: The economy is different if you own assets.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's horrible if you do not.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it that's what it boils down to.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's the haves and have nots.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so we gotta get to the haves portion, right?
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: We gotta get to the part where we have ownership and this is an opportunity and a good way to do it.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_02: And so hopefully, as you're saying, the funding piece will come along because you know it's one thing to have the education, but the means to put a plan in place is also important, and that does definitely require access to the funding.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: And so this is But you said something too.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, real quick, you said the plan.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta know what you're gonna do with it, and you gotta know how it works and applies.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you buy commercial, they said commercial, you know, who are your tenants, what are your what are your expenses, like what to manage the property?
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, all that's gonna impact your ability to repay back that debt and potentially make a profit or return.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_02: And so own the block is definitely an initiative worth watching.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: And we will share the link on how to learn more about the initiative on our Instagram page.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_02: So make sure you're following us at Power at underscore power moves media on Instagram.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_02: So, Alex, another story that caught my attention.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_02: Essence Festival.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my goodness.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_02: Uh-oh.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: What's going on, Rose?
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: What's going on?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: We are talking about them possibly leaving New Orleans after being there for 30 years.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_02: And so anybody who has been to Essence Fest, they know that it is so much more than just a conference and just a music festival.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: We're talking about networking, vendors, major brands, and thousands of people traveling to the city.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_02: And so the tension that is coming in, coming up between Essence Leadership and the city of New Orleans is overfunding unpaid vendors and their future agreement.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, while nothing is finalized yet, there are other cities, including Houston and Atlanta, that have reportedly been mentioned as possible destinations.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: And guess who up north is expressing interest?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_02: Put in a wild guess.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't say Prince George's County.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_02: Not reported, but Baltimore has been reported to express interest in hosting SSFest there.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_02: And so their economic impact in New Orleans, based on a report from who is this report from?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it's been reported to generate 253 million in visitor spending in 2025 and supporting more than 2,400 jobs.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: And so when you think about during the Fourth of July weekend, which is traditionally a slower tourism period in New Orleans, all of that now no longer coming, what is that going to do for the businesses that, you know, their anticip their budgets were built on this festival coming to town?
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_02: What do you see in that?
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think that's there's a tremendous lesson in this.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um number one, when you have uh an establishment that's been there for decades and has brought a lot to the region, it is it is hard to fathom that there's a talk or consideration to move somewhere else when the when the numbers are are there.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um unless unless there is some other focus around repurposing what that regional district will be providing, right?
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that happens a lot too.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, city plans change, directions change.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um but in this case, you know, one of the there's two, there's two things, right?
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's either going to be, hey, there's a failure between the municipality and the organization, yeah, or there's an opportunity between a new municipality and the organization, and in some cases both.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um but uh but you said something, you said, hey, there's there's issues with vendor payments.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's gonna that's grave concern that if you're bringing this revenue and I'm assuming that there's some money being made, you know, that's total revenue to the region, but how much is the festival action making?
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because they may bring, you know, 253 million and still be in the red.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um because they're not get right, because they're not getting incentives, or they have to cover a lot of the costs that they don't recoup uh because they're not getting the financial support that they need.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um so that could that could weigh heavy on this the economic impact.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um I th I do think though, too, if if we talk about the brand, right?
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think the the SS Festival could use a new um it could use new life because customer service, the experience, all of that matters, and you want to make sure that brand stays.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: I it's hard to imagine it not being in New Orleans.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um I will always advocate for Baltimore because we're I'm in the state of Maryland, right?
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_02: I would love for it to be in Baltimore too.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean it would be great.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think Baltimore has a hold on the tech scene, right?
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: I would I would love to see um maybe like um Afrotech come to Baltimore.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um because, you know, in the correlation with CIAA and the tech ecosystem that's there.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, if I if I were to put my money on something, I think we're missing Charleston as a as a viable place.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, Atlanta Houston can't go wrong there either.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think we're talking about the Amigas of New Orleans.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: That that is different.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna get that everywhere.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta find that.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um so you know, we we we're gonna watch this one.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: But but we've we've experienced that too.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, just think about what happened here in Prince Rose County with the six flags.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Not a festival, but a long-term relationship.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um and that if if things are not met in the agreement or promises are not kept, it can create a sour relationship, which could be, you know, ultimately good and impact the community.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: But if something like that leaves, you gotta find a way to replace that income.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and on the on the organization that runs the festival, you also have to make sure that you now get a new um uh lifeline so that you can keep it going.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because you may not get the same response.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's true.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: That's true.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: And so just after Katrina, it was hosted in Houston.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's not unheard of, but you know, again, being tied to a city for so long, it has its pros and its cons.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_02: So, yes, definitely one we're gonna be watching.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_02: And so, up next, we're sitting down with Candy Daly, founder of Potomac Hospitality Group, to talk business, entrepreneurship, and lessons from her journey in the hospitality industry.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_02: Candy Daly is the founder of Potomac Hospitality Group, a full service hospitality company based in Bowie, Maryland.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_02: In more than 20 years, Candy has grown one service first philosophy into multiple businesses.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_02: Ruby's Southern Comfort Kitchen, the Secret Supper Experience, and Ruby's Family Reunion, a community festival that has drawn 18,000 attendees.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, cousin, Candy, welcome to Power Moves.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, cousin, thank you all for having me.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, we we are so, so excited to have you here.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_02: And let me tell you, I've been a supporter since you've been back on old Annapolis Road and the little shop back there.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, and so to see what Ruby's has grown into and what your empire has grown into is so exciting for me to see and for Prince George's County all around.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: And so, again, welcome.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_02: But I want to ask you, what uh what is who is Ruby?
