WEBVTT
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Good day everybody.
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Welcome to the Deal Podcast, man.
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This mission is to connect with deal makers and to inspire the future generation of deal makers.
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Uh, on today's conversation, we're gonna have a, a guy here in Lafayette, Louisiana, who is an investigative journalist who covers topics of.
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Tech Titans who covers topics of, uh, industry, you know, specific to this area, but who digs, deeps asks the tough questions.
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So it's, it's humbling to be on the other side of that with you.
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Adam, welcome to the show.
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Thank you.
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Glad to have to be here.
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Yeah.
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So what is an investigative journalist?
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I guess it's, that's what, yeah.
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Um, I check a lot of public records.
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Um, I ask questions, um, I guess they're hard questions, but I do it in a.
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Respectful, gentle way, and people tell me the answers and, um, I, I go about my business.
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Yeah.
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So, uh, how do you, how do you know Jude?
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Here
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we come across with, uh, this, this, uh, business stately and, and how they've, uh, expanded and grown.
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Um, we talked, uh, for the last one about the door company and.
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How they bought this company that makes doors for like the most richest people in the world.
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And I just thought that was fascinating.
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Yeah.
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I told a lot of people, like they make doors with no knobs.
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They just open up magically.
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People thought that was the craziest thing ever.
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Yeah.
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What.
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When, when interviewing someone.
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And, and I'd love to get your advice too, 'cause you know, my job is to interview people.
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Sure.
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So, you know, give, give me some advice when, when interviewing someone and seeking, you know, truth in the story.
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You know, what are some of the things you look for as a investigative journalist?
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Um.
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First you, you gotta do your homework.
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Yeah.
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Be prepared.
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Um, 'cause you never know what people are gonna say,
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right?
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So if you go look up your, your, your, your documents and everything to kind of get what's going on, get up to speed and just kind of like.
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Ask questions, but not in a gotcha, blah, blah, blah, aggressive way.
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Um, just kind of like, Hey, this is this.
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What, what?
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Can you tell me what this is all about?
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Or what's happening?
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People might think this the wrong way.
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What, what is this?
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And just like let them.
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Say what they need to say and just kind of answer it in, in a totally non-threatening way.
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And you know, sometimes I look back like, oh man, that was, he answered that.
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Well, that was a really tough question.
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'cause he kind of got, you know, caught in saying something that was incorrect, but no one was mad.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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Giving, giving people a place to respond.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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Because, hey, this is what I see.
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This is what people are saying.
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What's your take on this?
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That that's a, it's not a biased approach, it's you're just saying, Hey man, here's your opportunity Yes.
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To clear the air.
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Exactly.
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Have you run into a situation where, you know, you present that to people, and maybe they even make it worse by their answers.
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Oh yeah.
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Yeah.
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Well, most time people just don't respond.
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They just like, no comment.
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No comment.
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Yeah, no comment.
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And just, you know, try to think that by saying, no comment, we won't write anything.
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Like, dude, that's
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no comment means I'm gonna write a bunch of comments.
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Right.
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Like,
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now I'm really gonna get you.
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But, uh, very severely, but sometimes, yeah, you kind of like, really, you gonna, sometimes I've even go like.
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Okay, I'm gonna ask you again,
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right?
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Are you sure?
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Is that really what you wanna say?
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Yeah.
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Um, but, and they'll just, if they dig in, you're like, well, all right.
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Hey, you better have an attorney on speed dial.
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'cause uh,
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I was watching a, uh.
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Show, I forget what it was.
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And, uh, and the guy said, uh, no comment.
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And then he said something like, really, like provocative.
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It was, it was a drama TV show, but it was funny.
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And then the recorder published it and he goes, I said, no, or, you know, off the record or whatever.
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He goes, you know, like, as we're, you know, I told you we're recording this and, and he said, off the record.
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So let, let me ask a question.
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As a investigative journalist, you come across information, right?
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And your job.
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To share that information with the public, your subscribers and the, and the people.
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How do you approach that with the relationships that you're building, with your, your guests or the people that you're interviewing and your duty to report the unbiased, you know, views to the audience?
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How do you balance that?
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It's, it's kind of all in a. A case by case basis.
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Really?
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Yeah.
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It's a judgment call.
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Um, sometimes I say, I can't, I can't sit on that buddy.
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I can't.
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Sometimes you do.
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And sometimes it's, it's most time it's like a hot quarter in your pocket.
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You gotta do something with it fast.
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Um, and it, it's a matter of like, go and find somebody else because everybody's got an ax to grind with somebody, right?
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I mean, there's, there's somebody mad at me.
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There's somebody mad at you.
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And if you find the person who's got an ax to grind.
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That it comes out.
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One of my challenges in being a, I'm a pseudo journalist here, right?
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Uh, investigative journalist.
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I, I dig into people's stories and, and it's mostly around the world of deal making and, and investing.
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And, and you know, one of my challenges is being a people pleaser, right?
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So being, you know, being a investigative journalist is you're gonna make some enemies and maybe some even frenemies.
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How do you deal with that?
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Of course.
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I mean, well, I mean.
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It's just at the end of the day, am am I doing my job correctly?
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Yeah.
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Am I doing my job respectfully?
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Um, if that's how they feel, then you know, it's what
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it is.
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Yeah.
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At the end of the day, like if they're mad, they usually get over it, but I mean, you just, you, you gotta go with the truth and what's accurate and if that's what it is, then
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yeah.
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With, with your style, what would you say are some of your, your favorite questions to ask someone when you're, you know, meeting with someone for the first time and you're kind of getting to know them.
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What are, what are some strategies you use to break the ice and to get to know them?
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Um, a lot of times I, I ask about like, family stuff.
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Yeah.
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Like parents or siblings.
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'cause that always tells a lot about people.
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You know, the old saying, like, you can tell that's you're our youngest child, or an oldest child, whatever.
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For
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sure.
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You can always tell that.
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Um, and it's always interesting to, to meet people who are successful in whatever field they're in and they like, um, had parents who didn't have a high school diploma, you can, so you tells a lot about a person.
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Um, uh, Jerry PreOn at First Horizon, his parents like, didn't finish.
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I think they didn't even go to middle school to high school, and he's obviously, him and his siblings are all highly, highly successful.
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It's just.
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You just learn a lot about people by, just by their background.
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Yeah.
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So when you, when you interviewed Jude, who's sitting here at the table with us, you know, for people who might just be listening in, some people might be watching these clips on, on YouTube or LinkedIn, which we encourage you guys, you know, if you're listening in, maybe go pop over to our LinkedIn page or YouTube so you can watch some of the clips that we, we extract.
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And then if you like the, the clip, you could always listen into the full episode.
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But when you, when you met with, with Jude.
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Adam, you know, what were some of those, uh, things that you've, you pulled out of that story that you found interesting?
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Including the door that opens up the door.
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Yeah.
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That was the biggest thing.
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I mean, and how, um, you know, they're creating jobs and, and, and, and manning in the industry and, and, um, I must assume Jude like does not build doors for a living.
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I mean, like, he, but it's interesting.
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You don't
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want me to build
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doors.
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Yeah, exactly.
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So like, I just thought that was interesting as well, like.
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Um, these guys saw an opportunity.
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Yeah.
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And, you know, and, and grow in this business and creating jobs and that sort of thing.
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Um, but it's also, uh, and the, just, unless answer your question, but it's, in interviews like that, it's also very important that, um, I think on my feet, uh, when he says something, I kind, I gotta shift gears and like, really No way.
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Really.
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Yeah.
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Tell me more about that.
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I mean, if you go in with a set set of questions.
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You might miss something.
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Right.
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So,
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all right, so you do your research, you have some general ideas of, you know, maybe some questions that I might ask.
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Mm-hmm.
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Jude or a deal maker, an investor.
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But you gotta think on your, your feet.
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What are you listening for?
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What, what clues or cues are you listening for to kind of dig deeper and you go, my audience might want more of that.
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Anything kind of.
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You know that human interesty kind of personal conflict kind of stuff?
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Yeah.
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Or um, I mean that kind of.
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Resonates across the board, um, but also as just like a business person, you want to know stuff like, uh, jobs, money, investment, any, anytime the word million is, is tossed around.
