Make Things Better: Interview with Jonathan Weathington, CEO of Shuckin' Shack
I recently went one on one with Jonathan Weathington, CEO of Shuckin' Shack
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Jonathan: Thanks so much for allowing me to be a part of this – very cool opportunity. I became a CEO at age 29, and I believe that my life, both professionally and personally, has been a culmination of many interesting opportunities that led me to becoming a CEO. One thing that was instilled within me from a very young age was the idea of loving what you do. That “do” for me has been a number of things – mail packager, retail associate, environmental specialist (septic tank pumper), grass mower extraordinaire, bill collector, bartender, and convenience store owner. The culmination of all of these experiences has allowed me to see success and failure from many, many points of view.
When I started working at age 16, I was bound and determined to have a great attitude, be a model employee, and most importantly love what I did. It sounds a little romanticized, and at times, I wasn’t “in love” with my job, but I always made sure that I was learning something from it. When I worked in a call center as a bill collector as my first job out of college, I learned more in that position than you might imagine. Have you ever cold called someone and told them they were late on money they owed? Can you imagine the responses one might receive during that interaction? My time there taught me how to have difficult conversations with people in a direct and respectful manner. During those interactions, the first 15 seconds of the phone call were critical in being successful at collecting – thinking on your feet, being direct, and offering a solution had to happen in an incredibly short time span. I have countless examples of micro-lessons learned that I still use to this day.
As I transitioned into more leadership roles, my very broad work experience actually gave me clarity on how I wanted to move forward. I never had to wonder if I was missing out on a different career path, because I had done so many things. I’ve been fortunate to work for some very large, successful companies with proven systems and results. Learning from these systems and how to achieve results made my match with Shuckin’ Shack, a business I already loved, perfect.
Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas?
Jonathan: I am not the founder of Shuckin’ Shack, Matt Piccinin and Sean Cook are the founders, so I did not come up with the idea. However, knowing them both very well, they saw a need and met that need; this is a simple yet direct way to start a business. I’m very much a pragmatist, so I believe that ideas come out of necessity. Perhaps that necessity isn’t a new product offering, but an improvement on the product offering. In my mind, function comes before form. If you see that a function has been met, a good word of advice is to start working on the form - there’s nothing wrong with making something better!
Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea?
Jonathan: At the core of Shuckin’ Shack is the undying desire to be authentic. No spiels, no canned responses or interactions, and no nametags. We believe in true authenticity that matches a familial vibe. As odd as it may sound, that’s how I knew the business idea was worth pursuing. If I could be myself, grow a business, and truly depend on others to be themselves, I believed the product would sell itself. Of course this is a bit of a boiler-plate version of business. Your economics have to fall into place, but I believe first in the power of people. I think the best way to test a business idea is to ask one simple question: “Does the product or service that I’m offering meet or beat the anticipated competition?” If the honest (honesty is critical in answering this question) answer to that question is “yes,” then go for it.
Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?
Jonathan: In my business, which is franchising, the early stages require hyper-focus on who you’re bringing into the organization. The people matter more than the finances (though my CPA would probably say differently). The key steps that we’ve taken in business growth have all focused around internal and external relationships. Internally, the first hire you make is absolutely critical in setting the tone for success. As an owner, partner, or founder, you’re now forced to impart not only knowledge, but also passion into someone coming in from the outside. Externally, when thinking about growing the business, the first franchise partners must have the same conviction that you have – sometimes to an even greater extent. Their desire to make themselves (and by default, you) successful requires an inordinate amount of grit, determination, patience, and risk.
Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips?
Jonathan: Be honest – it’s that simple. As I mentioned before, I’ve held a number of roles, many of them being sales-centric. The absolute best sales technique is to be honest, direct, and authentic. If your product doesn’t do what the customer wants, don’t bullshit. If your product isn’t any better than what the customer is using, you better be truly great at service. My biggest pet peeve in sales is that salespersons often assume that the potential client has a problem or something is broken within their system. This is simply not the case. Great salespeople recognize that perhaps there isn’t a need to be met, but rather a way to improve something. Don’t denigrate a system that someone is using, even if you believe your product or service is superior – that’s the quickest way to lose a sale.
In marketing, clarify your end goal. Is your end goal customer acquisition? Customer retention? Net promoter score increase? Higher sales average? Brand awareness? It’s rare that a marketing campaign or idea can touch on all of these avenues. You must make sure that the effort that your marketing team is putting forth is symbiotic with your operations team and their end goals, as well. If I want to increase my average transaction or daily sales average, my marketing likely shouldn’t focus on deep discounts and value propositions, but rather the quality and integrity of the product and service.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Jonathan: More than any other quality, a leader listens. Leadership and listening are not mutually exclusive. It’s not uncommon for leaders to be portrayed as field generals and commanding officers, casting aside critiques and charging forward. I believe “field general” moments do happen when being a leader, but more often than not, real leadership happens behind the scenes, with an open ear, an open door, and an open mind. Other defining qualities of effective leaders include decisiveness, stability, dynamism, and consistency.
I believe that leaders and aspiring leaders can take their leadership to the next level by having an open mind as it relates to learning. One should never be too old or too experienced to learn something new. Listen to your department heads and your front-line employees. Learn what they’re actually doing on a day-to-day basis, and offer support on how you can make their positions better, in order to help them maximize their own growth.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?
Jonathan: Admittedly, I’m not a great manager. I do think that I’ve been successful at building and leading because I’m willing to learn and willing to do what’s necessary to push things forward. My best advice comes from answers to previous questions. In building, focus on the people coming into the organization. Actually take the time to make sure they are maximizing their own career desires and development. In leading, have an open mind and don’t be too busy or too experienced to listen and learn. In managing, I don’t know, but I’ve always been of the mindset that people should be allowed to make their own decisions, even if it leads to a longer path to success. I’m not a micromanager by any stretch of the imagination, so I’m probably not qualified to answer the management portion!
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?
Jonathan:
Be yourself. This tip exists as an extraordinarily cliché one. However, if you can’t be yourself, your team and the people that you bring into the organization (both internally and externally) are going to recognize inauthenticity right away.
Make sure you communicate the “why.” Admittedly, I wasn’t great at this early on in my career, and it’s still something I’m working on. As time progressed, I have learned that constantly talking about the “why” and not just the “how” is perhaps more important than anything else you might communicate.
Listen. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m very bullish on listening. If you can’t listen, you’re cutting off 50% (at least!) of the communication channel. Listen to your colleagues, listen to your employees, and listen to your customers!
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Jonathan: Make a decision and then make it right. Meaning, don’t fear the decision making process. Analyze and consider the information that is available to you, make a decision based on that information, and then work towards ensuring that the decision that you made was the right one. And, more importantly, if it’s not the right decision, take ownership and change!
Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Jonathan: Thank you so much for the opportunity.
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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