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_03: So Ruby is actually my grandmother.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um, she passed away in '93, but I was very close with her.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_03: Um, if you've seen pictures of her in the building before, you'll see I look very um similar to her.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_03: And so naturally, when our family decided to open a business, we decided to name it after her.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, what an that's a wonderful homage to a legacy.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_02: And so kind of take us back to the beginning and how you first got into hospitality.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, um, so I I'd like to say that I think hospitality is kind of in my blood.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I grew up with um a very large family.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_03: So my parents have 10 children.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_03: Um and so it was big, I know, right?
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_03: Um it was very kind of our, it was our norm to have big dinners all the time and to um spend Sundays together, spend the holidays together.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_03: And so I just kind of grew up always being surrounded by family.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_03: My closest friends were our family.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so my mother very early on, I I want to say that she saw that I had the gift, right?
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_03: That's what we like to call it.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_03: And so um she would see me like setting the dinner table and putting out the China, even if we were just having pizza.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_03: And so my brothers and sisters, they were like, Where are we doing China?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_03: But I it was still kind of just my ding.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_03: And so she encouraged me very early on to go to culinary school and to take up hospitality management and culinary arts.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um, at the time, as a teen, I was like, no, I want to be an anesthesiologist, but so I'm really thankful that she saw something in me that kind of led me through a different path.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so after college, um I just worked at, we call them houses, but I worked for large catering houses in the area.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_03: I did all the restaurants, all the fine-dining, all the things, hotels, you name it.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_03: And eventually me and my husband decided to branch off on our own in 2016.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: I now I definitely want to unpack that decision and conversation that happened.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, the heart of today's conversation is the power of service.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, every business says customer service is important, and we hear that all the time.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: But there's a difference between good service and it's and the experienced people remember.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and I I am, you know, I'm a fan, a customer of Ruby's and and the Secret Supper, and I've experienced it.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so what does the difference look like for you?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Because you can feel it.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can absolutely feel it.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_03: So I think we try to put out service at a at a from a lot of different angles.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and it's so funny because we just did a training with some of the team at Ruby's about hospitality, and I really walked them through like what the experiences was like to be a member of my family.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_03: And so we always talk about um the blessing that I have being a part of my family was I didn't know what service was at the time.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_03: I I don't think I understood the concept of service, but I understood community, right?
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_03: I knew my parents and my grandmother fed our next door neighbors.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_03: I knew if someone didn't have something that we would share.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_03: I knew on Sundays, if we didn't have enough candy gams, my mom would add apples to it or pineapples to kind of stretch it out to feed more people.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so for me, how we start training specifically at Ruby's is who's been to a family reunion or who's been to who has a big family dinner, right?
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_03: And how do you feel when you walk through the door of your family's home?
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_03: Or how do you feel when you go to your family reunion?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_03: Are you excited?
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_03: Are you are you happy?
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_03: Like we want to know what those feelings are.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_03: And that's kind of how we guide the principles about what we're gonna do at Ruby's.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_03: We want people to feel like they're family when they come in here.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_03: Um some of our other concepts is still kind of that same focus, right?
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_03: What does it feel like to be a member of our family?
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_03: But I would say that the service level maybe differs just a little bit depending on the outlet that we're running through for the secret separate, maybe more white, white glove treatment.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_03: And so for um the festival that we do, you know, it's everybody's your cousin.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_03: And so there's a lot of different, um, we like to call them touch points that we use.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: Nice.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: Nice.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, Candy, you mentioned um your mom seeing a gift in you, and then you also said that you didn't know what customer service was.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_02: But it seems like you did know what it was.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_02: You just didn't know how to maybe vocalize that.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: In law.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_02: And then even with the hey cousin, right?
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_02: Because that is so cultural for us.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_02: Because, you know, black people, everybody is our cousin.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_02: Our our mother's best friend, their kids are our cousins.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_03: That's our cousin, yeah.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so that that term really resonated with me when you guys first started and you would greet people as hey cousin.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_02: And so I want to ask you about a customer moment that you'll never forget.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_02: But I also I have to share this.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sorry because this has been something I have been thinking about since it happened.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so this year you had Mr.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_02: Tendernism stop by on his tour.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: So let me tell you what stood out to me and something that, again, I cannot stop thinking about.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: Besides the food?
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_02: Besides the food.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: This is what makes the food taste even better.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_02: Because I did a pre-order, and so there was a separate line for the pre-orders, and you go in and give your information, and they have everything ready for you.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: And so I picked up a bag and it had a huge foil pan, and um, everything was in there.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_02: And so I was thinking, oh man, I hope nothing spills in my car.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: So I opened up the cover of the foil pan, and when I tell you everything was packaged so impeccably that I didn't even have, I was like, wow, like something so small as the packaging and the beans in this kind of package and the coleslaw and that kind of package.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_02: Because like I said, it went to I hope nothing spills.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_02: So something small like that really stayed with me.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: So, what are some of the things that you're hearing from your customers about things that make Ruby's and your other experiences stand out as far as customer service?
