Latest / Energy is Currency Podcast / The Business of Celebration: Build a Brand, Lead with Energy & Know When to Pivot w/ Nelson Brooks
Transcript
- Alexis: Welcome back to Energy Is Currency. It's Lexi, and I am so excited today. I have Nelson Brooks with the Cabana Boys today. And I am so entertained and excited to have this conversation. Just Nelson Brooks: Okay. Alexis: saying cabana boys makes me feel like a sexy cougar. So I am definitely Nelson Brooks: Okay. Alexis: looking forward to hearing how these services can appeal to the inner sexy cougar living inside of me. What's up, Nelson? How are you doing? Nelson Brooks: We're there for it. Yeah. I'm doing well, Alexie. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, we're Alexis: Absolutely. Nelson Brooks: we get a lot of sexy cougars for sure, whether they are actually a sexy cougar or just, you know, embodying it. Yeah. Yeah. Alexis: The spirit of the sexy cougar, right? That's so funny. So like I said, you're with Cabana Boys. Please give us the real background of what Cabana Boys is. It's not the the freaky lady behind the pool. What are we really doing? Nelson Brooks: Sure. Yeah. So yeah, so I'm the the owner and chief cabana boy. I don't know if there's any other chief cabana boys in the world, but I guess I am one. Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: of Cabana Boys events, we're a party hosting and bartending company or in 10 markets across the country. Cabana Boys is our flagship brand. We have a couple other services as well under a different label. But what cab a cabana boy does, our definition of it, is a charismatic party host. so we come to typically it's an Airbnb or private home. we do a lot of bachelorette parties, but we'll also do birthdays, girls' weekends, group trips, bachelor parties, book clubs, divorce parties, really any type of special occasion. And our Alexis: Uh-huh. Nelson Brooks: goal is to serve, pamper, and tastefully entertain. So we are not the greasy magic mic Chippendales type. That's not that's not what we do. but we're also not like the boring behind the bar bartender that's not gonna like, you know, be fun and third either. Yeah. We're kind of in the middle. Alexis: Have a conversation, right? So Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Alexis: how what were you doing with your life where you said, you know what? This is it. This is the thing. Nelson Brooks: I know it's Alexis: What was happening that day? Nelson Brooks: If you would have asked me about six and a half Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: years ago if I'd be in the position I am right now, no, there's no way I would have predicted this. but I've always been the type that I love getting people together. Like I I've always I was like the social chair of my fraternity, like always, you know, getting planning parties. I had a small event planning company in Austin before Cabana Boys. I just like the like notion of celebrating life. Alexis: Okay. Nelson Brooks: that's just kind of my thing. And And then I'm also an entrepreneur. Like I've always, like I said, I had a small event planning company, always had side hustles, always trying to make money, like get creative, build things. And so this was kind of at the crossroads between those two things. but the way it actually started, it was August of twenty twenty, actually July of twenty twenty. And my friend was in town in Scottsdale from Austin, and she said, Hey, I'm here for a batch rep party. Do you want to come over to our Airbnb and hang out with the group? I was single at the time and I was like, yeah, sounds great. It's it sounds like a good time. I'll be over soon. Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: and there was two other guys there that were friends with the maid of honor. And she had just paid them 50 bucks just to hang out and serve drinks. It wasn't a company, they were just friends. And I started chatting with them and I was like, There's something here. Like, this is such a Alexis: Something mixed. Nelson Brooks: yeah, there's well, it's it's a really fun idea, but it wasn't something that they they were not building a company. And I was like, I feel like this could be really popular with this age group. Because there's I mean, there's a time and a place for the like magic mic stuff, sure. But the like the Alexis: Yes it is. Nelson Brooks: day the days of like adult entertainment and you know, going to a strip club and things like that, there it's I I I think in my opinion, it's a little archaic. Like it's Alexis: In this economy? Nelson Brooks: right, right. So you still Alexis: Simple. Nelson Brooks: sp specifically with women, like you still want that attention, but you don't want to be grossed out by it, you know? And that's kind of what we go for. Like we will give you that special attention. We'll pamper you. We'll give you compliments. Show you a great time, but we're not gonna be, you know, on top of you or Alexis: Lewd. Yeah. Nelson Brooks: yeah, or like trying to take you home or anything like that. So it's it's that like professional flirtation, if you will. Alexis: Right We hate that. Nelson Brooks: which I you know, I'm married now, so it's I'm a little out of my my my element on that front, but like I I love getting people together and and so I felt like I was very good at that at the time. there's Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: other people on my team who are much better at it than I am now. But Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: but that's the idea, you know, just showing people a fun time. Alexis: I love that. I love that you recognize the energy that you were experiencing. Was like, no what? There's some money behind this. There's some currency with this. We could actually make Nelson Brooks: Totally. Alexis: this a thing. Cause that's what energy is currency is about. It's about experiencing what's already in your frequency, what's already in your life, in your world, your proximity, and the things that bring you joy enough to where it's like, I want to repeat this all the time. I can do this. This is something Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Yeah. Alexis: I'll show up for regularly for sure. So go Nelson Brooks: Well that Alexis: ahead. Nelson Brooks: do when I saw the name of your podcast, I was like, this is