Check out this episode to learn more.
Your personal brand will create influence in any sphere of business Servers in the restaurant business can create a personal brand and following Technology can help servers increase seating preferred customers at their tables Sit With Me app can expand a restaurant’s business through good servers Servers can regain control of their income with the Sit With Me app 
00:00-06:29 | How does a video podcast build a personal brand? 06:29-10:38 | A career in professional services lends itself to building thought leadership 10:38-16:25 | Sit With Me is an app to give servers the tools they need to build their brand 16:25-23:55 | What features do the Sit With Me app give servers to expand their business? 23:55-28:31 | How a server’s personal brand can increase their income 28:31-30:44 | Sit With Me is a tool that any restaurant can use to increase their business 30:44-35:13 | Servers can personalize the app based on the image they want to grow 35:13-37:31 | Download and use Sit With Me to grow your personal brand today
“The show tried to demonstrate the other side of the human being and not just the professional side of the human being.” - Josh Peterson “Vulnerability really helps the audience not just see you as a figure to admire but somebody that they can trust and really connect with.” - Kap Chatfield “I would get to know some of the servers, the bartenders, the busboys, the the chefs occasionally. And, you know, understanding how they weren't that different than me as a salesperson, you know. Their commissions were just in the form of tips.” - Jim Norman “What I've seen in having a lot of people on this show who have really built a brand for themselves personally on LinkedIn through their content—it's landed them new jobs, and it's actually made the corporation that they work for, it's increased their bottom line, because they're such a valuable asset.” - Kap Chatfield “Those people are the ones that are interacting with the customers every day—it's like a good salesperson in any organization. So the restaurants will be really excited to have them as salespeople asking people to come in and see them.” - Jim Norman “I think each server can have the ability to put their brand out there and sell themselves to get their specific tables full each day and give themselves a raise.” - Jim Norman “I think it’ll give a lot of the customers something to bond with—and really connect with their servers.” - Jim Norman “If the servers and bartenders are consistent with what they're putting out there, they're building their brand, just like a social media brand they might build on Instagram—people will start to really enjoy seeing what's going on.” - Jim Norman “My hope is that as folks start to use this app more, the servers are going to start to get five to eight really good tables, filling up the seats for the servers that are really using this the right way.” - Jim Norman “Folks want to stick with the servers they like and have developed relationships with, and this app will give them the ability to do that.” - Jim Norman- Rveal’s website: rveal.media
- Rveal’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rvealmedia/
- Rveal’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC69p14R2ccMdyUbbmdlWCEw
Full transcription:
Kap Chatfield 00:20
Hey gang welcome back to B2B Podcasting, the show to help B2B brand leaders, CEOs, sales leaders and marketing leaders, skip ads, and be the show. I'm your host Kap Chatfield, CEO Rveal Media. Today, I've got two amazing guests that get to hop on the episode and talk about personal brand in the corporate world. And so I got my good friend Josh Peterson on the show today, he's actually a returning guest. He's the executive producer of Decisis, Sidebar, and a show called Texas Boys Outdoors, which is very different from Sidebar and Decisis, but just shows that he's really just kind of mastering the world of executive production. And we also have Jim Norman on the show today. He's the founder of a new app coming out called Come Sit With Me, Jim, Josh, thanks for joining us on the show today.
Jim Norman 01:08
Thanks for having me.
Josh Peterson 01:09
Thanks, Kap. Good to see you, Jim.
Kap Chatfield 01:10
Hey, Josh, let's kick it off, just kind of wrapping up where we left off in our last conversation. So when we had you on the show earlier, we were talking about Sidebar, Decisis, namely, which are two shows that you started alongside Jane Funk, and Bob Loram. And you got a lot of amazing, a cast of characters on that show, not just guests, not just featured guests. But also you've got your whole team, really at Concilio on that show. And Jim Norman actually jumped on an episode, which we'll talk about in a little bit. But Josh, I'd love to just kind of pick your brain a little bit, because as we're kind of focusing this episode on the power of personal brand, particularly in the corporate world, I'd love to just kind of just let you share what is what's one thing that you picked from that show regarding seeing your featured guest, these top general counsel in house general counsel lawyers, what did you start to notice was a gap in the world in the legal world regarding personal brand? And how did your show help filled that gap for them?
