June 8, 2023 • 28 mins
Being your own boss is amazing, but you also need to think about maintaining a good relationship with your employees. From handling payroll to creating a culture that encourages employee retention; there is so much that goes into being a good boss. Kevin Wong, co-founder of Lunar Hard Seltzer, joins us to discuss how he has managed to grow his two-man team into a growing business that actively hires in multiple cities.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
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(00:22):
or revising any information presented. Listeners should verify statements before
relying on them. Hey everyone, I'm Jennie Torres and I'm
Austin Haykwitz. Welcome to another episode of Mind the Business
Small Business Success Stories, a podcast by iHeartRadio and Into
It QuickBooks. In each episode, Austin and I chat with
(00:46):
small business owners as they share their stories about the
ups and downs of owning a small business. Plus we'll
learn from their experience about how you can help fortify
and strengthen your own business.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Genie, I remember in our last episode with Kristin of
Claire for Creators, you mentioned having your mom and sister
as part of your staff. What was that process like
for you?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Well, for me, it was a natural fit and a
natural decision because I knew I wanted to work with
people that I could trust and also people that I
could keep it real with, and you know, when it
comes to family, I think they checked off both of
those boxes for me. So it's been fun to kind
of see each other grow in that perspective and really
gain respect, especially between me and my sister as like
(01:29):
we're adults, we're colleagues. Now we're working together, we're building
this business. It's been actually really good for our relationship,
even on a personal level. So I know, Austin, you
found Christian to help you with your business and bring
him on as a partner, But how did you determine
that his experience and strengths would align with what you
needed for your business. Did you actually like interview him
(01:49):
and go through that whole process.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
So, for those of you that might not know, Christian
Blockwell is the co founder of my company and we
work in tandem every day to build our business. But
when we first met during the summer of twenty Christian
was actually doing consulting for PwC in New York City.
We did three things in the beginning that set our
working relationship up for success. We had a trial period.
We were transparent from day one, and we agreed on
(02:11):
compensation and its long term potential very early. So the
trial period helped us figure out how we worked well together.
I'd argue this was really just a drawn out interview process,
but I quickly learned how he communicated with others, how
he organized his work, and more importantly, how we'd worked
together to solve problems. Transparency in trust was also super
important right as a content creator. I needed to know
(02:31):
that I was working with someone that always had my
best interest in mind and wasn't trying to take advantage
of this awesome opportunity that I was afforded. And finally,
aligning on compensation early was incredibly important because we both
knew on day one what we were capable of and
how that would impact us in the future if we
were able to achieve that.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Yeah, that's really interesting. So before I hired my sister,
I actually hired my first virtual assistant through my Instagram
following I literally made an Instagram post I said, this
is what I'm offering five to ten hours as a
virtual assistant. This is what I can afford to pay
and it was really cool, you know, in a sense
of creating this new opportunity for me to now put
(03:10):
money into someone else's pocket, and especially you know, as
a woman of caller owned business, that for me is
really special. So I'm curious, how did you go about
finding talent that you use now for your company besides
your partner, you.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Know, from a tactical finding the talent perspective. I also
find a lot of cool talent on social media, right
I put those feelers out. I made posts on Instagram,
LinkedIn Twitter, and even TikTok about my business's needs. And
now the hard part though, is deciphering who's the right
person for the job. So weirdly enough, Janis, I tasked
everyone to email me a detailed description of their favorite
(03:44):
vacation spot. That was like the application, like I just
wanted to know that thing. Because I did this for
two reasons. One, if someone doesn't have that self started
mentality to just go and send an email about something
they really enjoyed, like, you know, would they have that
same mentality with your business?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Probably not.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
That was the first reason. But the second reason was
I wanted to learn more about the intricacies that they
experience that make them really happy. Right, maybe they're like
the time off and they really enjoy interactions or the
freebies or you know whatever part of that was. So
that then helped me become a better leader and I
was then better to align compensation with what they really
cared about.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
I love that example and it reminds me of the
hiring process that I went about for hiring my first
virtual assistant slash content creator because I was kind of
giving them a lot of different things to help me with.
I had everyone give me an example of a piece
of content that they would create for my brand. I
also invited folks to criticize what we're not doing great
and I wanted to see, like, who would give me
(04:37):
the honest feedback that I need in order for me
to not stay stagnant as a business owner as a brand.
And so when I found the person that I eventually hired,
I respected the fact that she was like, you know,
you guys are doing this really well, but there's definitely
opportunities here that you're missing out on, And that for
me was like a no brainer. I'm like, yeah, this
is this needs to be my person.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
I love that. I definitely have the same way of
thinking about this. Right, I want people to be transparent.
I want them to be upfront. I want them to
let me know what am I doing right, what am
I doing wrong? And how can we work together to
solve this problem and become a better units going forward.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yeah, I think we both still are operating very much
in the startup mentality, and I know for sure I
definitely need to get a more formal hiring process together.
But luckily, our guest for this next episode, Kevin Wog,
the co founder of Lunar Heart Seltzer, has some insights
on how to do just that. After a late night
(05:32):
of partying in twenty nineteen, Kevin and his best friend
Sean Roe stopped for a late night bite at their
local Korean fried chicken joint. While trying to order drinks
with their food. That night, the idea for Lunar Heart
Seltzer was born. It's the first and only craft heart
Seltzer brand made with real Asian fruits like yuzu and leechi.
Their goal was simple to deliver an elevated heart Seltzer
(05:54):
experience using flavors most emblematic of their childhood, heritage and
identity in an unapologetic pursuit of what they call the
reverse lunchbox moment. At Lunar, Kevin leads sales and finance
while he and Sean developed new flavors and products in
the Lunar lab together.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
Kevin Wang, welcome to mine the business.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Thanks for having me really excited for this episode, man,
So I need to know how did you come up
specifically with the idea of your company. We heard a
little bit of the origin story here from Janie, but
I'd love to hear it from your own words.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
The story is as what Jennie said, we were eating dinner.
We were drinking bud light and a white Claw, and we
were like, why isn't there something that really resonates with us, right,
that really pairs well with the food. And that late
night drunken thought turned into early morning, eight am ordering
you know, brewing equipment on Amazon and online, and the
(06:50):
next thing you know, we've got all this stuff, you know,
kegs in fermenttors in our apartments in New York City.
