Digital Social Hour - Building a Restaurant Empire | Michael McHenry DSH #373

Episode Date: March 25, 2024

Michael McHenry comes on the show to talk about the restaurant industry. APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://forms.gle/qXvENTeurx7Xn8Ci9 BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [e-mail] SPONSORS: Opus Pro: https://www.opus.pro/?via=DSH Deposyt Payment Processing: https://www.deposyt.com/seankelly LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ Digital Social Hour works with participants in sponsored media and stays compliant with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations regarding sponsored media. #ad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Merchants Bank is a proud member of FDIC. like this. Believe in your mission. You got to be able to build an architecture where people show up and actually lead your brand. Wherever you guys are watching this show, I would truly appreciate it if you follow or subscribe. It helps a lot with the algorithm. It helps us get bigger and better guests and it helps us grow the team. Truly means a lot. Thank you guys for supporting. And here's the episode. All right. We got a legend in the building, a Utah legend in the restaurant space, Michael McHenry. How's it going, man? Man, doing well, brother. Excited to be here with you. Yeah. I can't wait to dive into your world. The restaurant world is a space where not many people make it. And to make it on your level is super impressive, man. So congrats. Thank you, man. Yeah, there's no doubt it's a little different. It's different. But I feel like

anything that has that low barrier of entry has a high failure rate. but uh regardless man it took us a while to start winning no doubt yeah what what is the failure rate in the restaurant space do you know dude i'll tell you like right off hand i think it's it's like greater than than 40 of restaurants closed within their like first year wow i think second year statistics third year statistics i think it's like greater than 70 i think after five years it's like 20 or less that are actually like viable that is crazy and why do you think the numbers are so high dude i think probably like when you really boil it down i think it comes down to this it's like low barrier of entry high failure rate i think it's easy to enter this or can be somewhat easy to enter the space and i think people go hey i

have the world's best meatball i'm another world's best business they have no acumen right right so i think it really comes down to just kind of poor management and and lack of experience i think is what it really boils down to i think there's and also like there's no business that's more subjective than ours like your palate my palate their palate right uh there's just always you know there's there's so many choices yeah so i think it's true of anything else you got to run a good business bro yeah and there's always uh personal bias with your own cooking, right? No doubt. I think the good news for me is I came from the other side of it.

I came from like the guest perspective. I didn't come from like, oh, I'm a chef. I have the, you know, I'm obsessed with cheese or wine or, you know, I have the best braised short rib. Right. I came, I was like, wait a minute. There's no greater vehicle than food and beverage to connect community and connect experiences. And so I want to create this rad, you know, anthropology of space, put good menus together and, and really just create experiences for guests through food.

Absolutely. And that's where that vehicle has been radically different for me. And I think it's also given us a bit of an edge because I come from the other side of the table. Yes. You've won five X world X world best restaurants. What goes into winning that? Uh, what's beautiful about like best new concept, especially within our market, it's actually voted on by your peers, not just your, your guests and consumers. And so, uh, obviously like bringing something to market that maybe hasn't been done yet, or most definitely hasn't been done in your market. So you're a bit of an outlier, a standout, uh, which we really proud ourselves on

being the front runners in our market, but also somewhat in the industry, like what we did with Sunday's best. I mean, I really believe that that's going to take the brunch business in the nation by storm. Wow. I mean, really being able to get this beautiful marriage of pancakes and champagne and do it, you know, do it right. So I think it's really, you know, it took us almost 15 years to start winning at this and i think over those years we built an architecture we kind of went deep and wide and and figured out what our system is and figured out like wait a minute we can have great ideas we can create cool spaces but we actually know how to make them viable we actually know how to take them to scale

we we know how to build brands and exit brands and that i believe is what really positioned us to be the best in our market. Yeah. No doubt. Because there's a lot of mom and pops, but they have no exit strategy. Or they just don't even realize it. Right.

They're just like, oh, we just, again, we have the world's best meatball. We're going to wake up every day and just exist. And we're like, wait a minute, we wake up every day with a plan. Yeah. And most every one of our brands, the plan is to start with the exit in mind.