Josh Peterson 02:14
That's a great question. I think it depends on who you brought on, because some of the people he brought on already had an excellent brand. And so we really went out of our way to go bring them on, because we thought they know who they are. And they know who their what their brand is, if you will. So we really tried to match people that understood that because, you know, selfishly, it makes a better show, you know? But there are some hidden gems in there. And, and so we were, you know, I think what our show would do is sometimes put a voice to people that had great thought leadership, but weren't necessarily in the habit of of sharing that thought leadership. And because of COVID, they were probably even extra insular at the time. So I think our show gave a voice to some. And then people that already had a voice, I think we maybe helped made their voice even louder, you know, for the shows.
Kap Chatfield 03:18
Josh, you when we had you on the show last time we were talking about the two two shows that you're an executive producer of: Sidebar and Decisis, obviously very strong in the legal space. And they both kind of had, they're like two different sides to the same coin. I mean, Decisis was really about the thought leadership of the people that you brought onto the show, and Sidebar, a little bit of thought leadership, but mostly going into personal stories, and understanding the person behind the corporate brand of the people that you brought on. And so you know, one was more casual, one was a little bit more formal. And I feel like that is such a unique way to look at particularly legal marketing. But in general, I guess we could say professional services, marketing professional services. In your world or in your mind, why is it so important for these professional services to not just show thought leadership, but to show personality through content like that?
Josh Peterson 04:13
Probably for the same reason why people call Jim and I to help them out with projects, is people want to work with people. And you really want to give people an opportunity to show that they're just not just they're not just experts, and they're not just capable, because there's a lot of capable folks out there. But people want a relatable person that cares about them, and they can kind of see that empathy. They can kind of see their journey, and a lot of these stories, and Jim had one of the best guests we've had. Awesome. A lot of the stories that came out you really saw a vulnerability to the guest. And a lot of times in the legal market you see everything but vulnerability because the lawyer, and rightfully so, wants to be strong for their client. But I think people also want to deal with human beings. And the show tried to kind of show the other side of that human being, you know, and not just the professional side of the human being. So Decisis we really tried to get in house. And what I mean by that is it was usually general counsel's or people that are running a legal department. And usually the reason why our audience responded to that was they, they everyone wants to know what the end client, the person that signs the checks for the cases, what they think, what they want. But it's going to be more corporate feeling, so Decisis was a little bit more corporate feeling. What I love about Sidebar, we kind of used the the sidebar pun, if you will. And Bob Loram, one of the show co-creators, he loved puns, and and really, really, his marketing materials had no shortage of them. He's a great guy. And but I thought it was a great idea to kind of put some levity into the conversation. Because let's be honest, like a coffee bar, or even a happy hour conversation is just more fun, and more relatable than sometimes a desk conversation or conference room conversation. And Decisis though it was super valuable and I love it, and we're still going to do it, it usually had a little bit more buttoned up feel to get our corporate clients comfortable. But Sidebar was a lot of it felt a little bit more fun to me.
Kap Chatfield 06:29
It was definitely one of the most fun projects that we got to work on together. So I think what you guys have done is you've really made, you know, what's typically very cold and stock photo-ish. In the in the world of professional services, marketing, you really brought a human element to it. And it reminds me of this quote, where this this guy, Craig Groechel, is an amazing leader, he's got a leadership podcast, and he says that people are impressed by our strengths, but they connect with our weaknesses. And obviously, the show wasn't about just kind of flaunting weaknesses. But that vulnerability piece that you said, it really helps the audience not just see you as a figure to admire but somebody that you can trust and really connect with. And you made a comment that I want to kind of transition to talking with Jim now because you said that Jim's guests, he had one of the greatest rock stars on your show. Jim, why don't you share a little bit about the show that you got the episode that you got to jump in on? And the guests that you guys featured in that episode?