It started off really just innocuously right, brewing something that
represented us, that took the flavors that you know I
loved growing up. You know, I was I'm Taiwanese American,
and every summer I would be in Taiwan, you know,
on the streets with Grandma. She'ld buy some leachees and
(07:10):
I would bite into those and that moment, like that
is a core memory right there, And how do I
take that and share that with people who've never had
LEECHI like they're missing out right? How do I share that?
And that was really kind of the goal. And you know,
we would just brew. I'd have friends come over every
month to try whatever we were cooking up. And by
(07:32):
the end, after about a year and a half, they
were like, Kevin, this is this is really good, Like
you should sell this? And we were like, yeah, why not?
And that was the beginning of that slippery slope. I
love it.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
So let's keep rolling with that idea. What is the
reverse lunchbox moment?
Speaker 3 (07:50):
So my parents immigrated to the US from Taiwan, and
they would make lunch for me and for me to
bring to school for a lot of you know, children
of immigrants. You open up your lunch box and you've
got you know, maybe like a ammy or you know,
fried rice or kimchi, and the kids around you are like, ew,
what is that, And that's a lunchbox moment, right when
(08:12):
you all of a sudden feel this this insecurity, this
feeling of being an outsider because people are judging you
for what you're bringing for lunch, and for you, you're like,
that's what I eat every day, Like this is my
favorite I love ed a mommy like that was my
favorite favorite fruit growing up. And so the reverse lunchbox
moment is us trying to take that and actually own it,
(08:33):
own that narrative and be like, look, here is what
I'm bringing, and I am proud to be bringing kimchi
for lunch. I am proud to be seen drinking a
leechy hertzelter instead of feeling ashamed. So how we reverse
that and reverse that narrative?
Speaker 4 (08:47):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
So, Kevin, can you tell us how long into the
business did it take you to realize, oh, I need
some help, like I can't keep doing this, you know
as a two person show.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Yeah, both of us quit jobs in February twenty twenty one,
and we made our first hire a year after. And
the first year was the most tiring year of my life.
With the business that we're building, right, it's a physical product,
it's alcohol. And you know, when we started a lot
(09:20):
of different distribution partners, retailers, you know, investors, they were like,
this product is so niche, right, which stun that hurt. Now,
first of all, there's twenty two million Asian Americans in
the US, but also, hey, who doesn't love Alchi martinizz
Come on, that's not a niche product. And so we
really had to go at it ourselves and we had
to prove that this was beyond just a niche. And
(09:44):
to do that, I literally was running the streets of
New York. I would knock on doors Monday through Friday,
the whole day, the whole night. I would just have
a backpack of cans. And by after about a year,
we had the traction where distributors partners were like, oh wow,
Lunar is everywhere, like this is a thing. Let's work together.
(10:05):
And by then I was like, Okay, I need someone
to help me here. I can't be doing this the
whole time. I have other things to do to run
this business. So we made a first hire, which was
our director of.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Sales, and then from there, what did the scale up
and building of the team look like from that point on?
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Yeah, So we started with our director of sales, and
we quickly realized we need more salespeople to help kind
of share that load, and so now we have We're
at about five employees today. Most of them are our
sales team. They are feet on the streets. They are
there actively working with their customers, working with our distributor partners,
you know, really being out there to resolve any issues,
(10:45):
close new business, and then up sell and grow our
accounts as we continue to build our prisons out. Very cool.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
How do you find the right talent for your team?
Like where do you source these folks from?
Speaker 3 (10:55):
You know, that was a great challenge in the beginning.
You know, I don't come from this alcohol world, right,
I use the work in tech and so like when
I started, I was like, you know what, I'll post
on LinkedIn, you know, I'll put up a post, I'll
ask friends, but like, no one I knew knew anybody
in the world. Like, it just was so many degrees
removed from this industry. So referrals was kind of out
(11:17):
of the question. And I was like, Okay, shoot, how
do I find the right people the talent? We're looking
for people that can represent our brand right and really
champion the values and really kind of be a storyteller
for us as Asian Americans, or it just probably ask
people of color, like, how do we be there and
really represent a fight for our narrative? And that's like
(11:37):
even more limiting right on kind of the pool of applicants.
So we started posting on industry specific job boards, and
then we did a lot of asking our accounts for help.
So we would ask our bartenders or our beverage directors
at a bar, at the hotel, or at the beer
buyer at a grocery store. We'd ask them like, hey,
do you know anybody who was in this industry? And
(11:59):
that's how we were really getting the word out about
the brand. That plus a lot of press. We really
focus on media to get that attention, to get that awareness,
and that kind of came back to us where we
started getting a flood of pretty awesome applicants that kind
of matched those criteria. People were self selecting into this job.
So we're we're pretty blessed to have an awesome team.
(12:20):
We're majority minority employees. It's really awesome to see.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Yeah, that's brilliant.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
So Austin and I have talked about the fact that
I actually work with my sister in my own business,
and I'm still figuring out my company policy because I
think it's easy when you're working with somebody that's so familiar,
it's like, yeah, we'll just figure it out as we go.
So I'm curious, what have been some important factors for
you and Sean to be able to figure out how
to work together well? And then also, how do you
(12:46):
communicate your company expectations to employees.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
We're kind of making it up as we go along.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
That's super real.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
We have a culture book, we have company values, and
so it's like a page. It's super simple.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
The culture is built by the actions and behaviors we
take in the words we say when we're together. I
think rather than a corporate doc on the screen, like
who's going to just like open that? Let me reference
my behavior against this dog, like who's going to do that?
You know, like we're you know, we're human. And people
say culture comes from the top. I think it does,
but also comes from the people that you bring on.
You know, especially in an early stage of a company,
(13:22):
it's really around making sure that everyone feels included, feels
value that we're taking time to appreciate each other. We
have a team all hands every week and we'll kind
of do snaps where we kind of show thanks to
our colleagues or kind of really make sure we're showing appreciation.
And I think that's important for us as a company
and then for like me and my founder, the two
(13:43):
of us, we had never worked together like we were
friends before, we never like work together, right, Like, that's
like a whole thing, Like that could be a whole
show about like how do you transition a friendship into
a like a partnership, Like that's a whole thing. There
was definitely a challenge learning how we worked together. So
we actually made a commitment to each other that we
would go to like couples therapy, making sure that we
(14:04):
are investing time in our relationship beyond just you know, work,
which is all consuming, and making sure that we are
taking time to be intentional about how we are, you know,
checking in on each other.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
So that's is it actual couples therapy? Like, Yeah, that
is the coolest thing I've ever heard.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
I need to do that, I need to try that.