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I, I, cause, you know, I pause Yeah.
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Times, you know, jobs of the number of 30 or 40 pause, um, you know, that sort of thing.
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It, it's just, but it's just like a, also just a judgment call.
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But it's, it's important that reporters think that way.
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Um.
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I always remember a quote from a, an attorney friend of mine years and years ago who, um, did Stringer work for like the paper, like he would cover look, little town council meetings.
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Cool.
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He said, I learned more than that, doing that than anything else I did because I had to, um, think on my feet.
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I had to go to talk to the mayor after the meeting and he say something and if he said something interesting had I had to shift gears just like that,
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right?
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Yeah.
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'cause peop, I guess people could read the transcripts of, uh.
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Public meeting.
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Right.
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It's not the most thrilling read ever.
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It's not gonna keep you up, but the, uh, the, the things that you're listening for, that, that's, that's the art, the skill of a, of a reporter mm-hmm.
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As you're looking at these things.
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So in the world of business.
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What kind of things are you looking for?
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You said, you know, maybe the, the word millions or billions or trillions, right?
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You're looking for employee count exits, right?
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Investments.
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Yes.
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Those are some of the, the things that you're listening out for.
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And then you dig into those a little bit more.
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How do you know how far to dig and how do you know?
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Okay, let's move on to the next topic.
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It's just, it, it, I guess it'd be like just a judgment call, but.
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Once you kind of start getting into the weeds, yeah, you kind of know, you know, uh, lower number of jobs I guess, or, or whatever.
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But, um, it's just you kind of stay in the lane of what everyone wants, like the public interest.
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Mm-hmm.
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Um, commercial developments along Johnston is more important than commercial development along Ridge Road, I guess.
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I don't know, but, um.
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Just, it's just a judgment kind of deal.
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Um,
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if it's something about Bucky's,
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if it's something about Bucky's Yes.
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Probably gotta
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write it.
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Yes.
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Yeah.
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And, and everybody and their dad will read it.
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Yeah.
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Uh, stuff like that.
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So do, when being interviewed by Adam here.
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What were some of the things that, before being interviewed, what are some of the things that go through your mind as you know, before, you know, sitting in front of an investigative journalist, you've seen some of this work in the past.
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What was going through your mind?
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Yeah, so Adam's uh, done several things, uh, on us in the past and, uh, you know, nothing recently, I don't think.
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But, um, he's always been incredibly fair.
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You know, he's.
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It, it's funny because outside of what we're doing here, like, I think he's probably the biggest, uh, effort to try to, you know, inspire people in business.
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Like he's putting all the information out there about what business folks are doing, how they're growing their businesses, how they're hiring people, how they're reinvesting in our community.
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Uh, and that's why I wanted to have him on.
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I mean, no, nobody's got a better pulse of what's going on in the business community than this guy right here.
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Thank you.
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You know, whenever he's interviewed, uh, me in the past, it, it's always been like, let's highlight those things that are going well.
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Maybe ask the questions about what's not going well, but, you know, how do I, you know, tell the story of what's going on and, and why this is successful and what, what's growing and what's not growing and that sort of thing.
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Uh, which is just inspiring.
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If you pick up the business section in our paper, you're gonna see something written by Adam just about every day, and it's, it's just inspiring to read.
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It's really interesting.
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I, I enjoy it.
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I enjoy what I do.
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Um, I have, I used to cover ball games for a living in sports, so I'm glad I don't do that anymore'cause I have Friday nights off.
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Um, but I, I enjoy, um, um, reaching out to different people in the community and kind of, um, getting their take on, on, you know, basically the same thing.
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You know, it's just the Lafayette um, economy.
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But everyone's got a different story.
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Everyone's a different topic.
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Everyone's got a different take.
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Um, it's really interesting.
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What are some of the tools of the trade?
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I, I see a spiral notebook in front of you with, you know, pen that goes with you everywhere.
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And
00:13:03.855 --> 00:13:07.065
pretty much you, this for 30 years.
00:13:07.575 --> 00:13:13.904
My brain kind of, if it doesn't go out of, in my, in my ear and outta my fingers, I kind of don't remember it really.
00:13:13.904 --> 00:13:13.965
Yeah.
00:13:13.965 --> 00:13:16.754
So, um, I, it's just my notes thing.
00:13:16.754 --> 00:13:19.544
My, I used to, um, I write down everything.
00:13:19.845 --> 00:13:19.995
Yeah.
00:13:20.024 --> 00:13:23.144
So, um, that's how, that's how my brain operates nowadays.
00:13:23.470 --> 00:13:23.799
Yeah.
00:13:24.009 --> 00:13:28.450
Now I, I see, I'm trying to read some of the, your notes, you know, but it looks like hieroglyphics.
00:13:28.450 --> 00:13:31.720
Is that a tool to keep things where it's like, uh, protected?
00:13:31.725 --> 00:13:36.009
This is, this is a way more neat handwriting than it used to be.
00:13:36.039 --> 00:13:36.549
Oh, yeah.
00:13:36.700 --> 00:13:42.190
Um, back when I was younger, I had, I would able, I would take dictation after ball games or whatever.
00:13:42.190 --> 00:13:42.580
Yeah.
00:13:42.580 --> 00:13:43.024
And the handwriting.
00:13:44.190 --> 00:13:45.330
That was the running joke.
00:13:45.750 --> 00:13:46.470
Yeah, that's good.
00:13:46.529 --> 00:13:51.149
Some, I think a coach even asked if, um, that Jesus Christ himself couldn't read that.
00:13:51.929 --> 00:13:52.169
Wow.
00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:52.470
Yeah.
00:13:52.470 --> 00:13:52.889
So,
00:13:53.190 --> 00:13:59.759
you know, the, the, the, the transition from sports covering sports to, to business.
00:13:59.909 --> 00:14:04.725
Why did you get Fridays off, of course, but why did you want to make that, that pivot in your career?
00:14:05.565 --> 00:14:08.774
Just gave me some, uh, a boss gave me an opportunity.
00:14:08.835 --> 00:14:09.195
Yeah.
00:14:09.254 --> 00:14:15.434
Um, they, the, the section, the business section, um, the paper I worked at in Tulsa, Oklahoma needed help.
00:14:15.794 --> 00:14:19.845
And he said, um, do you read the sport, the business section?
00:14:19.934 --> 00:14:20.504
I said, no.
00:14:20.625 --> 00:14:23.835
I mean, I, I take that, I would take what, what the inserts and throw it out.
00:14:24.375 --> 00:14:27.044
Um, he said, well, good, I need you to help over there.
00:14:27.044 --> 00:14:28.125
I'm like, okay.
00:14:29.085 --> 00:14:32.115
And it was a big learning curve, but, um.
00:14:32.953 --> 00:14:37.154
It's kind of the same thing, like it's just we're in sports.
00:14:37.154 --> 00:14:41.294
We interviewed both coaches and players and told the story of the game.
00:14:41.684 --> 00:14:43.274
It's the same thing.
00:14:43.875 --> 00:14:52.934
Or as one attorney said, there's at least, but in business there's no out of bounds lines and um, you know, but, uh, yeah, not having Friday nights.
00:14:53.563 --> 00:14:55.365
Having to work Friday nights or Saturday nights.
00:14:55.754 --> 00:14:56.774
Best thing ever.
00:14:57.313 --> 00:15:01.485
But, you know, back in sports, you knew when the games were and you knew what you were covering.
00:15:01.485 --> 00:15:01.605
That's
00:15:01.605 --> 00:15:01.965
true.
00:15:02.085 --> 00:15:02.684
In business.
00:15:02.684 --> 00:15:05.294
You gotta decide, you know, what is worth covering?
00:15:05.323 --> 00:15:06.434
Who do I want to talk about?
00:15:06.434 --> 00:15:07.934
How, how are you finding the stories?
00:15:07.934 --> 00:15:12.855
How are you figuring out, you know, I need to go talk to that guy and, and figure out what they have going on.
00:15:12.948 --> 00:15:16.784
It, it is just, um, again, I guess it's just a judgment call.
00:15:17.235 --> 00:15:19.394
Um, I joke that in Lafayette.