Jim Norman 07:28
Yeah, absolutely. What, you know, it's funny, when we think about the two projects that Josh ran with, the Sidebar project really fit my personality. I had I've had two cracks at this, the sales life. And the first one was a lot of dialing for dollars behind a phone, cold calling that sort of thing. And it just wasn't me. The second time around, I kind of embraced my skills, my style, how I like to do things, and I got out and you know, and talked to people about their lives, you know, their kids, you know, I wanted to hear about the the softball daughter that that, you know, that was pitching in the game that weekend and share those stories. So my brand was getting to know people and and, and then we'd mix in some more conversation as well. But they knew that I would take care of them. So when Josh had approached me about the show, the first guy that came to mind was was a client of mine and a good friend named John Maley, who was really one of the most interesting people that I've gotten to know through my work life, and he became a friend. But what I realized was he's probably not putting a whole lot of that out there. You know, he's an amazing lawyer, amazing trial lawyer, very successful, but it was, it was pretty straightforward with here's what I do at work. And so bringing some of that other stuff out, I thought was amazing. And getting to know John, the human, and the fact that he got to go on the Harlem Globetrotters court at halftime, and play basketball was just was just the icing on the cake for that particular episode.
Kap Chatfield 09:05
In your experience, Jim, with having John Maley on the show and getting to really mine that gold out of him. And it's not necessarily about him necessarily, but in your experience of just the Sidebar show in general, what have you, have you seen any kind of light bulbs turn on for some of these professional service, you know, leaders, these thought leaders in regards to building a personal brand? And what that can do, you know, really for their bottom line? Has there been any conversation that's generated from that?
Jim Norman 09:34
Oh, absolutely. You know, a couple of the folks that I talked to about maybe the setting up for further episodes, you know, we've talked about e-discovery in the legal space over and over and over again for years. And and you know, I think all that has been said and done and you know, at this point, a lot of the a lot of the guys and gals that I talked to wanted to you know, kind of share their story, their journey, their life in the space and outside of the space as well. So it's interesting when you talk to folks about that seeing how they light up a little bit differently when they're maybe talking about their kids or their rock climbing hobby or that they're a van lifer or whatever it is. Something that you would not expect out of a corporate attorney or, or something along those lines. So I just feel like the interaction that I got was a was way more genuine. And, and we really enjoyed just having even even having the conversation with folks about potentially being on the show opened up a lot of doors because they started talking about what they could bring to the show outside of being a great attorney.
Kap Chatfield 10:38
I, one thing that I loved on our previous episode, Josh, was you made the comment that you guys ascertained that for every episode that you brought a guest on it was it would equate to about $5,000 to $10,000 in PR for that guest. And for them, you know, their logo is their is their face, and is their name. Like so for them to be able to show up, share a story, connect with the audience in that way, it provides tremendous value. And Jim, I know that this is something that you really, you believe in the power of personal brand. In fact, it's really what's driven the vision behind this new app, Come Sit With Me that you you're the founder of. So I'd love for you just to talk about the Come Sit With Me app, the vision behind it and why is personal brand, why is at the core of it, the value prop of this app is the power of personal brand?