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_03: So, one, let me just say thank you for saying that, right?
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_03: So, whenever this comes out, I have to show it to my team because um I always talk, I always tell them in meetings, I know I probably get on your nerves when I'm going through logistics and when I'm going through details, but trust me, it's for a reason.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so just from my background, um at Ruby specifically, we move a lot of food out the door.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_03: And so I always talk to our team that we cannot just think about the food and the customer is eating it right there.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_03: We have to think about what that food looks like at their house because 80% of our guests are taking it home.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_03: What does that product look like?
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_03: Like for a long time, people will be upset because we didn't serve catfish for catering.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_03: And so, really quickly, catfish just doesn't hold well in catering because it's a fleshy protein.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_03: I don't want to go into all the science of it, but there's a reason why we don't serve it.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_03: It just doesn't hold well, let's say that.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_03: And so um people would be upset about it.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_03: And so I would explain it to them, and then they would say, okay, and so explaining that to our team, how things go out when the customer actually eats it.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and it's the same for Thanksgiving for us.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_03: We serve sometimes three to 400 families catering for Thanksgiving.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_03: If you've never been to Ruby's or never done Thanksgiving catering with us, we do a whole block party the day before Thanksgiving.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_03: 400 families come and pick up their catering orders and it's a party.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_03: There's a DJ, there's music, there's line dancing, coffee donuts, other things.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_03: We have to think about what that food looks like when Rose decides to heat it up at home.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_03: We have to think about what those leftovers look like, what the shelf lights look looks like.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_03: Like all of those things that I know nobody else is thinking about.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_03: We have to process that and make certain that what we're putting out can make it through that phase, right?
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_03: We all know Saturday is it on Thanksgiving.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_03: So what we're sending out, it has to last a Saturday.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_03: So that might mean we're making one item at the last minute, right before it goes out the door.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so I'm saying all that to say that we really try to think through all of the things, all of the logistics and the details that happen with the product, with the food.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_03: I hate to say product, but with the food when it goes out the door.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know what, uh, Candy?
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm gonna say one of my favorites phrases, and I think Rose knows.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: Systems and processes.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man, I Systems and Processes.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um And you mentioned, you mentioned um, you know, 80% of the meals you prepare go out the door.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: How many m how many meals on an annual basis do you actually prepare?
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think people realize the magnitude.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_03: So that's A lot.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: So Ruby's probably does on average, I would say maybe 400 a day.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_03: Um through through other outlets, we probably put out another 1,500 meals a day by other outlets.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_03: I mean schools that we're serving, catering through that that we do through our production kitchen.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_03: So what a lot of people don't know is Ruby's is like what we call customer facing, meaning that the guests can walk in the door.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_03: But behind Ruby's is our production kitchen.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_03: There's 8,000 square feet of our production kitchen space.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_03: And we have food going out for all of our outlets through that kitchen.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_03: So there's a team that's coming in at five in the morning that's sending food to schools that's doing catering, that's going out to our corporate clients.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_03: They could be preparing for a secret supper, and then they're also preparing for everything at Ruby.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_03: So on an average day, we might have food to go out for three to four thousand people a day, depending on what we have on the books.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: Times 365.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_03: Well, times for six days a week, but yeah.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's that's uh over 100,000 meals.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, absolutely.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: In a year, that's that is phenomenal.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so from a business perspective, you know, we talked about attention to detail and giving that volume.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: How does a attention to service show up as growth or attention to detail show up as growth?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, when we do it right, then the customers are calling us back.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_03: When we do it wrong, they're complaining and we have to fix it.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_03: And so we want to make it right.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_03: Um thankfully we don't get a lot of the we get it wrongs, but um when we get it right, we see that as repeat business.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_03: We see that as a referral, we see that as I'm bringing my family in for dinner.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_03: And so we see that kind of return on investment because we pay attention to the details.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh one other question.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: This is that I'm glad you mentioned that.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: How do you handle when things don't go right?
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: What is the mechanism?
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because there's a process for that too.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, there's a process for that.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_03: And it doesn't always go right.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_03: You know, a delivery driver can get stuck in traffic.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_03: A person cannot like um the yams at at Ruby's.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_03: And so I always bring up the situation with my mom stretching the yams because when we first opened in our old location, we had a customer.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, she was highly upset that at the time we had pineapples in our candy yams.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_03: And so she went on this entire rant on social media and reviews about us having pineapples.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_03: And so at the time we took it off the menu and I was so hurt at the time, like about the reviews.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and it dawned on me later, like, no, why are we making this change?
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_03: This is the way that our family might make candy yams, it may not be the way that your family made yams.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe your family didn't need to stretch the yams.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_03: Mine did.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_03: And so this is what, you know, the change, this is what this looks like for us.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_03: And so I know that um, you know, what we do at Ruby's, um, you you either love it or you hate it.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_03: And thankfully we have a lot of people who love it and it works out for us.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_03: But if they don't, you know, we wish them well.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_03: We try to recommend them to other places.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe this place down the street might work for you.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, potato patato.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: I understand.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think I'm gonna go to Ruby's today for my stuff.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: No, Candy, don't do it tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, Candy, it sounds like you guys are doing a lot of things right because hearing you break down how many meals you're serving, and not just how many, but who you're serving.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_02: And when I think about again, where you got started, and now you're in a facility that has an 8,000 square foot kitchen.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_02: Because I wondered that, like it seemed like such a large jump from the space you were in before to then taking over what used to be Pier one back in the day.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and so it sounds like you were able to diversify your clients to be able to make that jump.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_02: So that's amazing growth and a great story to tell.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we actually didn't start out as Ruby's.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_03: We, you know, a lot of people don't know that.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_03: We started out catering.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_03: Potomac was our um main business essentially, and we did corporate catering and we did schools.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_03: Um, the funny part about, you know, doing corporate catering and government contracting was a space that we were in, is that sometimes it would take a really long time to pay us.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um and so I would tell my husband, this is not working for our cash flow.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_03: Like, how do we sustain?
