Big Henry
I’ve always dreamed of starting a business; being my own boss; and treating customers the way that I wanted to be treated. I shared my dream with my friends, but no one took me seriously. They just shook their heads and walked away. It was like I was speaking a different language that no one else on the planet understood. It didn’t matter because I believed in my dream. I decided to roll up my sleeves and made the decision that I would start my own BBQ catering business or die trying. I did my best to write a business plan. It wasn’t fancy, but it had potential. I went to bankers, investors, and people that I knew had money. They all said the same thing, “I just don’t think this is going to work.” It didn’t matter. I was not going to let their blindness stop me. I had a dream. I’m not a person who gives up. I knew I just had to figure out a way to make it happen. My grandfather, Big Henry, taught me that resilience and hard work would always see me through. My BBQ business, in my mind, was going to be a huge hit. I’ve always loved BBQ. Like, who doesn’t, if it’s done right. When I was a little boy, Big Henry, showed me the ropes. Every summer I would spend hours upon hours with him spicing the meat, making sure enough wood chips were in the smoker, and of course, our secret BBQ sauce. He shared that his grandfather passed it down to him. Now, he was passing it down to me. I’ve never tasted anything like it on the planet. He would often tell me, “Great barbecue isn’t rushed; it’s created”. I’ve never forgotten those words, and now it’s my time to create. I learned everything that I knew from Big Henry, but I never went to culinary school. I had no formal training. All I had were my summers with Big Henry, and I felt that that was more than enough. If others weren’t going to take a chance on me, I would. I took all the money that I had in savings and went after my dream. I started with one small smoker and sold BBQ plates from my backyard. Even after some success, I went back to investors to see if they would fund the next stage of the business because in my heart, I knew it was time to grow. One after another, they said, “No”. That was okay. I wouldn’t let them get me down because this was my dream, not theirs. And you can’t cancel what a man dreams. At night I
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