Small businesses are learning quite a few lessons as they work tirelessly to navigate the limitations of the pandemic. As we find out from Maverick Chocolate Company owner Paul Picton, his business has shifted quite a bit over the past few months but cash flow has become his key focus as they structure operations moving forward. Join us to learn more about his award-winning products and how this family business came to be.

Learn more about Maverick Chocolate: https://maverickchocolate.com/ 

On today's show: 

1:15 – Interview begins with background on Maverick.

2:06 – Have there been any supply issues?

2:54 – Paul’s story about selling jet engines before chocolate.  

4:48 – The craft chocolate business

7:12 – The moment the seriousness of the pandemic hit.

12:21 – Building his customer database.

15:15 – Online vs in-store sales

19:41 – How much advertising are they doing now?

23:22 – Why cash flow will be the focus moving forward.

31:24 – Final thoughts about the future of his operation.

t’s hard to argue that any one industry has taken as much of a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic than restaurants and the challenges will likely continue for some time. Ignite Entertainment owns a number of well-known Cincinnati restaurants and they’ve shifted in a variety of ways to continue serving customers despite the limitations. To kick off the podcast, we talk with Lisa Colina of Ignite to find out their biggest obstacles, how they’ve adjusted, and what the future might look like for the industry.

Learn more about Ignite here: https://igniteentertainmentcincy.com

On today's show:

1:25 – Interview with Lisa begins. Some background on restaurants and the food.

4:55 – Their experience when COVID first hit.    

7:22 – Shifting to carryout 

12:04 – How restaurants in Cincinnati learned from each other. 

13:40 – How long it took to make these big business changes.

15:22 – Will these changes be a part of the restaurant moving forward.

18:29 – What lessons have you taken away from this?

23:22 – The relationship between customers and the restaurant. 

25:26 – Repeat business is essential

27:47 – What can people expect from the restaurants in the future.