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so I had in my previous life, I would write restaurant concepts for other people and we would sell those concepts off.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_03: And um I had written this concept about our family.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so I asked my husband, well, what if we don't do this as full service?
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_03: What if we do it as like takeout and just do it right here and see if it works?
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_03: And my husband, you know, he's a guy's guy.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_03: I always call him a dream maker.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_03: He like knocked down some walls, brought in some equipment, like, here, there you go, do it.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, wait, what?
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_03: And so we opened Ruby's as, you know, a little fast casual, take it out the door.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so it's it's I'm very grateful because when that happened, the pandemic happened right after that.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_03: And so um we closed for a little while during the pandemic, but we were open, able to open back up fairly quickly because takeouts were allowed to stay open.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and that really sustained us because we saw all of our contracts collapse at that time, right?
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_03: Because everything was shut down.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_03: But Ruby's was able to sustain and we knew that whenever we recovered from the pandemic, we would need more space, right?
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_03: Because now how do we keep this concept going and still do all the work that we were doing just to kind of create cash flow?
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_03: And so we went, we actually were under contract for the building that we're in now, literally right at the beginning of the pandemic, because we knew we needed to make change um just in the catering part of what we were doing.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_03: So by the time we kind of came out of it, we were already um in construction.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_03: It took a lot longer and a lot more money than we expected, but we made it, we made it through.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: So we made it happen.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_03: Listen, a lot of tears, okay, but we made it.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_02: And if you're just joining us, this is Power Moves on Lit 106, and we're talking with Candy Daly, founder of Potomac Hospitality Group, about how great service turns into real business growth.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: And so, Candy, you just touched on um, you know, before opening the restaurant portion that you used to write concepts and sell them.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_02: And so let's kind of dig into that.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_02: What do you evaluate before investing in a new concept?
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_03: So a lot.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so at the time when we're writing, when in the past, when we were write concepts and sell those off, you know, I don't want to say it didn't matter, but we were really going in looking at the space and then what kind of menu would work in that space, and then what is the story that we're gonna tell, right?
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so anything from coffee shops to full service restaurants, we've kind of developed concepts that fall in between.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so it really depends on the, I would call it the investment group or the ownership group who is looking to tell a story, whether whether it's their family story or, you know, a the a cultural story, depending on what it wit what it was at the time.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, we would just really kind of dig deep into that and then tell that story and what does that look like through food.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: Nice, nice.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um and Candy, you know, uh we talked about, you know, uh the Secret Supper experience, you know, fried chicken and champagne.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: But what we also find interesting is you you run an intimate, you know, uh Secret Supper at a hidden location, and you also run a festival with 18,000 people.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um I mean I that is we we were just talking earlier about the Essence Festival and and I and I told Rose that you know the best person to talk about these types of experiences is Candy Daly.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because she knows.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so what is what does that look like from a service standpoint?
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: And what what stays the same from a secret supper to a larger event and what what is different?
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think I'll start with the with the larger events, right?
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_03: Because I un unfortunately I feel like in the larger events, we don't have a service impact.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_03: Um the connection doesn't hit as hard because there's so many moving parts, right?
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_03: And um, and so service really just has to be, I think, from kind of like your um your welcome committee, right?
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_03: And that's the people who are making people feel welcome as they're coming in.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_03: Because other than that, they're really dealing with um all the other vendors and all the other partners that are there.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_03: So I think for that per for that, those type of events, the way that they're gonna be able to determine service is what the logistics look like of the event, right?
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_03: So was I able to get in seamlessly?
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_03: Was it, were the lines really long?
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_03: Was there water access?
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_03: You know, what happened in the case of an emergency, you know, where are the nearest restaurants?
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_03: Those are things that are not really thought of as service, but for us, they are.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_03: And so is making that event um as seamless as possible, I would think that that would be the those are the touch points that we're looking for for festivals of that magnitude, right?
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_03: Was buying a ticket chaotic or was it event free?
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_03: And what does that look like?
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_03: So all of those things.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_03: From the Secret Supper, those touch points are magnified times 2,000.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_03: We uh try to anticipate every single thing, every single need of the attendee prior to them arriving.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_03: And so we call it um at the pleasure of the guests.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_03: So if you've ever watched Scandal before, they always would say we serve at the pleasure of the president, right?
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so we have a client called the Boat Collective that we manage their conferences and the hospitality perspectives, um, the hospitality services for their events.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_03: And my team always says we serve at the pleasure of the boat.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_03: And it's the same thing when we're at the secret service, we serve at the pleasure of the guests.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_03: And that means that from the time that you arrive, we don't want you to have to think about any little thing.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_03: We don't want you to think if you're thirsty.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_03: We don't want you to think if you're hungry.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_03: We don't want you to ask us where the restrooms are.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_03: Like we want to think about all of those touch points before they happen.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_03: So if you've ever been to the Secret Supper, we usually have um Oshabori cloths that you can wipe your hands with once you come down to the dinner, right?