perfect because we like we tell people your event our energy, right? Because a lot of times, unless this is something that you Alexis: Yeah. that's dope. Nelson Brooks: do a lot, you know, unless you're like constantly planning parties, it's kind of hard to plan a party, right? There's like a lot of little details and things that the average person doesn't really think about. And we're not Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: the ones doing the planning, but we are the ones hosting it. And so when you're hosting it, like you want to be able to enjoy it. But if you're the one that's hosting it, you don't really have the same opportunity to like liven it up because you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off. Like you're making sure that Alexis: For sure. Nelson Brooks: the music's good and everybody has a drink and that the decor looks good and people who's Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: showing up on time, like that kind of stuff. You don't want to be stressed out about that. And so that's where we come in to raise the energy, take that off your plate, and so you can enjoy the party and it'll just be kind of next level. Alexis: I think that's such an important role to play when it comes to community experiences because to your point, if you're the one that's planning it, you're managing logistics, you're ensuring you're doing conflict resolution and Nelson Brooks: Right. Alexis: you know, and chaos manage, crisis management, all of those different things, when what energy are you showing up with? Are you here to frolic and enjoy the company? Are you here to ensure that the operations are managed and executed? And those are two different jobs. Those are two completely Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Alexis: different jobs. so Nelson Brooks: Definitely. Alexis: I think it's really, really cool that you are able to identify the the complexity of what a host is and then take upon the energy aspect of it. So Nelson Brooks: Yeah, yeah. Alexis: you've been doing this for about six years. Yeah. You gotta tell us about your favorite, your favorite one that you've hosted. Nelson Brooks: we've done about 8,000 parties. so there's a there's a lot Alexis: Ooh, that's gonna be hard. Nelson Brooks: to choose from. I certainly have not been at every one of those, right? Like I said, Alexis: Okay. Nelson Brooks: we're in we're in ten markets, but I did, you know, back at the beginning, probably a hundred of them myself, something like that. Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: I'm trying to I honestly there's so many to choose from. A lot of the especially for a bachelorette parties, you get kind of like two types of girls. Who does a bachelorette party? You get the like very traditional, like has the sash and the penis straws, and like, you know, what you think of as a bachelorette party. And then you get the girls Alexis: For sure. Nelson Brooks: that are like take it to a whole nother level. Like we I remember I wasn't at this party myself, but it's one of the stories that has just like lasted through the years. There's a group of girls, they all dressed it just in like colonial outfits and with like full like wig. Alexis: Like Quaker Oats, like the Quaker Oats man. Nelson Brooks: like our, you know, George Washington, like old president type of thing. And like even like with like the powder wigs too. And it was just Alexis: Yes Nelson Brooks: hysterical. It's just the those are personally my favorite types of parties to hear about 'cause it's the girls who don't take themselves that seriously, you know. Alexis: Did they need anybody to help them manage their energy? Nelson Brooks: Not really. No. There's sometimes we come into parties and they're like already on another level and we're just kind of like help it, you know, help keep it going, right? They don't need it Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: raised that much anymore. They just need to, you know, keep keep it going. But that's a hilarious one. There was another one that was I've actually had this a couple times. The group dresses up as Guy Fieri, the the diners driving with like the spiky blonde wig and like the You know, tacky button up, short sleeve button up with all flames all over it. It's yeah. Alexis: my goodness. I'm getting a lot of notes of what I should be doing should I ever get married. Like, okay, we need I Nelson Brooks: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Alexis: need guy Ferrari wigs or powded wigs. Okay, cool. Put puts that on Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Alexis: list. Nelson Brooks: Exactly. Alexis: So yeah, I was gonna ask, like, what's your What's your target? What's your ideal customer? 'Cause you're it sounds you get a good spectrum. But who are you looking for? Like, what kind of vibe make is like, okay, we wanna work that party? Nelson Brooks: Yeah. So I think it's more so the the two examples I just gave, right? Alexis: Okay. Nelson Brooks: Like if if we get hired by a lot of different types of people, a lot of different types of groups, but we have had people who our job is to come in and raise energy for sure. Like that's that Alexis: I know. Nelson Brooks: is the like first thing on our job, you know, on our on our resume, if you will. But at the same time, if we walk into a party and nobody's engaging with us at all, Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: it makes it really hard. Right. It's we still do our job well, but it's just it's it's so much harder to do that. And so we we do ask the customer at the beginning when they book, like how involved do you want us to be in your party? And we have like Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: a scale. It's like center of attention, life of the party, event enhancers, or behind the scenes. And some people say like center of attention, but they just kind of just sit there and they don't they don't really crack a smile and they're just kind of like sitting it sitting there. It's like Okay, like we we you gotta have a little bit of a response here in order to like for us to really do our job well. So those are the ones Alexis: I wonder what Nelson Brooks: that, you know, aren't as ideal, whereas the ones that like understand the value of like having a great time and letting loose, like those are definitely like more up a rally. Alexis: So, what's your escape plan for like the super boring parties or like for the okay, this Nelson Brooks: Mm-hmm. Alexis: is getting weird party? Like, what's your protocol for that? Nelson Brooks: We just do our best. I mean, there's not really an escape plan. It's just more like, hey, Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: we're we're here for, you know, two to four hours, depending on how long they book us. Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: one kind of funny thing, and a little peek behind the curtain, we do a lot of our parties will extend, meaning that they'll like book two hours and then they're having such a great time that they want the cabana boys to stay longer and we have a process to to have to make Alexis: Mm-hmm. Obviously. Nelson Brooks: that happen. But if Cabana Boy A and Cabana Boy B have another party afterwards, they aren't able to extend. Right. That's just logistically they can't do Alexis: Yeah. Okay. Nelson Brooks: it. So in the case of one of those parties, it's kind of a dud and they're not fun. We sometimes have said, Yeah, so sorry, we like have another party after this, we can't extend, even if they ask us to. So Alexis: Ha ha ha. Nelson Brooks: a little peek behind the curtain there. Alexis: And you're in 10 markets. How did you establish your positioning? What made you say this is this is where the cabana boys need to be versus mm, y'all aren't ready for the cabana boys yet? What Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Alexis: what was your criteria for your market? Nelson Brooks: So the the market, my my path was to really follow bachelorette trends. So Alexis: Ooh, okay. Nelson Brooks: cities where bachelorette parties are more common and and more popular. so we're coast to coast. We have, you know, San Diego, LA, Orange County, Palm Springs in California, here in Scottsdale and Phoenix, Austin and Nashville, Charleston, Savannah, Alexis: Okay. Nelson Brooks: Destin Thirty A, and Miami, Fort Lauderdale. Alexis: Mm. Nelson Brooks: So we're all over. and a lot of those are very like bachelorette heavy. Right. They're they're very much like the spots to go. Destin thirty A is one great example. We just opened up Destin Thirty A last year because it was the fastest growing batch rep mark in the country. Alexis: Gotcha. Nelson Brooks: it's not the biggest, but it was the fastest growing. So we really just Alexis: No, that makes sense. Nelson Brooks: take a look at at that, those statistics. And I have a great partner that helps me out with with those that data, just to figure out where we go next. Alexis: Gotcha. So that means if you're in that many areas, that means you have a nation's worth of cabana boys, right? What is your Nelson Brooks: Yeah, we've about a hundred and thirty employees. Yeah. Alexis: what is the hiring process like for this? Nelson Brooks: People people joke about it. It's like, do you have to like take off your shirt during the interview or what Alexis: Brian, is this like a shirt? Do they come in a do I wear a suit? Do I wear shorts? Do I wear a tiki hat? Nelson Brooks: Right. Yeah. Alexis: Like how what do I wear to the cabana boys? Nelson Brooks: Yeah, so Alexis: And is this in I have a side question. Is this inclusive? Do you have cabana girls for the or is that another scalable opportunity to tap into? Nelson Brooks: Yeah, totally. So to answer your question about the girls first, yes, we have cabana girls here in Scottsdale. yeah. So it's only in one of our ten cities. we we don't have it elsewhere yet. But we do have Alexis: Okay. Yeah. Nelson Brooks: a one of our brand is brands is called the Cocktail Crew. And the Cocktail Crew is more Alexis: that Nelson Brooks: traditional event bartending, usually for like corporate events, weddings, holiday parties, where they don't want the shirtless guy, they just want a great bartender, you know. Alexis: Okay. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Nelson Brooks: And so that's that's about a third of our business overall. And we have male and female bartenders there. but as far as the interview process, we take hiring very seriously because our people Alexis: Okay. Nelson Brooks: are our product, right? If we hire Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: somebody who is doesn't have a great personality or they show up late or they're in it for the wrong reasons, like we don't get an opportunity to show that customer again what what we're our standards are, right? It's just one and none. Alexis: Mm, gotcha. Nelson Brooks: And so we take hiring super seriously. We have a lot of boxes that they need to check. they go through three interviews, a reference check, background check, on the job training, off the job training. Like there's a lot to it. So we get hundreds of applications and we definitely don't take all of them. we don't even interview a lot of them. so it's it's pretty serious. Alexis: Love that. And I genuinely appreciate that because to your point, most bachelor parties are familiar with the magic mic energy, you know, and it and the word Nelson Brooks: Right. Yeah. Alexis: the word sleazy can pop up really quickly unless you have very serious guardrails on who you have showing up. So when you're doing like an energy check. What are you looking for in terms of like charisma? Like what does charisma 'cause the new kid the kids are calling it the riz. So what kind of riz are we looking for? Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Yeah. So it's interesting because you know, at a glance you might think like we're only just hiring guys who have six packs, right? Like, and it's more about the looks. And I'm not gonna beat around the bush. Looks are important, right? It's it's part of the the package, you know, where we we we take that into consideration, but it is certainly not at the top of our list of criteria for hiring somebody. It's the charisma and the energy that is. Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: We really look for people who can light up a room, right? They walk in and they can take control of the room in a respectful way, right? They're not overbearing. But, you know, when you think about it, a cabana boy or two cabana boys are walking into a room. It's usually, you know, eight to twelve women. They're may or may not have been drinking already. Like they may or may not be hungover. Like there's a lot of personality in there, right? And we have to come in and host it. And if we have somebody who's kind of shy and standoffish and not able to like say, What's up, ladies? My like my name's Nelson. We're the cabana boys and like really take control of that. They're gonna be like, Who are these guys? Like this this guy is not this guy's Alexis: What are you doing here? Nelson Brooks: not gonna host our party. Like he's he's not confident, you know? And so Alexis: For sure. Nelson Brooks: it's confidence without being cocky. It's bringing great energy and just really having that presence to be able to to host something for, you know, not all day, but you know, a few hours. Alexis: So I just love that. Cause it it it has such a fun Overlay, but it has a very responsible undertone as well. So I love that Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Alexis: there's a strong balance of no, we're having a blast and we're gonna do this can intentionally and with really respectful with respectful outlet execution of it. That's what I'm looking for. As Nelson Brooks: Yeah, yeah. Alexis: an entrepreneur, what made you say yes to this? Nelson Brooks: I think like kind of what I was saying before, like it was really at the crossroads of two things I'm very interested in. Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: one being entrepreneurship. I love building things. Like I just like the concept of like the strategy and like the vision and putting the pieces together and the laying the bricks to like build something. And Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: then the second part is the the partying. I mean, just to put it bluntly. Alexis: Ha ha Nelson Brooks: Right. I like partying and I'm not the every weekend guy like I was when I was in my twenties, you know, where I'm going out all the time. But like I love the idea of like celebrating life, celebrating special occasions or like our so Cabana Boys events is our DBA, but our actual company name is Life Events L L C. And so like that's what we're celebrating is life's events. and so whether it's a bachelorette or birthday or wedding, holiday, you know, any special occasion, like it's a Life short. And so it's a moment in life that I really, you know, no matter how big or small, like it needs to be celebrated. Alexis: Gotcha. I love that. I love that celebration is at the forefront of all of your experiences and making them available. I also think it's really cool that you have an umbrella business, but also that you have other brands per your different target audiences and your segments. Would you like to speak a little more on that? Like you said you have go ahead, I'll let you talk. Nelson Brooks: Sure. Yeah. Sure. Yeah, so Cabana Boys, like I said, is our flagship. That's in Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: eight of our ten locations. and then we have Cocktail Cowboys, which is in Austin and Nashville. And that Alexis: Okay. Nelson Brooks: is very similar service, not as pool focused, and it's Alexis: Okay. Nelson Brooks: you know more of that western cowboy vibe. Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: And then we have Cabana Girls, like I said, here in Scottsdale. And then the cocktail crew is in all 10 of our locations. So we actually just in the last couple of weeks, we slimmed down from six brands down to four. So we Alexis: Okay. Nelson Brooks: had a couple that we we we still have we have a bar crawl in Nashville called Broadway Boyfriends, which is super fun, but it's just not Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: a brand we're really emphasizing anymore. We still have the service, just not really a brand. So trying to streamline things a little bit. And and really, like you said, like it's Each of them have like pretty unique audiences. We're not trying to Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: appeal to, you know, a bunch of people with each one. so yeah. Alexis: Yeah. And with it, because it sounds like the initial business was started during the peak of the pandemic. So I think it was Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Alexis: an excellent way of still like I said, celebration and community were excellent and challenging priorities for the pandemic. And now we're Nelson Brooks: Mm-hmm. Alexis: in like the money is funny. Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Alexis: How have you nav how have you navigated that? I know you kind of you said you reduced maybe two or so of the brands, but what else have you done to kind of appeal Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Alexis: to customers who still want to celebrate, but maybe pockets aren't as generous? Nelson Brooks: It is it is one of our challenges right now. Like you said, Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: like we we did get get kind of lucky. You know, I I I started the business at a great time because people were starving for celebration and getting together and travel and especially being in Arizona. we're one of the cities that or states that opened up faster after Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: the pandemic. So a lot of people were coming here and you know, we benefited from that. Alexis: God. Nelson Brooks: but now I mean this year, just to be blunt, like or or transparent, like this year has been tough because I think it's largely because the economy is a little shaky, like there's a little bit of uncertainty about, you know, what's gonna happen in the world. And people may still have the money, but they're nervous to spend it, you know, or maybe they don't have the money and they therefore can't spend it. And so we've had to get really creative about being very clear about what our offer is, like saying Alexis: Mm. Nelson Brooks: if you book Gabana Boys, this is what you're getting, not just in terms of like the feature, but more so the benefit. Alexis: Yeah. You emphasize on the value. Nelson Brooks: What the offer is. Yeah. And then the cocktail crew, you know, the more traditional event bartending side of our business. We started that in 2023 because we were very for with Cabana Boys, we were very seasonal. And so we were in 90% Alexis: okay. Nelson Brooks: of our events were happening March through October. And so I had Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: this lull in the year for four months of it, you know, November, December, January, and February, where I was like getting virtually no revenue, you know? Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: And so we started a cocktail crew to to try to help buoy that seasonality. And I added this asset, which is a great team, you know, a lot of talented bartenders. So I was, you know, putting them to work in the off season too. So it you know, entrepreneurship is about being creative but also resilient too. you gotta be able to be comfortable pivoting and changing things, but also like not so, you know, gun shy that you like Change everything all at once just 'cause there's one external factor. Alexis: Yeah. I call that honoring the wave. And I call it that way because in order to have really, really awesome up moments, you are absolutely gonna have very low moments that precede it or or follow it. And that's a part of the wave. Once you like if you look at a a heartbeat on a monitor, it's literally a wave. Once that wave ends, it's flatlined. Dude, we don't want to experience flatlining. So I definitely emphasize to all entrepreneurs to learn how to honor the wave. And I think you have an excellent example of doing so in honoring your best seasons. If if we know we make our money from March to October, from March 1st, we already got our boots on, glasses and our and our sunscreen, right? But you Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Right. Alexis: were able to successfully and and intentionally and thoughtfully pivot in the season. that didn't desire that. I think a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with that, with the inflexibility around pivoting sometimes where you do a good thing. Okay, great. You do you do do a good thing. How can you how can you package and participate in this talent in multiple ways and and in the versions of the way your consumers might need them? I think that's a great idea. I think that's Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Yeah. Alexis: excellent. So okay, wait. So do you have do you have a dress code for the cocktail crew? Nelson Brooks: Yeah. So Cocktail Crew is is all black. So black polo, black pants, belt shoes Alexis: Okay. Okay. Nelson Brooks: socks. we do, you know, sometimes we get requests for something outside of that, but that that's our standard. Yeah. Alexis: Okay. Have there been have there been any requests that you've denied where it's like this doesn't feel like a yes for us? What does that look like? Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I mean, some people, because we're kind of adjacent to the the magic mic stuff, like I I said before, some Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: people are viewing it as that's what they want, right? They're they're trying to Alexis: gotcha, gotcha. Nelson Brooks: book our service to get that service. And if you go to our website on the front page, it says who we are and who are not. Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: and we try to be very explicit about that. And we have had, you know, inquiries in the past that are like, Hey, we want, you know, the guys to come in in Speedos and, you know, give a lap dance to the bride or something like that. And we're like, sorry, it like sounds like a great time, but that's not a service that we offer. Alexis: love that you're protecting your male counterparts. As a woman, we demand that type of protection and advocacy, but I don't know if it is as freely given to men, especially with the magic mic content, that we don't Nelson Brooks: This is Alexis: necessarily protect our male counterparts with the same integrity and and, you know, voracious energy that we would our women. So if Nelson Brooks: Yeah, I mean it's there's a double standard in the world. Like that's just, you know, the way that it is. not that Alexis: Confidently. Yeah. Nelson Brooks: I'm advocating for it, but it's just the way that it is. But we have had a couple times where our female customer was too aggressive with our guys, you know? And it's the same type of thing that like if the tables were turned, right? If it was female hosts and male customers, which we do have Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: in Scottsdale, but luckily we've never had any issues. Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: But like that would definitely not be okay, right? Like newsworthy type of stuff. Like tonight at tonight tonight Alexis: Yeah. For sure. You could that would Nelson Brooks: at eleven o'clock, these, you know, cabana girls, blah blah blah. Like that's not a headline that you want. But with the Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: cabana boys, like we have had a couple of times where the girls were just like too forward, too aggressive, too touchy, you know, and we just had to be like, Hey, like, we are here to have a good time, but like this is a boundary we're not willing to cross. Yeah. Alexis: A safe good I'm just here to dance. Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Well dance with you, not on you. Alexis: Right. You know, unfortunately I was quoting, and all that whenever I hear a statement like that, it always unfortunately makes me think of players' club. Have you seen that movie? With Ice Cube and Letha Ray? There's Nelson Brooks: Mm. I've heard of it. I've never seen it though. Yeah. Alexis: one scene and is an awful part of the movie, which is why I think your business is so cool. But the girl's like, Hey, I'm just here to dance. Whatever y'all are trying to do, I'm not for that. I'm just here to dance and that's Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Alexis: it. And but I I think When we hear fun and we hear Bachelorette party, there are so many things, so many negative things that are associated with it now that I love that you're providing a protective, more wholesome experience for all of the parties involved. I Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Alexis: think that's really commendable. I do. Nelson Brooks: Thank you. I appreciate and and just to elaborate on that a little bit, you know, when like you said, a lot of batch rep parties kinda have a connotation of what happens there. And that again, I think, is something that's kind of outdated. I think that nowadays Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: it's more about the girls just getting together and having a fun weekend. It's not about getting into trouble or doing, you know, things that are salacious. But what we are able to offer is a safe space for girls to celebrate whatever they're celebrating. Right. Alexis: I love that. Nelson Brooks: I mean, they can go to a club or a bar and have fun, but they're gonna get constantly barraged by guys trying to take home and get their phone numbers, right? And at right, Alexis: Why I hate going to clubs. Nelson Brooks: you know, and so at at a Airbnb, like they can still party and have a blast and have that male energy, but we're not gonna do those things that, you know, they don't want on us to. So it's kinda a a happy medium. Alexis: So what's the future of the cabana community? What are you what are your next plans? Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Yeah, so our our goal is to be a billion dollar celebration brand. we thank you. the goal is Alexis: I love that. Okay, congratulations, isn't it? Nelson Brooks: to, you know, be synonymous with the celebration economy and and really lead Alexis: Okay. Nelson Brooks: the charge there. we have a heck of a long way to go before we're there, right? But Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: the kind of the next step is taking our current business and franchising it. so having Cabana boys and cocktail crew and cowboys and cabana girls in multiple cities across the country, not just the 10 we're in now. I think it depends on what city you're in, that it depends on what brand it would work, right? Cabana boys may or may not work in Atlanta. I don't know. Where the cocktail crew definitely would. so Alexis: That I mean that sounds like a wonderful concept to even explore because Atlanta is Atlanta is such an unreal place that I don't know what we would land it with. Because there's a strong LGBT community here, there is a very strong women's community here, is not necessarily island or beachy. And I would not dare touch anything near Lake Lanier. Ugh. You lose your f lose more to your feet. But Nelson Brooks: Well, maybe Cabana Boys might work there, but a place like, you know, Detroit, right? Or something like that. Cabana Boys probably not gonna work in Detroit. Alexis: Right? And everybody's coming in with their big fur coats on. It's like, where is the cabana? But you know, I Nelson Brooks: Right. Right. Alexis: I mean, honestly, I my th my thing is this as ingenious as you have been thus far, that's just a matter of brainstorming for you. That's the cool part. Nelson Brooks: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. Alexis: Once you really figure out what your thing is, like especially how you navigated the the high season and creating another high season with cocktail crew. You you definitely have the flexibility and the and the innovation already built in where you could definitely turn it into whatever you wanted it to. You could definitely turn it into Yeah. Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Yeah. That's the idea. I mean, we we, you know, I actually just in the last couple of weeks I've kind of been working on my vision for Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: what what we're building. And it it was really kind of validating almost to know that I'm like not starting from scratch, right? With you know, my vision is just kind of compounding what I've already built and Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: you know, just taking it a step further. So, entrepreneurship is tough, but I feel very optimistic about the direction we're going in. Alexis: And I think that's a special moment. There's you know what in entrepreneurship there are very few moments where the external validation really land fully. You can have a great event, but you're always gonna be aware of all of the things that went wrong. Or it's gonna be a rinse and repeat where it's where your brain the brain knows how to do this, the body knows how to do this. I don't have to think my way through it anymore. Or I don't have but then when you sit down and you look at the data and you look at the the marketing plans and you look at the just like I have a million notebooks with with me writing out how I want something to be done and and then seeing it exist outside of my thought process, that's the validation. Those are the genuine validating moments for me. When I look back, Nelson Brooks: Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Alexis: cause well As entrepreneurs, we're always looking for what's the next thing. We very rarely exist within the moment of the achievement. We're very much like, okay, we got that done. Next we're gonna do this, next we're gonna do that. But it's when you really sit down and review what you've completed. I think more entrepreneurs need to spend a little time there because no one else is there's no performance review. No one is gonna sit us down and say, Hey Nelson, you did you did great this quarter, you brought the sales up 10%. No one's gonna have that conversation with you that has to be from the inside Nelson Brooks: Right. Alexis: out. Nelson Brooks: Yep, that's so true. Alexis: What okay, I have two a few more questions. One, I want to know, because you mentioned the celebration industry, right? What Nelson Brooks: Okay. Alexis: is who is who else exists within the celebration industry? Like, not to give your competitors any shine, but like what kind of businesses Nelson Brooks: Yeah, I mean my opinion is Alexis: would would exist within an industry? Nelson Brooks: So it as far as customers go, it's anybody. My opinion is everybody should be celebrating, right? Alexis: Two shame, okay. Nelson Brooks: I mean our our niche so far has been bachelorette parties, but the reality is is like it could be anything. It could be a bar bot mitzvah, it could be a retirement party, it could be a wedding, it could be, you know, a a corporate event or an investor relations meeting. Like there's so many things Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: to celebrate in different ways. As far as like other people you know, competitors or partners. I mean, there's a hundred different bartending companies in every city that we operate in, right? There's Alexis: Okay. Okay. Nelson