Smart. Like no doubt no doubt yeah that's smart and you've opened up over 70 restaurants over half a billion half a billion in revenue that's insane man dude you know it's wild like you get guys in right like we've i've had friends on this show right half a billion in revenue may not seem like a lot to to many or maybe the sum but when you think about doing a half a billion in revenue and an average ticket under 30 bucks oh now you're talking millions of transactions to get to that point right so we we do have a bit of a flex in that right like like we've done this like we're not going to say but we've arrived by any means but we've we've done it yeah no we've done it and

we're doing it you've been there man because that's half a billion also locally. That's not even like, because you can't even sell worldwide, right? You're just in Utah. Yeah, I mean, we most definitely grow regionally, right? So we'll grow and expand into other states. We typically try to book end Utah first and then grow into Idaho,

grow into other surrounding markets, typically just to prove that we can be viable outside of our own market for that next buyer who plans to see us at three to five locations and they want to take it to 25, 50 or more. Yeah. You're also achieving success in multiple different types of food, which I find interesting, right? Because you're kind of like the architect, right? You're putting all the pieces together. Yeah, well said. Because you didn't grow up just eating one cuisine, you experimented with multiple. Yeah. Again, I didn't grow up in a household it was like oh i had mom's recipes right my grandma could cook but it wasn't like she had something that was like i gotta bring this to the marketplace um i think why you see

that variety in in our fold is because again i'm looking for what's missing from the market or how can i better connect the communities the sidewalks that the places the people that we love like what's the sociology and psychology of those neighborhoods that we're doing business in? And what's missing? And sometimes that's a hot chicken sandwich. Sometimes that's a hot honey pepperoni or a pancake or a pad thai. Who knows? But we've really learned that our architecture can kind of support all food so long as it checks the quality box for us.

Right? So we're kind of more romantic about, you know, if I was to use like an analogy, it'd be like, we're like a Baja truck. It's like we have the suspension and the horsepower and the motor and the frame, but we put a new body on it and a new driver depending on, you know, what brand we're trying to build,

but it all runs the same. Right? Does that make sense? Yeah, you identify gaps in the market, right? Yeah, totally. And how are you getting that information? Are you polling locals? You know, some of it too, like I'm not someone that, that really like sits in the office and, you know, is whiteboarding and being mad scientists about the next brand.

I roll with what feels good. And when it feels right and aligning to me, I pitch it to the team. If the team bites off on it, we roll. And oftentimes it just, it comes on, it comes onto my brain, comes onto my heart. And dude, at that point, I just, I can't let it go until we're in market. Right. And that's been, whether that's Southeast Asian, whether that's, uh, whether that's brunch forward, whether that's Neapolitan style, whether that's new American, uh, whether it's hot chicken. You know, I was on, I was on hot chicken 2013. I didn't bring the brand, at least the vision to market till 2017. Wow. And then I introduced it at brick and mortar in 2020 and then sold it, uh, 20 months later. And it was one of kind of the richest

acquisitions and mergers per square foot in the restaurant industry in Utah at the time. I mean, this happened during the pandemic. Amazing. Yeah. I feel like feel like the hot chicken space i mean raising canes is dominating right now bro they just came to our market oh yeah it's wild right because they're from the south and they are going crazy but they came into utah they came into utah strong yeah they're like they opened like four or five locations like at once yeah out here they're killing it they had the whole stanley cup team pull up when they won the cup dude wild right well that that posty one have you seen that where he like where they uh collabed with post malone yeah that was like that whole pink bit and he drove the aesthetic and has a bunch of his kind of tour

memorabilia and other stuff literally that's like four or five miles from my home which is like four to five miles from his home so it's kind of dope to be able to see that like utah you know it's no longer just like dairy farmers dude mormons and racist cowboys yeah utah's on the move dude utah is coming up man i have some great entrepreneurs out there those mormons don't mess around in business listen it's just it's also just so rich and smart right like and honestly like i have to kind of nod like nod to uh till the lds church to the architecture i mean they're just smart and affluent and there's just something to be said about having a market that only has 3.2 almost 3.3 million people and a big part of it is smart and resourceful right right and it most definitely