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_03: So you might go from cocktail reception to the dinner.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_03: You may not have gone to the restroom, but we know you've been up there shaking hands and introducing yourself to people and all the things.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_03: And so we also know that you may touch food while you're eating.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_03: And so we keep oshabori cloths that are warm or cool, depending on the weather, for you to wipe your hands before you go into dinner so that, you know, you're eating with clean hands.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_03: Um, that's just one little touch point, but we we hope we try to do a lot of those little what we call smaller details so that, you know, it's all welled on.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_02: And so you talked earlier about your team, and a team can make you or break you.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_02: You know, a piece of what everybody talks about in some of the larger franchises across the nation is impeccable customer service.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_02: And how are they able to get their team to do the same thing from place to place to place?
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_02: So talk to us about that, about the training of the team.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, what process do you use?
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_02: Do you have onboarding?
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_02: Like how does that piece of it work?
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, the team is the I want to say probably one of the most challenging parts of what we do, right?
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_03: Bringing in the right people.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_03: Um, because we have, you know, quite a few outlets, right?
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_03: We're looking for a very specific talent for each.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_03: For Potomac, we're especially our leadership team, we are very um, what's the one?
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_03: We're very selective about who's coming into this leadership team, right?
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_03: We know that I want them to have something that I have, which I think is a gift for service.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_03: And so I'm looking for that kind of natural gift during the interview process.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_03: What does service look like for you?
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_03: And we're asking a lot of questions around service and hospitality and really just how you treat people.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_03: And so there's a lot of preliminary um interview questions that happen, you know, outside of me before I even meet a candidate.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_03: And then by the time they're talking to me, we're digging deep, right?
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um, for Ruby's, um, I keep saying, but for Ruby's, we have a lot of high school students to young adults who may not have had training or experience.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_03: And so we know that when we're doing those those um hires, we're really looking for one thing, right?
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_03: Do they have energy?
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_03: If they have kind of what we would consider like high-level energy, then we can work with the rest.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_03: We can start the training, we can kind of build um with them through what we would call a good customer service or cousin um cousin service, um, what that would look like.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_03: And so with our high school students, we do a lot more training from I would call them more of the basic principles, more of the basic structure that we want them to have and what this looks like for us scaling.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, that's important.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_02: You have to see that gift in somebody and the rest of their hot posture.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, exactly.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_02: And you can kind of train the to-do's, the not-to-do's and that kind of thing.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_03: That one of the things that I love that we do with the young people who come in for Ruby is during their training, during their onboarding, right?
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_03: There's a whole process where they have time with me, they have time with the rest of our leadership.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_03: But then we have like this big family meal together.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_03: And so we set it up like Thanksgiving dinner.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_03: We go in our private dining room, they have a beautiful array of foods, and so we're passing platters to each other for food and we're just talking, right?
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_03: And they're getting to know me, they're getting to know our leadership scene.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_03: And that's a good way to really um show them what we're what we're asking for of them.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_03: And then it's also making them feel welcome during this process, right?
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_03: Because what for me, I always say, what could be better than sharing food with another person?
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um, breaking bread with people is the ultimate act of love for us.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so they get to see that firsthand.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_00: That in that in indoctrinates them in the culture.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_00: And they fall in love with the food.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: So how can you not?
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: How can you not?
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so now recently uh you uh just completed the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh congratulations on that.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um that's amazing.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's a very um exclusive program, and it produces a tremendous um amount of leaders.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: What has changed about how you run your operations following that program?
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_03: So, one thank you.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_03: Goldman Sachs, well, I did it a couple of years ago.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_03: It was a phenomenal program.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_03: Um, Cohort 11 Baltimore.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_03: Woo-hoo! Goldman Sachs was like, they came in with a brush and they're like, we're getting all these cowwills out of here.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_03: We're the clean this.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_03: It was the ultimate cleanup for us.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_03: It really just kind of ingrained in us about how important it is to have processes and systems in place.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_03: Like they deep dive into your business and they look at all the good, bad, the ugly, and the uglier than a you know what, and say, here, here's what we need to change.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_03: And then what does the next 10 years look like?
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_03: What does the next 20 years look like?
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_03: And how do we build that out?
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_03: And where do we need to start from?
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_03: And what's your next?
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_03: Is this it?
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_03: What's your exit strategy?
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_03: And so I feel like they made me look at business uh in a completely different light than the way that I have been looking at it.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm not saying that I never thought about what exit looked like, but they made me look at it from a different perspective about what it really takes to build this out the correct way.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_03: If I wanted to sell, if I wanted to pass it on to our family or whatever that looked like, um, Goldman Sachs played a big part and what that what the future looks like for us.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we've had some conversations around scale, right?
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: And building enterprise value.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm glad that you mentioned that because whether you want to sell or not, the goal should be always to think about how we position a business that if you ever want to walk away, right, you can.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you can take time.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: One one big indicator is can you take time away?
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_00: They call the hub and spoke.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: Can you take time away from your business for a period of 60 to 90 days and it still run as if you were in the business?
