Donny Bradley with Lola Beans

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It’s time for Chattanooga Business Radio. Now, here’s your Business RadioX hosts.

Stone Payton: Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Chattanooga Business Radio. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. You guys are in for a real treat. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Lola Beans. Donny Bradley. How are you, man?

Donny Bradley: Stone, I’m great. Thank you for having me.

Stone Payton: Well, we’re delighted to have you on the show. I don’t think it’s any secret to our listeners, uh, here in the Atlanta area, certainly not to more and more friends in Chattanooga, we are, in pretty short order, going to have a physical studio there in the Chattanooga market. But I wasn’t going to wait on that, man. I wanted to get you on the air. I got a ton of questions. I know I’m not going to get to them all, but, uh yeah. Tell us a little bit about what compelled you to get into the into the coffee business? And, uh, and a little bit about the backstory, man. How did you land here?

Donny Bradley: Yeah. So, um, so I am a medical distributor, uh, by trade. And I had a surgeon that relocated to the the Kenai Peninsula, um, up there in Alaska, in Soldotna, Alaska, on the Kenai Peninsula. And so, um, I was in between reps. So we, uh, uh, picked the family up and we moved the wife and our three kids up to Soldotna for a little six month stretch. Um, and this was back in 2016. And so while we were up there, they had all of these little, like, drive thru coffee shacks, like, uh, almost like some, like a little shed that you would see out in front of Home Depot. And they would make them look all cute and kind of put different branding on them. And then they would sling coffee out of them. And I kind of really liked that concept. And we we ended up, um, really kind of blanking one up there in particular true Blue because of the owner, Jenna. And we would go through the line, she’d have the window open, there’d be music playing. She’d have 2 or 3 cars on each side, and she is just slinging espresso drinks. But while she’s doing that, she is talking to my wife about different shops in the, in Soldotna and, you know, giving my wife some information.

Donny Bradley: She’s asking my daughter about snowboarding and learning how to snowboard at Alyeska. And I’m like, oh my gosh, this is not just, you know, here’s the coffee. Give me the money a transaction. This is more about, you know, building a relationship. And I just love that. And so I had a little piece of property that I owned on East Brainerd Road. And I said, Missy, we got to do this. I want to do this. I want to open a little coffee shop. So I thought I was going to just buy a Home Depot shack, slap it on this piece of property, and start slinging coffee. And then I learned about, um, you know, city building codes and all the zoning and everything else that goes that goes on with that, you know, got a quick education. But then we we opened that first little store in September of 2020. Um, 280ft² and just got going. But, um, it was true blue coffee out of Soldotna, Alaska. That really gave me the inspiration and the fact that it was, you know, it was more of a connection and a relationship versus just transaction. And that’s what got me going.

Stone Payton: So here’s a shout out for Missy, because I’m trying to put myself as a as a fly on the wall. When you’re sharing this idea with Missy, I’ve had some friends and colleagues in the medical device world, and I know that can be a very lucrative career. And now, now here you are saying, you know what? We’re going to do the coffee thing. She must have been incredibly supportive at some point, if not right out of the box, huh?

Donny Bradley: Yes, I wouldn’t I wouldn’t be able to do this without without her. She was awesome. She was she was supportive in the fact, like, hey, Missy, we’re going to pull the kids out of school and we’re going to go to Alaska for, you know six months. And she said, okay, let’s do it. So yeah, she has been she’s just awesome. She’s been supportive. I couldn’t I couldn’t do the things I do in business without without her and the type of person she is. So it’s been she is she is great. Fantastic.

Stone Payton: Well you touched on it briefly talking about building codes and all that kind of stuff, but yeah, talk a little bit about the the learning curve and maybe some of what you’ve learned getting this thing off the ground.

Donny Bradley: Well, so I have been um, I have been extremely fortunate. I’ve had some, some really good business mentors, and I have gotten connected with, um, some great people that are in the restaurant industry. So I’ve, I’ve kind of seeked out a bunch of counsel and I’ve, I’ve had a chance to get connected with people that have a lot of experience, have done some national stuff. And so it’s um, it’s been I mean, it’s, it’s it’s fun and I love it, but it, it has been a, you know, a big learning curve and, and things that I need to be focusing on. And you know, what you look at, you know, day in the life of week in the life of month in the life of. So I’ve had some really, really good people that have have helped me with that. And then a, you know, another, another friend of mine had connected me with one of his really good friends that had started, um, ASP pools and had franchised that business. And I had gotten to know him over the years. And he has, um, he has been really instrumental in helping me look at this and, and, and start the franchising process and get it going and, and kind of give me ideas on how to improve the store economics and get things, you know, tightened up to be able to franchise. And then he also connected me with some amazing consultants that were like basically vetted out. He’s, you know, he’s, um, worked with them for a while. And so it’s kind of like he’s passed on some of his people versus me just kind of having to roll the dice and, you know, hope I find the right type of consultant. So, um, I’ve been fortunate in terms of having really good people to kind of, you know work with and pick their brain and just help me while I’m while I’m learning this new business.

