Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Nelson Brooks and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Nelson Brooks and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

• 0:00
  Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
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  Connections, the podcast where relationships
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  create opportunity and great conversations shape
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  great businesses. I'm your host, Michael Foreman.
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  Today's episode is for every entrepreneur who
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  ever wondered, do I have it all figured out before
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  I start? We'll talk about why building a successful
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  business isn't about having the perfect plan.
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  It's about taking action. building meaningful
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  relationships, creating unforgettable experiences,
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  and embracing the journey. And yes, we'll even
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  dive into a few lessons from Shark Tank. I'd
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  like to welcome to the podcast, Nelson Brooks.
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  He's going to tell us all about his Shark Tank
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  days, but I'd like you to give us a little bit.
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  Nelson, I'd like you to tell us a little bit,
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  give me a cliff note version of how you got where
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  you are today. Sure. Thanks, Michael. Appreciate
• 0:58
  you having me on. I'm Nelson Brooks. I'm the
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  founder and chief cabana boy at Cabana Boys Events.
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  We are a party hosting and bartending company
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  that covers 10 different markets across the country.
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  We service many types of events. I've done about
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  8 ,000 of them over the last six years. And I
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  started the company in the middle of COVID, which...
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  Probably not the best time to start a hospitality
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  company, but it worked out for me. And over the
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  last six years, I've really just built the company
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  brick by brick, market by market, party by party.
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  Fortunately, like you mentioned, I was able to
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  go on Shark Tank earlier this year. That was
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  a great experience, which we'll get into. But
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  definitely to answer your question, how I got
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  to where I was, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
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  Being in a service business in the hospitality
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  industry, it's not easy, right? Every business
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  has its challenges, of course. For us specifically,
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  we're dealing with people's perception of our
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  service and people showing up on time. And there's
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  just a lot of variables with private events.
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  It's definitely been a bumpy road, but I'm so
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  grateful for where I'm at. Being an entrepreneur
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  is a lot of fun. That's where we're at today.
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  Yeah, being an entrepreneur is fun, yet it's
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  very nerve -wracking as well. I owned a pizzeria,
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  restaurants. a Ben and Jerry's ice cream store.
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  I've been through it all. And what you say with
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  people showing up or even showing up on time
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  is a bit of a struggle. But if you have the right
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  people to helm, you won't have a problem. Okay.
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  Yeah, I agree. You believe a business doesn't
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  require a perfectly written business plan to
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  succeed. How important are relationships compared
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  to planning when building something from the
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  ground up? Yeah, I still don't have a business
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  plan, which I might be kind of risky to admit,
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  but it's not something that I've ever really
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  put pen to paper. I have what we call a BHAG.
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  Some people may have heard of that, a big, hairy,
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  audacious goal. I actually was just kind of refreshing
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  that for myself yesterday. So I have a vision.
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  I have a mission. I know what I want to accomplish.
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  But getting into the nitty gritty details of
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  a business plan, just something I've never found
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  the value in doing. especially as a small business
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  starting from scratch, you can't predict the
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  future. And there's going to be a lot of things
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  that change, right? I think it was Mike Tyson
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  says, everybody has a plan until they get hit
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  in the face, right? And that's what being an
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  entrepreneur is all about. You can have a plan,
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  but it's not going to go according to plan. There
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  will be curveballs and twists and turns to it.
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  For me, it was more so about action and really
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  just taking that initiative and going for it.
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  I think that people can... kind of get stuck
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  in paralysis by analysis. And I definitely wanted
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  to avoid that. Yeah, absolutely. I found even
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  with my brick and mortar businesses, once you
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  put pen to paper and make your business plan,
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  it changes. Definitely. Yeah. And so the changes,
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  what are you going to do? Are you going to go
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  back and rewrite it? No, you can have an outline
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  where you want to go. But you're absolutely right.
