Lessons from the Founder of Five Guys

I’m a big believer in podcasts. I listen to them pretty much whenever I’m in the car alone. Even on a quick errand, listening to a few minutes of a good podcast is a great use of the downtime. One of my favorites is called “How I Built This” by NPR. Recently the host interviewed Jerry Murrell, the founder of Five Guys. I think it’s really interesting for both business owners and non-business owners alike.

My favorite line from the entire interview is when Mr. Murrell is asked what he does for a living. His response: “I sell hamburgers.” Love it.

A few of my takeaways:

1. Don’t take yourself or what you’re doing too seriously.
2. Focus on making a great product and people will pay for it.
3. Employees and team members excel when you let them do work that interests them.
4. Sometimes there are many failures the precede success.

You can listen to the interview below. Hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did!