Cultivating Workplaces that are Worth Working

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jensen Cummings, founder of Best Served Creative, located in Denver, CO, USA. Jensen is also a chef and a podcast host.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Best Served Creative is a creative agency, and we exist to amplify the worth and work of those who feed their community! We envision a world in which hospitality professionals get to tell their stories. That more voices are included in the culinary narrative.

We do that through media, content production, brand development, and strategy consulting. This is a hard mission to be in when so many of us that came up in this industry have been told we are only a “cook” and only “as good as our next plate.” We stay inspired to do this work from the stories of people who live their lives, bringing people together around a table to share a meal and create memories. We are grateful for the opportunity to do what we do!!

Tell us about yourself

My story started long before I was born. I am the fifth consecutive generation to make our way in the hospitality industry. We opened our first restaurant in 1900 in Little Falls, Minnesota, called La Fond House.
Fast forward to when I was seventeen, graduating high school in Southern California, I moved out to Ames, Iowa, where two of my uncles have a mini-empire they began back in 1984. I started washing dishes with no idea what I was getting myself into. I fucking loved it!! The heat, the chaos, the camaraderie, and (for better or worse) the “sex, drugs and rock n roll.” Within a year, I was running the Line. Went to culinary school, I was all-in as a pro.

I had a steep trajectory working for top chefs, then running heralded kitchens, getting the accolades, and winning the competitions. Opened my own place. Thought I had it all figured out. And then it all caught up with me, and I became that statistic of burnout in this game. It’s no joke.

Five years ago, I found myself a father of two sons, I looked at them, and I had to ask, would I want them to be the sixth generation, and my answer was “hell no.” So I had to make a decision, walk away, or double down. Tried to walk away. Couldn’t do it. Too much love. So I started Best Served as a way to cultivate a better future for the millions of people in this industry and millions more to come, and perhaps my sons as well. That’s why I get out of bed every day!!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I’m so grateful for every day. Incredibly proud of our team. And still, try to stay humble and don’t know that I have accomplished the goal. Probably never will, yet I strive to fit that vision that I won’t ever achieve. I’ll leave that to those that pick up this work after me.

A little story of how our business came to be what it is today. At the beginning of 2020, I was working solo on Best Served. I focused on consulting to help others develop the concepts I couldn’t when I was that chef/owner that were Equitable, Profitable, Sustainable. In March, at the onset of the pandemic, as restaurants were getting shut down, my projects and prospects went to zero. Devastating!! On March 18, I went live on Facebook for the first time. Tried to hustle and communicate for those struggling. I needed to show up for them, and I needed that bit of therapy for myself. I stayed committed and ended up being on seven days a week for nearly six months. Amazing people came into my orbit, and I just kept saying Yes. Started building this media and content team, and now, at any time, we have over a dozen team members working on our projects. Unbelievable! Big shoutout to some of our core team, Andrew, Sophie, Corey, Katie, Karyn, and my wife Betsy, who works with us and really runs everything I do from behind the scenes. So, all the way back to this original question, I feel as accomplished as a person could because I am surrounded by people I believe in and cherish.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Everything!! It’s all hard. It’s all challenging. And it’s all so rewarding, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. My biggest shortcoming as an owner is putting unrealistic expectations on our team. I have such a deep passion and vision for the future that I project that onto people. They truly believe and give so much of themselves. They work hard and have the talent to see it through. Yet, I cannot expect anybody to live this life the way that I do.

We often do this as entrepreneurs to try and push others to somehow be extensions of us. It’s not fair, and it’s definitely not sustainable. I have to check myself often, check in with my team often, and stay in those moments with empathy and patience. Not there yet, working on it, though. I recommend it for every owner out there.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Don’t do it!! It’s not a life I suggest. That is unless it is so in you that it ain’t a choice; it’s a calling. Cheesy, I know. That might be the best advice or the worst advice.
If you are venturing out on your own…. Be sure that what you are working on brings you joy when shit gets dark. It will. You will find yourself resenting the work or your team or your customers or yourself at some point. Will you care deeply enough about what you’re doing to push through that? And really answer that question with honesty and humility, don’t bullshit yourself.
Focus on the people. I don’t care what your business is; it’s the people that will make it a success. Your family, your team, your clients, your customers. They are the hero of your story!! Especially if you are in the hospitality industry. Wherein you are actually in the Relationship Business. And no relationship was ever built by a product, service, or place. It is always people cultivating relationships. You are the conduit for that.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.bestservedpodcast.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BestServedPodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestservedpodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BestServedPod
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jensen-cummings-09b9894b/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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