Jim Norman 11:28
Yeah, thank you for that. Yeah, that. You know, it's funny, the app Sit With Me came from my years and years of being a sales guy in the legal space, you know, traveling around the country, oftentimes by myself, you know, sitting at a restaurant, sitting at a bar, and you know, I'm a talkative person, I like to meet people. And I would get to know some of the servers, the bartenders, the busboys, the the chef's occasionally. And, you know, and understanding how they weren't that different than me as a salesperson, you know. Their their commission's, were just in the form of tips. And really every table that came in, they kind of would live and die by the experience and what that tip might end up being at the, at the end of the meal. And, you know, Josh mentioned empathy. And I'm glad he did, I felt for these people, because I thought I have all these tools as a salesperson. I have all these things that I can use to remember somebody's birthday, their kids names, what their favorite wine is, you know, what do they like to do in their spare time. And a lot of servers are really just stuck with the next table that the hostess hands them. And then there's some awkwardness of maybe they want to tell him their schedule, or they want to, you know, give them a phone number, or social media, that sort of thing. And that can get weird. And so there was just an awkwardness there. So, you know, I just spent a lot of time thinking there has to be a better way, there has to be a tool for these folks to utilize so they can be salespeople, and drive better customers to come sit at their tables. After a lot of research, I realized that that just didn't exist. So you know, I thought I would quit talking about it and go make it. And so that's how Sit With Me was born, it was just, you know, me, me having some some compassion for these other salespeople that just didn't have the tools that I had. And you know, and I had a lot of servers and bartenders in my life. My, my sister, you know, I grew up around her and she was a server, all of my college roommates were servers. So I've, I've got a lot of experience of both the good and the bad. And I thought I'd give back and help those folks out a little bit.
Kap Chatfield 13:31
One thing that we had talked about on the pre show call, just in regards to Sit With Me, and, and the vision behind it is, and I don't say this lightly, I really think that what you are putting out there right now, with this app, it's going to be a game changer for the restaurant business. And here's why. Because we talked about the power of personal brand, obviously, as a single, you know, consultant, thought leader, building your personal brand helps your business individually. But what I've seen in having a lot of people on this show, who have really built a brand for themselves personally on LinkedIn through their content, it's landed them new jobs, and it's actually made, the corporation that they work for, it's it's increased their bottom line, because they're such a valuable asset, which is it probably ties into what you're talking about with the value of being a sales rep having a personal brand as a sales rep, and how that affects the organization. So I'd love to hear your input on how do you see servers embracing this app, Sit With Me, how is that going to affect the organizations, the restaurants, that they're working for?
Jim Norman 14:35
Yeah, that's a great question. You know, I've noticed the servers and bartenders that tend to be the most successful are successful because they've taken the time to create their brand, their persona, their style, whatever it is. You could be, you know, at a diner and the the gal that's super friendly and loud and outgoing and remembers everybody's name and remembers everybody's order and their drinks. You could be the flashy cocktail guy that makes the cool drinks. I, I've got a server that I really love because he's got a peanut allergy. My son has a peanut allergy and I know that I can stress a little less when I'm eating out, and that my, my son will be safe, because the server always says, I'll make sure if I can eat it, he can eat it, and we'll be good. So well, it almost doesn't matter what what you're into, you have a personal story. And if you share that, you're likely to find some people that also have that. So getting those those stories out there, those folks out there, you know, those people are the ones that are interacting with the customers every day, it's like a good salesperson in any organization. So the restaurants will be really excited to have them as salespeople asking people to come in and see them. You know, making sure their tables are full each night. We're past the world relying on a TV commercial, relying on a radio ad, you know, relying on those, social media has taken over. And if you're the type of organization that is going to ignore the fact that everybody has one of these in their hands at all times, and can be communicated directly with then then you're going to get passed by. So I just think each server, you know, can have the ability to put their brand out there and and kind of sell themselves to get their specific tables full each day and give themselves a raise.
Kap Chatfield 16:25
Heck, yeah, it really puts them back in power. And they're the ones creating this experience for the guests that come to the restaurant. So let's get technical. Let's let's, Why don't you break down for us specifically how the app works? How would a server download this app and start to build a profile and start building that personal brand for themselves?