does have that conservative nature there's there's no question that that you know utah has a bit of that kind of stigma and stereotype but also like what you're seeing with silicon slopes now what you're seeing in this movement you're coming out to the market soon it sounds and and there are some great furthering entrepreneurs out there like it's rich and ripe for opportunity no doubt yeah no i just love serving that yeah right definitely a solid spot how long you've been out there dude i was born and raised oh wow born and raised in utah um i lived i lived basically across the southwest opening restaurants like all through my 20s i had a really incredible opportunity young in my career to be on the founding team of costa vida wow which

is now you know 100 location a couple hundred million dollar company but in that day when i joined it was like we rolled the walls, turned salad bars into serving lines, bought equipment on eBay and just bootstrapped it. And that's really how I cut my teeth in the business. Like, dude, I didn't actually ever aspire to be in the food business. I wasn't like a busser when I was a kid or I was a server that turned into a general manager that turned into an owner. Like that just wasn't my journey. Like my background, especially academically, like I was studying finance.

Like I wanted to be on Wall Street. I wanted to run a fund or, you know, drive trades, who knows. And next thing you know, dude, I'm like, I'm selling burritos for the next like seven years of my life. And all of a sudden then I'm selling raspberry chicken salads and then I'm, then I'm disrupting the deli space. And, and then all of a sudden I find myself in pizza and then, you know, beyond. And like I said, it's no intent to be here. I think it's another reason why we sort of crush the space. Yeah. My team just, we just have a different vibe. Like there's a different style to how we do it. Yeah. I want to dive into the company culture style. You've donated 2 million meals. So through our tenure. Yeah. In fact,

over more. Wow. Yeah. In fact, we're big, big part of why we exist. Right. And it's a, I take it like a little deeper, you know, for a moment, but my upbringing was a little different, right? Like my, neither of my parents graduated high school. I don't, I'm not taking anything away from them by any means, but nobody in my household was like entrepreneurial or like wanted to take lead. Right. Right. My dad was just like doing the best he could. Right. My mom kind of, she, she did her own thing. She left at an early age and, and my dad just leaned in and, and is beautiful as, as he is. And he still is like, he's the biggest lover, but there was like nobody in

the household, like championing me, like, dude, let's go take over. You know, let's go take over the world together. It was just like, you know, you're loved go figure the rest out. And that's what's beautiful about this business. And this industry is the food business doesn't get where you come from. It really, it doesn't care what family you come from, what school you went to. It all it cares about is how you show up, like where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow. And it's an industry that rewards you like no doubt. I love that. Yeah. All different races, all different cultures because food is universal. Dude. It's it honestly is probably the most universal and connective, like, you know, sort of being that we have in all cultures. It's, it's how

other cultures celebrate each other. Right. Right. It's like why we gather, we gather over celebration. We gather, gather over morning. We gather because eating is a, is a sacred duty. Like we have to eat to survive. Right. Right. Yeah. I want to dive more in the culture again and the team, because you're able to scale so many brands at once. Typically when you see entrepreneurs like try to do too many things at once, they fail, but you're just pulling it off nonstop. So I want, I'd love to learn more about the team. Did you know, it's wild. I think a lot of brands, uh, again, like this is my own opinion, my own, you know, my own share of success, but I think a lot of brands, especially when they go to scale, I don't even care if it's in the restaurant vertical,

uh, you know, they have a, they have one of their biggest opportunities is really like to get the sandwich right across the board. Right. They like, geez, I I'm so focused on, I got to get the sandwich, the pizza, the, the salad, the beverage, the cocktail. Uh, right. And to be honest, dude, that's, that's kind of on our flip side, getting the sandwich, right. It's kind of easy. The part that you really got to lean into and get to get right is you've got to duplicate in your likeness. You got to get other people that champion your brand, like believe in your mission. You got to be able to build an architecture where people show up and actually bleed your brand. Right. And that's a big one for me. Like as a, as a CEO, as a founder, when I was on the C-suite of emerging brands, before I launched my own company a few years ago,

like in my big forum, my number one was always people. My number one was always like the greatest investment we make is the investment that we make into others. And that result that we yield through their growth and just their alignment to our mission. And just had discount dude, literally when you text me and I was at the store, I was FaceTiming one of my leadership, like members that I knew wanted something from Aviator Nation. And she's like, yo, I want this new pump cover when it comes out and has our lightning bolts on it. So we're like, yeah, of course I was literally FaceTiming her, right? There's layers between us. She does run a very profitable

and high volume location for us. And literally I get off the phone and it's like a $60 t-shirt. And she like thinks that I just spent $5,000. Wow. Like she was so stoked on it. But I think that way. I think about putting that person first.