Stone Payton: So now that you do have this thing going, you’re starting to get your sea legs, as it were. What’s the what’s the most rewarding? What’s the most fun about it for you?

Donny Bradley: It’s the it’s the team. You know, it’s the it’s it’s our it’s the been team without without a doubt like 100%. When I was getting into this, I had people telling me, you’re going to be dealing with employees and it’s you’re not gonna be able to find anybody to work, and it’s going to be a pain in the butt. And, um, it has been the exact opposite. So we have, uh, um, you know, we’ve got a great team of like, it’s it’s young kids. It’s, you know, they’re primarily in college. We have a few seniors in high school, but they’re all, um, they’re all just great young adults that have, like, plans for their future and are studying stuff and are just, um, you know, we’re we’re performance based. We we we show right from the get go that we are a performance based drive through. I’m calling it Fun Beverage. And it’s not a slow downtown coffee shop. And they they work great together. They take pride in working together and clearing cars and having good shifts. And you know, the whole a players like to work with other A players. It’s um, that’s been by far the best part is getting to work with these, the team and watching how they, um, take care of our guests and, and help really help me grow this business.

Stone Payton: So it strikes me as a pretty competitive arena. How does the whole sales and marketing thing work for a business like this? And then, if you know, yet, maybe also speak a little bit to the sales and marketing of this franchising because it sounds like you’re on the path for that as well.

Donny Bradley: Yeah, yeah. So, so for, um, for our current stores, we, um, you know, we’re we’re heavy social media, so we’re social media, um, digital advertising and then community events as many community events and golf tournaments and things we can do. And then we also connect with, um, in Cleveland, we connect with Lee University as much as we can. We just we just did their welcome back to school, um, this past Friday, that event. So it is it’s just focused on that. And then it’s the and then it’s the culture of um, you know, drive the team making connections with our customers. We have regulars that come through. We’re we’re it looks like they’re coming through, you know, 14 to 19 times a month. We create buttons on the handheld. So we come out and and take orders right at the car with a with a handheld device. You don’t you don’t come through our line and order at a speed with a, you know, at a speaker box or a menu. So we get to know our regulars, um, you know, the regulars that have their, their drinks, we create their own buttons and we try to do things to, you know, to make them feel recognized and seen and connect. And so that’s basically our, you know, our marketing right now in a nutshell.

Donny Bradley: It’s, you know, just that social media, digital advertising and then community events, um, for the for the franchise development, we’re going to do a, um, we’re going to start with like a little crawl, walk, run, uh, plan that we’ve put together. And we’re trying to stay in like the Knoxville, Nashville, um, Huntsville, Birmingham, North Atlanta area initially. And we are going to try to find 1 to 3 franchisees the first year, uh, have them close where we can get to them, support them over, support them, try and get store economics going. Um, and then, you know, really, uh, you know, try to do another four or so the next year and get to that first ten where they’ve got great store economics, they’re supported, they’re wanting to open more and then they’re great validators for the brand. And so we’re going to um, we’re going to try and pick the right people. Um, you know, high culture, high character, people that can develop a team that will then, you know, take care of the of their their new customers. So that’s the and we’re doing most of that on LinkedIn right in the beginning. Um, the franchise development part and maybe a little direct, um, little digital advertising.

Stone Payton: I have to confess, going into this conversation, I guess I had your business very soundly planted in the middle of a, I guess, the best way, a transactional frame. Right? Like, this is a transactional business. But I in talking to you, I think maybe nothing could be further from the truth. This is strongly grounded in relationship, isn’t it?

Donny Bradley: Exactly. No, that is that is it 100? 100%. It is all based around, um, the culture that we’re trying to create and then the connection that we make with, with our customers that come through. I mean, we want this to be, you know, we’re so we’re, you know, we’re taking, you know, fun beverage, the espresso drinks, all the energy drinks infused lemonades, infused teas. We’re you know, we’re taking that product and we’re kind of moving it into a drive through model. If you’re the 14th car in line, we want you through in seven minutes or less, but we still want to be making those connections. And so that’s um, you know, that’s the goal. We’re not we’re not dealing with raw food. We’re not dropping, you know, we’re not dealing with fryers and grease and a big kitchen. We are taking drinks and it’s combinations of sauces and sirups. And so I really feel like, you know, like a teacher would be great at this. A, you know, football coach is former military, uh, youth pastors, people that can, uh, develop a team, have a heart for kids, um, and can create a culture and make connections within their community would do absolutely fantastic at this. You don’t have to be a hard core, you know, grizzled, veteran restaurant person to to do this.