00:15:20.294 --> 00:15:23.714
If they ain't selling Boudan Cracklings, no one really cares.
00:15:23.745 --> 00:15:24.164
You know?
00:15:24.764 --> 00:15:31.214
So, um, food and restaurants and, and businesses along Main streets people are interested in.
00:15:31.333 --> 00:15:36.975
Okay, we gotta pause for a second there 'cause I gotta know, you probably know better than anybody.
00:15:37.004 --> 00:15:39.014
I mean, is it Don's, is it best stop?
00:15:39.703 --> 00:15:40.664
Is it Ners?
00:15:40.934 --> 00:15:42.225
What's the best Boudan town?
00:15:42.855 --> 00:15:44.953
I dunno, that's a good question.
00:15:45.225 --> 00:15:45.464
Um.
00:15:46.019 --> 00:15:47.610
I, I do like best stop.
00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:50.100
I, I, it's just, it seems like.
00:15:50.715 --> 00:15:59.865
Pure and less fat and, and, um, I'm kind of a fan of the fry boot nail balls and my wife is too, so we kind of, yeah, it's less breading.
00:16:00.225 --> 00:16:02.144
I'm addicted to their chicken crackling too.
00:16:02.325 --> 00:16:02.835
Oh, really?
00:16:02.835 --> 00:16:03.284
So good.
00:16:03.345 --> 00:16:03.884
Oh gosh, man.
00:16:03.884 --> 00:16:04.095
I'm gonna
00:16:04.095 --> 00:16:04.784
try that then.
00:16:06.225 --> 00:16:07.754
We're about to pause and go get some food.
00:16:07.754 --> 00:16:11.355
Man, you, it's only eight in the morning and not hungry.
00:16:11.835 --> 00:16:14.384
Uh, what a great question, Adam.
00:16:14.384 --> 00:16:17.264
As you, you know, let, let's talk about family for a second.
00:16:17.629 --> 00:16:22.909
Um, you know, you talk about your, you and your wife have this conversation about what is the best boan balls, right?
00:16:22.909 --> 00:16:33.200
But like, when it comes to your job in, in your, your marriage, like when does your investigative journalism have to, like, leave it, leave itself at the door in the marriage?
00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:35.210
Like, or what, what, what does that look like?
00:16:35.299 --> 00:16:36.950
The conversations around the dinner table?
00:16:37.009 --> 00:16:40.159
It's just, um, you know, the news never really stops.
00:16:40.190 --> 00:16:40.580
Yeah.
00:16:40.700 --> 00:16:41.225
So you just.
00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:43.110
Do the best you can.
00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:47.245
Um, I am, I am often banging on my computer.
00:16:48.193 --> 00:16:49.394
8 30, 9 o'clock at night.
00:16:49.453 --> 00:16:50.625
My kids go to bed often.
00:16:50.625 --> 00:16:50.684
Yeah.
00:16:50.985 --> 00:16:56.054
00 AM just, you just do whatever you can.
00:16:56.384 --> 00:17:02.355
I once filed a story while, uh, bathing my, one of my, my kids, uh, just 'cause the news's broken.
00:17:02.355 --> 00:17:03.674
I just want to get it out there first.
00:17:03.674 --> 00:17:05.743
For the TV stations, do you just do what you do?
00:17:06.134 --> 00:17:06.223
Yeah.
00:17:06.253 --> 00:17:11.414
Um, my wife understands she's great and helps me out when things like that happen.
00:17:11.414 --> 00:17:13.634
So it's just, it's a balancing act.
00:17:14.773 --> 00:17:20.503
There's tons of movies, shows, books about the, the world of, you know, journalism.
00:17:20.503 --> 00:17:22.335
What is one of your, your favorites and why?
00:17:22.723 --> 00:17:29.625
Oh man, I think about that when, but when I was in college, we all went, watched the paper back in the early nineties.
00:17:29.625 --> 00:17:30.284
Mid nineties.
00:17:30.315 --> 00:17:30.555
Yeah.
00:17:30.763 --> 00:17:35.609
And that was just, just pure, um, intense drama and that.
00:17:37.140 --> 00:17:42.960
You know, things ain't like that today, you know, but that was, that was one where you kind of like, yep, this is it.
00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:44.220
This is where it needs, I need to be.
00:17:44.250 --> 00:17:50.700
'cause it was just, um, these independent folks who just worked their tails off to get the truth.
00:17:50.700 --> 00:17:55.259
And, uh, it was, it was pure intensity, but I loved it.
00:17:55.650 --> 00:17:56.009
Yeah.
00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:57.269
That's cool.
00:17:57.779 --> 00:18:02.640
So you've interviewed, how, how long have you been in the world of business journalism?
00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:04.980
Business journalism, um.
00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:07.829
15. Yeah, go on.
00:18:07.829 --> 00:18:08.759
15 years.
00:18:08.970 --> 00:18:14.490
If you had to guess how many people you've interviewed and covered, take a guess.
00:18:14.549 --> 00:18:15.420
Oh man.
00:18:17.339 --> 00:18:19.200
Couple hundreds probably, right?
00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:19.410
I mean,
00:18:19.410 --> 00:18:19.799
yeah.
00:18:20.910 --> 00:18:29.640
Have you noticed any patterns in terms of successes, in terms of failures, in terms of other things that you might have seen through your years?
00:18:29.670 --> 00:18:30.450
Oh yeah.
00:18:30.450 --> 00:18:33.269
I mean, first one comes to mind like.
00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:35.878
We're, we're in the heavy, in the restaurant lane.
00:18:35.970 --> 00:18:42.809
I mean, you can tell when, when restaurants are not going to do well, just by the way I talk to this person.
00:18:42.809 --> 00:18:57.419
You know, like if one, if their background is, they've been in this business since they were 15 and now they're 30, whatever, and they've got, they've researched this location, you're like, okay, I think it'll be okay.
00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:01.589
If they said, well, I've cooked all my life and I'll leave a job and.
00:19:01.964 --> 00:19:03.434
People say, I do this, so I'm doing it.
00:19:03.434 --> 00:19:07.454
You're like, oh, I do this, this is, this is crashing, and burn it.
00:19:07.605 --> 00:19:09.944
And then six months later you're like, oh, the building's empty.
00:19:10.003 --> 00:19:10.753
I'll be Dogg gone.
00:19:10.785 --> 00:19:11.204
Yeah.
00:19:11.444 --> 00:19:11.654
Deal.
00:19:11.654 --> 00:19:14.384
Podcast listeners, public notice.
00:19:14.384 --> 00:19:15.795
Do not buy a restaurant.
00:19:17.085 --> 00:19:17.384
Yeah.
00:19:18.015 --> 00:19:19.335
Jude is adamant about that.
00:19:19.335 --> 00:19:21.045
It's Why do you say that?
00:19:21.075 --> 00:19:22.875
Okay, let, let, let's dig into that a little bit.
00:19:22.875 --> 00:19:25.305
Jude, why do you, why do you say that?
00:19:26.055 --> 00:19:28.515
Well, whenever I'm looking for a business to acquire.
00:19:29.414 --> 00:19:37.515
Um, you know, I've got to evaluate all the risks and the downside of what we're doing and compare that to the upside of the transaction.
00:19:38.055 --> 00:19:41.865
And so I'm looking for businesses with an extreme upside.
00:19:41.924 --> 00:19:48.615
So if we knock it outta the park and are very successful, we'll make, you know, 10, 20, a hundred times our investment.
00:19:49.305 --> 00:19:54.039
Um, and hopefully it's a business that has a limited downside risk.
00:19:55.140 --> 00:19:58.380
Restaurants have one of the greatest downside risks.
00:19:58.440 --> 00:20:06.240
You know, something like 80% of new restaurants fail, so the chances of, you know, starting a restaurant and being successful at it are incredibly small.
00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:14.130
But if you knock it out of the park, you can hope to make, you know, 15 or 20% margins, which means that you're never gonna make a lot of money doing it.
00:20:14.130 --> 00:20:14.460
So.
00:20:15.148 --> 00:20:17.699
From an investment perspective, restaurants are not great.
00:20:17.699 --> 00:20:19.529
Now there's other things that are attached to it.