At least I love that idea. Christian, if you're listening
to this, we're going to a couples therapy.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
My god, I love that. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Coming up on Mind the Business Small Business success Stories.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
First, you start off by journaling what did I do
this week? And then you kind of group those and
be like, what are tasks that fit into a rule?
Where do I need help? But you're either solving a
need because you need more or you're solving a need
because you need better.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
We'll be right back after the break.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Welcome back to Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories,
brought to you by iHeartRadio and Into It Quick Books.
All right, Kevin, let's get into the numbers. When budgeting
for a new hire, how do you make that decision?
Do you build a model? Do you try and figure
out the sales aspect? Walk me through a step by
step how you figure out is it time to hire
(15:25):
another person?
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Yeah, you know, it's such an art and a science.
I would say, I think some of it is the numbers,
but you always need your budget to make sense, You
need a numbers to add up. But then there's a
part of it where if I just simply don't have
time to like do stuff beyond things that the business needs,
that is as valuable as the model if I just
don't have time to do anything else, well, seems like
(15:49):
I need help. It always takes longer to hire than
you expect, so like for us, we are always hiring
in advance, like, well, in advance, we'll telegraph and we
will kind of broadcast way earlier than we need. Hey,
we're looking for this role because it takes time for
people to discover the role, to work with that courage
to be like, you know what, this is a jump
I want to take to jump into startup world, right,
(16:10):
So making sure we're giving people that opportunity, and this
has been really successful for us. We have this thing
align on a career's page that says, you know, feel
free to invent your own role, and we're inviting people
to pitch themselves to us, like here's why you should
hire me because of X, like you need my help
in doing why. And that has been so awesome because
(16:32):
there are these awesome go getters out there that are
going to reach out, that are going to pitch us,
and sometimes we're not even thinking about that and we're like, oh,
you're right like that, let us put that into the model.
Let us think about that, and we'll get back to you. Like,
thank you for putting that idea into our mind. You know, yeah,
I think that's really insightful, Kevin. And now here's the statistic. Right,
according to quick Books, more than half of small businesses, right,
(16:55):
fifty one percent are saying it's becoming harder and harder
to hire those skilled workers. Even forty two percent are
saying it's getting harder to retain the skilled workers. So
let's say you've hired someone you figured it out. How
do you keep your employees engaged and happy in a
time of inflation and quiet quitting?
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Right? How do you show employees that they're valued and appreciated,
especially those new hires.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
The most important thing is showing appreciation. I think our
tradition of snaps has been really valuable.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
Right.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
There's so many things that happen in any given week,
and I think for me and for a lot of people,
you're focused on the next thing, you're focused on growing
the business, and you might forget or overlook. You know,
so and so did this, and this was really helpful
for me, and I might have to take it for
granted and moved on like awesome, great, cool, let's move on.
Let's use this to do the next project and making
sure that we're being really thoughtful about showing appreciation. And
(17:44):
I think after that, it's aligning and making sure you're
keeping in mind what your employee's goals are long term. Right,
Let's say that someone wants to start their own business
in five ten years. That's awesome, that's a phenomenal goal
to have. And how do I make sure that I
am setting them up to be successful in five years,
that their time here working with us is valuable and
(18:06):
is going to contribute to their success later on. And
so things like bringing them into meetings where like maybe
they're not part of that team, but that's okay because
they want to learn and experience it. I think things
like that are important for an employer to make sure
you're not just saying we care about the long term
success of your team, but really walking the walk and
(18:26):
being there to check in with your employees like, Hey,
just want to check in, you know, how you're feeling,
has this been helpful for you? And just making sure
you're continually investing in that long term goal. And that's
I think how you really, you know, show that you're
listening and that you're acting upon it.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Man, does anyone else want to work for Kevin. Now
after hearing this, this is so exciting today.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
He sounds like the coolest boss ever, Like for real. Okay,
So looking back when you first started your talent search,
what's the thing that surprised you the most about the process.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
I think the first thing is it just tastes longer
than you expect. First of all, you need to write
it and write it well. I think that is also hard,
Like people don't think about that. I think a lot
of people like, oh, it's copy and paste the job
wreck from somewhere else. No, like you need to really
be thoughtful about what you're writing in there so that
people know what you're expecting. And then finding out where
to put it, where to market and really push the
(19:19):
rec out where can you find the people that you're
looking for? Then screening, filtering, there's like so many steps,
Like no one really thinks about it. You're like, oh,
ye're hiring, right, Like that's like one word that just
somehow like hand waves over all the things that need
to be done. So I think that was the biggest surprise.
Just took a long time.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Yeah, So for the.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Small business owner who's listening right now, who's maybe ready
to hire that first external employee or just really take
that next step toward building out a team.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
What advice would you have for them? You know, I
would say, first you start off by journaling in a
given week, what did you do? And then you kind
of group those and be like, what are tasks that
fit into a role. Where do I need help right?
Or where am I not good at? I think those
are two of the areas that make the most sense.
But you're either solving a need because you need more
(20:05):
or you're solving a need because you need better. And
I would say you start there identifying what rule you need.
And then the second piece of advice, I would just say,
start hiring early. Putting out that rec doesn't mean you
need to hire. Sometimes putting out the rec and writing
it helps you think through who and what you need
to hire for. And then I would say sometimes you'll
(20:26):
start interviewing people and you'll find someone that clicks. You'll
find this all star that is going to be just awesome,
and missing out on someone like that to add value
to your business is a shame. There are so many
awesome people that can really take your business to the
next level.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
These are some gems right now, you're dropping for us,
Kevin Man, I'm loving these, especially the you know, solving
for a need because you need more or because you
need better. That's so interesting to think about.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
So running a brand that's breaking into markets across the
United States requires a lot of understanding of various states
laws and taxes for employees. Right, So how did you
begin to build out your HR resources?
Speaker 3 (21:06):
That is a great question. I think for me, it's
when you think about bringing on employees. Right, It's so
simple to say, but there's a weight of that decision. Right,
all of a sudden, their livelihood, their income is now
resting on you as a business owner. It's on your shoulders.
So how do you really take time to make sure
that you're informing them of this is your vacation policy,
(21:27):
this is their health insurance benefits even you know, like
reading all the different types of insurance you could offer,
Like I barely understood PPO, and like I don't know
all these other I didn't know anything, and nor did
I really care. You know, when I just worked at
someone else's company, But all of a sudden, I was like, wow,
my co founder and I spent a whole weekend with
just reading like what does this mean? What would I want?