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so I don't know what it looks like because they ha I haven't walked away for 90 days yet.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_03: However, um, you know, there've been some times where we needed a break or we've been on vacation, or even when I had my my youngest, um somehow me and my husband started over after we have adult children, but here we are.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_03: Oh man.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_03: I know, right?
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_03: We have a five-year-old and a 25-year-old.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_03: So COVID, man.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: COVID.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_03: My God, literally.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um away for 90 days.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_03: So I've been there.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_03: I've I've said all that to say I've been there, right?
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_03: So when I had my youngest daughter, I was gone for a few months and things ran smooth.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_03: My hub, my husband was still kind of semi-involved, but we ran pretty smoothly.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um when we go on vacation, we're we're pretty smooth.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_03: So I wouldn't say that, you know, a 90-day walk away, I'm prepared for right now, but we're absolutely trying to set up for that, right?
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um, whether it is, you know, a complete exit or just me needing time or doing a sabbatical or whatever it is, I would love to be prepared for 90 days.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_03: Right now, I'm gonna give them 30.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_03: You'll give 30.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_03: Because I don't I'll I'll get them 30 without without you know bugging me, but yeah.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: Good stuff.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: Good stuff.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_02: You know, Alex, you know, I have trust issues, and I just want to say, I just want to say, I went away recently and I was able to allow someone to assist me.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_02: And when I tell you I did not even think, like what helped me was because when we were, you know, aligning on what needed to be done, and I was asking her all these things, and she's like, Rose, I have A, I have B, I have C.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_02: Enjoy your vacation, it'll be fine.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, Oh my god, thank you.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_00: But that's a real thing.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_03: That's amazing.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a real it's hard sometimes to detach because you're you're as an entrepreneur, your mind really is 20 running 24 hours.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_00: You're on the business, even when you're resting, yeah, you're thinking, or you're looking at ideas or things will create inspire you.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's hard, it's a hard thing.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I commend you on that room.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_00: I commend you.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_00: What was the what was the turning point though?
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: What made you say, okay, I'm just I'm just gonna Jesus take the wheel.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_02: Well, when she was proactive in saying what she already had, you know, because I was like, oh well, I had named something that I could give her, and then she said, Well, I have that, and then I also have these other things.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, oh, well, she's already she's already ahead of the game.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_02: I feel because a lot of times I feel like I have to coach people to be me, right?
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's what helped me let go.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_02: Like she could be her, and I see that she is already thinking in a way that is protective of what I'm trying to accomplish with my company.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_02: And so seeing that she understood that piece of it, then I could be like, okay, I I can I can let go.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_00: And and so that's that's kind of the reason why I was asking um both of you the question is because that's essentially what enterprise value leads to, right?
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh on one hand, you rely on the systems and process, and you say, Okay, I can I can step away and things will run smoothly, but also with your team and those processes, one thing you mentioned, Rose, was she thought ahead.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: She was able to answer questions before you asked them.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so that that releases uh you know discomfort.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: But also in in the grand scheme of things, you know, Candy with your business, what it does is reduce risk.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_00: And when it reduces risk, it increases value.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so we think about these CEOs and these major corporations who leave for like 90 days, six months, you're like, well, what's happening to the business?
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: And it's still running.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's the exact same concept.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_02: And so, Candy, something else that stands out about your work is your commitment to supporting aspiring black restaurateurs.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_02: From your perspective, what are some of the biggest barriers that entrepreneurs face when trying to enter or grow in the hospitality industry?
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, I number we all know that number one is probably capital, right?
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_03: Nobody has it.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_03: It just is the nature of the business.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but I also think just some of the basic infrastructure, the basic systems and processes.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_03: So in our previous space, we actually had um, I want to call it like an incubator kitchen where we will allow smaller businesses to come in and use our kitchen.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_03: And over the course of time, we really were able to kind of build a pipeline of food businesses that were able to establish themselves in the county.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_03: And so part of doing that, I didn't want to just be like a basic incubator where you're just coming to use our kitchen.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_03: I wanted to also provide resources, right?
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_03: How are we scaling and you're not?
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so we were able to really just um work with another organization called Magnolia.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um, they were an educational platform for people who are in the hospitality industry by offering classes for getting their businesses set up, you know, what does get going after contracts look like?
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_03: What does the county require of us to be open and operating and all the things?
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_03: Um, really how to get from, I don't want to say A to Z, right?
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_03: Because it really depends on the person and the business model that they have, but at least getting them A through F, right?
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_03: The basics of getting set up for your business and bringing in those first few clients.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_03: One of the things that I noticed on social media, um, the, the, the, I I call it a blessing, but one of the blessings as a backstory for me, um, and working with all these other types of food and hospitality businesses is I was able to learn a lot of behind the scenes stuff that I feel like a lot of times as black people, we don't have access to in these other houses, right?
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_03: We don't get hired there, they don't bring us on there.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um and so something as simple as a pastor derb, I would see, you know, online somebody says, hey, I'm a chef, and then they're putting out all of this food for this event.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_03: And so I'm looking at it knowing that, hey, you spent your profit right here.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_03: Because this, it, if they were hiring X, Y, and Z, they would have given them one ounce of this and two ounces of that, and they would break it down.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_03: They're doing the math on it.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_03: And sometimes we don't have those the resources, we don't have the knowledge, we we just don't have it.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_03: And so part of my time um was spent really just trying to get um smaller entrepreneurs to know at least some of the basics that these other places are doing, so that if you want to scale, you can do it the right way without, you know.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_00: I mean it's a very tough industry.