00:20:19.529 --> 00:20:24.209
People love like being the guy that owns the restaurant and welcoming all the guests and that sort of thing.
00:20:24.628 --> 00:20:32.459
So if you're a career restaurateur and, and you love food and you love welcoming guests, it, it can be great from that perspective as a lifestyle business.
00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:36.388
But if you're a deal guy and you're looking for an investment, restaurant's, not it.
00:20:37.454 --> 00:20:46.814
What about franchises or the idea of, you know, franchising, you know, a business or a restaurant, like there, there could be some scale in that.
00:20:47.144 --> 00:20:47.354
What are your
00:20:47.354 --> 00:20:47.865
thoughts there?
00:20:48.134 --> 00:20:50.654
So, I, I've seen some people do it very well.
00:20:50.684 --> 00:20:53.564
You know, a good thing if you're part of a big national franchise.
00:20:53.714 --> 00:21:00.884
Um, you know, I did a lot of work for folks doing walk-ons restaurants, uh, and I've done several others as well, but that one comes to mind.
00:21:01.544 --> 00:21:04.394
Because that was a, you know, a concept that went national.
00:21:04.875 --> 00:21:13.574
Uh, you know, rather than trading at a four times, whenever, you know, somebody goes to sell, maybe it gets a six or seven time, uh, EBITDA multiple.
00:21:13.844 --> 00:21:15.734
But that's because it's part of this concept.
00:21:15.734 --> 00:21:20.834
The challenge there is whenever you're a franchisee, you're always paying royalties to corporate.
00:21:21.944 --> 00:21:23.204
Whether you make money or not.
00:21:23.234 --> 00:21:23.325
Mm-hmm.
00:21:23.595 --> 00:21:25.815
And so restaurants are always very expensive.
00:21:25.964 --> 00:21:27.615
They're always very low margin.
00:21:28.065 --> 00:21:38.714
And if you're in, in a concept where, you know, hopefully you have 15% margin and you shave 8% to go to corporate, well, your margins just got really thin.
00:21:38.984 --> 00:21:50.505
But where it's worse than that, like what if, what if your number of customers goes down for whatever reason you're in, in a, you know, tough season and, you know, maybe the economy's struggling a little bit or you know, you have a pandemic or whatever else.
00:21:50.894 --> 00:21:57.615
During the pandemic, all those franchisees were still paying corporate that 8%, even though they were losing money.
00:21:58.065 --> 00:22:00.644
'cause you're paying 8% of revenue, you're not paying 8% of profit.
00:22:01.875 --> 00:22:02.265
Oof.
00:22:03.809 --> 00:22:09.659
Yeah, every year we'd write the business, the restaurants that have closed, and it's usually like 20 or 30.
00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:12.029
You know, it's not scientific, it's just kind of word of mouth.
00:22:12.029 --> 00:22:14.039
But yeah, he exactly right.
00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:14.819
That's what people tell me.
00:22:14.819 --> 00:22:19.259
Like, the margins are so small and it's, and it's just hard work.
00:22:19.319 --> 00:22:27.419
I remember a guy in Tulsa who, uh, who's from Madie opened up his little, his little poboy Cajun shop, and everybody loved it, but man, he's like.
00:22:28.125 --> 00:22:30.375
00 AM a lot of times.
00:22:30.585 --> 00:22:30.795
Yeah.
00:22:30.795 --> 00:22:33.644
And I'm back here at like eight o'clock, nine o'clock.
00:22:33.674 --> 00:22:42.224
Making bread for PO Boys is just like, how do you, of course he, he obviously shut it down because it was just, they'll make a lot of money, but it's just exhausting.
00:22:42.224 --> 00:22:45.944
Like, how do you, he had a wife and kid like, like, I just don't get it.
00:22:45.974 --> 00:22:46.454
Like, how do you.
00:22:47.054 --> 00:22:47.294
Do
00:22:47.294 --> 00:22:47.984
that forever.
00:22:48.105 --> 00:22:53.625
There's gotta be a love, a calling, a purpose, like, you know, it's gotta be tied to something else.
00:22:53.625 --> 00:22:56.263
It can't just be financial, like the get in the business to,
00:22:56.625 --> 00:22:57.674
it seems exciting.
00:22:57.674 --> 00:22:59.595
The thought usually goes something like this.
00:22:59.835 --> 00:23:04.544
I really enjoy eating in restaurants, so maybe I should own a restaurant and bad news.
00:23:04.750 --> 00:23:10.365
It's, it's amazing how many times over the years, I mean, I've done hundreds of m and a transactions, I can't.
00:23:10.724 --> 00:23:14.474
I can't even count like how many times a business owner has sold his company.
00:23:14.474 --> 00:23:21.164
He's financially independent, able to do whatever he wants, and then he, he comes back six months later or a year later and says, I think I'm gonna buy a restaurant.
00:23:22.140 --> 00:23:24.150
And every time I'd say, oh, no, don't do it.
00:23:24.210 --> 00:23:24.779
Don't do it.
00:23:24.869 --> 00:23:29.759
And uh, you know, a few of 'em were successful at it, but, you know, far more were, were not.
00:23:30.329 --> 00:23:38.579
One of my favorite, uh, comedians, Mitch Hedberg, he said, you know, people think because he's a comedian, that he could also act or write scripts.
00:23:38.789 --> 00:23:42.299
It's like going to the farmer and saying, oh, you farm, can you cook too?
00:23:42.329 --> 00:23:47.849
Can you, you know, like, so I think these people who sell their business, they're like, man, I was successful here.
00:23:48.809 --> 00:23:51.779
A restaurant's a business, it will be successful there.
00:23:52.230 --> 00:23:54.180
And you've, you've covered a lot of
00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:54.630
mm-hmm.
00:23:54.930 --> 00:23:56.279
Failed businesses.
00:23:56.309 --> 00:23:56.490
Mm-hmm.
00:23:56.730 --> 00:23:57.059
Right.
00:23:57.390 --> 00:24:07.259
When interviewing you've, you've kind of picked up on some, you'd probably be a really good investor 'cause you picked up on some patterns of when you're interviewing someone Oh, this is gonna, he's gonna be, yeah.
00:24:07.289 --> 00:24:08.490
He or she's gonna be successful.
00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:10.140
Oh, that's gonna close down.
00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:10.500
Oh, yep.
00:24:10.500 --> 00:24:11.220
We covered that.
00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:15.779
How do you keep your biases or opinions?
00:24:15.809 --> 00:24:23.130
Like part of your job is to share those, but how do you, how do you keep those in, check your opinions or your biases when interviewing someone?
00:24:23.309 --> 00:24:23.940
It, it's easy.
00:24:23.940 --> 00:24:25.410
It's, it's not about me, dude.
00:24:25.410 --> 00:24:27.474
It's just, it's, it's just you.
00:24:28.019 --> 00:24:40.289
You remove yourself from situation and it's just, you give 'em a fair shot and you just, with everything to say, and if I think they're gonna crash and burn, you know, it's not my.
00:24:40.740 --> 00:24:45.269
Call to say, you know, when, if they do it six months, you kind of like, just say yourself.
00:24:45.450 --> 00:24:46.230
Yes, I saw it coming.
00:24:46.890 --> 00:24:49.319
Well, if they don't, you're like, dang, he, he did it.
00:24:49.380 --> 00:24:50.039
He surprised me.
00:24:50.130 --> 00:24:50.460
Yeah.
00:24:50.759 --> 00:24:54.390
When you get that feeling, well, dang, he surprised me or she surprised me.
00:24:54.690 --> 00:25:01.289
Do you go back and kind of get that second at bat, that second interview and go like, Hey, walk us through.
00:25:01.529 --> 00:25:02.339
How did you make it?
00:25:02.424 --> 00:25:02.924
How did you do
00:25:02.924 --> 00:25:02.964
that?
00:25:02.994 --> 00:25:04.859
Yeah, it, that makes just for great storytelling.
00:25:05.130 --> 00:25:06.750
'cause sometimes I will not even like.
00:25:07.619 --> 00:25:16.859
I'm not writing about that, you know, the north side of ta, or not north side of town, but just anywhere out outside the area where there's no restaurants and it's not whatever.