(21:48):
What would I want when I was younger? What do
I want now? Trying to have that whole breadth of
options for our employees, I think, and you know, we
got feedback to first year they're like, no, this one sucks,
like this insurance is really I was like, okay, no,
did we had more options? So I think it's really
about that. And you know, you're locked into a lot
of these changes and things. It's like a yearly cycle.
And so I would say before you commit something so large,
(22:12):
just know that it's your employees well being. It's a
human's well being, it's their livelihood for a whole year.
So make sure you treat that with the respect that
it needs.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
Yeah, I love that advice.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
So as you continue to grow, Lunar Hard Seltzer, what
are some of the hiring goals you have for the
next call it five years?
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Five years? Oh my, five years? Awesome. That's a lot
of that's a lot of planning. I think for us,
a big part of how we are growing this business
it's around geographic expansion. So for us, on the sales
side of things, we will be building out kind of
a nationwide sales team that's going to cover a lot
of regions, so there's a lot of geographic based hiring
that we will need to do. And on the flip side,
(22:51):
we haven't really hired for marketing yet. You know we
should and so we absolutely plan on building out a
world class marketing team and that will probably come online
in the next few years. But it's one of those
things when it's a challenge to think a year in
the future, let alone three or four or five. I
can have all these lofty goals, but things change, right
and I think it's being able to roll with that
(23:11):
and adapt. I think that's kind of the name of
the game for any small business or any startup owner.
I agree.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
So then let's think about the next quarter six months.
What's like real immediate next big things that you're really
excited about that might be happening this summer or maybe
this fall.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Yeah, we are about to launch Lunar into California, So
that is an exciting development for us. Congratulations, thanks man.
We've had customers reach out to us for almost two
years asking for a larner to be available in the state,
and we've always told them coming soon, coming soon, and
it's been two years, so now actually coming soon. So
(23:48):
we're we're really excited to be doing that. And we
are also looking for content creators interns to kickstart our
marketing team. So if you are passionate about pioneering the
cultural revolution in American alcohol, drop a line on a website,
send us a DM. I love the chat. I love it.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
That's awesome, man. Congratulations on launching the State of California.
That is super super exciting.
Speaker 4 (24:12):
Absolutely so Kevin.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Before we let you go, we have to know what
is your favorite Korean fried chicken spot.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Oh man, no pressure, this is a hot topic here, guys.
There's a spot in New York City. It's called Turntable
Chicken Jazz. It's got vinyl records. It looks super super cool.
They've got these massive chicken like drumsticks. These chickens are huge.
I don't know what they're doing, but they're so medy,
they're so delicious. They're like triple fried. So go there
(24:41):
for New York City. It's a blast.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
My introduction to Korean fried chicken was through a restaurant
chain called bon Chon in New Jersey, and I was
like forever change, So shout out to the Fried Chicken
for being the muse the inspiration for this incredible brand
that you've built.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
And thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Thank you all for having me. Next time we'll do
this irl over some Fred Chicken.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Heck, yeah, I love it. Thanks Kevin, Denise. That conversation
with Kevin was top notch.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
I feel like I learned a lot of little gems
and secrets, But I want to know from you what
stuck out the most.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
For me? It was two things.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
The first, it's always so interesting for me to hear
how business owners go about thinking through their hiring process,
like what areas of the business am I going to
prioritize in? First For Kevin it was sales. For me,
it was actually hiring just a virtual assistant who could
answer emails and go back and forth with administrative stuff
so they could take that off my plate. So I
(25:41):
always think that's super interesting, and I think it's a
good reminder there's no right or wrong way to go
about building and scaling your business. It's really just about,
you know, taking one step out of time and seeing
where those deficiencies are in your business model and finding
the right resources and the right talent to get you
to that next level. So that was number one, and
(26:03):
then I think the second for me was I love
the fact that Kevin was so real about, you know,
how we do our business. We're just kind of learning
on the fly here, and I think that's really what
entrepreneurship is for most folks who don't have the background
in it.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
You are kind of building the plane as you're flying.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
And so to hear that, you know, even awesome companies
like his are kind of just winging it a little bit,
it makes me feel better about the fact that I've
also had that similar journey too.
Speaker 4 (26:29):
How about you.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Absolutely I'm over here in the seat of you know,
fake it till you make it, because that's pretty true.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
For me, I think it's.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Two things that stuck out, And it kind of goes
back to what you're just talking about with your first hire.
You know, are you hiring because you need to do
more or because you need to do better? And I
think at the end of the day, for you, maybe
it was because you need to do more, right, you
need this assistant.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
To help you out to be more productive.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Maybe some people are hiring because they need a better
type of product focused employee or a better marketer or
whatever that might be. So I think just like understanding
the difference between those two factors is really important. And
then the second thing that stuck out to me was
just how long the hiring process was, and especially for
the types of sales employees, and how hard it was
from to find those people the job description writing, finding
(27:09):
those specific experiences and hiring for those skill sets for
people to be successful in their role for his business
was super super important. It seemed like, so hiring is
one word, but it involves seventeen different processes around it.
So I was super excited that Kevin walked us through
all of them, and I'm eager to hear what's next.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
And so for his company, Louner absolutely shout out to
all the solopreneurs and the new business owners who are
wearing those seventeen hats and are slowly trying to figure
out how to assign them to other people. It's not easy,
but you know, it's all part of the journey.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Absolutely. Well, that's it for today's episode. You can find
me on social media at Austin Hankwitz.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
And you can find me at Yokiero Dineto podcast.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
You can also follow Into It QuickBooks on all social
media at QuickBooks, and to get tools you need to start,
run and grow your business, head to QuickBooks dot com today.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Catch the next episode of Mine the Business Small Business
success Stories on Thursday, June twenty second, where we speak
to Gulaid and Divina Ismail about their coffee company, Any SIPs,
and how they learned to adapt to economic trends.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
You won't want to miss that one, so don't forget
to follow, rate and review the show wherever you listen
to podcasts so you can stay up to date on
future episodes.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Check out our show notes for more information from this
episode and workforce solutions, and a huge thank you to
our guest Kevin Wang. You can catch up with him
and all things Lunar Hard Seltzer on their Instagram at
Drink Lunar.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
This podcast is a production of iHeartRadio and Into It QuickBooks.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Our executive producer is Molly Sosha, our supervising producer is
Nikiah Swinton, and our writer is Tyree Rush.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Our head of post production is James Foster, and we
will see you next time.
The views, information, or opinions expressed during this podcast are
solely those of the individuals involved and do not represent
those of Into It QuickBooks or any of its cornerstone
brands or employees. This podcast does not constitute financial, legal,
or other professional advice or services. No assurance is given
that the info is comprehensive, accurate, or free of errors,
and the information presented is for general information purposes only.
Into It QuickBooks does not have any responsibility for updating
(00:22):
or revising any information presented. Listeners should verify statements before
relying on them. Hey everyone, I'm Jennie Torres and I'm
Austin Haykwitz. Welcome to another episode of Mind the Business
Small Business Success Stories, a podcast by iHeartRadio and Into
It QuickBooks. In each episode, Austin and I chat with
(00:46):
small business owners as they share their stories about the
ups and downs of owning a small business. Plus we'll
learn from their experience about how you can help fortify
and strengthen your own business.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Genie, I remember in our last episode with Kristin of
Claire for Creators, you mentioned having your mom and sister
as part of your staff. What was that process like
for you?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Well, for me, it was a natural fit and a
natural decision because I knew I wanted to work with
people that I could trust and also people that I
could keep it real with, and you know, when it
comes to family, I think they checked off both of
those boxes for me. So it's been fun to kind
of see each other grow in that perspective and really
gain respect, especially between me and my sister as like
(01:29):
we're adults, we're colleagues. Now we're working together, we're building
this business. It's been actually really good for our relationship,
even on a personal level. So I know, Austin, you
found Christian to help you with your business and bring
him on as a partner, But how did you determine
that his experience and strengths would align with what you
needed for your business. Did you actually like interview him
(01:49):
and go through that whole process.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
So, for those of you that might not know, Christian
Blockwell is the co founder of my company and we
work in tandem every day to build our business. But
when we first met during the summer of twenty Christian
was actually doing consulting for PwC in New York City.
We did three things in the beginning that set our
working relationship up for success. We had a trial period.
We were transparent from day one, and we agreed on
(02:11):
compensation and its long term potential very early. So the
trial period helped us figure out how we worked well together.
I'd argue this was really just a drawn out interview process,
but I quickly learned how he communicated with others, how
he organized his work, and more importantly, how we'd worked
together to solve problems. Transparency in trust was also super
important right as a content creator. I needed to know
(02:31):
that I was working with someone that always had my
best interest in mind and wasn't trying to take advantage
of this awesome opportunity that I was afforded. And finally,
aligning on compensation early was incredibly important because we both
knew on day one what we were capable of and
how that would impact us in the future if we
were able to achieve that.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Yeah, that's really interesting. So before I hired my sister,
I actually hired my first virtual assistant through my Instagram
following I literally made an Instagram post I said, this
is what I'm offering five to ten hours as a
virtual assistant. This is what I can afford to pay
and it was really cool, you know, in a sense
of creating this new opportunity for me to now put
(03:10):
money into someone else's pocket, and especially you know, as
a woman of caller owned business, that for me is
really special. So I'm curious, how did you go about
finding talent that you use now for your company besides
your partner, you.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Know, from a tactical finding the talent perspective. I also
find a lot of cool talent on social media, right
I put those feelers out. I made posts on Instagram,
LinkedIn Twitter, and even TikTok about my business's needs. And
now the hard part though, is deciphering who's the right
person for the job. So weirdly enough, Janis, I tasked
everyone to email me a detailed description of their favorite
(03:44):
vacation spot. That was like the application, like I just
wanted to know that thing. Because I did this for
two reasons. One, if someone doesn't have that self started
mentality to just go and send an email about something
they really enjoyed, like, you know, would they have that
same mentality with your business?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Probably not.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
That was the first reason. But the second reason was
I wanted to learn more about the intricacies that they
experience that make them really happy. Right, maybe they're like
the time off and they really enjoy interactions or the
freebies or you know whatever part of that was. So
that then helped me become a better leader and I
was then better to align compensation with what they really
cared about.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
I love that example and it reminds me of the
hiring process that I went about for hiring my first
virtual assistant slash content creator because I was kind of
giving them a lot of different things to help me with.
I had everyone give me an example of a piece
of content that they would create for my brand. I
also invited folks to criticize what we're not doing great
and I wanted to see, like, who would give me
(04:37):
the honest feedback that I need in order for me
to not stay stagnant as a business owner as a brand.
And so when I found the person that I eventually hired,
I respected the fact that she was like, you know,
you guys are doing this really well, but there's definitely
opportunities here that you're missing out on, And that for
me was like a no brainer. I'm like, yeah, this
is this needs to be my person.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
I love that. I definitely have the same way of
thinking about this. Right, I want people to be transparent.
I want them to be upfront. I want them to
let me know what am I doing right, what am
I doing wrong? And how can we work together to
solve this problem and become a better units going forward.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yeah, I think we both still are operating very much
in the startup mentality, and I know for sure I
definitely need to get a more formal hiring process together.
But luckily, our guest for this next episode, Kevin Wog,
the co founder of Lunar Heart Seltzer, has some insights
on how to do just that. After a late night
(05:32):
of partying in twenty nineteen, Kevin and his best friend
Sean Roe stopped for a late night bite at their
local Korean fried chicken joint. While trying to order drinks
with their food. That night, the idea for Lunar Heart
Seltzer was born. It's the first and only craft heart
Seltzer brand made with real Asian fruits like yuzu and leechi.
Their goal was simple to deliver an elevated heart Seltzer
(05:54):
experience using flavors most emblematic of their childhood, heritage and
identity in an unapologetic pursuit of what they call the
reverse lunchbox moment. At Lunar, Kevin leads sales and finance
while he and Sean developed new flavors and products in
the Lunar lab together.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
Kevin Wang, welcome to mine the business.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Thanks for having me really excited for this episode, man,
So I need to know how did you come up
specifically with the idea of your company. We heard a
little bit of the origin story here from Janie, but
I'd love to hear it from your own words.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
The story is as what Jennie said, we were eating dinner.
We were drinking bud light and a white Claw, and we
were like, why isn't there something that really resonates with us, right,
that really pairs well with the food. And that late
night drunken thought turned into early morning, eight am ordering
you know, brewing equipment on Amazon and online, and the
(06:50):
next thing you know, we've got all this stuff, you know,
kegs in fermenttors in our apartments in New York City.