Brooks: there's a lot of the difference I think there's other companies that are on a national level like we are, and Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: there certainly are competitors, but at a local level, there's a lot of people who it's the owner of the company going out and do the bartending, right? And maybe Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: they have two or three employees and they do a great job. You know, that's that I'm not trying to like knock them at all. It's just different, Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: right? It's just a different business model completely because they're small and local and regional. Alexis: Yeah. And I Nelson Brooks: but there's, you know, there's competitors in in every nook and cranny really. Alexis: I think that's what I appreciate about your business as well, is that it feels very personable and very I don't want to use the phrase local because it's not local. It's a it's a national brand, but you Nelson Brooks: Right. Alexis: make it feel like it's people coming to take care of your event. So you have a very personable yet national appeal. Your franchising opportunities are gonna be insane. That's gonna be great. Nelson Brooks: I'm super excited about that. I appreciate Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: you saying that and I agree. But I think that when we franchise it and we have local owners who are actually local, not just, you know, people who are local, I think it's gonna just gonna go to the next level because they know the city better. I I mean, I've been to Charleston a handful of times, but I don't really know Charleston that well. But if we have a local Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: owner there, like they're gonna know it really well. They're gonna be able to recruit better, form better local partnerships, like It's just gonna be transformational for for the business. Alexis: The phrase cabana savannah just popped up. Like that's gonna be Savannah is gonna Nelson Brooks: So we just funny you say that. Alexis: eat y'all up. This is gonna be great for Savannah. I lived there for four years and Nelson Brooks: did you? Okay. Alexis: a lot of people travel to Savannah and the surrounding cities for their weddings and for their bridal parties. Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Yeah. Alexis: And it's still it's an inexpensive area, but it still has a lot of hospitality and really good Nelson Brooks: Maybe. Alexis: community vibe. So to have To bring that there, that would you already have it there. But to have like a franchise there as well, that would be awesome. Are you all in New Nelson Brooks: So we Alexis: Orleans? Nelson Brooks: we're not in New Orleans yet. There's a a short list of cities that are Bacharette heavy that we're not in. New Orleans is one of them. But Savannah, Alexis: Yes. Yes. Nelson Brooks: so I mentioned we did a rebrand recently. We used to be the Savannah Cocktail Boys. And so that Alexis: Okay. Nelson Brooks: was the Cocktail Boys is one of the brands that we we got rid of. Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: so now it's called the Savannah Cabana Boys. And it just it flows really nice. Yeah. Alexis: I love that. I love when I can catch the vibe. So Nelson Brooks: Yeah. He nailed it. Alexis: what advice would you give to to the next to our next gen of entrepreneurs that are in the hospitality, in the celebration, in the innovation pivoting points? How what would you share with them? Nelson Brooks: Yeah. I mean it kind of depends on what stages they're at, but I I'd say for anybody who has an idea and they're, you know, at the early stages, really just go for it. Right. I think that's one of the advantages that I had early on is I didn't create a business plan. I didn't create this like step by step process of exactly what I was going to do. And Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: some people might cringe at that and be like, whoa, like how did that seems risky? Like, why did you do that? And for me it was easier and more effective to kind of plan it as I was going. 'cause I didn't really know. Yeah, like we were kind of Alexis: Yeah. Yeah. Nelson Brooks: creating a new category. You know, it was at an uncertain Alexis: See sure. Nelson Brooks: time with COVID. Like, you know, the best laid plans often don't plan or make it out that way, right? And so Alexis: It sounds it sounds like you were prepared for the business to happen to you. Yeah. Nelson Brooks: Kinda, yeah, I'd say so. Yeah. So, you know, for somebody that's early on, just really just go for it. You know, if you're creating if you have an idea that is like so far in outer space, you know, maybe take some time to plan it out. But like Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: if it's a you know, if it's if it's something that like conceptually makes sense and you talk to some families and family and friends and they're like, Yeah, that's that's a good idea. That could work, just go for Alexis: Okay. Nelson Brooks: it. Like start start to do it. and then somebody who's a little bit further along I I just presented this idea to my team last week, or this week actually, two days ago. You think about Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: an org structure as a pyramid, right? You got the CEO at the top, traditionally, you got VPs, Alexis: Mm-hmm. Nelson Brooks: directors, managers, frontline staff. That's usually the way most businesses are formed and it how they exist. I would challenge most businesses to turn that upside down. You've got your customers at the top, then your top line staff. then your managers, then your directors, then your VPs, then me at the bottom. I am Alexis: Okay. Nelson Brooks: not the most important person at this company. Our customers are and then our top line staff are, or Alexis: Mm. Nelson Brooks: frontline staff I should say. Because if I am like because of the business model we're in, like if our frontline staff are unhappy, not doing a good job, have low morale, that's gonna show to the customer, right? Alexis: For sure. Nelson Brooks: And so really my job and my you know, my leadership team's job is to give those frontline people the tools, the resources, and the support to succeed and do their job well. And if we're not Alexis: Yeah. I