We recently connected with Peter Hengst and have shared our conversation below.
Peter, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I have faced a difficult path ever since I was a child. Being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease Lymphoma Cancer when I was 12, I knew I would be facing an uphill battle for the rest of my life. A year of chemotherapy and months of radiation left my adolescent body weak and vulnerable. It was my faith in God and the support of my family that helped me grow strong once again. I have succumbed to many ailments since those years all linked to the damage that the chemo did. However, I would never let myself be denied my ambitions based on my physical condition. My determination to prove to myself and others what I am capable of has led me to resiliently pursue my dream of serving top-notch BBQ to the masses. I have seen many people overcome obstacles, but none more than my own mother. She raised 6 children while my father was always working and cooked a hot meal for us every night. Watching her relentlessly work without pay all for the chance to see us succeed was more than enough inspiration to make me who I am.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I discovered my love of food at a young age. Helping my mother in the kitchen taught me the basics. Once I became an adult and lived on my own, I experimented with various food cultures. I made Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and of course American dishes. Many of these cuisine types I mastered. The art of cooking was simply magnificent. I yearned for more and more. Upon moving to San Diego, CA I met a man who hailed from Kansas City, Missouri. He loved BBQ, especially the smoked meat variety. This was a category in which I had very little if any, personal experience. After several failed attempts at smoking a perfect brisket, I was obsessed with figuring it out. Once I did, I was hooked. I became engulfed in the BBQ scene. It is vast and ever-growing. Competitions, sauces, styles, and regions. They all bring about different experiences and flavors. The excitement level never subsides. I am as eager to learn today as I was 10 or 20 years ago. New technologies have expanded the reach of BBQ enthusiasts such as myself. Instagram and Reddit along with other internet-based forums allow people from all over the world to swap recipes and methods. An explosion of new BBQ has spread like wildfire from the Carolinas to Texas, to the West Coast. The next objective for me has become the expansion of my small business and getting my BBQ sauces in the hands of as many people as possible. My sweet and smoky sauce is absolutely some of the best BBQ sauce available anywhere. In 2024 I will attempt to double my company sales to $100,000. The most miraculous part about all of this is that I am the only employee of my company. I make all the food, sell it, sign up for the events, advertise, run the social media, control my website, create my recipes, bottle my sauce, create merchandise, control branding, do all the bookkeeping, and pay my taxes/fees/bills. I purchase all the inventory and keep a count of what I need in stock. What makes my company special is that I work tirelessly to keep it running smoothly. Soon I will need the assistance of multiple employees, but for now it is all up to me.
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?
The three most impactful qualities from my own personal journey that have led to my success are consistency, patience, and hope. I have continued to provide my original menu with several upgrades to customers in San Diego for years which has brought me a great number of dedicated clients. I have had the patience to wait for the right time to expand and made it through the pandemic as well as multiple other unexpected occurrences. I have always hoped that I could work for myself and avoid the corporate grind forever. I continue to hope that one day I will succeed in getting my own restaurant which I can leave to my family someday. I would love nothing more than to provide my children the option to work for the family business if they want to.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I have been searching for an investor with an entrepreneurial spirit like my own. With the right company, I could open the first ever high-quality fast-service BBQ chain with the potential to even have a drive-thru option. I would then franchise the business in order to expand rapidly and spread the joy of my BBQ concept to every possible area I could. I am currently able to execute a high volume of orders myself based on the setup I have created. Utilizing this concept, I am certain that a fast-food style variation of my restaurant is feasible. Anyone who goes into business with me will be impressed with my can-do attitude and dedication to success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bbqusion.com
- Instagram: @bbqusion
- Facebook: bbqusion
- Linkedin: Peter Hengst
- Yelp: BBQUSION
- Other: Tik-Tok: BBQUSION