It started off really just innocuously right, brewing something that
represented us, that took the flavors that you know I
loved growing up. You know, I was I'm Taiwanese American,
and every summer I would be in Taiwan, you know,
on the streets with Grandma. She'ld buy some leachees and
(07:10):
I would bite into those and that moment, like that
is a core memory right there, And how do I
take that and share that with people who've never had
LEECHI like they're missing out right? How do I share that?
And that was really kind of the goal. And you know,
we would just brew. I'd have friends come over every
month to try whatever we were cooking up. And by
(07:32):
the end, after about a year and a half, they
were like, Kevin, this is this is really good, Like
you should sell this? And we were like, yeah, why not?
And that was the beginning of that slippery slope. I
love it.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
So let's keep rolling with that idea. What is the
reverse lunchbox moment?
Speaker 3 (07:50):
So my parents immigrated to the US from Taiwan, and
they would make lunch for me and for me to
bring to school for a lot of you know, children
of immigrants. You open up your lunch box and you've
got you know, maybe like a ammy or you know,
fried rice or kimchi, and the kids around you are like, ew,
what is that, And that's a lunchbox moment, right when
(08:12):
you all of a sudden feel this this insecurity, this
feeling of being an outsider because people are judging you
for what you're bringing for lunch, and for you, you're like,
that's what I eat every day, Like this is my
favorite I love ed a mommy like that was my
favorite favorite fruit growing up. And so the reverse lunchbox
moment is us trying to take that and actually own it,
(08:33):
own that narrative and be like, look, here is what
I'm bringing, and I am proud to be bringing kimchi
for lunch. I am proud to be seen drinking a
leechy hertzelter instead of feeling ashamed. So how we reverse
that and reverse that narrative?
Speaker 4 (08:47):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
So, Kevin, can you tell us how long into the
business did it take you to realize, oh, I need
some help, like I can't keep doing this, you know
as a two person show.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Yeah, both of us quit jobs in February twenty twenty one,
and we made our first hire a year after. And
the first year was the most tiring year of my life.
With the business that we're building, right, it's a physical product,
it's alcohol. And you know, when we started a lot
(09:20):
of different distribution partners, retailers, you know, investors, they were like,
this product is so niche, right, which stun that hurt. Now,
first of all, there's twenty two million Asian Americans in
the US, but also, hey, who doesn't love Alchi martinizz
Come on, that's not a niche product. And so we
really had to go at it ourselves and we had
to prove that this was beyond just a niche. And
(09:44):
to do that, I literally was running the streets of
New York. I would knock on doors Monday through Friday,
the whole day, the whole night. I would just have
a backpack of cans. And by after about a year,
we had the traction where distributors partners were like, oh wow,
Lunar is everywhere, like this is a thing. Let's work together.
(10:05):
And by then I was like, Okay, I need someone
to help me here. I can't be doing this the
whole time. I have other things to do to run
this business. So we made a first hire, which was
our director of.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Sales, and then from there, what did the scale up
and building of the team look like from that point on?
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Yeah, So we started with our director of sales, and
we quickly realized we need more salespeople to help kind
of share that load, and so now we have We're
at about five employees today. Most of them are our
sales team. They are feet on the streets. They are
there actively working with their customers, working with our distributor partners,
you know, really being out there to resolve any issues,
(10:45):
close new business, and then up sell and grow our
accounts as we continue to build our prisons out. Very cool.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
How do you find the right talent for your team?
Like where do you source these folks from?
Speaker 3 (10:55):
You know, that was a great challenge in the beginning.
You know, I don't come from this alcohol world, right,
I use the work in tech and so like when
I started, I was like, you know what, I'll post
on LinkedIn, you know, I'll put up a post, I'll
ask friends, but like, no one I knew knew anybody
in the world. Like, it just was so many degrees
removed from this industry. So referrals was kind of out
(11:17):
of the question. And I was like, Okay, shoot, how
do I find the right people the talent? We're looking
for people that can represent our brand right and really
champion the values and really kind of be a storyteller
for us as Asian Americans, or it just probably ask
people of color, like, how do we be there and
really represent a fight for our narrative? And that's like
(11:37):
even more limiting right on kind of the pool of applicants.
So we started posting on industry specific job boards, and
then we did a lot of asking our accounts for help.
So we would ask our bartenders or our beverage directors
at a bar, at the hotel, or at the beer
buyer at a grocery store. We'd ask them like, hey,
do you know anybody who was in this industry? And
(11:59):
that's how we were really getting the word out about
the brand. That plus a lot of press. We really
focus on media to get that attention, to get that awareness,
and that kind of came back to us where we
started getting a flood of pretty awesome applicants that kind
of matched those criteria. People were self selecting into this job.
So we're we're pretty blessed to have an awesome team.
(12:20):
We're majority minority employees. It's really awesome to see.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Yeah, that's brilliant.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
So Austin and I have talked about the fact that
I actually work with my sister in my own business,
and I'm still figuring out my company policy because I
think it's easy when you're working with somebody that's so familiar,
it's like, yeah, we'll just figure it out as we go.
So I'm curious, what have been some important factors for
you and Sean to be able to figure out how
to work together well? And then also, how do you
(12:46):
communicate your company expectations to employees.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
We're kind of making it up as we go along.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
That's super real.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
We have a culture book, we have company values, and
so it's like a page. It's super simple.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
The culture is built by the actions and behaviors we
take in the words we say when we're together. I
think rather than a corporate doc on the screen, like
who's going to just like open that? Let me reference
my behavior against this dog, like who's going to do that?
You know, like we're you know, we're human. And people
say culture comes from the top. I think it does,
but also comes from the people that you bring on.
You know, especially in an early stage of a company,
(13:22):
it's really around making sure that everyone feels included, feels
value that we're taking time to appreciate each other. We
have a team all hands every week and we'll kind
of do snaps where we kind of show thanks to
our colleagues or kind of really make sure we're showing appreciation.
And I think that's important for us as a company
and then for like me and my founder, the two
(13:43):
of us, we had never worked together like we were
friends before, we never like work together, right, Like, that's
like a whole thing, Like that could be a whole
show about like how do you transition a friendship into
a like a partnership, Like that's a whole thing. There
was definitely a challenge learning how we worked together. So
we actually made a commitment to each other that we
would go to like couples therapy, making sure that we
(14:04):
are investing time in our relationship beyond just you know, work,
which is all consuming, and making sure that we are
taking time to be intentional about how we are, you know,
checking in on each other.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
So that's is it actual couples therapy? Like, Yeah, that
is the coolest thing I've ever heard.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
I need to do that, I need to try that.
