We were lucky to catch up with Mark Rose recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mark, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

After owning and managing my prior business, I took up BBQ competition as a new hobby in 2015. Not knowing that I was entering a pro circuit, I was out of sorts, and out of my league (back then). After a couple of professional circuit top 10 calls against some of the best Competitors in the country, I decided to take a leap and sell my former business, and go feet first into starting my BBQ catering, and food truck business. The fist year was tough, and I had to juggle personal life, competition, and vending which took most if not all of my time. After the second year or so and our name was out there we where one of the most wanted catering and food trucks in our area. Of course I couldn’t have done this with out the support of friends and family.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

What started out as a back yard niche, turned into a hobby of competition on the national stage, to turning into a dream job. We love to see the smile on people’s faces when they stand in line and order our award-winning BBQ. We get a lot of back yard enthusiasts that look forward to chatting with us at all of the events we attend, so we like to pay it forward. We also love to help our local community in donating our time, and food for good causes in the area.

Conversations about M&A are often focused on multibillion dollar transactions – but M&A can be an important part of a small or medium business owner’s journey. We’d love to hear about your experience with selling businesses.

Back in 2020, I sold my last business. Two main things were that I was trying to find a stable environment for the employees that worked for me for 5 or more years. In otherwards, I wanted to ensure they had jobs for the long term with whoever bought the business. The second thing was that I wanted to ensure our brand would remain intact after we were gone, and that customers were able to continue to receive best in class service. Take your time when looking for a buyer. You’re leaving a legacy, not just a business, and you never know when you will run into familiar faces again.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I spent 20 years in another field/industry and working for other companies. I decided that wasn’t as fulfilling for me, and I wanted to build something that had my name and fingerprints on it. I took a leap and started my first small business back in 2004. While it had its challenges, it was worth it to be able to create something big.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.smokingaces.us
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smokinacesnc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smokingacesbbqnc