And then I tool them. You make people feel valued. I tool them every day. And it's one thing to like reward people. It's one thing to have a great, what is it? Like a great comp plan or runway for growth. Yeah. But really dude, at the end of the day,

all people care about is how you make them feel. And we're just damn good at it. That's awesome. We're damn good at it. Because I remember what it was like for me. No, I don't remember. Like, what's the best way to say it like i remember there was a time where like i was craving a mentor and didn't even know it right and the moment that

someone gave me a shot and believed in me believed in me more than i believed in me changed my entire life so it just wasn't that long ago for me bro like it just it really wasn't that long ago that i was like sitting on the outside going like, damn. And that one person, I could tell you these two or three people that changed my life forever. I want to be that for others. And so we run our culture top to bottom that way. Incredible. And the other side of it too, is like, we only do business with people that we like. Like if you're an a**hole, you're out. If we don't love you, you're out. Like it's just, it's true. And I have no problem. I sit on your platform, millions of people hopefully listening in or leaning into this at some point. Like if we't like you're not on board with us that's it it's

just because we need that to be we need our culture to be just fluid yeah and everyone if you want to run a great business the people that are championing your brand they have to love it that not advocates these are like evangelists but they're that. Literally you don't know the difference whether they own the business or not. Right. That's, that's, that's the secret. Yeah. That's the recipe at going to scale. And there's no doubt it's, it's why within our business, like you, you're not going to see like now hiring ads out there. We don't post it on our front doors. People walk resumes into us because we give them a reason to work for us. Incredible. That's it, man. Yeah.

It's that simple, but it's that tough, dude. No, I love it. You see Brandon Dawson came on the show and he talked about how your employees should be your biggest advertisers. They shouldn't want to promote your brand. And they're your cultural co-founders. Are you interested in coming on the Digital Social Hour podcast as a guest? We'll click the application link below in the description of this video.

We are always looking for cool stories, cool entrepreneurs to talk to about business and life. Click the application link below and here's the episode, guys. Like that's the other thing, like his founders got to realize that, dude, if you're hiring a host, a server, a line cook, a sous chef, a director of events,

a bartender, you know, a kick server. Like they are representing your crest. And are you giving them a reason to be proud of it? Right. We went through this practice recently with my team and just said like, Hey, I kind of gave them all like five to seven minutes. In fact, this was yesterday, two days ago. And I was like, Hey, take a few minutes. And I just want you guys to independently note down like all the reasons why you, your business, your team and location are bad. And one of the biggest ones that like really stood out was like, Hey, we're because we care. We're because we're heard, right? We're because we were the same Jersey. And bro, I'm like, why this is happening. I'm like holding an emotion

and I'm realizing like, yeah, dude, we're not a big company by any means, but in five years, went from zero to 30 million. That's not terrible by any means. And we've had some great, we've had a great exit. We've had, you know, some good merging partners. We've had good growth. But when you look at that and you realize that people are willing to just say it like that just comes off the cuff, they're like, damn, we love being here yeah that's dude it's special that's a company i think a lot of people would love to work for man and it's a shame because there's a lot of companies where people are ruled by fear yeah people no doubt they fear their bosses they fear their co-workers and that just adds stress to your life you know what i mean honestly i've been there

like i think that even early in my career like these things that I'm sharing with you now are years and years of growth. These are like some fast failing and also some long, hard failing, right? Like I've also closed restaurants, not just everyone that I've opened always one I've, I've had months before where we've lost considerable amount. We've, we've lost considerable amount of money and resources. We've, we've chased the romantics of making something work. Right. And, you know, really boils down to just, man, when you have the right people on board that really believe in what you're doing and you give them an environment where they feel supported, heard, and safe, and then you pour gas on it, you're an outlier, man. Yeah. And, and, you know, I would