At least I love that idea. Christian, if you're listening
to this, we're going to a couples therapy.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
My god, I love that. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Coming up on Mind the Business Small Business success Stories.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
First, you start off by journaling what did I do
this week? And then you kind of group those and
be like, what are tasks that fit into a rule?
Where do I need help? But you're either solving a
need because you need more or you're solving a need
because you need better.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
We'll be right back after the break.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Welcome back to Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories,
brought to you by iHeartRadio and Into It Quick Books.
All right, Kevin, let's get into the numbers. When budgeting
for a new hire, how do you make that decision?
Do you build a model? Do you try and figure
out the sales aspect? Walk me through a step by
step how you figure out is it time to hire
(15:25):
another person?
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Yeah, you know, it's such an art and a science.
I would say, I think some of it is the numbers,
but you always need your budget to make sense, You
need a numbers to add up. But then there's a
part of it where if I just simply don't have
time to like do stuff beyond things that the business needs,
that is as valuable as the model if I just
don't have time to do anything else, well, seems like
(15:49):
I need help. It always takes longer to hire than
you expect, so like for us, we are always hiring
in advance, like, well, in advance, we'll telegraph and we
will kind of broadcast way earlier than we need. Hey,
we're looking for this role because it takes time for
people to discover the role, to work with that courage
to be like, you know what, this is a jump
I want to take to jump into startup world, right,
(16:10):
So making sure we're giving people that opportunity, and this
has been really successful for us. We have this thing
align on a career's page that says, you know, feel
free to invent your own role, and we're inviting people
to pitch themselves to us, like here's why you should
hire me because of X, like you need my help
in doing why. And that has been so awesome because
(16:32):
there are these awesome go getters out there that are
going to reach out, that are going to pitch us,
and sometimes we're not even thinking about that and we're like, oh,
you're right like that, let us put that into the model.
Let us think about that, and we'll get back to you. Like,
thank you for putting that idea into our mind. You know, yeah,
I think that's really insightful, Kevin. And now here's the statistic. Right,
according to quick Books, more than half of small businesses, right,
(16:55):
fifty one percent are saying it's becoming harder and harder
to hire those skilled workers. Even forty two percent are
saying it's getting harder to retain the skilled workers. So
let's say you've hired someone you figured it out. How
do you keep your employees engaged and happy in a
time of inflation and quiet quitting?
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Right? How do you show employees that they're valued and appreciated,
especially those new hires.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
The most important thing is showing appreciation. I think our
tradition of snaps has been really valuable.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
Right.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
There's so many things that happen in any given week,
and I think for me and for a lot of people,
you're focused on the next thing, you're focused on growing
the business, and you might forget or overlook. You know,
so and so did this, and this was really helpful
for me, and I might have to take it for
granted and moved on like awesome, great, cool, let's move on.
Let's use this to do the next project and making
sure that we're being really thoughtful about showing appreciation. And
(17:44):
I think after that, it's aligning and making sure you're
keeping in mind what your employee's goals are long term. Right,
Let's say that someone wants to start their own business
in five ten years. That's awesome, that's a phenomenal goal
to have. And how do I make sure that I
am setting them up to be successful in five years,
that their time here working with us is valuable and
(18:06):
is going to contribute to their success later on. And
so things like bringing them into meetings where like maybe
they're not part of that team, but that's okay because
they want to learn and experience it. I think things
like that are important for an employer to make sure
you're not just saying we care about the long term
success of your team, but really walking the walk and
(18:26):
being there to check in with your employees like, Hey,
just want to check in, you know, how you're feeling,
has this been helpful for you? And just making sure
you're continually investing in that long term goal. And that's
I think how you really, you know, show that you're
listening and that you're acting upon it.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Man, does anyone else want to work for Kevin. Now
after hearing this, this is so exciting today.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
He sounds like the coolest boss ever, Like for real. Okay,
So looking back when you first started your talent search,
what's the thing that surprised you the most about the process.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
I think the first thing is it just tastes longer
than you expect. First of all, you need to write
it and write it well. I think that is also hard,
Like people don't think about that. I think a lot
of people like, oh, it's copy and paste the job
wreck from somewhere else. No, like you need to really
be thoughtful about what you're writing in there so that
people know what you're expecting. And then finding out where
to put it, where to market and really push the
(19:19):
rec out where can you find the people that you're
looking for? Then screening, filtering, there's like so many steps,
Like no one really thinks about it. You're like, oh,
ye're hiring, right, Like that's like one word that just
somehow like hand waves over all the things that need
to be done. So I think that was the biggest surprise.
Just took a long time.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Yeah, So for the.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Small business owner who's listening right now, who's maybe ready
to hire that first external employee or just really take
that next step toward building out a team.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
What advice would you have for them? You know, I
would say, first you start off by journaling in a
given week, what did you do? And then you kind
of group those and be like, what are tasks that
fit into a role. Where do I need help right?
Or where am I not good at? I think those
are two of the areas that make the most sense.
But you're either solving a need because you need more
(20:05):
or you're solving a need because you need better. And
I would say you start there identifying what rule you need.
And then the second piece of advice, I would just say,
start hiring early. Putting out that rec doesn't mean you
need to hire. Sometimes putting out the rec and writing
it helps you think through who and what you need
to hire for. And then I would say sometimes you'll
(20:26):
start interviewing people and you'll find someone that clicks. You'll
find this all star that is going to be just awesome,
and missing out on someone like that to add value
to your business is a shame. There are so many
awesome people that can really take your business to the
next level.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
These are some gems right now, you're dropping for us,
Kevin Man, I'm loving these, especially the you know, solving
for a need because you need more or because you
need better. That's so interesting to think about.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
So running a brand that's breaking into markets across the
United States requires a lot of understanding of various states
laws and taxes for employees. Right, So how did you
begin to build out your HR resources?
Speaker 3 (21:06):
That is a great question. I think for me, it's
when you think about bringing on employees. Right, It's so
simple to say, but there's a weight of that decision. Right,
all of a sudden, their livelihood, their income is now
resting on you as a business owner. It's on your shoulders.
So how do you really take time to make sure
that you're informing them of this is your vacation policy,
(21:27):
this is their health insurance benefits even you know, like
reading all the different types of insurance you could offer,
Like I barely understood PPO, and like I don't know
all these other I didn't know anything, and nor did
I really care. You know, when I just worked at
someone else's company, But all of a sudden, I was like, wow,
my co founder and I spent a whole weekend with
just reading like what does this mean? What would I want?
