We were lucky to catch up with Lance B recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lance , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

Upon the start of the business my immediate family (kids and wife) were the only help I had. As the business grew and the load increased my family began to get burned out. I was very appreciative of the help that my wife and kids gave me to launch the business but I was faced with a huge void when their availability and commitment decreased as the business grew. I had to come to the realization that the dream of the business was mine and my passion led me to work long hours and multiple days a week without any hesitation. Fortunately my daughter Lauryn recruited some good friends of hers to help with the business as she perused her own dreams. The process for finding the right fit to help run the business was not as simple as I had imagined. Working on and operating a food truck requires a lot of work and isn’t for everyone. It takes someone with a good work ethic that can work independently in a fast paced environment. From early morning preparation to late night cleanup, to taking orders and preparing meals accurately to satisfy our customers needs. If I were to do it all over again I’d probably focus on getting workers that were interested in the culinary field or with a background or interest in food service.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My business was built on good food, starting from a backyard family fish fry recipe used for a fundraiser for my daughter’s travel basketball fees. My Mother was also a caterer and growing up I was her personal taste tester and food critic in the kitchen. After successfully having popup fish fry dinner sales, I began to turn things into a full fledged food business. Starting out in a commercial “ghost kitchen” offering delivery and carry out orders through food delivery apps. After receiving positive feedback and reviews from customers I researched the mobile food truck industry and eventually purchased a food truck. We provide fresh never frozen fish and chicken and pride ourselves on providing fresh delicious food and cleanliness in the environment that the food was prepared in. We also treat our customers like family and friends and we pride ourselves on great customer service.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My social media audience grew when I posted pictures of the food that I prepared on Facebook and instagram. I also found that sharing videos and pictures of myself and my employees helped me grow my social media following more. I also gave my niece Keysha the responsibility of being the company social media spokesperson, her vibrant personality and on camera presence is accepted by the public and keeps them engaged on our social media platforms.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Our reputation increased as we became more consistent with getting our food out to the public. The more people who tried the food and liked it, the more people we had come to want to try it for themselves. Consistently is the key to building your reputation. The more you perfect your craft and the more you offer it , the more consistent your customers will be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lbfishnchicken.com
• Instagram: @lb_fish_n_chicken
• Facebook: L.b’s golden fried fish n chicken
• Twitter: L.b’s fish n chicken
• Youtube: L.B’s golden fried fish n chicken
• Yelp: L.B’s Golden Fried fish n chicken

Image Credits

From Far left to right pictured are:
wife: Chenai, Family friend: Jasmine, niece Keysha, owner L..B.