This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hey, what's up friends? Thanks for tuning in. Chris Guillebeau, your host of Side Hustle School here. This is our weekly segment known as Failure Friday. Actually had a conversation with somebody on book tour recently that made me think a little bit differently about this segment.
So I think probably not today, but maybe in the next week or the week after, I'll just share a little bit more about that. It's been fun to be on book tour and hear lots of conversations or have conversations, hear feedback perspective from so many of you. So thanks a lot to anybody I've seen in recent weeks. I'll do some more events and we'll announce them on the website. So more on that as I go.
But today, I just wanna kind of jump into the episode because I've got an exciting one here. In this segment, we're gonna hear from a restaurant owner who activates a DoorDash account to bring in more business. And unfortunately, he ends up giving away $1,500 in orders for free. This is not what you want to do. Actually, if you have a restaurant, you want to make $1,500 or maybe more than that.
Whatever the point is, whatever the number is, you want to make that money instead of spending it or giving it away. So that's why, of course, this is a story of a disaster, a mistake, something that just did not go so well. Now, fortunately, it turned out okay in the end, but I don't wanna give away the story. This is gonna come to us from Tim. Let's let him tell that story.
I'll have a quick wrap-up for us at the end. And listeners, thank you so much for being out there. I really appreciate you. Okay, over to Tim. [Music]
I'm Tim, the hopeful restaurateur behind a hole-in-the-wall eatery aiming to put a gourmet spin on classic comfort food.
I was both terrified and thrilled to launch my first restaurant in my hometown. After months of preparation, perfecting recipes, training staff, decorating the space, I felt like I'd considered every little detail or so I thought. I'd heard amazing stories about how DoorDash and Uber Eats could bolster a restaurant's reach, especially for a place like mine without a built-in audience. So a few days before opening, I set up a DoorDash account, painstakingly added each menu item, and then I ran a few test transactions to ensure that everything was functioning smoothly. System, worked like a charm, and all orders during the test were set to be free.
Ha ha, technology, what could go wrong, right? Well, roll around to D-Day, my grand opening. I was buzzing. Literally, I had too much coffee. At 11 a.m., we opened our doors.
And almost immediately, orders started pouring in via DoorDash. This is amazing, I thought. My culinary dream is becoming a reality. Orders for our sizzle steak sandwich and mouth-watering mac and cheese were printing out faster than I could read them. I was on cloud nine.
By the afternoon, my staff and I had been hustling nonstop. Well, around 4 p.m., my excitement turned to confusion when I noticed that my DoorDash app sales analytics showed a grand total of zero dollars earned. This must be a glitch, I thought, no such luck. A quick check confirmed my worst fear. I had forgotten to disable the test settings on DoorDash.
Every single order had gone out for free. We'd given away about $1,500 worth of food that day. You could say I got dashed by my own door, or you could just say I was really dumb. Anyway, after the initial shock and a brief urge to curl up in the fetal position, I took action. I contacted DoorDash support and explained the situation.
Now, while they couldn't reimburse the losses, they did help me set things right for future orders. Then I gathered my team, shared the tough news, and I braced myself for their reactions. Instead of blame or disappointment, what I got were laughs and pats on the back. We'd made an epic blunder, but we were in it together. So what did I learn from my $1,500 free sample day?
Several things, but the most crucial is this. Always double-check your settings, whether it's technology or a stovetop burner. And while this was an expensive lesson, the spirit and unity it fostered among my team were priceless. And you know what? Many of those accidental freeloaders became paying loyal customers, charmed, I hope, by our food and not just the price tag.
Would I do things differently? Absolutely. But as they say in the kitchen, sometimes you gotta break a few eggs, or in my case, give away a few sandwiches to make an omelet. Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. That's the theme of failure Friday.
That's the whole point, right? This stuff happens, it gets you down, but there is a way to rebuild and everything's a lesson. Everything's a story, everything's a lesson. The best memories come from stories of challenge, I believe. So thanks to Tim for sharing the story.
Listeners, if you have a question and update about your hustle, anything else, sidehustleschool.com/questions. Today's notes, sidehustleschool.com/2456, 2456. Thanks so much for being out there. Thanks for tuning in. I've got more episodes coming out, one every day, in fact, seven days a week.
Podcast is gonna be there for you and I hope you'll continue to listen. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." from the Onward Project.