Jim Norman 16:43
Sure, yeah. So today, the app is only on the Apple App Store, I need a couple more months to get it out on Android, but it's coming, it's in the works. It's as simple as going out to the App Store search, Sit With Me, download the app. The first screen you're going to be presented with is "are you a patron or are you a staff member?" The servers will pick staff and it's going to walk you through creating a profile and putting your first shift out there. And that's the key, you've got to have your shifts entered into the system. It will link up with hot schedules, which is the most common way that servers and bartenders get their shifts, shifts here and in probably two weeks. But once they get a shift in there, it's all about, you know, talking to their customers, you know, tell them that they're on there. Because in the past, a server would maybe say their schedule, give their phone number, give their Instagram page, share their Facebook page. And before each shift a server, bartender maybe saying, Hey, I'm working from four to midnight, come see me at the, you know, whatever", or texting a bunch of people saying "come, you know, come see me I'm working today". Now, that's all taken care of. Your schedule, their schedule will appear as long as they're public profile, and there are a lot of privacy things that we've set up in there to keep folks that want to stay private, private. But as long as they're public, people can see their profile, see when they're working. And then they can accept or deny followers. So if somebody wants to Sit With, which is, which is our version of "follow", a customer can choose to do that and they can see the schedule at any point in time. The servers also have the ability to send one broadcast message to all of their followers, or maybe there's a Tuesday night karaoke crew, or the you know, the Sunday brunch group that comes in, they can create a group and message those folks and say, "Hey, I'm I'm working today, the brunch and here's our specials", they can attach a picture, they it can be them, it can be this special board can be whatever they can build their brand, whatever their thing is. And they can attach that and send it out to everybody. And then the responses come back individually. So to the customer, it looks like they've got an individual direct message from their favorite server that really wants them to come in and sit down with them. And you know, chop it up and talk about last night's game or, you know, the weekend plans or whatever it is, and they can start to build that relationship. Because you know, as Josh knows better than anybody relationships is what it's what it's all about. Right? So lots of features in there. But you know, the, I think the key is downloading the app, getting your schedule in there. And then talking about tell your instead of telling your your table, you know, here's my days I work, you can now say just follow me on Sit With Me and you'll know my schedule. And if it changes or if I go to another location or I move jobs, I go, I go from the sports bar to the fancy restaurant up the street. All 2557 followers can go with them and know that they're there now.
Kap Chatfield 19:43
Gosh, I love that man. That's so that's so smart. It's so innovative. I'm really excited to see this thing in action and, and really allow, because you know usually I'll go to a restaurant based off of the atmosphere, the food, which are all really important things. But, but but there's been some times where I've gone out with my wife, and we've just had dynamite customer service. And it's, it's really made the whole experience just so much more fun and more engaging. And, and, and you know, they, they win a good tip for it, because they've really create a great experience for us. So I think what you're doing is so exciting. A question that I have, that would be really helpful for someone who is like, who's in that space, who's, hey, I'm a server, I want to leverage something like this, I want to build my own career. What are some tips that you would recommend for them, as they begin using that app to really, really maximize it? You mentioned some of the features, but like, what, what's a mindset to have? And what are some things that they can do to really build a strong personal brand and build those relationships with their customers?
Jim Norman 20:47
Sure, yeah. That's, that's a great question. I mean, number one is be yourself. You know, I think a lot of people, you know, may try and follow this image of who maybe the world thinks they should be, you know. I want I want folks to be get on here and be themselves. You know, like I had alluded to before, if you're, if you're a rock climber, put put some photos out there, you, you know, scaling a mountain. You know, if you're into certain things, if you've got done some cool stuff in your past, if whether it's the music shows that you go to, or the sports teams that you follow. I think, you know, that'll give a lot of the customers out there something to bond with, something to kind of latch on to. And, and, you know, and really connect with their servers, because, you know, the atmosphere matters in the restaurant, to some degree, you know, the food obviously matters in a restaurant. But at the, at the end of the day, that person bringing them the food that they're interacting with, you know, that that can take it to the next level. So I would, I would say, be yourself. And then, you know, treat this as a sales tool. You know, as I alluded to, before, we have 1,000 tools to, you know, to plan our day around and to help make sure that we're interacting with all our customers to get the most out of our commissions. If the if the servers and bartenders are consistent with what they're putting out there, they're building their brand, just like a social media, bran brand that they might build on Instagram. Put pictures out there, comment to, you know, to your customers, send them notes, follow up, answer the messages that you