Curated Pt. 17

A weekly roundup of stuff I hope you'll like

Shawn Allard

Mar 21, 2024

Bonjour / Hi (it’s a French thing),

Back at my desk after a long week of travel.

Half asleep after a sauna sesh but I’m ready for anything.

Quick thought:

The more I travel… the more excited I get about starting new businesses.

It’s not helping my case of shiny object syndrome.

You more than likely struggle with this.

It’s the toughest part of being a builder.

You’re always looking for fresh, new, exciting things.

But to build something big…

You must avoid the woman in the red dress ($100 bucks if you know the movie reference).

Jumping from thing to thing will cost you.

I know from experience.

I’m notorious for not sticking things through.

But I’m learning.

I now have 2 core focuses:

Hospitality Group - Veer Concepts
SMB Community - ParkSMB (will be announcing stuff about a more robust community structure soon)

Although I continue to say yes to many things, I always prioritize my 2 focuses.

There’s no benefit in trying to do more than you can handle.

Something will suffer.

P.S. - send this to your ex, he/she will thank you for it. Heck they may even wanna get back together.

Projects

Novel Ice Cream - Novel #3 lease is signed!

I’m pumped to be near Downtown Peoria.

Last Friday we dropped a badass Novel Anniversary tee that should get some more traction as we make more content around it.

We also launched a crazy good Churro Cheesecake flavor with Churro’s El Jefe that did well.

We made our traditional Churro ice cream but used their caramel imported directly from Mexico.

It was a hit.

If you’re in Arizona, check out Churro’s El Jefe.

Here’s what I’m working on over the next 2 weeks with Novel:

Interviews for Novel #3
Design a coming soon billboard to run in Downtown Phoenix
Work on content strategy and design for our main platform - Instagram (follow us @novelicecream)
Scout for location Novel #4
Outline how I want to rebuild our website (I’ve been sitting on this for a while) I built the original version but it’s a basic Squarespace site.

Remix Coffee - Finalizing the inventory list to begin making initial orders.

We’re working on designing cups and merch so that is in pre-production.

I’ll send some pics when I get mockups.

Needs for Remix this week:

Final construction touches - still waiting for the espresso machine to wrap up the plumbing
Work on final menu outline and design (today with Lance)
Interviews for baristas
Place coming soon banner
Design a coming soon billboard to run in Downtown Phoenix

2nd Acquisition - On hold with travel all week. Didn’t sit down and review financials on these 2 deals:

Electrical company - San Antonio, TX
Landscaping company - Tucson, AZ

If you invest in companies, email me and I’ll send you deal info.

Community - I hosted a small meetup in Denver on Friday night.

It was only 5 of us but the conversations were really special.

Here’s a pic of Charles walking us through his restaurant quality matrix:

I also was interviewed by a gentleman building a strong community with his newsletter - Buy x Build.

Check out the post he wrote after our interview here.

Subscribe if you like it.

Upcoming Events

PHX Private Terrace Event
Date: April 13
Location: Phoenix (RSVP to find out)
Time: 7-9 PM
Submit interest
PHX April Business Mixer
Date: April 23
Location: Downtown Phoenix (RSVP to find out)
Time: 7-9 PM
RSVP here
M&A Launchpad Conference
Date: May 11
Location: Downtown Houston
Learn more - USE CODE “SHAWN” for $200 off

I’m speaking at the event above.

Come hang out for the day if you can.

For real-time updates and to stay in touch:
Twitter/X: @shawnwallard
Linkedin: Shawn Allard
Instagram: @shawnallard

Podcast

Solid episode with Layne Norton about nutrition and why what you hear on social shouldn’t be taken at face value.yo

Music

My uncle sent me this set yesterday and I’ve had it on ever since.

My friend and I have been working on a playlist for over 2 years.

It’s only on Spotify.

Check it out here.

It’ll change your life.

Health

Marathon #2 - complete (pic below):

I’m proud of my performance.

Given my lack of training, I was able to shed an hour off my time last month.

My first marathon time was about 5 hours and 20 minutes.

Embarrassingly slow…

But I came out strong on Sunday and finished at 4 hours and 19 minutes.

It’s reassuring to know that long runs are never easy for anyone.

Even for the most experienced runners.

My left knee is pretty shot from the race though.

I’m putting a pause on marathons for a few months after doing 2 back to back.

This isn’t the last running challenge I’m doing.

If you’ve been reading the past few months you know I’m into all forms of exercise.

My easy challenge to you over the next 30 days is to get 10,000 steps every day.

No excuses.

A few benefits I’ve noticed from walking/running every day:

More energy
More creative
Less stress

Try it.

I’m also officially into my cut.

By the beginning of June, I should be about 20 lbs lighter.

Gotta be ready to go poolside in Montreal.

Community Supporters

Eric Hsu is the Founder of Clear Focus Law, a boutique buy-side M&A firm focused on helping self-funded searchers realize their acquisition dreams.

Connect with Eric here

Joshua Richman is the President of Symphony Risk, which offers insurance services designed to support search funds, entrepreneurial investment acquisition, and SMB owners. These services include complimentary pre-acquisition insurance due diligence, transactional risk products, and comprehensive post-transaction and/or operating insurance solutions.

Please reach out to Joshua at jrichman@symphonyrisk.com.

Elyse Gonzales is the Vice President of SBA Lending at Live Oak Bank and is supporting small business owners and buyers across the country in so many incredible ways. If you’re looking to purchase your first or next business or would like to learn more about the SBA and their lending process, right-click here to copy her email address.

I run all of this on my own so if you’d like to support this community, email me - sallard20@gmail.com.

Curated