Tyrone is a very successful Engineer, Pastor; he is also a parent, a husband, and a very successful entrepreneur owner of Floyds restaurant III in Charlotte, NC.
Last week we had a very informal interview about his business and his life in general and here are some of the answers he gave me.
Tyrone how you started your company?
Tyrone explained to me about his family business, his father started Floyds I and II, everything started as a sandwich shop and grew from there, after college his dad wanted to help him out with his own restaurant that was when Floyds III started.
Could you give me some examples to illustrate the challenge you faced in starting your company?
He faced many challenges, but the hardest to come by where licensing for his business, inspections, acquiring capital to run the restaurant, managing good advertising to be able to promote his business, he explained how hard was to keep employees for longer periods of time, the turn around in the restaurant business is large and very hard to keep good quality employees.
How do you resolve problems when they arise?
According to Tyrone he faces two types of problems, those are, employee problems he explained how important is consistency in business to keep an honest relationship with his employees, no rule changes, his employees are very important to him as well as his customers, which he explains that customers are not always right; however, they are the most important part of business and they need to feel comfortable enough to express any problem.
How have the experiences that you have had during your entire career influence the way you run your business?
His career as a pastor of a church helped him see the good in people and understand his employees better, with his Engineering job he learned how to be more methodical in his restaurant, keeping in mind any issues or problems that arise at any moment. Trust is one of Tyrone’s biggest issues, he has to trust his employees, and he is fair and treats his employees with respect and keep an excellent relationship with them.
How do you motivate and reward your employees?
He created incentives for his employees such as employee of the month, cashiers have a drop of box where customers can express their satisfaction and in return the cashiers are rewarded, he also have monetary gifts, he likes to do family oriented celebrations.
How do you select people to join your company?
He chooses people who are family oriented because he knows they will be there for the long term, he is very selective of his people, he likes to meet them personally and make sure they feel good and like the job.
How do you keep up with best practices in your company?
To keep best practices he reads magazine articles, he goes to restaurants conventions, he also keeps himself educated in payroll changes and new information
What advice would you give to someone who was considering entering your line of work?
Restaurant business is a very stressful environment, his best advise for anyone who wants to go into the restaurant business is to love what they do and have good credit.
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