Please, introduce yourself and your business.
My name is Lerone Mullin, owner of the Jerk Grill. We are a quick serve Jamaican restaurant specializing in Jamaican flavors. with a California fusion. from jerk chicken to savory patties to oxtail smash burgers and some refreshing drinks. simple Jamaican food with a california twist. We are an open kitchen concept so the customers get to see the process.
How did you start your business?
I started my business as a street vendor, going from place to place selling street food. Jamaican jerk chicken to be exact. So we started from street vending and that was because I needed capital and the opportunity to build an audience for my food. I did a lot of research on how to start a restaurant and I came to the conclusion that starting from catering or street vending would be the best way to go. It gave me the opportunity to study the market and build my menu off the feedback I got from the pop up shop. I started with almost nothing, just some used grills and fryers from the offer that I bought. I had a used tent and a few tables and that's all I needed at the time. The hardest part was actually going out there for the first time and actually putting myself out there for people to try the food.
How much revenue was your best year? (include margin if possible)
From Street vending I grossed $460,000. cooking from home. Setting up 4-5 days a week. With about 5-6 staff.
When did you notice traction when building your business? The “Oh S**t!” moment, what did that feel like?
In the beginning there was little to no traction. I believe that was because I was going too many different places and trying to sell food. Once I figured out that staying in one place and letting people become more familiar with the food is when it started taking off. The first time I said oh I might have something here is when I set up at a local brewery and we grossed around 2k in a few hours.
What was your childhood like? Were you slinging candy on the playground?
I grew up in the countryside of St Mary Jamaica. My parents were young when I was born so I was always raised by my grandparents. Actually grew up farming with my grandmother and watched her run her cow business. That experience will always be my inspiration to run a business. Left Jamaica fairly young for the opportunity to live in the US.
What has been your best marketing marketing channel?
My best marketing channel has been instagram. Just sharing my story and content of the food here and there has done wonders for the business. So I use instagram to build a following organically. It's all about putting fear aside and telling your story. curating an approach that will captivate your audience. Obviously not everyone will like you that comes with the game but just continuing to move forward with your plan is what the focus should be.
How many attempts at building something did you make before you found what you’re working on now? Did you always have an entrepreneurial drive?
I’ve been searching for years to figure out how to do what I love. I’ve gone through a lot with trying to find my happiness and something I can live with. One day I decided I was going to start from scratch, and focus on scaling my idea. My idea was just to sell one thing. Jerk chicken. I am glad I decided to just go for it and not worry about what others think.
What is your biggest overhead expense?
For the pop up shop my biggest overhead was labor. And for the restaurant that still remains. Labor is the biggest overhead.
What’s the most important skill you’ve learned?
Marking is the most important skill because if no one knows about business they can't support it. If you're afraid to tell people about your product, good or bad, it's a big problem.
What do you spend the majority of your time doing, in a given week? (I think a lot of people hear entrepreneurs “work,” but may not understand what that means on a day-to-day basis.
Currently I spend a lot of my time coaching my staff and making sure they are doing the right things. In a restaurant it doesn’t take much to ruin a customer’s experience so I always have to try my best to make sure that the staff is doing what they’re supposed to be doing.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when first starting your business?
At the time I wish I knew how to utilize social media better in order to market myself and the product we serve.
The world of entrepreneurship can be misleading. Many people think it’s always easy and always glamorous. What’s a big problem you’ve faced as a business owner and what were the emotions behind it?
Having a business is a lot of work. I believe for it to be successful you have to be willing to take chances and also out work everyone else. You have to be willing to make the necessary sacrifices in order for it to all work out.
What is your best advice for someone who feels completely stuck?
The best way to start a business is to do it a little at a time. Set up a plan and do your best to execute the plan. The more you do it the better you will become over time. It takes a lot of time and practice normally to become successful. Patience and belief in self is definitely a major key.