00:25:17.190 --> 00:25:21.000
Um, I don't, it's like, I'm not, not dealing with that.
00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:22.378
It's gonna be closing a little bit, whatever.
00:25:22.378 --> 00:25:23.789
And if he's still open, then you like,
00:25:23.909 --> 00:25:24.359
oh wow.
00:25:24.388 --> 00:25:25.109
Oh yeah, okay.
00:25:25.109 --> 00:25:27.269
This, this could be, he's got something really good there.
00:25:27.269 --> 00:25:30.628
This, this, this is, he's, he's cracked the code or whatever.
00:25:30.634 --> 00:25:30.904
Yeah.
00:25:31.049 --> 00:25:34.424
Um, so yeah, it's just, again, it's judgment call, you know?
00:25:35.339 --> 00:25:36.599
Do you have a voice recorder?
00:25:36.690 --> 00:25:43.259
Like remember back in the day, like you had a voice recorder and then you'd, you'd share your notes in it and then listen to it and type on a typewriter.
00:25:43.259 --> 00:25:45.240
Did you have a typewriter and a voice recorder?
00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:45.690
Back in the day
00:25:45.750 --> 00:25:49.980
in the sports, you're on such tight deadlines, so I would just scribble on my notepad.
00:25:50.430 --> 00:25:53.878
And, um, people are always, like I said, people are always amazed at what I did.
00:25:54.180 --> 00:25:59.669
But now, um, I use Otter and just record and it's just, it's so much easier.
00:26:00.029 --> 00:26:03.494
Even I, I took, I, I. I thought I took great notes.
00:26:03.494 --> 00:26:05.325
No one will call me back and say, you misquoted me.
00:26:05.714 --> 00:26:08.894
Um, but it's always that little kind of thing in your brain.
00:26:08.894 --> 00:26:12.134
You're like, is that, did I really write that correctly?
00:26:12.134 --> 00:26:17.355
Is that, is that the, or the that, or, you know, like there's always a little doubt in mind like, am I.
00:26:18.315 --> 00:26:19.454
I think I code you correctly, right?
00:26:19.454 --> 00:26:21.795
I, yeah, I think I did like that one little word.
00:26:21.795 --> 00:26:24.345
You know, I dropped my pen or whatever, you know.
00:26:24.585 --> 00:26:24.795
Yeah.
00:26:24.855 --> 00:26:29.025
You, in, in sports, if it's really cold, the, the pin, the pen dries up,
00:26:29.234 --> 00:26:29.474
right.
00:26:29.474 --> 00:26:32.295
So you're like, man, I can't, I don't what I wrote there.
00:26:33.045 --> 00:26:37.065
So, um, you know, technology's taking all that away.
00:26:37.065 --> 00:26:38.204
It's so much easier now.
00:26:38.444 --> 00:26:40.035
How's that impacting your job?
00:26:40.184 --> 00:26:41.565
Ai uh.
00:26:42.345 --> 00:26:45.075
The, the web, you know, impacted newspapers.
00:26:45.434 --> 00:26:50.684
Uh, how's technology impacting your job and where do you think the future of journalism is heading?
00:26:50.805 --> 00:26:52.305
Oh, huge question, dude.
00:26:52.875 --> 00:26:56.414
Um, technology is, it's great.
00:26:56.444 --> 00:26:57.704
It's a great time to be a reporter.
00:26:57.734 --> 00:26:58.605
'cause technology.00:26:59.204 --> 00:27:00.630
I got a recorder that regardless my.00:27:01.589 --> 00:27:03.990
My interviews and, and types it up for me.00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:07.170
I've got all these public records at my fingertips.00:27:07.289 --> 00:27:10.319
You know, we used to have to go down to city hall, look at a building permit.00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:11.220
Yeah, it's all right there.00:27:11.220 --> 00:27:13.170
I could do it all in my underwear in my home.00:27:14.220 --> 00:27:19.319
But technology's ruining the business because everybody's got a voice.00:27:19.859 --> 00:27:25.109
Um, you know, all the things that made newspapers profitable have gone away.00:27:26.414 --> 00:27:32.684
If you, um, took out, if you wanna run for office, you took out a full page ad in the paper, now you go to Facebook 'cause it didn't cost anything.00:27:33.315 --> 00:27:38.954
If you wanted to sell your car, you went to newspaper, took a classified ad, now you go to Craigslist and set it for free.00:27:39.585 --> 00:27:44.355
You know, any kinda like, and politicians now, they don't even feel like they have to talk to us.00:27:44.355 --> 00:27:48.105
They just go to Facebook and announce that they're opposed to blah, blah, blah.00:27:48.734 --> 00:27:52.875
So, um, yeah, it's, it's a complete double-edged sword.00:27:53.115 --> 00:27:53.869
Yeah, for sure.00:27:54.855 --> 00:27:59.503
So what does in the world of deal making right?00:28:00.615 --> 00:28:03.344
What are some of the things that you want to cover?00:28:03.554 --> 00:28:12.704
What are some of the things that you're, you know, maybe some even people in town that you wanna connect with, you know, what are some of the stories you wanna share or, or people that you want to connect with?00:28:12.704 --> 00:28:16.844
Do you have any, like, do you build out a list of like, oh, here's a list of people that I want to meet with?00:28:16.844 --> 00:28:18.164
Or how do you approach that?00:28:18.434 --> 00:28:22.513
I, not, I kind of, but I, I, I approach just like story topics.00:28:22.634 --> 00:28:22.904
Yeah.00:28:22.994 --> 00:28:28.994
And I, with those people, I kind of sandwich it around, um, whatever.00:28:29.414 --> 00:28:39.525
Topics that need to be addressed, um, by one of the recent one comes to mind was the mayor is talking about investing in Johnson Street.00:28:39.585 --> 00:28:45.015
That, that core of Johnson Street were, um, you know, was the, the big deal back in the day.00:28:45.015 --> 00:28:49.095
And now it's just, um, buildings in the K and that sort of thing.00:28:49.484 --> 00:28:58.065
And there are a couple people, like, um, I wanted to, I've been wanting to call, I wanted to talk to the, the, um, the RAs deli guy there from Baton Rouge.00:28:58.920 --> 00:29:00.148
Hugely, hugely popular.00:29:00.659 --> 00:29:04.138
Um, so I, I kind of sandwiched him into that story.00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:04.769
Um,00:29:05.369 --> 00:29:06.029
so good.00:29:06.329 --> 00:29:07.349
They make these, I love our00:29:07.648 --> 00:29:08.128
burgers.00:29:08.309 --> 00:29:09.089
I asked Ju00:29:09.089 --> 00:29:10.539
Juicy we're juicy.00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:10.615
Juicy,00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:11.128
yeah.00:29:11.128 --> 00:29:13.534
I asked him to come, he's like, bad.00:29:13.534 --> 00:29:16.440
Like, can you come just for a picture at the site where they're gonna be?00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:19.934
Which has been a slap since as far as Google Maps go back.00:29:20.460 --> 00:29:24.089
Um, so he brought like these burgers from one photographer.00:29:24.569 --> 00:29:24.750
Yeah.00:29:24.750 --> 00:29:26.069
And they would double meat.00:29:26.128 --> 00:29:27.420
So I'm like, it's like.00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:35.640
Inch and a half of, of meat between two bread pieces of bread like this is, last time I had a burger like that, it came off my own barbecue pit.00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:37.259
So00:29:37.259 --> 00:29:38.069
you're making me hungry again.00:29:38.099 --> 00:29:38.549
It was,00:29:38.609 --> 00:29:39.390
are you a foodie?00:29:40.470 --> 00:29:41.609
I guess, yeah.00:29:42.269 --> 00:29:42.480
Yeah.00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:44.069
What's your favorite thing about your job?00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:47.759