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  I never put much faith into putting it down on
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  paper either. Okay. Some entrepreneurs wait until
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  everything is perfect before they launch. Others
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  start with conviction and learn as they go. Which
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  approach creates stronger leaders and why? I
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  don't think either one is wrong. For me, in my
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  experience, like I said at the top of the interview,
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  I created a hospitality in a time where every
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  other hospitality company was laying people off
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  for closing altogether. I did it in a different
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  way, right? You think hospitality is like restaurants
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  and hotels. And for us, it's private events in
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  their home. And so I had to get creative, but.
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  Part of the reason that I was successful is I
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  did form those relationships early on. And I
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  had partners that either directly referred me
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  business, I referred them business, or we did
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  co -marketing together in some way. And I definitely
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  would not be where I'm at today without those
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  early partnerships. I formed a pretty strong
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  partner ecosystem at the beginning, which definitely
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  was that jumping off point or the launching pad
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  for us. early on. It's the type of thing where
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  you need, if you create a business in a vacuum,
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  like you don't know how, where it could go, right?
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  You don't have partners or hopefully you have
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  customers, you have to pay the bills, but those
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  partner relationships are definitely very helpful.
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  Yeah. You need, you can't really have yes men
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  around you. You need somebody with different
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  points of view so you can actually see outside
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  your bubble and say, okay, this may not work,
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  but it may. Let me hear everything you got. And
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  you as the owner would have to make that decision.
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  But you don't get anywhere by having six guys
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  around you and saying, that's great. That's great,
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  Nelson. That's a great idea. Do that again, Nelson.
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  So it goes beyond. What was that? Is that a doorbell?
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  I'll make sure that's off. There we go. You've
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  built a career around creating unforgettable
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  moments. Do you think the most successful people
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  intentionally create memorable experiences rather
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  than simply memorable products? Short answer
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  is yes. When you think about the shining example
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  is Apple, right? Apple's not really a product
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  company. They make products, but they are more
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  about. convenience and ease of use and changing
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  the way that people interact with technology
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  right yes and they've done that through this
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  and the computer that i'm on right now and several
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  other things in this room but it's more about
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  the experience that is they provide there's been
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  plenty of copycats or people who try to make
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  a phone similar to an iphone iphones in the us
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  at least is by far the most popular phone and
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  it's because it's the experience of using it
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  is so much better I would think, at least in
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  my opinion, than any other. And so those entrepreneurs
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  that are creating memorable experiences are definitely
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  more successful, in my opinion, than those making
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  memorable products, right? A product can be great,
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  but if nobody remembers how they felt when using
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  it a week later or a year later, it's going to
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  be pretty short -lived. Yeah, it's true. I go
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  across the country and I speak about networking,
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  communication and everything like that. And I
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  always try to bring out the feeling that everybody
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  will get that, oh, I got to remember that. Or
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  did you hear what he said? Because I have to
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  write that down. No, if I give away a product,
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  they'll say, oh, that's nice. And they'll put
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  it in a drawer and they'll forget about it. But
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  the memory of what I'm doing, that goes a long
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  way. When people look back on their careers,
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  do you think they'll remember the milestones
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  that they've achieved or people whose lives they've
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  impacted along the way? Yeah. I think about this
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  a lot. I have goals, right? And a lot of them
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  are money related. Make X number of dollars or
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  hit this revenue target. And it's good to have
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  goals for sure. But when you think about it,
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  let's say that your goal is hitting a million
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  dollars in revenue. Okay, you hit it. Now what?
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  And you need to continue to move the ball forward
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  and raise the standard, of course. But you hit
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  your goal. And then what? I think it's more important
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  to take a look back. And for us, it's how many
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  thousands of people that we've helped celebrate.
