It's Acadiana: Out to Lunch

One way or the other, if you’re in business in the 21st century, you’re selling yourself. That’s true whether you’re selling crafts or services. Social platforms like TikTok, Instagram or YouTube are basically all marketplaces of personality.  You still need a product that people want, but that’s not really enough. You need to connect with people if you want folks to buy what you’re selling. When...

If you're looking for an optimum time to do something difficult, it's easy to find excuses to procrastinate. When you're a habitual smoker is there ever "a good time" to quit smoking? When you prefer sloth, is there ever "a good time" to start working out? The answer is, of course, it's always a good time, and it's never a good time.  It's the same with starting a business. There’s never really a...

Sometimes in business you just need to go in a different direction. Maybe you’re a victim of your own success. Maybe your work-life balance is out of whack. Maybe you’re bored or maybe you just need a little extra cash on the side.  Recognizing the change is probably the easy part.  Changing is the hard part — especially if you like what you do.  Rachel Sam figured out the change part the hard way...

At this point, alternative foods aren’t really alternative anymore. It’s like music in the 1990s. What was sort of underground has really become mainstream as more and more people have changed their diets to be healthier or to eat more ethically.  Gluten free or vegan foods aren’t just for speciality aisles anymore. They’re marketed aggressively for what they are — or what they  aren’t — because c...

Running a business is usually an exercise in multitasking. Whatever your one real gift is — that thing that got you into business in the first place — there’s a pretty good chance you won’t be doing it anymore once you’ve become successful enough. That can be bittersweet. But it’s the way of the world. So it would make sense that what often separates good operators from great operators is the abil...

Hank Williams’ 1952 song, Jambalaya On The Bayou, was the first time much of the world heard anything about us. What at first-listen to most people sounded like a bunch of nonsense syllables like Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky, turned out to be a menu of Cajun dishes – Jambalaya, crawfish pie, file gumbo. Today, if you’re from Acadiana and you travel the world, when you’ve been away from home long en...

It’s getting easier by the day for your average person to become a graphic designer. Fire up a Canva account, and you can have  a logo in minutes. And Lord knows AI is only making that easier, and more surreal.  But, as things get easier for the masses, it puts a premium on stuff made by hand. Time was that it took blood and sweat to make the world beautiful. But, today? Well, imagine a robot tryi...

Do you think maybe it's time we dispense with the myth of the starving artist? There are more than enough ways to make money in creative industries these days. And not just in applied arts like graphic design or architecture. "Marketability" can be a dirty word for some artists, but for others it’s a goal that isn’t at odds with expression. Even abstract expressionism.  Or as Andy Warhol put it, "...

Summer is a tough time to be a parent. School is out. The sun is scorching. You need a break for your kids. Maybe they need a break from you.  That’s why they created summer camp, a Godsend for working parents if there ever was one. Kids get a lot out of camp: time to play and be curious, maybe a chance to learn new skills and meet some new friends. Summer camp is time-honored. It’s important. And...

There’s a saying in the music industry: You have your whole life to make your first record. But one shot at making your second.  Novelist Jennifer Moorhead , wrote three books before publishing her debut, Broken Bayou in 2024. It’s a thriller inspired by a real murder mystery, tapping into the nation’s ongoing obsession with true crime.  Jennifer has always been a bookworm. She grew up in Shrevepo...

Why sell a product when you can sell an adventure? Experiences are a hot commodity in today’s marketplace. They make memories. The kids love them. And they come in packages that don’t need a warehouse. And when you sell an experience, you’re usually selling expertise.  Let’s say you want to go scuba diving. It’s not as simple as throwing on an oxygen mask and riding a dolphin. You need training, e...

We tend to think of entrepreneurs as people with an obsessive vision. They have an idea that will change the world or at least make them lots of money. They take it to the workshop and hack away for days, hours, years until they bring their genius to market and find success.  Sometimes, a business idea just sort of happens . Maybe it’s a stroke of luck. And that could be a stroke of bad luck. Savv...