Stone Payton: Well, no. Clearly the linchpin in your system. Certainly a linchpin. Maybe the linchpin is the the character and the quality of the people. And it sounds like you’re parallel to that, really going to great lengths to provide, you know, repeatable processes and transferable tools for all the key tasks that have to be executed. But again, it’s, uh, man, it’s the people. You just have to make a real effort. And it sounds like you’re doing it of bringing the right people on board, whether it’s employees or franchisees. Huh.

Donny Bradley: It’s done. That is it. That’s that’s what it’s going to boil down to, is if I can and I and you know what? I, you know, just just seeing some of my, my kids coaches and, and being around different people that have heart for kids. I mean, you know, I love this, but I know there’s people out there that are a lot better that could be a lot better at this than me and could be more organized and, you know, could take the start that we’ve got and all the all the systems and everything we put in place. And they could absolutely thrive with this. I mean, it’s you know, I know there’s people out there a lot better than me. Than than me at doing this. And I’ve seen it just from, you know, watching how coaches connect and, you know, certain people connect with, um, you know, with youth and build teams and, you know, have those natural leadership abilities.

Stone Payton: Man, nothing builds a business like just getting out there and doing good work and being coachable and open to other people, because we might not just because we got the thing off the ground doesn’t mean we have all the answers. Huh?

Donny Bradley: That is that is so true. That is it. That is it.

Stone Payton: I know we have quite a number of aspiring entrepreneurs or people who are very in the very early stages. Some of them may have designs on replicating, franchising, licensing, others just may want to scale their business to a certain point. But before we wrap up, I’d love to to leave our listeners with a couple of, uh, pro tips, you know, a couple of actionable items, some things maybe, and maybe some of this was, uh, you know, a little scar tissue that you picked up over the last couple of years. But, uh, I don’t know, something to be reading. Maybe a do or a don’t. But let’s leave them with a couple of things to be thinking about. Those who are kind of wanting to follow in a in a similar path and grow something.

Donny Bradley: Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, one of my, one of my favorite books is, um, The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham. And, um, he, he was a real estate guy CEO that got wiped out in the late 80s in the, in commercial real estate. And he just kind of he just wrote this book that, um, you know, it really just takes out the gray and makes it black and white and we kind of know what we should be doing in business and the standards we should be setting and, and how we should be doing things. And he, you know, he helps you avoid the what he calls avoid paying the dumb tax. And when you just read a book like that and get back to the fundamentals, it just gives you that solid foundation for for trying to grow a business. And, um, you know, they say the failures and, you know, like every failure in leadership is from, um, stems from the lack of, or not wanting to have the difficult conversations or being afraid to have those difficult conversations. And, um, you know, it’s just a, it’s just things like that that you can take from it and that.

Donny Bradley: And then there’s also an awesome book, um, by, um, Jocko willing. Um, oh, gosh, I’m drawing a I’m drawing a blank on it, but it’s, um, extreme ownership, I’m sorry, extreme ownership. And it’s just about, you know, you’re responsible. Um, and when you know you’re responsible for how the team reacts, you set the tone. And, you know, always, you know, look inward first, uh, before you start kind of blaming people and look at what your role was and take ownership of things. So those two books have made a huge difference. And then that along with, you know, you know, just seek counsel and talk to people that have done it before and can help you speed up your, um, you know, speed up your growth, but also help you avoid all those, um, those potholes that, you know, and the potholes are always there and they’re always the same type of potholes, you know? I mean, for for all the businesses. So if you can learn to avoid those and, and speed up your growth by, by, you know, getting that intellectual capital, um, you know, you’re going to be you’re going to be better off.

Stone Payton: Well, I am so glad that I asked because those are two titles I have not read. I have absolutely paid the dumb tax over the years. Yeah.

Donny Bradley: Yeah, we could have a whole nother 2 or 3 episodes on on me paying the dumb tax and learning over the years. But yeah, but.

Stone Payton: That’s two new titles that’ll make it to my nightstand. All right. What’s the best way for our listeners to connect with you? Certainly we want to know where your, uh, location is, but also, maybe if they want to have a conversation with you or someone on the bean team, I think you call them, uh, about maybe, you know, being a franchisee.

Donny Bradley: Yeah. So we have, um, there’s a link on our website. It’s, uh, you know, Lola beans coffee comm. And then we are also on Instagram, uh, at Lola Beans Coffee. And then I’m on LinkedIn, and, um, it’s just Donny Bradley. Um, Lola Beans coffee founder on LinkedIn.

Stone Payton: Well, Donny, congratulations on the momentum, man. It’s exciting work that you’re doing and the kind of work that you’re doing and the example that you’re setting for the community, but also just other aspiring entrepreneurs who genuinely want to serve. It’s, uh, man, it’s important work. And we sure appreciate you.

Donny Bradley: I appreciate you, I appreciate you having me on. This was fun, Stone. Thank you.

Stone Payton: Absolutely. My pleasure. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Donny Bradley with Lola Beans and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you again on Chattanooga Business Radio.