say at times, like I had the kind of horsepower that would kick the door off the frames and exhaust people. Or I had the kind of horsepower where I didn't really listen to people that I wanted to be the biggest brain in the room, or I want to do all the thinking or, you know, I wanted to grab all the gratification and all the outcome. And it wasn't until I realized that like, no one of us can accomplish what we all can together. And if we just champion that effort, everybody can win. And we all need, in my industry, a tiny bit of the available market share to be wildly successful. Yeah, because there's some food giants, man. I mean, I saw Chipotle blow up. Dude, I mean, you're talking about guys that have hundreds, if not thousands, of locations in the industry.

Not just guys that have four or five, right? But you can look at people like Groot and David. Like, this opened up the fountain blue here right you look at a group like that that has less than 10 locations that are unique and next thing you know that the dude's taking a half a billion dollar exit yeah right it's just it's amazing what you can create and curate when you become a bit of that kind of authoritative voice yeah the most recognized and counted on brand and he's done some amazing things he's someone like when I kind of look at North star, I sort of point that way. Cause we're also in entertainment, right? On a far different scale. Like he's in the bold out front, you know, he's got large concert platforms and, and venues, hotels, and, and such and celebrity

partnerships. And we're kind of more in the insulated entertainment business. When we have a high profile client that wants, you know, a club vibe or whatever it might be we we kind of turn up that experience but only to their guest list i feel that yeah i love that i mean dude i go to komodo once a month that place is fire dude have you been out to his spots in miami i've been in komodo that's yeah like his spots especially like swan and and uh like what he did at strawberry moon and and uh good times hotel had that partnership with Pharrell. Dude, what they – I mean, the dude really is the king of Miami. Like, no doubt.

You know, we're talking Kings of Salt Lake City, bro. But, yeah. I mean, that's still quite the title. He might be the king of Vegas if Fountain Blue takes off too. Bro, Vegas, I honestly believe, gets better with – I think the experience is bettering and furthering with his involvement. I think so, too. He's going to succeed from the locals, but I think they're just jealous.

Listen, bro, when you shake the cage, you make a splash. That's the thing. I've realized this, too, in our own success. Man, you're going to walk in the arena and people are going to boo no matter what just because it's not them. You're just the other team. We get that. I even get that in our market. Like we have, we're standing up a, um, a 10,000 square foot freestanding, uh, experience right in the heart of our city. And we're taking on the bar business and we're opening a weekend day club rooftop and

cap atriums overlooking the city. And the bar owners are giving us a little different attention than they ever have before. Wow. And we're like're like yo like our arms are around this city like we can all win together but it is it's it's a little different game i can only imagine what it's like in a place like this yeah that's that's because it built on like mob ties i know right that's a short-term small way of thinking you know what i mean i love competition like when i see podcasters killing it i'm like hell yeah we need that bro like i don't know about you but i actually need someone on my heels like i i need like if it's just easy we're just crushing i'm complacent we're almost like somewhat self-sabotaging like i need i need a

little bit of the trenches i need some adversity like i need a little i need a little flex in the iron same otherwise like i just don't stay a shark. Yeah, no, a hundred percent. I'm super competitive. You mentioned earlier, uh, you almost wanted a mentor when you were younger, right? And you finally found one. What was that moment? Dude, I had no idea this guy was showing up for me, right? His name is Sean Collins. Dude's a total stud founder of, of Costa Vida and several other businesses. And, and he came to me one day and I wasn't even like, I wasn't even on my radar. The future wasn't even my radar. Like, dude, I'm 20 years old. I'm like, at the time I'm shaped like a linebacker and I'm, I'm bowling. I'm pursuing a professional bowling career. I'm down here to like the show boat. And, and I can't even remember some of the