Lafayette’s restaurant scene is famously difficult. There are more restaurants per person in the Hub City than there are in New Orleans, Austin and even New York City. Plus, you’re not just competing with the restaurant down the block. This is a place where everyone cooks. People set the standard in their own kitchens.  So what do you do if you move to Louisiana from a culinary capital like New Yo...

Quality isn’t enough to sell a product. Consumers need to connect with what you’re selling. And the first way they do that, usually, is by connecting with your brand.  What is a brand? Well, for one thing, it starts with a name. But any marketing agency will tell you it’s more than that. It’s your company’s values. It’s what makes your product stand out. It’s the warm fuzzy feeling loyal customers...

Most of us think about business in terms of the point of sale. I’ve got a product. You’ve got money. You give me money for the product and boom: we have an economy.  But Adam Smith’s invisible hand didn’t put that product on my shelf. It likely came on a truck. And that truck was built with parts sourced from places near and far. Which in turn were manufactured with raw materials extracted from al...

Some things are better left to the professionals. If you’re a VIP with a target on your back, security is one of those things. Protection Personal security is a highly specialized business. It takes discipline, preparation and the willingness to put your life on the line for your client. Risking life and limb isn’t for everyone. And that’s why few people get into personal security.  Those who do,...

At some point, you’re going to hand the keys to your business to someone else. That’s true whether you’re hiring employees or contractors or planning for succession. Life happens. And it’s just not in the cards for you to be able to run your business, by yourself, forever. For many entrepreneurs, selling big is the dream. In the startup space, they call it an “exit” — the point at which some big f...

Marketing your new business idea can take a few different shapes.  You might take a deep dive with market research and try to define the demographic slice of consumer you’re looking for. Before you even bring your product to the shelves, you’ll try to understand the potential for growth: How many customers are out there who would want what you’re selling? How much disposable income do they have? W...

If you’re gonna be first, you’re gonna take a risk. All the more so if you’re going to market with a foreign concept.  People are creatures of habit. We look to the world we know to understand new concepts. And if something we’re trying is unlike anything we’ve tried before…that can be a recipe for failure. Think of it this way: People who are remembered for being ahead of their time aren’t usuall...

I had a journalism student approach me a while back for a story. I asked him, “what kind of a journalist do you want to be when you grow up?” He said, “A food writer. Because AI won’t take my job.”  Won’t it though? I suppose if they create a neural simulation of what it’s like to eat boudin, they could. But the panic around AI is big; mostly because few people really understand it. The models mak...

America has had a complicated relationship with Downtowns. When we invented the suburbs in the mid-20th century, Downtowns were left behind, only to make a roaring comeback in the 21st century.  That story should sound familiar for folks in Lafayette. Lafayette’s Downtown was left for dead in the 1980s and 1990s. It was practically a no-man’s land in the late 20th century but started coming back t...

Fitness is a big industry. Over the last decade, the global market for fitness has nearly doubled to around $100 billion.  You’ve probably seen the results of that boom around town. Think of the world of 24/7 gyms and fitness centers, smoothie shops and personal trainers. That world is expanding not just in size  but in variety. And it’s drawing in ideas and disciplines from the world of the arts,...

Who doesn’t want a taste of the sweet life?  Most folks are looking for a chance to indulge. Even when times are tough. Maybe especially when times are tough. When the economy goes down, ice cream sales go up: in the two years after the 2008 mortgage crisis, ice cream sales went up 25%.  even when times aren't bad, there’s never really a bad time for dessert. You can eat cake or frozen yogurt year...

Ask any business owner in a small town: What’s the secret to success? And they’ll tell you: relationships. When everyone knows you, where you go to church and whether your mom can make a roux, you're trading on a reputation bigger than your own.  Relationships drive business development and they can define success. That’s true if you’re selling barbecue sauce or underwriting commercial loans. Your...

Kids hate math. You’ve probably heard that before. Except, it’s not exactly true. One survey commissioned by Texas Instruments found that kids were twice as likely to say they like math than hate it. Now, Texas Instruments sells calculators. Make of that what you will. That same survey found that about 70% of kids said they would like math more if they better understood how it applied to their fut...