DeepSummary
The episode begins with host Mark Goulston welcoming Jim Tselikis, co-founder of Cousins Maine Lobster, a startup food truck business that has grown to over 50 units across the country. Jim shares about his upbringing and how his mother's loving nature and his father's work ethic influenced him. He also discusses the importance of family, and how starting the business with his cousin helped them stay focused during the challenging early days of keeping their idea a secret.
Jim talks about the challenges they faced in the beginning, such as finding financing and dealing with naysayers. He emphasizes the importance of shared values and hard work when selecting franchisees, and how they try to maintain the quality and authenticity of their product as they expand. Jim also touches on the importance of work-life balance and continuously improving themselves as business owners and individuals.
Throughout the interview, Jim offers insights into entrepreneurship, such as checking one's ego, staying focused on the vision, and being willing to learn from mistakes and feedback. He stresses the value of mentorship, both for themselves and their franchisees, and the importance of treating customers and employees with respect and kindness.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The importance of maintaining strong family values and relationships, even as you grow a business.
- The value of having a shared vision and strong bond with business partners.
- The need to stay focused on your goals and vision, while being willing to learn and adapt from mistakes.
- The importance of selecting franchisees and employees who share your values and have a genuine care for the business.
- The benefits of maintaining quality and authenticity as you expand, rather than cutting corners or compromising standards.
- The importance of work-life balance and being present in each role, whether as a business owner, parent, or partner.
- The value of mentorship, both receiving it and providing it to your team and franchisees.
- The power of open communication, collaboration, and continuous improvement in building a successful business.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “You know, I think when you ask the question about what's most meaningful about family, I think one of the great impacts that starting a business has had over the course of the last twelve years or so is that it really highlights the important things in your life.“ by Jim Tselikis
- “I think that in terms of choosing a business partner for any entrepreneurs out there or anyone that you or anything that you're going to be doing, it is critically important to believe in that person and to have a really strong bond.“ by Jim Tselikis
- “I think we were fortunate to learn that early and then to say, okay, well, apply this to any other, this experience to any other dimension or factor of the business. And I think we'd often lean on that and say, well, hmm, let's look at that experience, and we're not going to do it again because the juice ain't worth the squeeze.“ by Jim Tselikis
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Episode Information
My Wakeup Call with Dr. Mark Goulston
Great Love Media
11/28/23
In this episode I interview Jim Tselikis, co-founder of Cousins Maine Lobster a startup food truck business which has grown to over 50 units, including both gourmet food trucks and fast-casual restaurants whose wakeup call was coming up with the idea and keeping it secret with his co-founder cousin and former guest on this podcast until they could launch a single truck in Los Angeles. In this episode Jim offers a master class in both "family first" values and growing an entrepreneurial business from an idea and a passion. https://www.cousinsmainelobster.com/