Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Taylor West. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Taylor , appreciate you joining us today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

Prior to the pandemic I was working as a part time cook at various restaurants while trying to get my catering company off the ground. during this time I was hosting pop ups events all over the state of colorado, from Estes Park down to The springs. offering a range of services from traditional catering, meal planning, cannabis cooking class to sushi & dumpling folding class. one of the more popular concepts was in fact the sushi classes which I would host at any brewery that would have me. the basic idea was allowing the guest to enjoy their favorite nehigborhood brewhouse with the fun interactive style of the the class. I would show up a few hours early to transform a ordinary brew space into a class room that provided everything from rice, fish, vegetable, rolling matts and even knifes and cutting boards. really a all inclusive event where I would proceed to demonstrates how to roll three different style of sushi, allowing each guest to mix and match the ingredients and then enjoy the sushi at the end of class. going into 2020 I was hosting about two classes a month and started talking to one brewhouse about a weekly concept that would allow me to leave my wartime kitchen jobs and focus full time on the business. knowing what happened next it was a very unexpected closers and shutdowns. during this time I decided to make a pivot and offer the sushi classes virtual though the online platform Zoom. Essentially the Lockdowns created stay at home market for my new business model and instantly saw success. first class we ran online was the last week of march and had 10 people, about 5 sushi kits (each kit feed 2) by the second week of April 2020 we were selling over a hundred kits a week and had shipped the kit to over 15 different states. this lasted thought the whole year and turned into quite a profitable revenue stream for my company.

Taylor , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Chef Taylor: a Pieces, has always been in tune with the use of food as an emotional connection. Every bite gives you a deeper feel into his passion for food. Combining his southern heritage with extensive traveling of southeast Asia, Chef Taylor seeks to tell a story behind each menu item. Each bite represents a connection he has made around the world. Regardless of the language he speaks, he has always found food to be a building block for every relationship, and looks forward to helping you build and establish your relationships.

Getfed Concepts is the Food Group I started in 2018 providing traditional catering service to the Greater Denver area. over few years I have really pushed to transform the company by expanding the services we offer and experiences we provide. since then I am extremely proud of the work we have been able todo for not only our community but also to those that we employ and call family. From meal planning, Sushi, Dumplings, Cannabis products. Getfed Concepts has really become more then just a catering company but again more of a culinary food Group that provides very unique experiences though the food and personality of Chef Taylor West.

heading into the further Chef Taylor West has plans on opening a sushi/dumpling restaurant with in a new food market thats opening in the northern arvada area. showcasing his passion for the two, Chef Taylor will be bring a new twist on the classic concepts and menu items your familiar with while also providing a very fresh new approach.

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.

When it comes to selling a business they’re a quite a few essential things I would say any young entrepreneurs has to think about. Why are you selling the business? Investment plans for profits? and the next step after selling. during the course of the pandemic I have been very fortunate to in the successes I have seen and even more fortunate for the failures. Covid provided a very interesting landscape for everyone and effected every industry. I like to think that it really brought everyone back to a starting point….sorta reset in both business and personal lives. during this time I was able to pivot my company into the virtual space by offering a product though the zoom platform while making sure the product was unique and also SCALABLE. With the revenue generated from e-commerce I reinvested that into a restaurant concept that was directly related to the product and now gave the guest the ability to not only enjoy online but could physically come by and experiences it in person also. with the restaurant business model in place and plans for reopening in the works it was time to focus of systematically organizing the concept so it could eventually run on its own. While I was going though this process it came a point that I had a business partner that was helping me along the way and before I knew it I had become dependent on this partner. it came to the point that we continued to disagree about direction and need to go our separate ways. That was my reason for selling. going into the talks with my partner and realized that I didn’t have much on paper…nor a lawyer! the BEST Advice I can offer to anyone starting anew business is going though the process of attending legal representation no matter if its a best friend or family… I wool say especially if it is! Once the deal was singed there was a 3 month period where I didn’t really know what I was doing and or know what I was going todo with the profits made from the sell. Knowing what todo after the sale and how to reinvest the money earned is just as important if not more then the actual sale.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

GetFed Concepts started initially as a way for me to express my own food thought I could make in a traditional restaurant setting. hosting a 5 course dinner pop up was the first event I ever did and received a lot of support from my friend and family but none of that resulted in a actually client. It takes time to build your audience and I believe that consistency is very much intrgal to that process. from that first dinner I moved on to host small pop ups at breweries across the state. worked to expand the services I wanted to offer like meal prep and cooking class. while at these events I would just try to connect with the guest, really using my people skills to promote my self an the brand. this would result in a few new catering opportunities that would maybe lead to a few events. but the transition came when I had to learn the art of RETAINING CLIENTS, its one thing to do a event for $2,000 but you quickly find out that after expense and labor your not left with much and how turning the one client spending $2,000 one time into a client spending $6,000 over the course of a year.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.getfedconcepts.com
• Instagram: GetFed_Concepts
• Facebook: Getfed Concepts
• Linkedin: Taylor West
• Yelp: Getfed Concepts
• Other: New restaurant concept coming out in June