We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tim and Jewell Winn. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tim and Jewell below.

Tim and Jewell, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

The hospitality industry suffered greatly during the pandemic and is still struggling to come back. For a small disadvantaged business, we got hit the hardest. Staffing has been our biggest challenge. It is very difficult to get qualified staff and when we do hire them, they don’t stay long. We’ve been in this business since 1997 and never experienced this level of instability. We have had to keep raising salaries to keep up with larger competitors and that eat into our profits. Customers expectations sometimes exceed our capacity but we push forward in excellence. We have a motto that says “it’s always better on the lake”. We have to go over and above to prove that it’s true.

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?

Tim received his culinary arts training in South Florida at a young age and decided to pursue a degree in hospitality and tourism from Tennessee State University. Upon completion of his BS degree, he interned at the Nashville Airport Marriott and was ultimately hired as the Restaurant Manager responsible for room service, the bar and the restaurant. During those early years he decided to branch out and do some boutique catering which led him to start Catering Concepts by Timothy in 1997. He always served an exceptional refreshing beverage now called Tim’s Southern Tea—sold throughout the US, the Nashville Airport and other retail outlets including a recent opportunity to serve two Air Force bases. The opportunity was presented to the Winn’s to secure a venue in Hendersonville TN which they affectionately named Lighthouse on the Lake. This multi purpose venue sits on 4 acres of lakefront property and is 8,600 square feet of beautiful space on two levels for any event imaginable. The investors who sought out the Winn’s believed in their passion, work ethic, quality of food and overall hospitality acumen. Jewell supports the enterprise as the Chief Operating Officer and brings a wealth of experience as a business consultant international educator and non-profit manager. This dynamic duo envisions ESPO Hospitality branching out across cities in the future and taking Tim’s Southern Tea as well as other packaged goods that Tim specializes in around the world.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients has been word of mouth. Hendersonville is a small town but Nashville is where the Winn’s reputation grew and became respected. As a native Nashvillian, Jewell had lots of friends and business associates. People were intrigued by the ability of this middle-class couple to undertake such a huge initiative. People they knew and didn’t know, often asked them inappropriate questions such as ‘how did you get the money to do this?’. Once people experienced the ambiance of the venue and the excellent customer service, they became hooked. They began to tell their friends and so on. Jewell joined the Hendersonville Chamber Board of Directors and received a lot of support. Everywhere the Winns go, they tell their story and invite people to come to take a tour. The venue is super inviting. People cannot help but tell someone else about what they experienced.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

The Winns literally started ESPO Hospitality, LLC with NO capital. There was money on the catering side of the business that they filtered into the Lighthouse and the Tea. The catering business was pretty solid but getting a brick and mortar was super expensive. They applied for an SBA loan and a loan that was being offered by their new banker. Both loans were approved and the second loan did not have to be paid back because it was for disadvantaged start-ups. The investor allowed the Winns to only pay a portion of the mortgage for six months which gave them time to build the business and become somewhat profitable.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lighthouseonthelake.com www.cateringconceptsbytimothy.com www.timssoutherntea.com
• Instagram: @lighthouseonthelake20 @cateringconceptsbytimothy @timssoutherntea
• Facebook: Lighthouse on the Lake Catering Concepts by Timothy Tims Southern Tea