Meet Billy Giordano

We recently connected with Billy Giordano and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Billy with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I definitely developed a strong work ethic young. It starts with my grandparents. Both sides were VERY hard working, and not only taught work ethic to my parents but required it.

Since my parents had me so young (16 years old), I spent a lot of time with and around my grandparents growing up. While I absolutely loved it for the most part, that also came with double, or triple the chores. I had my own household to upkeep, mow, etc, along with my grandparents and also great grandparents houses/yards.

Watching how hard my family worked, either for themselves or in their careers, really set a tone for the expectations that came along with my family. Between that and the requirement from a young age to help out, keep busy, and do things the right way without stopping until a task was complete… A strong work ethic wasn’t really an option.

From there I realized you could get not only positive attention/reinforcement, but compensation for your hard work. That was enough for me and hard work simply became a part of who I am.

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?
I do…. EVERYTHING.

Let’s start with my restaurant:

I opened Room 38 Restaurant & Lounge (room-38.com) with my friend and business parter Jeremy Bowles almost 16 years ago now. I started out bartending and managing the restaurant every day of my life for easily the first 5 years. From there I slowly transitioned into more of a manager/leadership role. About 7 years ago or so, I started a new business and removed myself from the service aspect of the business, and focussed on quality hiring and leading my team. Today I still work hand in hand with management, write menus, manage our marketing and finances, and run the business through my team. I still take a lot of pride in our service and atmosphere, and still love popping in from time to time to get back to what made me fall in love with the business in the first place, taking care of my customers. This year, we fully remodeled the restaurant, and coming up we’re super excited about our Valentine’s Day offerings including a coursed dinner, champagne packages, and customized cards/table settings for guests.

StaffedUp (staffedup.com):

This idea came from an inherent need for a better way to hire for my team, without spending a ton of time, energy, and money. It’s been 7 years since we started helping employers like ourselves hire better, and today we’re working with employers in 28 states and growing. We recently reached a partnership with Indeed, and we’re integrating with Square POS this month, both with the intention of providing the best hiring experience for both applicants and employers alike. My favorite part about this business is the opportunity to genuinely make my clients, days, lives, and businesses better through our vision for what hiring should be like.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
First and foremost, people. People skills and networking are by far the biggest asset in my journey. From business partners and investors to finding and relating to my employees, learning how to relate to and engage with people has made the most impact in my professional journey. Reps are the key. Put yourself in as many conversations, places, situations as you can to truly get to know the people around you. Learn to listen and be perceptive, and know what your people need before they do.

Relentlessness. I set goals and don’t stop until I’ve reached them. My personal trick is to tell the world I’m doing something, so that I don’t have a choice but to succeed or publicly fail. It’s a dynamic of accountability, especially when I don’t have anyone to answer to. It’s a good system of checks and balances for myself.

Creativity combined with flexibility. Sometimes we’re so close to the project/problem that we get tunnel vision and find ourselves in “ruts” or seemingly impossible situations. Taking a step back, referring to the networks we’ve built (skill #1), and being willing to reassess/reevaluate creates a healthy approach to problem solving.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
Mentors. Literally any mentor. Anyone who’s better than you at what you’re doing. Someone who’s done what you want to to do. Find one, use them, grow.

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