Cooking as a family and eating together is a lost tradition that many of us have restarted during the pandemic. I had no idea that my daughter Marisa had become such a great cook; her addition to our kitchen has been a huge positive to the Acosta clan. She loves sashimi and vegan dishes and I swear her Hamachi and jalapeno appetizers rival the world famous Nobu restaurant. That said, I do love restaurants and while one in five is expected to close permanently, I also anticipate a lot of new innovation for both food and service, which will be exciting. I never liked buffets, so I won’t miss them if they never come back. However, there will be some downside. New safety regulations will make it more expensive for neighborhood restaurants to get started and survive, so chain eateries with deep pocket parent companies may take over many communities – which will suck. More people will eat at home, at least for a few years, so online cooking classes will probably flourish and hopefully the institution of families eating together will stick around for a while.
Almost everyone, including Democrats, were expecting last Tuesday’s midterm election results to heavily favor Republicans. Many predicted a “red wave” where they would pick up 50-60 seats in the House and 3-4 in the Senate. Joe Rogan said the red wave that is coming will be like the elevator doors opening in the horror film The Shining.
When we invited Gary Vaynerchuk to NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE in 2021, I was mostly relying on input from others. Several members loved his content, but the little I saw online left me underwhelmed. However, I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation at our event, particularly his comments about toxic employees, which he says to dump with impunity.
Selling during a downturn required a more strategic approach, but the opportunities for growth and expansion are available to the savviest of companies. Here are some of the best ideas I’ve read about.
A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors said “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!”. The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.” A few days later the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out “Your horse has returned and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” and the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”