Just, just interest people's interesting stories.00:29:47.910 --> 00:29:48.240
Yeah.00:29:48.365 --> 00:29:55.769
And, and, um, just watching the stuff we do connect with readers, you know, like.00:29:56.684 --> 00:30:06.075
I, when, when, when my traffic's down or it's a slow Newsweek, I, I kind of get, I go down with the downs, go low with the lows, you know, as coaches to say,00:30:06.255 --> 00:30:06.585
yeah,00:30:06.704 --> 00:30:10.125
uh, I definitely do get high with the highs, but I get low with the lows.00:30:10.125 --> 00:30:12.615
Kind of like, then I'm like, oh, no one cares about that.00:30:12.674 --> 00:30:14.579
But, you know, just kind of.00:30:15.404 --> 00:30:21.779
In, in your career, have you ever had any stories that hit big where you're like, oh my gosh, like, I, I didn't see that coming.00:30:21.779 --> 00:30:21.869
Oh, yeah.00:30:21.990 --> 00:30:26.339
Talk, talk us through what, what goes through your life when those kind of things happen?00:30:26.429 --> 00:30:29.730
It's usually about Food Boot and Cracklings.00:30:29.849 --> 00:30:34.740
Um, you know, Bucky's stories have always done super duper well.00:30:35.099 --> 00:30:40.619
Um, there was some that, I'm going back a little bit.00:30:40.740 --> 00:30:50.263
Um, I did a. Deep dive with data on migration and how folks are moving out of Louisiana.00:30:50.744 --> 00:30:58.544
And the data from Gary Wagner UL gave me, showed he, he went into how many people are moving from Louisiana to Texas?00:30:58.904 --> 00:30:59.954
'cause that's always been a thing, right?00:30:59.954 --> 00:31:10.125
Everybody knows what moved to Texas for, for work and it showed like how, um, it's picking back up and people really connect with that story a lot.00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:10.259
Are,00:31:11.134 --> 00:31:13.049
are people just not finding opportunity here?00:31:13.349 --> 00:31:14.400
Is that why they're moving?00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:15.809
Or did you get to the bottom00:31:15.809 --> 00:31:15.930
of it?00:31:15.930 --> 00:31:18.450
Yeah, it's, everyone has their own story really.00:31:18.509 --> 00:31:21.869
Um, I talked to, to a couple, like just regular people.00:31:22.380 --> 00:31:29.369
Um, some were jobs, you know, went to, went to Houston for, uh, oil and gas job, paid much better, blah, blah, blah.00:31:30.059 --> 00:31:37.559
Some people like, you know, um, I just don't feel like the public education is, is acceptable where we were.00:31:38.009 --> 00:31:38.700
Um.00:31:39.194 --> 00:31:43.214
It's just, it's, it runs a gamut, but it's just opportunity, you know?00:31:43.604 --> 00:31:47.594
Um, grass is greener, maybe, you know, always kind.00:31:47.594 --> 00:31:48.494
It's human nature.00:31:48.914 --> 00:31:51.554
Um, but, you know, that's, that was a long time ago.00:31:51.554 --> 00:31:54.134
I'm curious to see if they boomerang back or not.00:31:55.814 --> 00:31:59.594
Um, another big story I did, uh.00:31:59.670 --> 00:32:07.049
If there's a, the, the guy who invented the drive through daiquiri, you might remember that story, um, did it in Lafayette.00:32:07.079 --> 00:32:16.289
He was a North Louisiana guy and it had been something on my list because I keep seeing on Facebook, he was, he was writing, saying he's writing a book about it, writing a book about it.00:32:16.950 --> 00:32:18.779
So it's kind like, well, I got nothing's going on.00:32:18.779 --> 00:32:19.650
Let's see what this guy has to.00:32:20.878 --> 00:32:24.269
We talked for over an hour, and I just laughed the whole time.00:32:24.359 --> 00:32:26.759
Just these stories were just amazing.00:32:27.628 --> 00:32:34.859
So, um, I did a story on, the longest story I ever did really is like eight.00:32:34.950 --> 00:32:45.809
It might have been 1800 words or so, um, could wrote a whole lot more, but just the, the stories of how, how this drive through daiquiri concept in the early eighties just took off and how people laughed at 'em.00:32:45.809 --> 00:32:49.200
And, but, but it just, everyone, everyone loved it.00:32:49.378 --> 00:32:49.980
It was crazy.00:32:50.398 --> 00:32:50.730
Yeah.00:32:51.930 --> 00:33:00.180
One of the fun traditions we have is we, we get questions from the audience, and we also get questions from a previous guest.00:33:00.210 --> 00:33:00.240
Okay.00:33:00.659 --> 00:33:01.200
Who comes on?00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:05.309
So, uh, Thomas Chance, who built a few very successful companies.00:33:05.398 --> 00:33:08.670
Built, sold, built, sold both very large.00:33:08.670 --> 00:33:12.664
So if people want to hear that story, they could go back and listening to Thomas's, uh.00:33:13.349 --> 00:33:15.630
Interview, but he left a question for you.00:33:15.660 --> 00:33:16.470
Do you mind if I read that for you?00:33:16.474 --> 00:33:16.859
Sure, go ahead.00:33:16.950 --> 00:33:17.220
Yeah.00:33:17.309 --> 00:33:20.130
And then you get to leave a question for future guests.00:33:20.579 --> 00:33:20.849
All right.00:33:23.460 --> 00:33:25.950
What prompted you to go into journalism?00:33:25.950 --> 00:33:28.230
Like why did you choose journalism?00:33:28.859 --> 00:33:33.059
Um, you know, I, I grew up reading newspaper all the time.00:33:33.065 --> 00:33:33.404
My mom.00:33:34.515 --> 00:33:35.684
I read the newspaper every day.00:33:35.700 --> 00:33:37.095
I, I couldn't read it before she did.00:33:37.095 --> 00:33:38.144
She'd get really mad at me.00:33:38.744 --> 00:33:42.404
Um, but I would only pull out the sports and read the box scores anyway.00:33:43.454 --> 00:33:46.365
Um, and ev my mom come from a big family.00:33:46.365 --> 00:33:49.244
She had four brothers and sisters, and we were all pretty tight.00:33:49.694 --> 00:33:51.674
I always go to their house for whatever on Sunday.00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:55.815
I. Everybody had the paper, had the advocate on the table.00:33:55.994 --> 00:33:57.494
So I didn't get a chance to read it.00:33:57.494 --> 00:33:58.785
My mom didn't read it fast enough.00:33:58.875 --> 00:33:59.505
There it was.00:34:00.194 --> 00:34:01.694
And I started reading box scores.00:34:02.025 --> 00:34:07.904
I started reading sports stories and I started reading the metro section and I just, I loved every bit of it.00:34:07.934 --> 00:34:11.744
'cause I'm just, I guess that's getting that ink in the veins kind of thing.00:34:12.224 --> 00:34:20.625
So, uh, I loved current events and I loved, um, you know, kind of keeping up with things.00:34:21.943 --> 00:34:30.164
And then once I started interviewing people, and then I'd see, ask a question and see people's head kind of like crinkle up and gimme a and think about it, you know?00:34:30.164 --> 00:34:31.423
And gimme a really interesting answer.00:34:31.423 --> 00:34:33.914
I'm like, this, this is, this is it.00:34:34.483 --> 00:34:43.125
And then the pressure of, of, you know, uh, the challenge of banging out 500 words and like 15 minutes on deadline is kind of intoxicating, right?00:34:43.125 --> 00:34:43.184
Yeah.00:34:43.273 --> 00:34:47.083
I mean, you do that and you're looking and you're like, Hey, that was pretty good for00:34:47.534 --> 00:34:47.773
not00:34:47.773 --> 00:34:48.134
bad.00:34:48.733 --> 00:34:49.454
It's pretty good.00:34:49.664 --> 00:34:49.724
Yeah.00:34:51.300 --> 00:34:56.730
In media, you know, we sometimes we see like bad things happen in the world, right?00:34:56.730 --> 00:35:00.420
But people want to, to know about what, what's going on.00:35:00.420 --> 00:35:08.849