receive back, keep your schedule up to date, you know, people will start to really enjoy seeing what's going on. And in the app, I've noticed myself doing it, and there's only a handful of people in there so far. But you can slip sit there and flip through profile after profile, and just see kind of what's going on with each server, and bartender and what's happening in their lives. And you see the pictures, which are nice, big, bright, clean pictures. And it just kind of becomes addicting a little bit to you know, follow your favorite servers and see what's up in their lives. So I think that's, I think that's the key. The other thing that's really neat, too, is if you think about what those servers will be showing on behalf of the restaurant we talked about, you know, your wife, and you going out, you know, there's so there's there's pictures on let's say Yelp or something like that, that are really high end glossy food food pictures. And then there's the angry customers that have a picture of the trash can, and there's very little in between. I'd like to think that the that the servers and the folks that are working there are going to care enough about the pictures that they put that they're going to look really nice and good. But they're not going to be so over produced, that it's a fake picture of a cheeseburger. Right. And there's there's no ratings on this either. There's no rate if you know that you did if you didn't have a good experience, you know now who not to sit with. But I think this will bring some reality to understanding what the atmosphere and vibe is of a particular restaurant or bar. And so it'll allow it allow servers to convey that as well, which, which I think is really cool to get a better picture what's going on out there.
Kap Chatfield 23:55
Gosh, I'm so interested in the dynamic of how restaurants are going to incentivize their own servers to maximize this because it's going to help it's going to help their brand as the organization. I mean, that if you have the server's really showing the life behind the scenes at the restaurant, and what's going on, what's coming up. It's like it's a win win for everybody. So I'm curious, because I know that it's you've just launched the app on the Apple App Store, you're going to launch in the Android store soon. But I do know that you've shared this with some servers, and they've they've been like, "Oh, my goodness, this is amazing. I didn't know something like this existed." And you know, based on what you said that this can be, this can really help drive business for the servers. They get to kind of control how much money they make, because of an opportunity like this. So in your own mind that maybe you don't have enough, maybe you do have enough quantitative data to say it, but in your mind, how how much do you see servers wages or commission increasing if they leverage this app properly?
Jim Norman 24:57
That's that's an amazing question and I'm just starting to get there, right? Like, a big moment for me was about a week ago, when one of the gals at a coffee shop that download it was like, "Oh my gosh, somebody saw me out there. And they showed up." Right? Like it was, it was like an aha moment. I think in the beginning, she was like, "Oh I'm just gonna support Jim. Right? Because he's, you know, he, I know, he's a good dude, I'll download it, I'll repost whatever". And all of a sudden, somebody showed up, I was like, yeah, I saw you on the app, you know, and I just thought I'd pop in and get my coffee, here's. It's a little out the way but I didn't know this place existed. And I think that light bulb, and then her telling the owner of the coffee shop, hey, this, this guy came in, he didn't even know the joint existed, he found it on the app. And he saw me out there. And, you know, putting all that together is, is pretty key. And I think, you know, to answer your question directly, I don't have the numbers yet. But here's kind of my theory on what I think is going to happen. A lot of servers have explained to me that throughout a day, they may have four or five awful tables, if they have less than 20 tables. May have four or five awful tables, where they're the kind of folks that don't tip maybe your or they treat them as a servant, not a server. Well, and they may have two amazing tables, where people in their world amazing might be tipping 20, to 25%, maybe somewhere in that zone, good people, really easy to interact with. And then there's a bunch of stuff in the middle, maybe. So my hope is what will happen is as folks start to use this app more, those two extremes are going to flip. And, and you're gonna start to get five to eight really good tables, filling up the seats with the servers that are really using this the right way. It's not going to eliminate people that come in and don't, don't get it right? It's not gonna eliminate, that's still going to happen. My hope is that it happens less, and it's harder for those folks to get a table. So if you show up to go eat, and you're a good person, you're good tipper, and you're well known and all these kind of things, then, you know, people are going to go, they're going to want to sit with the servers that they've got these relationships with. And it may become a little bit harder for the people that treat folks like crap to find a table. Or it just sort of weeds itself out, right? That the servers that aren't the best servers and don't give the best service end up, wind up getting those customers, right? So, you know, I think what it's going to do is gonna it's gonna change, you know, like you it started this, this off with, it's going to change the way people figure out who they're going to when they're going to eat, who they're going to eat with, where they're going to go. It's not going to disrupt the the restaurant industry, you know, completely right away. But it definitely will change the way people think about dining out and how we make reservations. And when we decide to eat, and where we decide to eat.