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  a great time or the memories that they're making
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  and when they have a bachelorette party how much
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  longer after the bachelorette party they're talking
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  about the time they had with the cabana boys
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  that to me is much more important than the dollars
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  that are in my quickbooks right it's the every
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  time i get a five -star review about us being
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  the highlight of their weekend or how great our
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  team was that The money is important because
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  it is a business, but it's more about the experiences,
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  the memories that we create. Everybody's different
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  though. A lot of people can be, they can work
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  in a job or start a company where they don't
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  really care as much about that customer experience
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  and its memories. And that doesn't make them
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  a bad person or anything. They just have different
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  motivations. But for me, it's more about the
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  experience that we're creating. And if you provide
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  a great customer experience, the dollars will
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  follow, right? It may take some time, but they
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  definitely will follow. Good. Networking is often
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  viewed as expanding your opportunities. Have
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  you found the greatest opportunities usually
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  come from serving people well before asking for
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  anything in return? This is one that I honestly
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  I struggle with a little bit. And it's when for
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  part of our business, we do a lot of bachelorette
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  parties, which are usually once in a lifetime
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  type of. events right people usually don't have
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  multiple bachelorette parties and so that means
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  that we are oftentimes a one -time purchase versus
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  groceries or an iphone you might buy every week
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  or every year or every couple years and for us
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  it's more once in a lifetime and i've struggled
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  to build like community around that where i'm
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  like offering people value before asking for
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  something because at the end of the day i want
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  to get that booking right i want that that reservation
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  to be placed for their party. And so how do you
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  really build that community and add value to
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  them without asking for the sale? That's honestly
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  something I still struggle with. But depending
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  on your industry, there are ways to do it. And
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  you can't always be asking them to book or to
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  buy or to check out. People's attention spans
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  are really limited. Everybody is asking them
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  to book and buy and check out. Slowly building
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  that community and adding value without asking
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  for a sale. Subconsciously, I think that's more
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  effective. So something I need to work on transparently,
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  but some people do a really great job at it.
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  Something that I work on constantly is I educate
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  and I teach people about networking and communication.
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  Within the networking arena, I always have them
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  give value first. I always have them give something
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  like, oh, look what you're giving me. Why are
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  you doing this? Because you have to build that
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  relationship. You talked about starting in the
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  pandemic. And prior to the pandemic, networking
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  was really transactional. I have a widget. You
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  have $3. Give me $3. I'll give it a widget. And
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  I build my customer list and we're done. But
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  post -pandemic, it became more relational. And
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  that's where you had to... Give a little before
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  you got a little. Yeah, I'm a part of an entrepreneur
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  group. And one of their kind of, I don't know
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  if it's part of their company values or what,
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  but one of their statements they say is everybody
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  needs to have a go -giver mentality. Not a go
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  -gitter, go -giver. Berg wrote the book, Go -Giver.
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  Oh, there you go. As a matter of fact, I had
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  him on a podcast of mine. And you have to go
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  with what's called a servant's heart. Yep, yep.
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  You have to look to serve, look to give before
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  you receive. Yep. Yeah. It's a great way to be
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  a great characteristic of somebody, especially
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  an entrepreneur. It is. It is. Okay. You've talked
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  about Shark Tank. Beyond the investment and the
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  pitch, what lessons about trust, communication,
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  and human behavior do you think entrepreneurs
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  often miss? Directly from my Shark Tank experience?
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  Okay. Either way. Is that what you're asking
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  or just in general? In general. Yeah. Yeah. I
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  think human, I'll start with the human behavior
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  one. I think that people, what we talked about
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  already, people want experiences, especially
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  Gen Z and younger people. They're more willing
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  to spend on things that create memories versus
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  physical items, luxury goods and alcohol and
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  those sorts of things are falling because They're
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  not quite as popular with the younger demographic,
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  whereas younger people are spending on trips
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  and events and things like that, which definitely
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  helps our business, by the way. But as far as
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  trust goes, that's something that I do want to
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  pat myself on the back. If you look at our company
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  just at a quick glance, it's, oh, you send guys
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  to a party to help them celebrate. It's like,
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  okay, that's... Sounds like it could be just
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  a couple guys and frat guys in college just making
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  this kind of random business. And I've done,
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  I feel like I've done a really good job at building
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  trust with our audience, whether it be on Shark
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  Tank and getting that credibility or obviously
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  being backed by Kendra Scott, an investor, or
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  it's all the Google reviews online. People want
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  to buy from companies that stand for something
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  and that have a track record. You're spending
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  $500, $600 with this company and there's no reviews
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  and there's no press and you're not really able
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  to find much about them. It's going to be a lot
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  harder for you to get that sale. Those trust
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  metrics are important for sure. And also just
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  learning about your customer and what they're
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  interested in so you can shape your offer to
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  those interests and behaviors. We keep going
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  back to Shark Tank. What product did you have
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  on Shark Tank? So it was my service, the Cabana
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  Boys Party Hosting and Bartending. It was not
• 14:55
  a physical product, which was pretty unique for
• 14:58
  Shark Tank. Most of Shark Tank's pitches are
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  products. There's not a lot of experiences or
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  services that are on there. And to me, I think
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  I got a deal because people saw the value, specifically
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  Kendra Scott saw the value in that. She understood
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  the importance of creating a fun experience for
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  your customer and helping them create those memories.