And, you know, you see the, the press go in with their badges and they, they might even wear some bulletproof vests in a helmet and they're, they're, they're covering something that's really tough.00:35:09.449 --> 00:35:18.449
Um, by the way, I, I, I think we should all get really cool media badges and the, the vest that come with it, I don't know if you wanna do that with us, but Adam, but, uh.00:35:18.885 --> 00:35:24.945
When has media ever been maybe dangerous for you or challenging for you or scary for you?00:35:25.695 --> 00:35:26.775
Uh, let's see.00:35:27.195 --> 00:35:31.394
You know, my business, it's, I, I don't get into that, that area.00:35:31.605 --> 00:35:35.954
Um, I've dodged a couple running backs, you know, in the sidelines a couple times.00:35:35.985 --> 00:35:36.344
Yeah.00:35:36.344 --> 00:35:40.094
So, um, that, that's, that, been fortunate there.00:35:40.695 --> 00:35:45.824
I do remember once when I was my, um, at the scene of a murder of a shooting.00:35:46.454 --> 00:35:48.255
At this CD bar out in the country.00:35:48.914 --> 00:35:54.644
And I get there and they're, they're saying, well, the cops are, and they were arresting the guy, whatever.00:35:54.644 --> 00:35:56.835
So we're just kind of like, okay.00:35:56.925 --> 00:36:01.635
I kind of take my distance back and all of a sudden the door just kicks up with Bam.00:36:02.715 --> 00:36:05.264
And for like a split second, my heart drop.00:36:05.264 --> 00:36:06.914
Like, man, this, I've seen this in the movies.00:36:06.914 --> 00:36:08.414
This dude's coming out, he's gonna start firing.00:36:08.414 --> 00:36:08.835
You know?00:36:08.835 --> 00:36:09.195
Yeah.00:36:09.255 --> 00:36:09.989
But it was just, he was just.00:36:10.769 --> 00:36:13.289
Cuffed and they were leading him out, but he was mad.00:36:13.289 --> 00:36:13.739
I guess.00:36:13.914 --> 00:36:15.119
I I bet he's mad for00:36:15.119 --> 00:36:15.449
sure.00:36:15.690 --> 00:36:15.869
Yeah.00:36:15.869 --> 00:36:17.009
That, that would be scary.00:36:17.909 --> 00:36:18.269
Yeah.00:36:19.289 --> 00:36:22.289
So when, uh, thanks for sharing that, man.00:36:22.500 --> 00:36:27.119
When Jude asked you to be on the Deal podcast, what went through your head and why'd you say yes?00:36:27.719 --> 00:36:34.349
Oh, just, hey, I'm, I'm here to help, but I also like just come, I enjoy beating our drum for our, our industry.00:36:34.349 --> 00:36:37.409
You know, I just, um, I still think I got a cool job.00:36:38.039 --> 00:36:38.110
Yeah, man.00:36:38.110 --> 00:36:38.369
So,00:36:38.639 --> 00:36:39.239
I think so too.00:36:40.318 --> 00:36:41.759
Well beat the drum for a second.00:36:41.759 --> 00:36:50.579
Give some shout outs or tell, tell the listeners where you know, where they could go to learn more about you and Lafayette and your group that you work with.00:36:50.849 --> 00:36:52.170
It's the Acadiana Advocate.00:36:52.619 --> 00:36:57.809
Um, my stuff is at, uh, the aca advocate.com/business.00:36:58.380 --> 00:36:59.670
Um, I have a newsletter.00:37:00.030 --> 00:37:04.409
00 AM Um, sometimes it's a little bit later 'cause I'm, you know,00:37:04.590 --> 00:37:05.190
bathing the kids00:37:05.699 --> 00:37:07.199
an extra cup of coffee, whatever.00:37:07.199 --> 00:37:08.219
We gotta break a news.00:37:08.219 --> 00:37:17.099
00 AM and, um, I, I try to get it out as much as quickly as I can, get the news out as quickly as I can.00:37:17.579 --> 00:37:20.250
We have breaking news alerts throughout the day.00:37:20.579 --> 00:37:24.090
Um, we're part of a bigger operation.00:37:24.630 --> 00:37:28.170
The Advocate is owned by John Georgia's outta New Orleans.00:37:29.309 --> 00:37:36.090
We have offices in Baton Rouge, new Orleans, and now Shreveport, and we have some people in Lake Charles.00:37:36.599 --> 00:37:39.780
So it's uh, it's an interesting time.00:37:40.110 --> 00:37:42.960
We're definitely bucking the trend in the business.00:37:42.960 --> 00:37:46.110
We are expanding and most people are shriveling up.00:37:47.099 --> 00:37:53.460
Um, but we're finding that there's still a real thirst for news and for knowledge.00:37:55.034 --> 00:37:55.934
Let's dig into that.00:37:55.965 --> 00:38:03.795
You're bucking the trend where most people are retracting, you're expanding, right, as a, you know, as a, as a group.00:38:03.795 --> 00:38:08.474
Why do you think that is and why do you think people are latching onto that?00:38:09.525 --> 00:38:10.605
Um, it's a good question.00:38:11.684 --> 00:38:16.815
Um, we have a, first of all, we have an owner who's not, this is not his main deal.00:38:16.844 --> 00:38:19.215
John George's, this is his side hustle kind of thing.00:38:19.454 --> 00:38:19.693
Yeah.00:38:19.784 --> 00:38:20.954
Um, so he's not.00:38:21.929 --> 00:38:22.949
He's divested heavy.00:38:22.949 --> 00:38:25.230
He's, he's got other things, so that helps.00:38:25.469 --> 00:38:25.588
Yeah.00:38:25.648 --> 00:38:38.579
Um, but I, I dunno, we, we just, we, we've got great people in our, in our, in our company, but just talented, talented people who from come from the, the, the, the biggest journalism schools in the country.00:38:39.179 --> 00:38:43.289
Um, and we just, I, I just think we put out a, a great product.00:38:44.039 --> 00:38:47.818
Um, it's, it's fascinating to kind of.00:38:48.510 --> 00:38:52.050
Watch and it's a little, um, I'm in awe of some of this.00:38:52.050 --> 00:38:54.420
Sometimes I wonder, do I, I don't belong with these people.00:38:55.829 --> 00:38:57.389
I went to Southeastern man.00:38:57.389 --> 00:39:03.750
I didn't go to some Northwestern or Syracuse or those big Cadillac of journalism schools.00:39:03.840 --> 00:39:06.119
Um, my parents didn't go to college.00:39:06.119 --> 00:39:09.840
So it's really kind of awe inspiring.00:39:09.900 --> 00:39:14.219
But we, we, we just do the best we can and.00:39:14.775 --> 00:39:16.545
People pay to read our products.00:39:16.545 --> 00:39:16.965
So, hey,00:39:17.594 --> 00:39:21.434
you know, most people today get their news from social media.00:39:21.764 --> 00:39:21.974
Yes.00:39:21.974 --> 00:39:29.264
At least that's what the stats show, which is interesting because the people on social media have no responsibility to tell the truth or investigate anything.00:39:29.775 --> 00:39:31.875
Um, in fact, you might just call it rumors.00:39:31.875 --> 00:39:35.114
Like there's a lot of rumors on social media and that's how people are getting their news.00:39:35.565 --> 00:39:36.639
I mean, we're so thankful to have.00:39:37.559 --> 00:39:40.619
The advocate and like a real news source here in town.00:39:40.619 --> 00:39:47.250
I don't know what we do if you have public corruption or you know, real news stories that need to get investigated and you didn't have that.00:39:47.340 --> 00:39:49.469
And I think that's the reality for a lot of towns.00:39:49.739 --> 00:39:50.070
Yes.00:39:50.070 --> 00:39:52.170
So, so thankful that you guys are still doing it.00:39:52.710 --> 00:39:54.510
Somebody needs to just.00:39:55.320 --> 00:40:04.650
Just follow up and just kind of say, you can't, you can't move that dirt on, on down from, say, for the parish line of St. Martin in the middle of the night.00:40:04.650 --> 00:40:06.329
You, that's not legal.00:40:06.659 --> 00:40:07.528
Um, okay, I'll go pick00:40:07.528 --> 00:40:07.829
it up.00:40:09.929 --> 00:40:10.259
Yeah.00:40:10.619 --> 00:40:12.809
So, um, somebody's gotta do that.00:40:13.139 --> 00:40:19.949
And, you know, um, it's, it's the, the, the industry has its financial challenges.00:40:19.949 --> 00:40:21.384