Kap Chatfield 24:59
Oh, my gosh, dude. I my wife was like, she, she always makes this comment, we're raising three kids. And on days when it's extremely challenging, she's like, I wish I could just go serve tables again. She loved it so much. And I'm just thinking, if she had something like this man, she would crush it. This is, this is such a truly a game changing idea that you have, and I love how, like, I believe it'll be interesting to see surely down the road, what the quantitative data shows about how much how much more a server could make, but even just the quality of your work experience, getting to serve tables that you have relationship with? It's like, you're making more money and you're serving people that you you're like serving your friends. And it's it's it makes the experience so much better. So super excited, man.
Josh Peterson 28:31
I guess something to add there, too. When Jim was talking, it just kind of it kind of rekindled some thinking that I've always really kind of subscribed to and Jim in my day job, which is, we basically he and I both used to have our own company. And then now we're working for a large company. And, you know, all respect to the company that's writing our check. We really appreciate being employed. But our perspective is our real bosses are the people that are sending us work, the people that are sending us jobs. And if you're if you're waiting tables, your real your real boss is the person that's writing that tip on the check. And so to be able to leverage your ability to get paid for it in a more efficient way. And really kind of take control of that. It puts a lot of pressure on the company, whether they're hiring someone like in our role in you know, professional services are or someone that's a server, they want to get people that do a great job of building that personal brand. And they say we want them with us. And so it puts a little pressure on them to say we want to make sure that they're happy here because I want the I want the traffic that's coming their way to come through me. And so I love it because it it's not, it kind of flip flops, the power structure in these restaurants and if they are treating people poorly, you know, someone could come along and say, "Hey, you're a great server, you did a great job building a great brand, you bring people through the door, come work with me, I'm gonna take great care of you." The sir, the good servers should be the ones winning. And this will ensure that. So I'm excited for Jim to, you know, keep growing this and I can't wait till it comes to Houston, I'm going to help get the word out, baby.
Kap Chatfield 30:22
Yeah. And and conversely, if a server is like man, I'm done working at this restaurant, all they got to do is send a notification to all of their people and say, "Hey, I've got a new job at this restaurant down the street, come check it out". And then there goes that traffic. So it definitely puts them in control, and really allows them to, you know, own their career. It's such a such a beautiful way. I want to give you an opportunity, Jim, to, to kind of pop some bubbles, objections to the app that you have. So you've had a chance to share this with a handful of servers. And I'm sure naturally as a sales guy, you deal with this all the time, people are going to have questions, they're going to have objections to the idea. What's the most common objection that you see servers having to this app? And how do you help them reframe or overcome that objection?
Jim Norman 31:10
Yeah, that's, that's fantastic. The first one that popped up a few times was was privacy. You know, the app does share the location of the restaurant and the hours that somebody would be working. What we've what we've done from the jump, this wasn't even anything we had to add is, I understand that that's a big concern. So you have the ability in the app to be public or private, which means you can be out there if you want. So it's very similar to an Instagram if you're public on Instagram, and people can search you and find you. That's kind of how the app works. If you're private, you won't show up in the the kind of general map. So there's a map view. So around me in Indianapolis right now, I can see the 200 servers that are, you know, that are working around me right now, in a map view as a customer. So you can pull yourself from that. And you can only give your information to people that you accept and want to sit with you. You could also have the end of your schedule left blank. So maybe you don't share when you're actually leaving. You know, and that's, that's another safety concern that I think people will appreciate. So I mean, privacy is probably been the number one thing. I think getting some folks used to posting, you know, has been a little tricky. You know, it's another, you know, in some ways, it's another social media platform for folks to manage. So we're working on integrations from Instagram, and Facebook, so that if you post something there, you can click a button and share it to Sit With Me. So I think I think that's going to be a pretty cool addition. Probably the biggest one that, that we've built out that folks really like, and they're still wrapping their minds around it is the gift portion. So so you know, right now, especially if you if you get a tip, and I don't think this will change a ton, but a lot of the ways that servers get tips are on credit card receipts, and those, those will all go through the normal credit card process that everybody knows. And, and that's not always the most beneficial for the person receiving the tip. And oftentimes, people will leave cash tips to maybe avoid some of Uncle Sam, let's say dipping into their pocket a little better. So what we've done too is add a direct link to PayPal and Venmo so that the servers and bartenders and whoever can put that information in there and get a gift directly from from the customer. And you know, and this is, this is cool in a lot of ways in that, that, you know, originally, the premise of the idea lent itself to. But let's say you know, during COVID a lot of servers couldn't work. And there was there was regulars out there, people that cared about him that they'd built relationships with, but that just knew kind of when they work, and they couldn't communicate with them. And I think a lot of those kind people that are out there would have sent, you know, some gifts to them to help tie them over during a time when they couldn't work. I've got a I've got a friend that's getting ready to have a baby and she's going to be out of work for you know, a couple of months after she has a baby and won't be able to do her bartending job. So the ability for her to connect, you know, in kind of a work related way, and stay you know, in connection with her favorite customers will allow a customer to send over a you know, a baby gift or a you know, maybe buy some diapers for her or something like that. So, you know it's it's a it's a way for people to continue to help people. There's a lot of good folks out there, a lot of kind folks out there that that just enjoy helping other people out. And this is a way you know, a way to do that. And you know, and it doesn't matter if you're having a baby or or if you're out of work for a while or if you're just leaving one place and go into another. The folks want to stick with the people that they like and have developed relationships with. And that'll, that'll this app will give the folks the ability to do that. And that's been neat to see and, and help people really wrap their mind around.
Kap Chatfield 35:13
Amazing. Amazing. One of the things that you said about posting content, I mean, we're seeing that all over as far as an objection. You know, people aren't used to not not everyone, but a lot of people are still trying to get used to this world of sharing your your life, somewhat publicly, and, and really telling your story. But that's really what it comes down to is, in order to have a personal brand, you've got to be willing to tell your story. And you know, just like any other app, this your app, as amazing as it is, it might not be for everybody. But for the servers who know, hey, I want to I want to really advance my career. And I want to leverage technology and telling my story to further relationships with these people that I care about, that I do business with. I think this is the ultimate solution. So Jim, I'm super excited for you, man. It was great to have you on the show today. Real quick, just kind of, you know, a final call to action. Where can a server or even a patron go and find this app?
Jim Norman 36:07
Awesome. Yeah. The Apple App Store today Sit With Me, is all you need to search for and you'll find it. We're on pretty much every social media platform out there. @ Sit With Me App. We've got a lot of stuff on our Instagram about videos kind of explaining all the nuts and bolts because it is a pretty robust tool for the for the servers and bartenders out there. So check out the the social media pages, and please go download it.
Kap Chatfield 36:33
Awesome. Well, Jim, Josh, this is a really fun conversation. I'm, you know, I'm a personal brand guy. I'm a content guy. And it's amazing to see how you guys are Jim, particularly you, you're leveraging the power of content creation, personal storytelling, to really not just revolutionize an industry for the sake of being disruptive, but really bring empowerment back to the servers. And really, I think it's going to elevate everybody's experience in the restaurant world. So great job, excited to check out the app and man, thanks for joining us on B2bB Podcasting today.
Jim Norman 37:06
It's awesome. Thank you. Kap Thank you, Josh. Appreciate it, guys.
Josh Peterson 37:10
Thanks, Kap. Thanks for joining Jim, this is awesome. I can't wait to use it.
