The Beauty of Being a Regular
Every business leader should belly up to the knowledge bar
Welcome to the latest entry in The Captain’s Log. You’re in good company with thousands of fellow entrepreneurs and innovators who have subscribed!
I’m your host, Bob, and my mission here is to share personal, behind-the-scenes stories of ups and downs from my career leading tech startups and corporate innovation.
I write to make you think, smile, and discover a shortcut to success or a trap to avoid.
Here we go…
We all tend to eat and shop at the same places repeatedly. It doesn’t take us long to recognize the faces of those who ring us up at their registers and pour our coffees. It’s a treat when the barista at Starbucks remembers my daily order, usually after just five or six consecutive trips.
But how often do we fully break through the fourth law of retail and get to know the people who work there? Not often enough.
If we can get out of our own heads for a minute and invest more than our coffee budget into a small business, we might find much more knowledge and joy available at no additional cost.
Beer Me
Two years ago, my wife and I dropped our younger child off at college for her first year and asked ourselves: “Now what?” Empty nesting was upon us, and we didn’t have much of a plan besides sleeping in a bit later and going on more long weekend trips.
So we used that dinner to strategize and devised a plan before finishing our entrees: We’d sell our home, a lovely but high-maintenance place in the ‘burbs that was more than we needed. And we would buy something new downtown where we could walk to almost everything and spend almost no time on outdoor chores.
We last lived downtown when I was in business school in New York City. It was an amazing experience, but we had very little money then. Now we have some money in the bank and more time to enjoy it. Within a few weeks, we had a buyer of our current home and found a perfect new spot downtown that checked every box on our wish list.
The evening after closing the purchase, we had another dinner downtown and walked to our new empty nest. On the way, we saw a bar and bottle shop called Standard Beer and stopped in to grab a few drinks that we could enjoy on our new rooftop deck. I’m a beer guy, but my wife prefers wine. As I rang up one of each, we remembered that our house was still empty, and we didn’t have a single wine glass—or cup, mug, etc. We explained our predicament to the bartender, who said we could borrow one of his glasses. We thanked him, learned his name was Brett, and that he was the owner and sole employee. We promised to return the glass and return to drink a lot more often once we got settled in.
Not only did we feel some immediate loyalty to Brett, but as a big craft beer fan, I knew I would spend a lot of time at this particular establishment—just two blocks from our new home. I’m at 1,992 unique beers registered on Untappd since Jan 2018 (if you know, you know).
Minding Their Business
Standard Beer gradually became a standard spot for me. My wife and I would stop after dinner for a nightcap and chat with Brett and our new neighbors. I’d head over for a mid-week beer with my laptop around 4 p.m. when I had some tedious task to do that was made easier with a double dry-hopped hazy New England ale near my right hand. As Covid faded and people were up for in-person chats again, I’d usually try and steer the meet-ups over to “my favorite craft beer spot.” My only rule is that I buy the beer if you meet me here.
(For those worrying about my liver: (1) the blood work is back, and the doctor says everything is in the normal range, and (2) it’s really about having 1 or 2 drinks down the street rather than in my living room at home.)
As I spent more time visiting Brett, I learned more about him and his business. I started leaving my laptop and home and sitting at the bar to chat when he wasn’t pouring a beer or putting price tags on cans. Since he’s a fellow entrepreneur, I couldn’t help but ask about the ins and outs of his business. Things like: “How does distribution work?” “Which beers are most popular?” and “How much better are sales when FC Cincinnati wins its home games?”
The more time we spend together, the more we share, and the more I learn. Digging into a completely different business than mine opens my mind to new angles and ideas. As both a business and beer geek, I’m in heaven. There are countless bars within a ten-minute walk in my neighborhood, but I’m sticking here. I’m too invested in multiple ways of defining the word. If only the IRS considered my drinking budget a deductible expense…
I’m sure you, too, dear reader, have interests where your passions interact with business. It might be the bike shop where you ask questions from the grizzled store owner. Or maybe it’s the construction site you walk past every day—an opportunity to ask the contractor what’s coming next in the build. My wife previously owned a sewing store where local high-profile executives would come in for their weekly fabric fix and pepper her with questions about how business was going.
It’s More Than Business
But our commercial relationship with Standard is not just about great beer or business lessons; we’ve developed a friendship over time. Brett has become part of our neighborhood group. We bring him cookies and leftovers, wave as we walk by, and bring him favorite beers we’ve discovered on our vacations and business trips.
Last week, my wife was out of town, so I was on my own for dinner and conversation. Naturally, I wandered down to check in on Brett. A few fellow regulars joined us and we had a spirited debate over our favorites on the draft list. Then, a fifth customer bellied up to the bar and produced a series of bottles from his backpack. He had just returned from Brazil with some rare, barrel-aged sours. The seven of us were suddenly part of an impromptu tasting (see photo above). Food was passed around. All had a grand time on a random Wednesday evening.
I’ve learned that I like being a “regular,” and I can see why so many people are drawn to their favorite watering holes. It’s a chance to socialize with semi-strangers outside of our usual friend groups. We watch people and lives pass by. Being out in the mix of things is much more entertaining than drinking that same beer on the couch at home watching some invented life story on the TV screen.
So, pick your favorite small business and make them a part of your life. If it happens to be beer, join me at Standard—I’ll always buy the first round.
How we might work together…
My team and I lead Hearty, a boutique recruiting service that helps tech-forward companies hire proven talent. Our senior team of operators sources and screens, saving you time and money. When you need help, let’s chat.
Feel free to schedule time together during my Open Hours for questions, feedback, networking, or any other topic!
BONUS: Cool Content of the Week
A little something I found meaningful. You might agree…
Tim Denning is a writer who inspires me with his storytelling and reminds me that I’ve got a long way to go to be as good as he is. Last week, he shared a collection of quotes from an even better writer, Nassim Taleb—the author of books including Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, and Antifragile. Tim’s post distills the purest gold from Taleb’s thousands of pages. You’ll probably go ahead and buy the full books anyway, though. After all, writers get better by reading.
Agree! My wife and I used to be “regulars” at a bar called Father’s Office in LA. Loved being pseudo friends with the bartenders. Great post!
GREAT PIECE BOB!