It's Acadiana: Out to Lunch

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? What services are they already using? It’s a way of measuring your potential. And that can be crucial to attracting investors, especially to a new idea and a niche product. But for a lot of entrepreneurs, the very first market test is themselves. Kelly Hebert has a background in marketing and runs a media and design company with her husband. But Kelly is here to talk about a feeling we’re all familiar with: hangriness. On a long road trip, Kelly got a little hungry and irritable and had a frustrating time finding a place to eat on her route. The experience inspired a search for an easier way. That led her to Dryve, a new travel app designed for parents. Dryve helps them make easier pit stops with streamlined searches for coffee, restaurants, fuel and more. The idea is to quickly direct parents to what they need with as little distraction as possible. Not every business idea requires extensive market research or design. Sometimes you just need a gimmick. People like to poo-poo a kitschy calling card, but let’s face it: Everyone in business is trying to stand out. And little stands out more than Santa riding a lawn mower. If you run into that yuletide vision in Lafayette, you’re probably looking at Santa Sutton. Santa’s idea began as a way of getting noticed. He took his dad’s old Santa suit and started riding an electric scooter, just to see if he could go viral. And he did. Santa on a Scooter became something of a sensation on TikTok, and Santa parlayed that fame into a business: Santa on a Mower. Santa on a Mower is exactly what it sounds like. And it works. Since launching in 2022, Santa has signed dozens of properties to manage year round. Before that, Santa worked for 15 years as a chef and was born and raised in Lafayette. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 usually remembered for being wildly successful. It’s a contradiction in terms. To illustrate: Imagine trying to explain yoga to a bunch of Cajuns in the 1980s. Movement Yoga is so commonplace now, it’s hard to fathom. But that’s pretty much the story of Jerry Smith-Guidry, who was one of the very first people to teach yoga in Lafayette. A self-described “type A” personality, she discovered wellness and yoga in 1989 and fell in love. She went on to create the yoga program at Red Lerille’s Health Club here in Lafayette. Today, Jerry runs Acadiana Yoga & Wellness studio, which she founded in 2009. Acadiana Yoga offers a range of wellness services, including yoga classes, massage, reiki, pilates and more. It’s also the only Yoga and Pilates mat certification in Lafayette. Meat It’s one thing when you’re introducing something new, and another thing entirely to introduce something misunderstood. Like bologna. Yes, bologna. And if you’re eating a slice of cajun smoked bologna made by Ross Brown, go ahead and get rid of any preconceived notion of how that sausage is made. This is Bougie Bologna — High grade stuff made from pork shoulder. 100% free of byproducts, mechanically separated meats, and the unmentionables you usually find in bologna with the first name O-S-C-A-R. Ross got into making bologna to convince his wife to like it. He learned the process from YouTube and started selling at a local bar — the Freetown Boom Boom Room in Lafayette. It caught on. And in 2022, Bougie Bologna was born. Ross quit his job offshore and has moved into bologna full time. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 making headlines, like ChatGPT, are really only the latest in a long line of advances in technologies designed to assist work - that is make it easier on people. Most companies still rely on people. And they need people to be good at what they do. AI can make work more efficient, but it can also help companies select and train their employees. That’s the concept behind iCan, a company founded by David DeCuir. David spent years in the oil and gas industry and noticed that workforce development was a big problem. His company employed lots of people, but they struggled to make sure they all knew what they were doing. So he developed a new training program for his employer and cut $2.5 million off their annual bottom line. Saving money is making money in business, so David struck out on his own. And iCan was born. iCan’s cloud-based software helps companies set up custom platforms that use chatbots to train employees on anything from HR guidelines to procedures. Since launching fulltime in 2022, iCan has expanded from the energy industry to work with utilities and processing facilities. David grew up in Lafayette and currently lives in the Geismar/Dutchtown area. Helping companies get better is a massive industry. We generally call them consultants. And their product lines can range from expert assistance to IT. If you’re in Lafayette, you’ve heard of CGI. And you probably think of it as a tech company. But it’s better understood as a consulting firm, and it’s one of the largest in the world. Will LaBar is VP of consulting service for CGI and worked for the company out of Lafayette since 2000. Will was CGI employee number one in the Lafayette market. CGI employs hundreds in the area. Will is in charge of CGI’s onshore delivery program. He leads a team that helps smaller markets get technology jobs, coordinating between local governments, business sectors and universities. Will grew up in New Jersey and has worked for CGI since 1998. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 to life at the turn of millennium. That turnaround didn’t come from nowhere. In 1983, some local business leaders created Downtown Lafayette Unlimited, a nonprofit group that promotes activity and commerce in Downtown Lafayette, sort of like a chamber of commerce. Most folks know DLU by its major public programs like Downtown Alive! and most recently the building of an inclusive playground at Parc Sans Souci. Today, DLU is headed by Jessica Hauerwas, who took over as DLU’s executive director in 2023. Jessica comes from a marketing background. She moved to Lafayette from Houma to go to UL and got jobs in marketing and business development at Acadiana Center for the Arts, Brand Russo and LogoJet. Jessica got involved in DLU as a board member, becoming board president. Her job today is to promote Downtown as a destination and community asset and to raise money for DLU’s programs and activities. American Downtowns can be pretty old. That’s why folks left for the suburbs in the first place: lots of cheap, new stuff. But Downtowns have great bones and great buildings. Putting them back into proper form is a great way to freshen up the built environment and create a sense of place. For that kind of work, you’ll need an architect. Nic Bourque, is an architect’s architect. Fun fact: Nic was the first person to receive a master’s degree in architecture from UL. From there, he worked as a staff designer in Baton Rouge before returning to Lafayette to open his own firm in 2013. Nic joined veteran firm Holly & Smith Architects in 2022, where he now serves as its studio director. Holly & Smith have earned a reputation for restoring forgotten buildings, particularly in Downtowns and main streets. They work mostly on commercial projects, with some residential contracts mixed in. They’ve carved out a niche for themselves in sustainable design and specialize in using passive climate control systems, landscaping and shading to achieve comfortable interiors with a smaller carbon footprint. The firm has locations in Lafayette, New Orleans and Hammond. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, too. There are fitness programs based on ballet and dance. They combine movement, performance, expression and a pretty good workout. That would be one way to describe aerial arts. You might be more familiar with how it’s applied to gymnastics or the circus: high flying trapeze acts or silk climbers. You can get a taste of the high life with a little help from Rachel Adams, co-founder and co-owner of Sky Craft, an aerial arts studio right here in Lafayette. Rachel started taking aerial arts classes in 2015 with Erin Welch, who is now her business partner. They co-founded Sky Craft in 2022. The studio offers group and private instruction, as well as aerial performers for hire — no pun intended. Rachel and Erin often do pop-up performances at major events like Festival International or nonprofit fundraisers. About 80% of Sky Craft students are kids, Rachel says. But interest among adults is steadily (ahem) rising. Exercise might be good business, but the fundamentals of physical fitness are something most of us learn in school. Do you want a career in physical education? Well, it’s not really good enough to be the football coach anymore — you’ve got to know what you’re doing. K-Lynn Mckey, is someone who can help you with that. K-Lynn grew up in Monroe and has lived in Lafayette since 2019 where she's a senior instructor in UL Lafayette’s School of Kinesiology and the program coordinator for K-12 Health and PE. In a nutshell, K-Lynn’s job is to teach teachers. And that job description is shifting fast. K-Lynn’s program includes online instruction, which presents a challenge in and of itself: How do you teach someone to teach physical education in a Zoom room? A 21st century problem if there ever was one. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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-round in Acadiana. And that’s not just because it’s always hot. The local dessert market is on the move. Food trucks are flying around Johnston Street. That’s because a food truck is a great vehicle for a home grown dessert business. You can keep mixing and baking at home, without the trouble of operating a commercial kitchen and front of house. Nina Marie Charles has taken her craft as a cake artist from her house in Carencro all the way to Netflix. She was a contestant on Is It Cake in 2022. Locally, she’s known for her elaborately designed wedding cakes and for her food truck — Nina Creole where rolls are the name of the game: she makes them sweet and savory, with Louisiana spins on a fried egg roll. Nina grew up in Carencro and worked in insurance and disaster response for several years before launching her cake business in 2016. Nina Creole was launched in 2021. Of course, if you’re going to indulge, why not go big and get all the toppings. Sweet Magnolias Creamery can bring the whole frozen yogurt experience to your backyard. And my guest Charity Lewis is the one driving the truck. Sweet Magnolias is named for a mini pig on Charity’s mini farm. The mobile fro yo truck isn’t the only venture named for Maggie the pig. Charity also operates a nonprofit — Magnolia Kids Club — and a farmers market — Maggie’s Organic Market. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com. Charity is originally from Detroit but moved to Louisiana after a 10-year stint in Arizona. She got the idea for the frozen yogurt shop from taking her kids to shops in Phoenix. And each summer, Sweet Magnolia’s serves a little homage to her time in Arizona: the prickly pear lemonade. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 word and your values mean something. So when a small town business endures, that’s usually a mark of strong community roots. Or a mark of making a high quality roux. Besides barbecue sauce, jarred roux is the secret sauce behind the longevity of Kary’s Roux and Pig Stand in Ville Platte. Ross Lafleur is the general manager. Kary’s is well known for its line of specialty sauces and seasonings. You can find them at just about any grocery store in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Florida. It started life as a restaurant. Ross’ grandfather bought the restaurant he worked in as a teenager. He and his business partner found success bottling and selling the barbecue sauce they served with their plate lunches. Ross’s dad, Kary, joined the business in the 1970s, and the Lafleurs splintered off to focus on manufacturing. And that’s the business Ross now oversees. It comes with a lot of cooking. 21st century marketing is one thing, but the best way to sell a sauce, is the good old fashioned taste test. It’s also Ross’s favorite part of the job. Whether you’re selling jarred roux or running a restaurant, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll need somewhere to put all that money or maybe get a loan. And if you’re living in a small town, a community bank is a great option. Banking, like a lot of other industries, is hot on consolidation. But community banks like St. Landry Bank and Trust still offer value to main street markets, where customers put a premium on knowing the people they business with. At St. Landry Bank, Shelly Fontenot is the person to know. She leads business development for the Bank, meaning she spends a lot of time on the road building relationships and giving customers a taste of what community banking is like. St. Landry Bank has been around a long time. It was founded in the late 19th century and is still firmly rooted in St. Landry Parish, with several branches in Opelousas and shops in Port Barre, Eunice, Scott, Carencro and in Lafayette. Shelly had an unconventional path to banking. She got a degree in Fire Science and worked in the health and medical resources field out of school. She joined St. Landry Bank after connecting with her boss through a local Kiwanis Club. Shelly is from Ville Platte and now lives in Pine Prairie. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Dylan Babineaux at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 future. I’m a simple country journalist. I use numbers all the time: probabilities, data analysis, reading white papers on science and the economy. You can’t convince me that math doesn’t mean something, especially when coding is one the nation’s most in-demand jobs. Ashley Carter loves math. More specifically, she loves to teach it. Ashley got a degree in finance but has made a career in tutoring with her company Minds Matter Tutoring. Math is the number one subject kids ask for help with, Ashley says. But she can help with any K through 12 discipline. Ashley is the only tutor in Lafayette certified by the National Tutoring Association and one of only three in the state. She brings a compassion for parenting to the structure of her business model. Ashley is a mom of two, including one child with dyslexia. Ashley grew up near New Orleans and lives in Lafayette. She launched Minds Matter in 2019. So you don’t think you’ll need math when you get older? Try telling that to a business exec reading budgets and P and L’s. More to the point, you never really stop learning if you want to find success in business. And there are folks out there who can help you do that. Dr. Phyllis Donatto spent years as an educator and now runs FTH Dimension, a workplace coaching consultancy. FTH Dimension’s trainings revolve around what Phyllis calls the three C’s: Connect, Communicate, Collaborate. She offers group trainings that include personality assessments, workplace observation and one on one coaching. And her clients range from individual entrepreneurs to corporations. Phyllis grew up in Eudora, Arkansas, and became the first college graduate in her family. She earned a doctorate in education from UL Monroe and now lives in Lafayette. Besides being an executive coach, Phyllis is also the author of the popular children's book, Mom There's a Rooster In The House. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

