The Special Sauce of P. Terry's Success
Patrick Terry, Co-founder of P. Terry's Burger Chain: 30+ Locations
“It’s a sign of weakness to want to do it all yourself; there are always people more knowledgable than you” - P. Terry’s
Who is He? Patrick Terry is the co-founder, and previous CEO of P. Terry's, a rapidly growing burger chain known for its commitment to using all-natural, locally-sourced ingredients. From humble beginnings, as a small burger stand to almost 30 locations throughout Texas, Patrick's story is one of hard work, determination, and a relentless focus on his team.
“The best advice I can give? You need to be able to admit what you are capable of doing—and more importantly what you are not capable of doing—to yourself and others.”
Q: How do you handle failures and setbacks?
A: Not well. I take it personally. I get frustrated and I take it on the chin for awhile. I may lose one night of sleep, but then I’m over it and I forget about it. What’s important is that you don’t carry it with you. It’s crucial that you are honest with yourself and that you try to understand why you were wrong. Accept that you’ve made a mistake and you have to move on because if you aren’t able to move on from setbacks then you are setting yourself up for even more failure.
Q: How do you handle risk and uncertainty as an entrepreneur?
A: You take a leap of faith. You have a plan and you go through every possible scenario of what can unfold, then it’s like jumping off a cliff into the ocean…you jump off and you pray for a safe landing. Because at some point you’ve done everything that you can, you believe in the company, you believe in yourself, and then you take that leap of faith.
Building and Maintaining a Strong Team:
We give everyone a birthday cake on their birthday. When we started with 20 people, it wasn’t a big deal. But now we have 1100…We have 2 bakers, a company car, a woman that is a full time cake deliverer—because we saw how important it was to our employees when they got a birthday cake.
The way that we’ve kept such a strong team is that we use respect. That’s a word that gets tossed around so much it becomes meaningless, but we know that we can’t do this without [our employees]. So the first thing we do is admit that. We don’t play any games. If you are a valuable team member and you are helping then we don’t want you to leave.
You want to build a business? Here are Patricks’ 3 steps:
Find a need ➡ What’s a problem that needs to be solved?
Find a difference ➡ How can you solve it differently than others?
Run the idea by people you trust ➡ Is this a stupid idea?
On Passion:
The very first P. Terry’s was 500 square feet with bad air-conditioning and bad heating. You were either freezing cold or sweating. So for me to spend 12 hours in that building every single day, it had to matter to me. I enjoy the customers, I enjoy the food, I enjoy the people that work with us, I just enjoy the whole idea. So it’s so important to figure out what you like and want to do. When you are looking for your passion, money shouldn’t be involved—I get that you need to eat, but if you prioritize money then it’s going to be a long miserable life.