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  And that's why she invested. Products, they're
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  important, but there's a lot of them out there.
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  But it's more about creating those memories for
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  people. Good, good. Every entrepreneur hears
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  the word no. What separates the people who allow
• 15:37
  rejection to define them from those who use it
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  to refine them? Yeah. I feel like entrepreneurs,
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  the best ones, are the ones who are resilient
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  and they're gritty and they use those no's as
• 15:53
  fuel to the fire. You will hear, if you listen
• 15:55
  to a lot of podcasts talk about this, where they
• 15:58
  have an entrepreneur on and that entrepreneur
• 16:02
  pitched to a bunch of different venture capital
• 16:04
  firms and they heard no 84 times. But the 85th
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  one, they said yes, and now they're this $20
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  billion company or whatever. entrepreneurs are
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  a different breed in that sense that most people
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  will it would have stopped at no number two three
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  four or five right they wouldn't have made it
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  to 84 but when you have that conviction and you
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  believe what you're building will make an impact
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  on the world like no amount of no's are gonna
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  stop you i think that's i'm very blessed to be
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  a part of that community where i don't like to
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  hear no nobody really does but every time i have
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  it's like okay how do i turn it into a yes? Maybe
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  not with that person who is saying no, but how
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  do I take it, change my offer, change what I'm
• 16:49
  doing, circumvent that no, and eventually achieve
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  what I'm trying to achieve? Great. Okay. If someone
• 16:58
  wants to build both a successful company and
• 17:02
  a meaningful life, how should they define success
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  before they ever define profit? That's going
• 17:11
  to be a different answer for everybody. right
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  i think you really have to look internally at
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  what you feel like is successful this is something
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  actually i've gone through an evolution of in
• 17:21
  the last couple years i have a daughter she just
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  turned one a couple months ago and i've always
• 17:28
  been a very been a go -getter like i always want
• 17:32
  to succeed and make a lot of money and do big
• 17:34
  things and since i had my daughter i'm like is
• 17:39
  that always the most important thing And to me,
• 17:43
  like I'm already successful because I have this
• 17:46
  beautiful child in my life, right? And I have
• 17:48
  a great wife. I have a stepson as well, who's
• 17:50
  amazing. And the monetary reward and hitting
• 17:53
  these revenue targets, I still want them, right?
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  It's still a goal of mine, but I just feel like
• 17:59
  I am not quite as like. bloodthirsty and do it
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  at all costs as i once was because i've already
• 18:06
  made it in some way and so everybody's different
• 18:09
  though like some people don't want kids some
• 18:10
  people do want all that money and again there's
• 18:12
  nothing wrong with that it's just about being
• 18:15
  able to define what your success metrics are
• 18:17
  and working very hard to achieve them even if
• 18:20
  that means creating a passive income so you can
• 18:23
  spend all your time with your kids like that's
• 18:26
  a great goal or if you don't want kids like making
• 18:29
  a million dollars or whatever the monetary goal
• 18:32
  is. You just have to be able to be self -aware
• 18:36
  enough and know what your motivations are. Yeah,
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  I think the answer is more how old you are and
• 18:45
  where in life with your family you are. That
• 18:48
  work -life balance always comes into it. But
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  when I was younger, I would work 16, 18 hours
• 18:55
  a day to get... that money to get that paycheck,
• 18:59
  to get that goal. And as I started to have children,
• 19:04
  I realized that spending the time with my boys
• 19:08
  and my wife was more important than those goals.