love that. Nelson Brooks: doing that, that's going to show to the customer experience. So really just thinking about it that way, I think is really effective. Alexis: I think that is extremely effective and important because I've always heard and I've and we see it, we absolutely see it. When the staff and the the frontline people are taken care of, they take care of the business. They're excited to protect and advocate and provide additional resources and go the distance because they feel like the distance is being gone for them as well. I I've always kind of looked at it more like a matrix where everybody has equal importance and everybody is interconnected. And that way nobody falls to the wayside. But you have to honor where you are within that matrix at that time. So if it's a customer service Nelson Brooks: Yep, totally. Alexis: experience, boom, make sure that that's taken care of and make sure your staff everybody gets that that same energy. You know what I mean? So I think that's really, really awesome. Yeah. Nelson Brooks: Yeah, exactly. And that's that's a culture thing. You can't can't really tell people what your culture is. You gotta show them what your culture is, you know. And and for me, you know, being the leader of the company, like my my job is to be the thermostat, not the thermometer. Right. Like the Alexis: Mm, okay. Nelson Brooks: idea is we wanna set the temperature in the company and not be just reading the temperature, right? And so Alexis: Yeah. Nelson Brooks: I try to instill that in everything that I do, especially with my employees, but You know, you you kinda have to be that way in order to to be successful, I think. Alexis: I I think once you're in management, your role is no longer about taking care of the customer. Your role is about taking care of the constituents immediately responsible to you. And that would be your stand, you know. AKA the babysitter. You know, I tell people Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Yeah. Right. Alexis: like, no, babe, you're you're a professional babysitter now. And it's absolutely Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Alexis: nothing wrong with that. If they're on top of the game, then there's less than you have to do. But If not, then you're definitely gonna have to walk them through each of the steps. So I love that. And I love that you empower each of your staff members to independently advocate for the business. It's not just okay, report back to Nelson. Call Nelson if there's an issue. Nope, this person is empowered with everything that they need to know in this moment. It makes me think of of Whole Foods. Whole Foods has that's how their stores as far as I know, used to operate, where in each department. Department, the team is empowered to make decisions for that department, as opposed to wait, we have to send it up a chain of command and wait for the communication to come back before we can execute. No, we'll we'll come together within the group, make our decisions, execute. If it's a great decision, we definitely send it up so we can do more. If it's a bad decision, we definitely send it up so that we can review and figure out what to do better. You know, maybe it was Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Yeah. Alexis: an issue of resources, maybe it was an issue of of execution, but. you have all of those options out there so that people can Nelson Brooks: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Alexis: so that people can make make really good decisions. Cause what I hate to hear is, I can't do anything about that. Or I I don't know what to tell you. And it's like, ooh, and Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Not my problem. Alexis: not my problem. And it makes me feel and and it it makes people not want to spend their money. And and what Nelson Brooks: Yeah, yeah. Alexis: is a business if we're not spending money? Now we're back in charity, you know? So Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Yeah. Alexis: So I think it's really, really cool. Nelson, I really, genuinely appreciate you coming on the show. This was such a good Nelson Brooks: Absolutely. Alexis: episode. And I think our viewers are gonna get some really good nuggets out of this. So shout out to Nelson, Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Awesome. Alexis: the Cabana Boys, Cabana Savannah. I need to Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Alexis: so I don't have anything to get like I don't have any bachelor parties coming up, but I definitely feel like I need to Nelson Brooks: Do you have a birthday coming up? Alexis: I do. I will, I should Nelson Brooks: There you go. Yep. There you go. Bacharettes are definitely, you know, are are kind of a bread and butter, but a birthday party, a girls' weekend, something like that, that's it's all kind of the same. So Alexis: Understood. Understood. Maybe Nelson Brooks: Yeah. Alexis: you can help me roll out the Atlanta chat, the Atlanta, the Atlanta region. We can figure out something Nelson Brooks: There we go. Yeah. Alexis: fun and flirty for Atlanta. That would be a lot of fun. Where can we connect Nelson Brooks: That would be fun. Alexis: with you? Get your services, get signed up, get your future cabana team. Nelson Brooks: Sure. Yeah, so coup a couple places. One, for if you're looking for, like I said, like Batch Rek, Girls Weekend, birthday, you can find the Cabana Boys and the Cocktail Cowboys at partyhostboys.com. You can find us on social at the Cabana Boys and the Cocktail Cowboys. If you're looking for more traditional bartenders who are still fun and charismatic, but they keep their clothes on. at the cocktail crew. So cocktail dash crew.com and cocktail crew bartending on social. And one last thing I'll plug. I have opened up a consulting arm of my business as well. So if you're an entrepreneur in the hospitality or event space and you need help solving a problem, I'm not gonna guarantee I can solve it, but I'd love to have a conversation with you to see if I can help. So you can find that at Nelson Brooks Consulting.com. Alexis: Absolutely. Again, thank you so much, Nelson. This was so much fun. And remember, Nelson Brooks: Absolutely. Thanks for having me. Alexis: your energy is your currency. Make the most of it, y'all. Until next time, I'm Lexi, your favorite entrepreneur.