• 44:03
  unknown: Yeah.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh margins are thin.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we have to deal with things we can't control like COVID.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: We have to deal with rising food prices.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_00: We have to deal with things like is the beef really pass an inspection?
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we're dealing with all that stuff, right?
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_03: And so there's so much.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's always something.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_03: So so okay, before I maybe directly answer your question, I want to say that probably the the top five catering companies in the area or hospitality companies in the area do well over 200 million, right?
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_03: The top five in the DC area do over 200 million.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_03: And so I always start with if we can take 10% of the work that they're doing, we'd be fine.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't mean me personally as just our business, but I mean a lot of us who are in this industry.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_03: So one of the things I already mentioned, right, is just is the resources and knowing how to provide services that are comparable and compatible to what you know our competitor is offering, right?
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_03: Um I remember getting a text from a friend of mine who, friend of a friend, had hired this really well-known chef in the area to do this event.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_03: And the company came and they were late and they were trying to cook all the stuff right on the spot, right?
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_03: And so the event got really chaotic.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so what I explained to them is right, a chef in a restaurant is not the same as a catering company, right?
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_03: A catering company is not the same as a, you know, a restaurant.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_03: And so there's a lot of different, you know, variations that the way that an event can go.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so I I think one, we have to be open as as industry businesses, we have to be open to learning.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_03: We have to be open to receiving and taking constructing constructive criticism.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_03: We have to be willing to do continuing education.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_03: We have to find the people who we want to be like and either ask them to mentor or get in enough so that you can emulate the work that they're doing, know what they're doing.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_03: It's one thing to say you want to be the Ridge Wells, right?
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_03: But can you put out the work like the Ridgewells, right?
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_03: Because Ridgewells is doing a whole lot.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_03: They're at PGA every year.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so, you know, the quality of work has to be comparable.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_03: And so I think really it's just the matter of learning if that's what you want to do.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_03: You know, the industry is tough, I think, no matter what part you're in.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_03: Um, fortunately for us, I think we are trying to do a good job about, I don't want to call it having our hands in a lot of pots, but I do want to say that we do a lot of maybe cross businesses.
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of alignment in the work that we do so that when one is down, we have something else that's up.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_03: So, and the summer schools are out, but Ruby's maybe busy.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_03: And then during another period when this is down, then our corporate catering may be up.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_03: And so we do a I I'd like to think we do a good job about making certain that our team um that we can keep them employed because we have um these multiple streams of revenue that are coming in, or outlets as as we like to call them.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_03: And so I think that if you're in this industry, you have to have multiple outlets to sustain, right?
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_03: If you have there are not a lot of restaurants that sustain on just being a restaurant, it's just the nature of the business.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_03: It is, it can be one of the worst.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so that's why you're starting to see a lot of restaurants pivot into catering.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_03: Um, for a catering company, sometimes catering just doesn't cut it.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_03: You have to go into the contracting space and you have to look for contracts that are gonna provide you with daily work.
• 47:48
  SPEAKER_03: And so it may be schools, it may be this, it may be the military.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_03: You have to look for those different outlets to kind of keep you keep the bread buttered.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_00: I agree.
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_00: I agree.
• 47:58
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know if that answered the question, but it did.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I gotta give it a hand clap.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_00: Dropping gems, dropping gems.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, Candy, before we let you go, we we have this thing where we ask all of our guests the same question, right?
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_02: And it was my favorite part of the show.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_00: This is it.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it is what was your power move?
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_00: What was the moment at the pivotal moment where you had to make a very critical decision that literally changed the trajectory of your life?
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_03: Open our rubies.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_03: That was our power move.
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_03: Opening Rubies brought us to a wider audience.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_03: It allowed us to make a greater impact in the community, even to this day.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_03: Like we're getting ready right now for senior Thanksgiving, for Breakfast with Santa, for all the work that we do that that actually impacts the community.
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_03: That's our love language, right?
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_03: And so without Rubies, I don't know if those things would, you know, manifest in the way that they do.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_03: But we every year we have a group of seniors who we're feeding who may not have be close to their families or, you know, be able to travel to get to their families.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_03: And so we're making them feel good.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_03: The schools are making them, you know, cars and gifts and all the things.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_03: And then for Christmas, we do breakfast with Santa.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_03: And so you have all these kids who get to see a black Santa and reindeers and a slate at the restaurant.
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_03: And so it's a bunch of fun.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_03: And so um, Ruby's has been our our our kind of make it, make it make it work.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_03: It does what it's supposed to do.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_03: We're able to love on our people, and our people are able to love back on us.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, I love it too.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_02: And so, Candy, like I said, you've been dropping some gems.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_02: And for someone listening who's building a business right now, what's one piece of advice you'd give them about creating an experience that keeps the customers coming back?
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_03: Make people feel good.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_03: Make people feel welcome.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_03: That's what we all want.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_03: I tell our team all the time, you never know who is walking in the door at Ruby's.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_03: Truly, you don't.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_03: We have a the the star power sometimes is insane.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_03: But that doesn't mean that we treat our next door neighbor differently.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_03: So from the star to the neighbor, we make them all feel good.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_03: And and if you do that right, then this will continue to work well out for all of us.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_00: And where can listeners connect with you and learn more about Potomac Hospitality Group and your upcoming experiences?