• 19:13
  So I actually dialed it back. I became a little
• 19:17
  league coach, a football coach. I was all that.
• 19:20
  I was there for them while they're growing up.
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  And then I went back into it. so I needed that
• 19:27
  that time yeah no that's definitely true for
• 19:30
  sure and same with me like when I was 22 fresh
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  out of college 23 I was working my tail off still
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  I'm working very hard but like you said just
• 19:38
  working long hours and all I was spending my
• 19:41
  money on was going out to the bar on the weekend
• 19:43
  but now it's like I've got we're about to buy
• 19:47
  a house and we've got kids expenses and sports
• 19:50
  and family trips and there's just different motivations
• 19:54
  for You're finding your why, right? And your
• 19:58
  why definitely evolves as you mature and grow.
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  Absolutely. My wife and I were just talking about
• 20:05
  that if my kids played baseball during the summer,
• 20:09
  right? And the summer leagues and the all -stars
• 20:12
  and everything else like that. And if they didn't
• 20:15
  play that, that's cost like $5 ,000 a summer.
• 20:20
  So we get a new furniture for the house. Every
• 20:24
  year. But things were different. Things changed.
• 20:28
  And we thought more about the children than for
• 20:31
  our own well -being. Okay, so let's bring this
• 20:35
  podcast full circle. Imagine you're mentoring
• 20:38
  a young entrepreneur who's obsessed with creating
• 20:42
  and scaling a business. What's the one lesson
• 20:46
  about relationships and leadership you want them
• 20:50
  to learn about before they ever make their first
• 20:53
  million? You can't do it on your own. Whatever
• 20:57
  that means to that individual and that business
• 21:01
  is unique to them. Whether that means finding
• 21:06
  a great partner in life, wife or husband. Whether
• 21:09
  that means... Finding a great co -founder or
• 21:12
  other partners in your business, whether that
• 21:14
  means finding a great investor, whether that
• 21:17
  means finding great partners or mentors to contribute
• 21:21
  to your business. There's a lot of different
• 21:22
  ways you can build relationships in your life.
• 21:24
  But if you're out there trying to be a lone wolf
• 21:27
  and trying to do it by yourself, you will not
• 21:30
  get as far as you could without a good community
• 21:33
  around you. Not that it's impossible to be successful
• 21:36
  by yourself, but... those connections that you
• 21:39
  make allow you to get so much further because
• 21:43
  you can delegate work, you can get capital, you
• 21:46
  can test ideas, you can measure things that,
• 21:50
  or I guess test and measure things that you maybe
• 21:53
  thought were the best idea, but there's no market
• 21:55
  demand for it. Those relationships definitely
• 21:57
  will help you out significantly. Nelson, this
• 22:01
  was great. You're a great guest. I have to tell
• 22:05
  you, really, you got me thinking about, When
• 22:09
  I first began and having the business up through
• 22:13
  now, I'm 64 now. My kids are growing and children
• 22:17
  and everything else. I still have the mindset
• 22:19
  of a business, but it really makes you think.
• 22:23
  Nelson, if somebody wants to contact you, either
• 22:26
  to be mentored by you or to hire you, what's
• 22:29
  the best way for them to get hold of you? Yeah,
• 22:32
  so if you are an entrepreneur and in the kind
• 22:35
  of the events and hospitality space, I do have
• 22:37
  a consulting arm of my brand. It's nelsonbrooksconsulting
• 22:41
  .com. So I can work with you on a short term
• 22:43
  engagement. If you're looking to hire a bartender
• 22:47
  for an upcoming event, you can find us at cocktail
• 22:50
  -crew .com. We do any type of event, whether
• 22:53
  that be a wedding, holiday party, bachelorette.
