Shawn is a restaurateur and founder of Cali BBQ Media. He started operating his family restaurant Cali Comfort BBQ in East San Diego County in 2008 like a media company, and now he teaches small business owners how to master online media to thrive.

Quotes to remember: 

“Once you have access to information, you choose what you want to listen to. You choose what compels you. You choose what you think about when you go to sleep at night.”

“It’s so important to be grounded in gratitude.”

Takeaways:

• Digital has completely changed the full-service restaurant business model, and many other industries
• Getting to know your own family history is very empowering
• Small business need to go digital so that people can access their goods and services 
• No one has your story but you; always be branding
• The magic happens in the micro and in the 1-on-1 connections, not in going viral
• You come first because you need to be okay to take care of anyone else

What you’ll learn:

• What digital hospitality is, and how it has enabled Shawn’s restaurant to be more profitable during COVID than pre-COVID
• Why starting a business in the recession of 2008 was a blessing in disguise
• About Shawn’s mentor, his grandfather, an immigrant from a Bulgarian village
• What his gratitude practice looks like
• About decision paralysis and how to overcome it

Mentioned on the podcast: 

• Cali Comfort BBQ
• The Mamba Mentality: How I Play - Kobe Bryant
• The Digital Hospitality podcast
• The Harvest: How a Bulgarian Farm Boy Grew Wealthy in La Jolla, California - Luben Walchef

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