Like I said, all the things that, that.00:40:22.708 --> 00:40:24.958
That made money in their business have gone away.00:40:25.559 --> 00:40:32.759
Um, we're, it's, it's a almost like a subscriber, uh, based mod model now, um, business model.00:40:33.148 --> 00:40:42.028
Um, but we're, we're doing the best we can and, you know, it's, you gotta get creative how to create revenue and, and we got people who are doing that.00:40:42.418 --> 00:40:51.628
So it's, it's, I don't know how long this train will keep riding, but we're, we're, we're doing it, we're, we're adding people and still.00:40:52.364 --> 00:40:56.144
You know, we haven't had layoffs ever in the seven years.00:40:56.235 --> 00:40:56.594
Wow.00:40:56.594 --> 00:40:56.894
Man.00:40:56.985 --> 00:40:59.744
We had, we furlough people during the, during the, the pandemic.00:40:59.923 --> 00:41:00.434
That was it.00:41:02.144 --> 00:41:12.494
Well, I think Judon really, uh, Jude said, really struck, you know, a an aha moment where people on social media, keyboard warriors.00:41:12.494 --> 00:41:12.614
Right.00:41:12.704 --> 00:41:16.304
You probably, that's your competition.00:41:16.364 --> 00:41:16.784
Right.00:41:17.235 --> 00:41:20.940
But it's not real competition where it could be fake, it could be, you know.00:41:21.735 --> 00:41:25.965
It could be bots, it could be things that are, people are just looking to get a rise.00:41:25.994 --> 00:41:30.195
It could be rumors, it could be lies, but having a, a trusted source mm-hmm.00:41:30.675 --> 00:41:31.695
Is, is valuable.00:41:31.695 --> 00:41:35.684
And that's where people are thankful for, but people invest.00:41:36.284 --> 00:41:46.934
So as you do this and as you become that, how do you combat the keyboard warriors or, or the, you know, the rumors?00:41:46.934 --> 00:41:48.375
How do you, how do you view that?00:41:49.425 --> 00:41:50.445
It's, um.00:41:50.820 --> 00:41:56.400
It's, you can't really do it all because you'll just work yourself in a tizzy.00:41:56.909 --> 00:42:00.719
Um, most, by the end of the day, most of that stuff is noise.00:42:00.809 --> 00:42:01.769
That's what it, that's what it is.00:42:01.769 --> 00:42:02.429
And that's what I tell people.00:42:02.489 --> 00:42:07.409
It's just noise At the end of the day, you know, two or three days later, no, Marys moved on.00:42:07.500 --> 00:42:08.820
It's, it's noise.00:42:09.119 --> 00:42:17.550
But when it's like, you know, the mayor or the, or, you know, the president or, or just saying things, they're not true.00:42:17.554 --> 00:42:18.449
You, you gotta.00:42:18.989 --> 00:42:19.619
Go with it.00:42:19.619 --> 00:42:21.090
You've gotta fact check it.00:42:21.090 --> 00:42:26.099
You gotta say, this is not this, this is probably not accurate or whatever.00:42:26.400 --> 00:42:31.050
And you are, or just you, you gotta handle it like it is.00:42:31.829 --> 00:42:32.039
Hmm.00:42:32.760 --> 00:42:40.199
You know, it's like, what's the, what's the movie in the line from Hoosiers where, you know, if you, if you're in my living room doing that stuff, I kind of gotta deal with you, you know?00:42:40.199 --> 00:42:41.070
Right, right.00:42:41.070 --> 00:42:41.579
For sure.00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:42.389
That's a good movie.00:42:42.840 --> 00:42:43.920
Um, when.00:42:44.445 --> 00:42:46.304
As we, we kind of like wrap up.00:42:46.364 --> 00:42:49.425
There's probably some questions and I'll take some advice here.00:42:49.485 --> 00:42:54.284
There's probably some questions that I should have asked you, like, what questions should I have asked you during this interview?00:42:54.284 --> 00:42:55.875
That I totally dropped the ball, brother.00:42:56.085 --> 00:42:56.835
Oh, I don't know.00:42:56.985 --> 00:42:58.875
Yeah, we can talk about anything all day long, dude.00:42:58.875 --> 00:43:04.724
But, um, everyone wants to know about Bucky's and Trader Joe's and, uh, that sort of thing.00:43:04.815 --> 00:43:09.195
Um, I was just talking to the Northgate Mall guy, uh, yesterday.00:43:09.585 --> 00:43:09.974
Um.00:43:10.755 --> 00:43:13.125
Everybody keeps asking me like, you think that's gonna happen?00:43:13.184 --> 00:43:14.355
You think it's, you think that's gonna happen?00:43:14.355 --> 00:43:14.985
That's not gonna happen.00:43:14.985 --> 00:43:15.284
That's it.00:43:15.735 --> 00:43:17.175
He's got great people behind him.00:43:17.655 --> 00:43:25.605
You know, we'll find out in 10 or 20 years, but, but if, when he falls, there are people behind him who will pick him up.00:43:26.414 --> 00:43:28.275
So, um, it's gonna be interesting to see.00:43:28.815 --> 00:43:29.114
Yeah.00:43:29.204 --> 00:43:38.474
When Adam says that people care about food here, like you wouldn't believe Josh, you know, every time a new restaurant opens in Lafayette, it doesn't matter if it's a bad restaurant.00:43:38.759 --> 00:43:41.489
You know, if a new restaurant opens, the people flock.00:43:41.728 --> 00:43:42.028
Yes.00:43:42.059 --> 00:43:44.668
And you can't get in for weeks or months.00:43:44.938 --> 00:43:46.889
And if they're good, it'll be that way for years.00:43:46.889 --> 00:43:54.509
But, you know, if, if, even if they're bad, uh, we've had a few that it's just like, why are people lined up for blocks and blocks to get into this place?00:43:54.509 --> 00:43:55.469
But, but they do.00:43:55.889 --> 00:43:57.000
Uh, it's unbelievable.00:43:57.208 --> 00:43:57.804
Uh, I'd like.00:43:58.844 --> 00:44:02.505
Give some encouragement to the deal makers and business folks who are listening in Acadiana.00:44:02.894 --> 00:44:07.065
Uh, reach out to Adam, you know, let 'em do a little profile on you and your business.00:44:07.605 --> 00:44:09.914
Uh, we, we wanna inspire folks around here.00:44:09.940 --> 00:44:10.423
I, I know.00:44:10.963 --> 00:44:12.585
Personally, I don't like the publicity.00:44:12.585 --> 00:44:15.255
I don't like, you know, other people knowing what, what's going on.00:44:15.255 --> 00:44:27.134
And I'm sure a lot of you guys are the same way, but if people can't see what's going on in business and can't understand what you did, how you got there, um, you know, they won't be inspired to do the same thing.00:44:27.134 --> 00:44:31.394
So reach out to Adam, let 'em do a little piece on you or, you know, come on the deal podcast.00:44:31.394 --> 00:44:32.505
We'll, we'll hear your story.00:44:32.565 --> 00:44:36.445
We'd love to, to know a little bit more about you and how you grew, what you, what you grew.00:44:38.085 --> 00:44:39.945
Well, man, I couldn't have said that better myself.00:44:39.945 --> 00:44:42.045
Fellow deal makers, as always, reach out to the guest.00:44:42.045 --> 00:44:43.965
Their contact information will be in the show notes.00:44:44.235 --> 00:44:45.074
Uh, you heard it from Jude.00:44:45.074 --> 00:44:48.914
We wanna, we wanna work with Adam and, and cover some great stories here.00:44:48.914 --> 00:44:53.715
So Adam's information will be in the show notes and you could reach us at, you know, the deal podcast.com.00:44:53.775 --> 00:44:54.945
There's quick contact form.00:44:55.244 --> 00:44:57.554
Love to share the stories, especially what's happening here.00:44:57.885 --> 00:44:58.815
And bring us food, man.00:44:58.815 --> 00:44:59.835
Now we are hungry.00:44:59.835 --> 00:45:05.025
We've been talking about food all morning, so yeah, let's, let's, let's do some sampling and we'll see you guys on the next episode.00:45:05.204 --> 00:45:05.835
Cheers everyone.