• 22:56
  corporate event, or if you are doing a bachelorette
• 22:59
  party, partyhostboys .com. We operate in 10 different
• 23:02
  markets across the country and we'd love to help
• 23:04
  you celebrate. Great. Here's the biggest takeaway.
• 23:09
  Successful businesses aren't built on perfect
• 23:12
  plans. They're built on meaningful relationships,
• 23:15
  courageous action, and moments people never forget.
• 23:20
  If you enjoyed this episode, like, follow, and
• 23:22
  subscribe to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
• 23:25
  Connections for more conversations on networking,
• 23:29
  communication, leadership, and business growth.
• 23:32
  And if this episode inspired you, share it with
• 23:36
  an entrepreneur who's waiting for the perfect
• 23:39
  time to get started. If you're looking for a
• 23:42
  keynote speaker, or executive communication coach
• 23:45
  to help your team build strong relationships
• 23:47
  and turn conversations into business opportunities,
• 23:52
  visit michelaforman .com. So until next time,
• 23:56
  remember, your greatest opportunity isn't waiting
• 23:59
  for a perfect plan. It's waiting for you to take
• 24:02
  the first step and build relationships that make
• 24:06
  the journey worthwhile. Nelson, thank you again.
• 24:09
  You're a great guest. Thank you, Michael. Appreciate
• 24:12
  that. Hello, I would like to welcome you to the
• 24:20
  Fusion Alliance Business Expo 2. That's right,
• 24:25
  we're having another networking expo. Now, this
• 24:28
  one is going to be even better than the first
• 24:30
  one in March. This one is October 22nd, held
• 24:34
  at Iphone Restaurant and Event Center, 6000 Medlock
• 24:39
  Bridge Parkway, Georgia. Now, this is your chance.
• 24:44
  This is your chance to showcase your business,
• 24:46
  connect with the community, and gain unmatched
• 24:49
  exposure. This event is designed to highlight
• 24:53
  your thriving business and is a must -attend
• 24:56
  gathering for most local leaders and entrepreneurs.
• 25:00
  So, now, what is there going to be? First of
• 25:04
  all, it's free admission to the public. Come
• 25:07
  one, come all. There's going to be a large audience
• 25:10
  to see your business. You're going to gain new
• 25:13
  customers, build your brand, and establish strategic
• 25:16
  partnerships. So whether you're looking to gain
• 25:20
  new customers, build your brand, or establish
• 25:24
  strategic partnerships, Business Expo 2 is the
• 25:28
  place to be. Don't miss your chance to be part
• 25:31
  of this exclusive annual showcase of Johns Creek's
• 25:35
  best businesses. Remember, it's October 22nd.
• 25:39
  Remember that. October 22nd, between the hours
• 25:43
  of 11 a .m. and 4 p .m. The location, 6000 Medlock
• 25:49
  Bridge Parkway, Johns Creek. You can go to the
• 25:52
  website, and it's www. FusionAlliance .info.
• 25:58
  F -U -S -I -O -N -A -L -L -I -A -N -C -E .info.
• 26:05
  You can get all of it there. You can be a vendor.
• 26:08
  You can be a sponsor. Or if you want, you can
• 26:11
  just come on and enjoy it. So come on down. Everyone
• 26:14
  else is going to be there. And just enjoy yourself.
• 26:18
  All right, folks. A huge thank you to our guests
• 26:21
  for sharing such incredible insights today. And
• 26:25
  of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing
• 26:27
  listeners, for tuning in and spending your time
• 26:30
  with us. If you're interested in my digital courses,
• 26:34
  being coached, or having me come and talk to
• 26:37
  your company, just go to Michael and fill out
• 26:40
  the request form. Remember, networking isn't
• 26:44
  about being perfect. It's about being present.
• 26:47
  So take what you've learned today, get out there,
• 26:50
  and make some meaningful connections. If you've
• 26:53
  enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to
• 26:55
  subscribe. Leave us a review and share it with
• 26:59
  someone who could use a little networking inspiration.
• 27:02
  Let's keep the conversation going. You can find
• 27:05
  me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my
• 27:09
  website, foreman .com slash podcasts.