You are your environment. When it gets blisteringly hot outside, do you wear fewer layers? When it’s super cold, do you wear a coat? Of course, you do because you adapt to your environment.
It’s often said you’re the company you keep, and the innate response used to be, “I’m my own person. I don’t just follow those around me,” but whether weak-willed or strong-willed, at the end of the day, you adapt to those around you. It’s important to surround yourself with those that you wish to emulate.
Mike Bausch, owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria
Even if you’re not seeking to be exactly like them, they impact your productivity, motivation and even success. Are those around you helping you towards your goals? Are they on team YOU? Maybe you want to be a better restaurateur or a more talented pizza maker. Your goals can be as simple as being less lazy.
If your friend circle is working jobs they hate, and end each night at the bar, lacking ambition or a path towards success, that’s what you consistently interact with. Despite your best efforts, odds are you’ll end up on a similar path. When you’re constantly in a cold environment you’ll put on a coat, you’ll adapt. And in turn, if you’re interacting with people talking about new fermentation styles or new ways to execute in a kitchen, maximizing their brand, and seeking to make their employees a better success, that will affect you and your mindset.
You have characteristics that help you level up and others that keep you stagnant or regressing. The key to shaping your environment is choosing people who bring out the good characteristics. Think of these characteristics like muscles. Use them, or they’ll atrophy.
If you’re talking and surrounding yourself with people who are killing it in their restaurant or restaurants, you’ll inevitably learn a thing or two. These relationships don’t have to be industry-specific, just great business owners and people whose core values are aligned with yours. The friendships will occur.
Building these relationships may seem daunting, but it’s not as hard as it seems. If you’re unsure where to find these successful business owners or the idea of attending a Chamber of Commerce meeting is intimidating, turn to the internet. Online forums, direct messages, Zoom check-in calls, and masterclasses are all avenues to connect with like-minded individuals. Find communities that resonate with your values and goals.
The internet is a great resource, but it will always be better in person. Look at events like Pizza Expo or trade shows for top-notch opportunities. Don’t just check out a few exhibits and call it a day; that’s such a wasted opportunity. Really dive into making new friends because the thought of “networking” makes it feel seedy or opportunist. From a mental background, if you are around people in your circle who are achieving more and more things, it’s just osmosis that you will as well.
I didn’t create this concept, but I certainly have lived it. By being around great pizza makers and entrepreneurs on the national stage and in my local community, I’m constantly getting great tips and feeling that energy. And the more I learn, the more value I can give in return. It’s a mutually beneficial existence that I wish I had done right when I started in the industry. But no time like the present to level up.
Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch
