We were lucky to catch up with Ian Lieberman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ian, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
My optimism comes from a lifetime of practicing positivity taught by my parents from a young age. We had a lot of family rituals, rules, and traditions growing up, but among the most important was the no negativity rule. Every day has the chance to be a great day if we choose to make it great.
Translated into our company today, we do not bring problems to the table without proposing solutions. If we find ourselves speaking negatively without a suggested best possible outcome then we do our best to end the conversation until we have a path forward. Oftentimes that is when we re-shift our focus on the path forward and actually solve the problem that caused the negativity in the first place.
The restaurant business has seen some particularly hard days in the past few years. Sometimes we all need to vent and that is okay. It is part of my job to be there for our leaders to vent, as it is part of my partners’ jobs to be there if I need to. The same rules need to apply in a post vent scenario as they do at al other times. Take the negativity, collaborate and work hard to find a path, and focus on the positive. I suppose I can thank my Mom and Dad for that lesson.
culture of our businesses spiral into negativity in those moments.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
10 years ago my Brother and I started FTB Services which is the management company for our franchise restaurants and soon to be family entertainment centers. We own and operate Dave’s Hot Chicken & Fuzzy’s Taco Shops restaurants and are about to start building Slick City Action Parks.
We started by building out a 5 store Fuzzy’s franchisee where we worked every position in the business and learned a lot of hard lessons along the way. Fuzzy’s opened up a number of doors for us into real estate investment as well as into the Dave’s Hot Chicken brand. Dave’s is an incredible business which starts with serving the best chicken tender that I have ever had. We currently own 6 stores and are going to build as many as we can.
Slick City is what’s next for our company and our development in this concept will have us building across Florida as well as in the Mid-Atlantic region. These businesses are incredible and we want our portfolio of parks to be relevant during all four seasons of the year. If there is a time of year in an area for kids to play inside we want to be that option. A few years ago I was told by a long time family entertainment center executive that family entertainment is the industry of selling joy. As a partner in a family business that sentiment really resonates with me today. The strong economics, real estate trends, and diversity out of restaurants were also quite attractive as we decided to invest in the concept. Slick City is quietly coming to every corner of the United States very soon.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Curiosity, resilience, and patience. Stay curious and commit to a lifetime of learning even though you may not know what that knowledge is for at this moment. Understand that you are going to veer off the path and that likely will be an important part of the learning. Keep the fortitude so you can ultimately get to the good part. My morning mantra is often to tell myself I am on the path that is intended for me.
Also, life and jobs are hard. Do your best to choose your hard. If you happen to be lucky enough to love the work and life you choose it will still be hard, but y0u will relish it.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I feel overwhelmed I write or I workout. My personal journal and my work notebook are full of lists that feel more manageable to me when I put pen to paper. Overwhelm comes in many ways and can happen at any time. If I have the chance to go for a run, get to a yoga class, or get into the gym I know I will feel better.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @liebeian
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianlieberman/
Image Credits
Rocco Roefaro shot the pictures. One picture is just me and the other is my partner Adam and I
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