other places that Sam's or, uh, Sam's town, other places here in Vegas that had bowling. And, and he came to me with this idea of, of, you know, being the first general manager of what, you know, is now Costa Vida. And he was like, I know you don't know anything about it, but he's like, I just know your presence. People will follow you, your energy. And he's like, and you're teachable. And I didn't even know what a lot of those things meant at that point, but he just believed in me. He's like, let's give this the next 60 days. And dude, those next 60 days turned into seven years that turned into 15 years that turned into me sitting here with you, you know, after accomplishing what we have. And that dude just gave me that shot, bro. And I just feel like my reason is to give that back to other people that the biggest way I can pay back that sort of reward. And that gift is to

just take as many people with me that are willing to earn it and get to these outcomes incredible man bro it's wild that is so cool and i never thought we could do it with some other burritos bro or all for one one meeting right dude literally like one two-hour meeting on the back of a piece of paper wow literally changed the entire trajectory of my life yeah the whole thing bowling's tough to make a living in bro and i was so like with such conviction like no one was ever talking me out of it i'm like i'm gonna be the next like norm duke bro i'm gonna be the freaking you know i'm gonna be the best bowler ever and bowl my off 36 weeks a year and make 150 000 you know like i i couldn't even imagine how hard i

would work to be broke yeah how nice were you were you? Were you balling 200s? Oh, hell yeah. Wow. Yeah, dude. I've had many perfect games. Damn. Yeah. 300?

And my first one was at 14. I was either 14 or 15 years old. I remember specifically October 4th, 1997. So I would have been 15. I'd have been just barely 15 when i had my first one that is insane yeah and then i've you know i bowled over 30 000 games dude my hand grew crooked from it i pulled my pelvic your fingers are crooked like it's my hand literally grew because the ball's around right it's the most comfortable position for my hand to be in even this many years later dude wow

that is crazy bowling scars dude wild Who knows what, what there's just a bigger plan. We don't even know what that is, man. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I implore people to like take random meetings. They otherwise wouldn't maybe cause you never know if you're not happy with where you're at now, if someone hits you up to go somewhere, I mean, consider going, well, do just like respond to a DM from time to time. Yeah. Like, like don't let, don't let, don't let opportunity pass you by even like this dude like us linking up like we were put now we've been putting a couple of group texts and we're like dude i already know sean like we've already connected like things are cool and but it's like

that's when you know there's just alignment right like when you're already connected with dudes that are already in my sphere and vice versa yeah and we're just like we've yet to connect it just just got to pay attention to those gifts man that's how you know because we're super selective who we hang out with so if they're making introductions you know it's a good one dude totally and i i think there's there's a lot of truth to that right like you get you get a bit of that like dude well if my guy like dude i send screenshots of dms to you know friends or i had one today literally when i was sitting in your in your spot out here like somebody kicked it was from jimmy rex right and a dude had said like hey like jimmy's one of my good buddies i want to get you on my platform etc i took a screenshot i kicked it to jimmy he

bounced right back was like yeah dude that's a good spot like yeah pursue that nice and it just it feels good too because a lot of people name drop that's why i screenshot it but you know how that goes and it's dope when someone else is an advocate on your behalf. Yeah, absolutely. You got to earn that. You got to. Right? Yeah. I mean, you don't have to, but if you want to be in this arena, like, right, if you really want to be like in the entrepreneurial arena

that is respected nationally, then you got to carry your weight. You actually got to create some results and be a good dude. Yeah. Right? You're not in the business of screwing people. You're in the business of making things happen. You can be entrepreneurial, but if you want to build a positive reputation, people have way too much access now. Like people can run their due diligence on you. They have

their teams run their due diligence on you. Like it's, you know, I feel like 2023 was like the year of exposure. Oh yeah. Reputation is everything, man. I mean, if you scam one guy, the whole world's going to know about it. And even like the rep management too. Like I think there's art in that, right? Cause no matter what dude, you're going to shake a cage, no matter what you're going to piss some people off, whether that was your intent or not. Right. Like there was a big part of my life that I lived that I'd actually didn't pay attention to the wake I was creating. Cause I was just, I was hell bound on just creating success. Cause I never wanted to be broke. And then, you know, later in my life, and especially the past few years, it was like, wait a minute. Like, it's not just success at all costs. Like what is success