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so they can follow us on all platforms as Ruby's Silco Kitchen.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_03: The same for FCC is Fried Chicken and Champagne on Instagram and Potomac Hospitality on Instagram as well.
• 50:26
  unknown: Awesome.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_02: We're around.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm gonna make sure that we have all of that information connected so you guys can stay connected with Candy and follow the journey of Ruby's, of fried chicken and champagne, and of all her other bright ideas that she comes up with.
• 50:45
  SPEAKER_02: Candy, thank you.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for joining us on PowerMoods.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_02: Now it's time for On Our Radar, where we highlight upcoming events, opportunities, and experiences across the DMV and beyond.
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_02: Here's what's on our radar.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_02: First step, Prince George's County Entrepreneurs, the Free Marketing Momentum Lab AI edition takes place November 5th, 12th, and 19th at VentureX and College Park.
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_02: Learn how AI can strengthen your marketing strategy and help your content get discovered.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_02: Visit fscfirst.com to learn more.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_02: And then also on our radar, voting is open for the Washington Informers 2026 Best of the DMV Awards.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_02: Vote daily in each category through November 8th.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_02: That is this Friday at 11.59.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_02: Visit WashingtonInformer.com and show your DMV favorites, favorites some love, including yours truly, guys.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_02: I think I am nominated in six categories.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_02: So make sure you show me some love.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_00: Vote for rolls, vote for roles.
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_02: And then November 12th and 14th, Love My Largo Farmers Market returns to the sandlot in downtown Largo for Unplugged Thursdays and DIY Saturdays.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_02: And follow, um, follow on Instagram at Largo Farmers Market for details.
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_02: And remember, Alex, you're coming to November 12th for the open mic to do a poem for your birthday.
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_00: You just put me on the swap.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, I'll be there until you send the poll.
• 52:22
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, wait a minute.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_00: I will be there though.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_02: Don't maybe have to run back the last on our radar where you were like, yeah, I could do a little something.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see.
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see.
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_00: I got I gotta dust off the pen real quick.
• 52:37
  SPEAKER_00: Dust off the pen.
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_02: And then Friday, November 13th, the DC Chamber of Commerce is hosting its Chambers Choice Awards and Gala, celebrating business excellence and leadership.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_02: Learn more at DCCamber.org.
• 52:52
  SPEAKER_02: And now guys, we're venturing out December 2nd and 3rd, the 12th annual Hope Global Forums bring leaders together to discuss economic opportunity, entrepreneurship, and financial empowerment.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_02: Visit operationhope.org.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_00: Now, Rose, I want to talk about this one.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_00: So in February of this year, uh the chamber hosted uh John Hobriant uh to talk a little bit more about economics and um he leaned into AI economy and entrepreneurship through acquisition.
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_00: But this forum really does bring together global leaders and entrepreneurs.
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so if you are looking to expand your territory, your network, I would recommend um investing time into this organization and to the a couple of days to learn and connect.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, and then also check out that panel with uh this fire fireside chat with John Hope Bryant on YouTube.
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_02: I will make sure to share the link.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_02: And then finally, December 4th through the 6th, Art Basil Miami Beach returns, bringing together artists, collectors, and creative entrepreneurs from around the world.
• 53:56
  SPEAKER_02: Details can be found at ArtBasel.com.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, Rose, we we talked about Essence.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_00: This festival is really the essence of the Southeast.
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um Art Basel is huge.
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um I you know I've learned quite a bit.
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_00: We have some residents that actually own art galleries in Miami who I'm hoping that we can get on the show, but but that's another way to expand your territory to understand how creative um space intertwines with economics uh and investments.
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, you'll find work art pieces that you may not find anywhere else right there, and make valuable connections.
• 54:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it's Miami.
• 54:35
  SPEAKER_00: How can you go wrong in Miami?
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_02: How can you go wrong?
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_02: And listen, I have I have a whole soapbox to talk about art and tourism and economic impact, but that's another show.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_02: And so that is what is on our radar.
• 54:50
  SPEAKER_02: And if you have an event, resource, or opportunity you think should be on our radar, email us at info at powermoveshq.com.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_02: We would love to hear from you.
• 55:02
  SPEAKER_02: And that's it for today, this episode of PowerMoves.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_02: We hope you enjoyed it.
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for joining us and make sure you stay connected with us on social media.
• 55:12
  SPEAKER_02: Alex, let them know the socials.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_00: You can follow us at underscore PowerMoves Media on Instagram, uh, Facebook, PowerMoves Podcast, YouTube, the PowerMoves Media.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_00: You can also connect with me on LinkedIn at Alexander K Austin and on Instagram at AlexanderK Austin.
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_00: And my website, www.alexanderKAustin.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_02: That's a lot of Alexander K.
• 55:37
  SPEAKER_00: Austin.
• 55:38
  SPEAKER_00: Can't give enough Alexander, can't get enough of them.
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_02: And guys, make sure you are following me at the Spotlight DMV on all social media platforms, including YouTube.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_02: And you can catch us on PowerMoves every Tuesday at 3 p.m.
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_02: on Lit 106.
• 55:57
  SPEAKER_02: Until next time, keep making PowerMoves PowerMoves.