(21:48):
What would I want when I was younger? What do
I want now? Trying to have that whole breadth of
options for our employees, I think, and you know, we
got feedback to first year they're like, no, this one sucks,
like this insurance is really I was like, okay, no,
did we had more options? So I think it's really
about that. And you know, you're locked into a lot
of these changes and things. It's like a yearly cycle.
And so I would say before you commit something so large,
(22:12):
just know that it's your employees well being. It's a
human's well being, it's their livelihood for a whole year.
So make sure you treat that with the respect that
it needs.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
Yeah, I love that advice.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
So as you continue to grow, Lunar Hard Seltzer, what
are some of the hiring goals you have for the
next call it five years?
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Five years? Oh my, five years? Awesome. That's a lot
of that's a lot of planning. I think for us,
a big part of how we are growing this business
it's around geographic expansion. So for us, on the sales
side of things, we will be building out kind of
a nationwide sales team that's going to cover a lot
of regions, so there's a lot of geographic based hiring
that we will need to do. And on the flip side,
(22:51):
we haven't really hired for marketing yet. You know we
should and so we absolutely plan on building out a
world class marketing team and that will probably come online
in the next few years. But it's one of those
things when it's a challenge to think a year in
the future, let alone three or four or five. I
can have all these lofty goals, but things change, right
and I think it's being able to roll with that
(23:11):
and adapt. I think that's kind of the name of
the game for any small business or any startup owner.
I agree.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
So then let's think about the next quarter six months.
What's like real immediate next big things that you're really
excited about that might be happening this summer or maybe
this fall.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Yeah, we are about to launch Lunar into California, So
that is an exciting development for us. Congratulations, thanks man.
We've had customers reach out to us for almost two
years asking for a larner to be available in the state,
and we've always told them coming soon, coming soon, and
it's been two years, so now actually coming soon. So
(23:48):
we're we're really excited to be doing that. And we
are also looking for content creators interns to kickstart our
marketing team. So if you are passionate about pioneering the
cultural revolution in American alcohol, drop a line on a website,
send us a DM. I love the chat. I love it.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
That's awesome, man. Congratulations on launching the State of California.
That is super super exciting.
Speaker 4 (24:12):
Absolutely so Kevin.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Before we let you go, we have to know what
is your favorite Korean fried chicken spot.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Oh man, no pressure, this is a hot topic here, guys.
There's a spot in New York City. It's called Turntable
Chicken Jazz. It's got vinyl records. It looks super super cool.
They've got these massive chicken like drumsticks. These chickens are huge.
I don't know what they're doing, but they're so medy,
they're so delicious. They're like triple fried. So go there
(24:41):
for New York City. It's a blast.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
My introduction to Korean fried chicken was through a restaurant
chain called bon Chon in New Jersey, and I was
like forever change, So shout out to the Fried Chicken
for being the muse the inspiration for this incredible brand
that you've built.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
And thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Thank you all for having me. Next time we'll do
this irl over some Fred Chicken.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Heck, yeah, I love it. Thanks Kevin, Denise. That conversation
with Kevin was top notch.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
I feel like I learned a lot of little gems
and secrets, But I want to know from you what
stuck out the most.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
For me? It was two things.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
The first, it's always so interesting for me to hear
how business owners go about thinking through their hiring process,
like what areas of the business am I going to
prioritize in? First For Kevin it was sales. For me,
it was actually hiring just a virtual assistant who could
answer emails and go back and forth with administrative stuff
so they could take that off my plate. So I
(25:41):
always think that's super interesting, and I think it's a
good reminder there's no right or wrong way to go
about building and scaling your business. It's really just about,
you know, taking one step out of time and seeing
where those deficiencies are in your business model and finding
the right resources and the right talent to get you
to that next level. So that was number one, and
(26:03):
then I think the second for me was I love
the fact that Kevin was so real about, you know,
how we do our business. We're just kind of learning
on the fly here, and I think that's really what
entrepreneurship is for most folks who don't have the background
in it.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
You are kind of building the plane as you're flying.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
And so to hear that, you know, even awesome companies
like his are kind of just winging it a little bit,
it makes me feel better about the fact that I've
also had that similar journey too.
Speaker 4 (26:29):
How about you.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Absolutely I'm over here in the seat of you know,
fake it till you make it, because that's pretty true.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
For me, I think it's.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Two things that stuck out, And it kind of goes
back to what you're just talking about with your first hire.
You know, are you hiring because you need to do
more or because you need to do better? And I
think at the end of the day, for you, maybe
it was because you need to do more, right, you
need this assistant.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
To help you out to be more productive.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Maybe some people are hiring because they need a better
type of product focused employee or a better marketer or
whatever that might be. So I think just like understanding
the difference between those two factors is really important. And
then the second thing that stuck out to me was
just how long the hiring process was, and especially for
the types of sales employees, and how hard it was
from to find those people the job description writing, finding
(27:09):
those specific experiences and hiring for those skill sets for
people to be successful in their role for his business
was super super important. It seemed like, so hiring is
one word, but it involves seventeen different processes around it.
So I was super excited that Kevin walked us through
all of them, and I'm eager to hear what's next.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
And so for his company, Louner absolutely shout out to
all the solopreneurs and the new business owners who are
wearing those seventeen hats and are slowly trying to figure
out how to assign them to other people. It's not easy,
but you know, it's all part of the journey.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Absolutely. Well, that's it for today's episode. You can find
me on social media at Austin Hankwitz.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
And you can find me at Yokiero Dineto podcast.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
You can also follow Into It QuickBooks on all social
media at QuickBooks, and to get tools you need to start,
run and grow your business, head to QuickBooks dot com today.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Catch the next episode of Mine the Business Small Business
success Stories on Thursday, June twenty second, where we speak
to Gulaid and Divina Ismail about their coffee company, Any SIPs,
and how they learned to adapt to economic trends.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
You won't want to miss that one, so don't forget
to follow, rate and review the show wherever you listen
to podcasts so you can stay up to date on
future episodes.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Check out our show notes for more information from this
episode and workforce solutions, and a huge thank you to
our guest Kevin Wang. You can catch up with him
and all things Lunar Hard Seltzer on their Instagram at
Drink Lunar.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
This podcast is a production of iHeartRadio and Into It QuickBooks.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Our executive producer is Molly Sosha, our supervising producer is
Nikiah Swinton, and our writer is Tyree Rush.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Our head of post production is James Foster, and we
will see you next time.
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