now? Like health, wellbeing, you know, uh, known and defined counterbalance, just like things that, you know, you can feel good about where you are and who you are. I can bring my daughter and my wife with me. I don't care if they're listening in because the reality is like what, what they, what I'm saying is what I do right like what you see is what you get same dude i neglected health neglected family neglected friends for years all about the bag got the bag and realized this is so unfulfilling dude you and i like i didn't even realize that was a bit for you but it wasn't that long ago for me dude like two two and a half years ago like my personal brand my my businesses, my portfolio

had never been more relevant at the time. And I literally had never stood in a space more alone because I literally did. I was so removed from every bit of any depth of relationship around me. And dude, I've spent the last two years, like don't work in way hard and like really identifying like that self-awareness, finding that place to really have self-love and to realize and recognize like, damn dude, being a committed father, like really being a participant in my life and in my relationships and the people that I love. But most importantly, like seeing my own reflection

and honoring, respecting that guy, that's a space that I love. I'm in that space deep. That's why Jimmy and I are super tight. I'm in his leadership two group. But I spent a lot of time leaning into men, especially men around my age. Yeah. I love what you guys are doing with the mastermind group because that's so needed because we have so much pride as men that we don't express it. Well, and Sean, we're at a point now, dude, where it doesn't like you actually can have both. You actually can have a highly successful business and portfolio, and you can also have

a healthy and furthering and sustainable life. Like you can have both. And, and our goal really now is, is this continues to evolve. At least I know my goal, uh, in helping men is like, I don't want to have them help them put their lives back together at 40 and 50 years old. I want to teach them at 20 that you can have both that you actually, and I do believe you need an unwavering and, and, and, and wavering or just committed counterbalance to build anything that is meaningful, but not at the cost of your personal health, right? Not at the cost of relationships, not at the cost of damaging,

you know, relationships causing trauma, like hurting people and, and, you know, drowning those around you just you just don't need that you don't it's not necessary it's not man yeah i uh i can't wait to show my kids the the proper way man because dude for five i barely called my own mom like i was so locked into making money i get it dude my mom used to tell me she's like yo like i don't want to talk to michael the ceo when i talk to michael my son i had no idea what that even meant yeah right and now i'm like wait a minute i have three daughters i've got twins that are two and my daughter that's here is actually 13 and she's a complete powerhouse but i realized like that's that's why i'm here right i'm here to be the most incredible

beacon i can be for my daughters man for the people that i really love it's shifted so much of what I do and how I do it. Yeah. Yeah. Let's end off with that. Let's end off with legacy and what you want to leave everyone. Did you know, it's wild. I, um, I was thinking about this when I was walking over here. It's funny that you kind of bring that up and even though that's like a loaded question by any means, but like, it's pretty simple for me. Like, I just want to leave people in places and things better than I found them. And like, mean? We were sharing this with my buddy that was on here some time ago, and I own my own alcohol brand. I don't even drink anymore. It's not because I'm against it.

It's just that it's a net zero for me. It doesn't give me any benefit. I want to be as healthy as I possibly can to live for as long as I can to be that beacon for the people that I love. Oftentimes, that's people that don't even know that I love them. They're there to support my businesses, support my family, showing up for my friends, whatever it might be. Like, I just want to be in my best for as long as I possibly can. So I know that there's a few of us, right? When I say a few, I could be millions, but there's a few of us that really can make the world a better place through our position, through whether that's our authoritative voice, our relevance, you know, our resources, our innovation. And we have a responsibility and whatever you believe in, like, I know that God gave

me these gifts. I know that God challenged me this way so that I could come out and actually make a difference in people's lives, not just in my own. And at 41, man, I actually think I'm honoring that. Wow. And so I plan to carry that all the way through, man. Love that. No doubt. Dude, such a fun episode, Michael. Where can people find you? Oh yeah. Yeah. No, great. Hey, it was a great time. I hope that you all got some value from this. Please connect with me on Instagram. It's just at Michael McHenry, or you

can visit us at the McHenry group.com or any of my brands. You can catch me during those prime times. I'm in the dining room. So please come up, say hello, high five. Let's take a photo and, and, uh, hopefully plan to see you there. And Sean, thank you again, brother. Absolutely. Thanks for coming on, man. Yeah. Thanks for watching guys as always. And I'll see you tomorrow.