East to New York City. West to Los Angeles. Pick your poison as the saying goes. Out of one swamp. Into another. For the Louisiana diaspora, home is hard to quit. Home is where the heart is, after all. Many transplants become boomerangs, a demographic term of art for people who go away and come home. At least, that’s the hope if — like Louisiana — you’re a net exporter of people and talent. Coming home can be a double-edged sword. It’s comforting. But, in creative industries, it can mean making do in a smaller market with opportunities hard to come by. On the flipside: You might become the change you want to see in the world. Kelly Clayton was the first in fifteen generations in her family to leave Louisiana. Kelly is a poet, playwright and workshop facilitator. She left for New York in 1991 with a suitcase and seven boxes of books. And she meant it as a one-way ticket. But she returned to Louisiana in 2010. Back home, Kelly has continued working as a literary artist here. She teaches poetry and creative writing, and organizes programs for formerly incarcerated people and kids in the Louisiana Juvenile Detention Center. In 2020, she published her poetry collection Mother of Chaos Queen of the Nines. Kelly grew up between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, but lives in Lafayette. When Rachel Nederveld left home for Los Angeles, she knew she’d eventually come back home to Lafayette. Rachel is a film producer and podcaster, and made her name for herself in documentary circles with works like The Tuba Thieves and Footwork. Rachel first worked in the music industry, getting a job with the legendary indie label K Records and opening Lafayette’s location of the Tipitina’s Music Co-Op in 2008. She got into film production in 2010 and moved to L.A. in 2014. Being a producer is sort of like being the CEO of a film, Rachel says. She’s responsible largely for the logistics and fundraising. Her films have premiered at SXSW, Sundance, Tribeca and Lafayette’s hometown festival, Southern Screen. Rachel returned to Lafayette in 2022 and is also developing a career in podcasting. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find p\otos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are few words in the english language that more poetic when strung together than "coffee" "weed" and "cobbler." Yes, this is another "only in Acadiana" episode of Out to Lunch. So let's dive in. For a lot of entrepreneurs, the dream of owning a business is about independence. The money helps, of course. But what they’re really after is a kind of self-expression or self-determination. They want the satisfaction of working on their own terms, of doing things their own way. Working for someone else can offer stability, but it can be confining — especially when you have an unusual idea. You might not think a coffee shop is an unusual idea. But you’ve probably not been to a coffee shop quite like Coffeeweed Cottage in Lafayette. It’s the brainchild of Denise Champagne McClure. Coffeeweed (which is technically a colloquial term for chicory) doubles as a cafe and home decor showroom. You can buy a cup of joe — artisan roasted — and shop for books, local crafts and…plants. Denise is a trained horticulturist, and a big part of Coffeeweed’s vibe is its grow bar. Customers book grow bar sessions, pick plants and pots and get a lesson on how to help their new green friends thrive. Denise grew up in Cecilia and opened Coffeeweed in 2023. So diving headfirst into a new concept isn’t the only path to striking out on your own. Plenty of entrepreneurs take advantage of franchising opportunities. That’s how Christy Nolan and her husband Patrick came to open a Lafayette location of the fast-growing dessert chain: the Peach Cobbler Factory. There’s no mystery here. The Peach Cobbler Factory is known for…wait for it…peach cobbler. But the concept serves up a much bigger dessert menu that encourages experimentation. Customers can mix and match toppings how they like. Christy and Patrick both work full time outside of running their Peach Cobbler location. The idea was to find a concept that would give them an off-ramp to retirement. They toyed with a few ideas but fell in love with the Peach Cobbler concept when a friend opened locations in Alabama. A taste test at a location in New Orleans sealed the deal. They opened their location in 2023. Christy grew up in Erath and now lives in Abbeville. She works for AT&T and her husband works offshore. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Liliana Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Acadiana is famous for ingenuity. Look no further than a crawfish boat to see what I mean. You might say that innovation is in the water. And that’s because the peoples who settled here needed to be clever to survive. Of course, these days, necessity isn’t the only mother of invention. We live in the sportsman’s paradise, after all. Fishing is what led Brian Signorelli to his signature invention. He was out on his boat one morning, fishing in some familiar waters, juggling a handheld flashlight and trying to work the throttle to avoid a stump. He hit a stump. And an idea hit him. Basin Boat Lighting. Basin Boat Lighting is a patented safety lighting and signal system for watercraft. It fixes right on to a boat and can be powered by an adaptable charger that can use whatever power tool battery pack you prefer. The idea has been a hit with boating enthusiasts and kayakers and Brian has since expanded the line to include more sophisticated and powerful units. Everything he produces meets or exceeds Coast Guard standards and is made right here in the U.S. of A — and by veterans, too. Brian is a Navy vet, a medical fraud investigator and a registered nurse, too. Maybe on your way to your favorite fishing hole, you’ve noticed a lot more RVs cruising the highway. It’s not your imagination, the RV and camping industry has exploded, especially since the pandemic. And camp sites have popped up around the country. But here’s a problem: You could book a spot for your camper a year in advance, hit some bad traffic on the way in and miss your booking. That means you might need a spot that night. And until Terry Broussard developed the app Spot2Nite, you were pretty much out of luck. Think of Spot2Nite as Priceline for RVs. It makes it easier for wayward campers to run down last-minute spots by marketing last-minute inventory at area camp sites. It’s pretty much full service. It can filter availabilities based on the type of vehicle you drive, preferences for amenities and can even do the booking for you, with 24/7 customer support. Terry and his son-in-law developed the business after Terry had retired from a long career in the healthcare industry. It’s since become the perfect retirement business. He can operate on the move in his own RV with a remote workforce. Terry is also a veteran. He served for 21 years as an air force nurse and later became a veteran recruiter for Acadian Ambulance. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all like to think of our businesses are unique. We come up with a value proposition or a mission statement designed to stick out in the market. But the reality is, pretty much every industry is crowded with competitors and copycats selling pretty much the same thing. That’s capitalism. Now throw in the internet and the number of competitors explodes. It doesn’t just affect businesses that are used to locking down a local geographic advantage — like car dealerships, for instance. Krisitie McMath Hebert knows all about that. She’s a third generation auto-dealer at Arceneaux Ford in New Iberia. Her father courted her to the family business right out of college, with the debut of a new Ford dealer incentive program. His offer: a salary, a car and paid off student debt. So, Kristie took that opportunity and ran with it. Today, she oversees the dealership’s four departments and its 42 employees. And she is the first woman named chair of Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association. It’s not just car dealerships that have dealt with a shifting playing field. Today, you can get any number of mental health services online — and not all of it by ChatGPT. The counseling industry has changed quite a lot, even for folks working locally. Shelly Killingsworth is a counselor and the founder of Worth Counseling, a boutique counseling service that specializes in integrative mental health.The approach is holistic. Food, mind, body and spirit affect mental health, Shelley says, and that guides how they treat patients. In-person visits feature a sensory, spa-like experience. And Worth also provides online services. Shelly got her start as a contract counselor, developing enough clientele to launch Worth in 2019. The center now employs 9 counselors and is still growing. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Service businesses are tricky. For the most part, you’re selling assistance. And even when folks know they need help, things can get tense. Imagine making a living when your clientele is by definition struggling. When someone brings you a mess, you need to be able to clean up with confidence, compassion and clarity. Savings Clarity is where Sonya Colliver starts with her clients. Sonya is the founder of the money management company Fix It Change It. And that brand about sums up her approach. When clients come to her in debt or dire financial straits, Sonya cuts to the chase with a color-coded spreadsheet: "Is this something we can fix or change?" Pretty straightforward. And straight talk is essential when you’re helping families navigate money problems. Sonya also helps business clients and has a background in business herself. She and her husband have owned an HVAC company, Lake Mechanical, for over 24 years. She’s done money management work for years and officially incorporated Fix It Change It in 2020. Sober Getting back on your feet takes more than a rebound. People who suffer from addiction often need a period of transition to get started on the long road to recovery. Many will make that transition from in-patient rehab back into independence at a sober living house. That was Luke Moore’s journey and along the way he found himself dissatisfied with the quality of sober living homes. So he prayed about it and started his own here in Lafayette: The Captain’s Table. The Captain’s Table sets itself apart with a higher standard of living. The weekly or monthly fees come with necessities and Netflix, while residents provide their own food and toiletries. The house has eight beds and the residents do most of the upkeep and commit to self-improvement programs. Luke has since relocated to Monroe and the day-to-day operations of the facility are overseen by a live-in manager. Luke also operates a garbage can cleaning service called Bin Bros. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Follow your dreams. It’s what they tell you as soon as you learn to dance or play guitar. What they don’t tell you is — prepare for building maintenance and customer service. For entrepreneurs of any stripe, reality is coming and it’s a cold drink of water. It takes a lot of work and unglamorous work at that, once you get to the promised land. Really savvy operators can turn that insight into another opportunity. That’s what Tim Benson did after following his dream of working in the music business. Tim Benson is the owner and founder of the Music Academy of Acadiana, located right here in Lafayette. He started the academy after his band broke up and spending a few years teaching lessons privately. One thing Tim figured out about running a music school: A lot of them have pretty crummy customer service. So he hatched a new company and service called PhoneScore, which provides feedback and reviews of how employees handle telephone interactions. Bad phone etiquette is a weak link in marketing for a lot of businesses, Tim says. Many will spend loads of cash on SEO and advertising, only to introduce their brands to customers with a lousy greeting. Oh, and Tim helps with the SEO stuff too. He founded NetScore, a digital marketing service that helps brands with content, digital ad placements, newsletter campaigns and more. Tim grew up in Carencro and along with his business ventures is still living the dream as a gigging musician. Allison Brandon spent years in dance and theater instruction before taking the plunge to follow her dream: opening an arts education and performing arts center here in Lafayette: Wonderland Center for the Performing Arts. The school grew out of small scale productions she developed from a weekly program for kids. Wonderland brought that idea to a much bigger stage, literally. Wonderland organizes some serious productions and houses a suite of theater and performing arts classes, most of it formatted for kids and teens. It hosts private lessons for voice, piano, dance, audition prep and even some specialty courses like Greek theater. The community around Wonderland has grown considerably since Allison opened her first brick-and-mortar space in 2017. Today it works with about 120 students and employs a staff of 15, including 12 teachers. Wonderland also houses Allison’s other theatrical ventures: the Looking Glass Theater Company and the Mad Thinkers, an interactive theater workshop for kids. This is Allison's first time on Out to Lunch IRL but not her first time on the show. Her debut appearance was during the Covid 19 pandemic when we were all working remotely on Zoom. This IRL edition of Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every business has an origin story: the moment where it all clicked and made sense. Most of the time, it’s the stuff of myth and legend. Successful businesses rarely fall from the sky and bonk you on the head. Unless, Sir Isaac Newton had it in his mind to bottle gravity and sell it. For most entrepreneurs, getting from the idea to success is more about force of will than innovation, especially if you work in a niche industry. For Brent Broussard, inspiration came from therapy. Brent took an interest in his therapist’s beaded bracelet, and his therapist suggested making bracelets might help Brent work on his patience. So Brent got to work, and in 2021, Beads by Brentley was born. Brent’s bracelets are made with earthy beads like obsidian, lava, turquoise and tiger eyes. Right now, his company is mostly e-commerce end-to-end. He sources the beads online and sells them through Facebook and Shopify, with some inventory sold at Lone Wolf Gatherings in Lafayette. Brent also operates a nonprofit called Acadiana Vanguard Youth Initiative. The program helps young people on Lafayette’s Northside develop financial literacy skills, as well as life coaching and business coaching. Both the nonprofit and Beads by Brently are housed under Brent’s company Broussard Enterprise Group. Brent grew up on the Northside and spent years in sales before moving into entrepreneurship. "Politics is Louisiana’s favorite sport," the saying goes. But it’s not necessarily a big industry. The landscape for political communications and strategy is relatively narrow and limited to policymakers in Baton Rouge. Breaking into the business from outside the Capitol is not an easy thing to do. You’ve got to ride a wave of victory to get somewhere in politics, and that can be hard with small-time candidates and causes, who often don’t have big budgets or name recognition. Azi Yazdi-Kaufman is a political strategist and created the Blue Jay Strategic Consulting Group, a firm she launched in 2023. Azi had worked around communications and marketing for years, but moved officially into political strategy while working to change a piece of legislation that would have prohibited some foreign nationals from owning property in Louisiana. Azi is the daughter of an immigrant and she brought that perspective to her lobbying work. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know the saying: They don’t build them like they used to. When it comes to homes and buildings, that’s usually said like it’s a bad thing. But with a changing climate and changing marketplace, building things like we used to — brick by brick, nail by nail — just doesn’t cut it any more. Enter modular construction. The idea isn’t totally unheard of. Prefabricated buildings have been around for decades. But New Iberia's Tiago Atwi and his brother have brought a new twist on the concept with their comany, Boxy Construction. Boxy designs and delivers steel framed, modular structures for residential and commercial construction. Think of it like real-life legos. Boxy ships all the parts you need, pre-fabricated with the fastenings and holes you need to set up the building quickly. Tiago is a mechanical engineer by trade and worked on wind turbines out of college, getting his start on modular construction for a company based in Atlanta. He decided to bring the concept home to New Iberia where he grew up. And Boxy was born. It’s not just building standards that have changed. They don’t make soap like they used to either. Ebony Robert figured that out when her son had a stubborn case of eczema. On a trip back home to visit family in Orlando, her great grandmother encouraged her to make him some old fashioned lye soap. It worked. And suddenly, Ebony had a good problem on her hands: she needed to make a lot more soap. That journey led her to founding Ebony’s Beauty Hair and Skin Care. By 2015, she was selling her products in stores and online. In 2018, she opened a storefront in Lafayette’s Northgate mall. The brand has grown tremendously. Ebony’s products are sold by Amazon, Walmart and carried by Doordash. Her shop carries about 3,000 different beauty and wellness products. But her handmade soaps are still the star of the show — and Ebony still mixes, labels and ships them all herself. In 2020, Ebony opened the Entrepreneurship Learning Academy to help others learn how to run businesses. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Lilliana Morgan at itsacadiana.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Balance is everything. Greek philosophers thought of it as the key to happiness — the Golden Mean, the happy medium between extremes. When you’re out of balance —emotionally or physically — things can go wrong real fast. In the context of health, we often think of balance as a problem that primarily affects older patients. But there are a wide variety of illnesses and conditions that can quite literally knock you off balance. Our sense of balance is created by delicate, complicated systems. And so it takes a very specialized approach to treat. FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Center, located in Lafayette, is a doctor-owned clinic set up specifically to treat vestibular disorders — the range of conditions like vertigo that impact human balance. Jenee Leger, is Fyzical’s physician liaison. Her job is to connect the center’s services with doctors and other providers in the Lafayette area. She came to the company with a background in medical sales. Fyzical itself is a franchise, with several hundred locations across the country. The Lafayette location opened in 2018, and is owned by a group of ear nose and throat doctors — otolaryngologists, if you’re into proper names. The centers offer the kind of specialized balance treatment you might find in a hospital setting. And it can also offer adjacent services like an on-site audiologist. Vestibular disorders commonly affect military veterans. And Jenee works with local veterans groups to do outreach and education about those disorders and how to treat them. Jenee grew up in Franklin and is also the author of a children’s book called I Know Just What I Want to Be. When George Mills was in Texas, you might say his life got out of balance. He landed there to go to rehab and stuck around. The program didn’t take and he went through another. George has been clean since 1994 and the journey brought him to a career in behavioral health. For 25 years, he worked for the treatment program that helped him. He left that role to become the executive director of The Extra Mile, a nonprofit organization that fills gaps in behavioral health left by government services. The Extra Mile primarily offers programs for families, with an emphasis on support for families dealing with addiction, trauma and severe mental illness. It’s free clothes shop distributes $48,000 worth of donated clothes each quarter. The Avec Les Enfants program provides space for noncustodial parents to visit their kids. Meredith’s Place is a residential addiction treatment center for pregnant women or women with dependent children. George grew up in Michigan and has served as executive director of the Extra Mile since 2020. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Lilliana Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Making a living in healthcare is a pain. Whatever side of it you work in, at some level you’re dealing with people. That’s the case if you’re a doctor, a researcher or even an entrepreneur. When people buy what you’re selling, theoretically at least, they’re hoping to improve their lives. And not just in the way a nespresso machine would. This can be a matter of life and death. Or pain and comfort. No pressure. It’s one thing to conceive of a new way to brew coffee. Another thing entirely to think of a new way to treat wounds and bring that idea to market in an intense and thorny regulatory environment. Wound care is the primary product for Tides Medical, a biotech company headquartered here in Lafayette and founded by Joe Spell. Joe has a background in marketing and worked for years selling medical products. He launched Tides in 2009, seeing an opportunity to improve customer care. But the company took off after it landed on its signature innovation: advanced wound care products sourced from donated placenta. Tides is now the largest commercial biotech firm in Louisiana and opened the state’s first tissue bank. The company now operates in 50 states with a salesforce of over 200 people, on top of 130 people employed in Louisiana. Joe is originally from Milton and is a recent graduate of Harvard Business School. Treating pain is tough. Imagine going anywhere when your body hurts. Trouble is, when you’re in pain is often when you most need to move. Motion is lotion. Alix Sorrel is a physical therapist and the founder of Integrated Physical Therapy and Pilates. Her practice combines conventional PT with Pilates classes to help clients manage pain from injuries, chronic illnesses and more. Alix came to the idea as a patient, after trying pilates to treat pain before her wedding. She launched Integrated Physical Therapy in 2012 and added the pilates studio in 2013. Today, her practice sees about 30-40 patients a week, ranging in age from seven to 94. Alix grew up in New Iberia and holds a doctorate in physical therapy. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Lilliana Morgan. at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes the best business ideas are hereditary. And I don’t mean family businesses. Every family has a secret sauce or skill: maybe a green thumb or a gift for gab. Turning the family tradition into a business may not be so easy — unless you’ve inherited the entrepreneurial gene. That’s because everyone is trying to sell the family recipe these days. Especially in Acadiana, where every last name seems to have a seasoning blend. But not every spice entrepreneur knows krav maga, like Kisha Formica. Spice Kisha is maybe best known for Kitchen Bravo, her online cooking and recipe brand. It started as a hobby, a way to share her love of cooking with the world wide web. But it’s also become a vehicle to sell Gunpowder Spice, based on a blend developed by her grandfather, who was an avid game hunter. The product has been a family staple for decades, but it was Kisha who brought it to market in 2022, packaging it in a bottle shaped like a shotgun shell and a pair of dueling pistols — all of it a nod to her grandfather’s love of hunting. Kisha is from the Lafayette area and also teaches krav maga. Skincare If you pick up a product by Bea’s Bayou Skincare, you’re buying a little homage to Arielle Brown’s grandmother, Beatrice. Beatrice was an herbalist and an entrepreneur in her own right, known for her legendary pies. When Arielle began making skin products, she turned to her grandmother’s gift for horticulture for inspiration. The result: a line of creams, serums and solutions made with Louisiana plants like saw palmetto, blue green algae, sassafras, nettle and sugar cane. Arielle's flagship product — Good Biome Scalp Relief Solution — was developed as a salve for her own skin issues. The solution took off on Etsy and spurred Arielle to expand her product line. Arielle has turned the concept into a successfully formula, winning thousands in funding from pitch competitions like Fund Black Founders and the Essence and Aveeno Skin Health Pitch. Arielle is also a social worker and real estate agent and grew up in Lafayette. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A good product doesn’t just solve problems, it makes a customer feel good. And that can start with the buying experience itself. Smart retailers know how to balance a hard sell with a soft touch, making customers believe that they are in control, and most importantly they are special. For a lot of retailers, that means cultivating an experience. For Rusty Phillips, co-owner of The Bougie Bar in Downtown Lafayette, the experience is everything. Bougie Bar is essentially a candle-making activity center. Groups book time at the shop and bring snacks and drinks to enjoy while they make custom jelly candles. The shop also retails goodies like shirts, mugs and chocolates. The Bougie concept was a natural extension of Bourbon Royalty, the candle manufacturer Rusty founded with his business partner Jamie. Jamie made candles as a side hustle and the business grew into a pretty big producer, with around 800 wholesale accounts in 14 states. The Bougie Bar was born out of customer demand. Folks wanted to pop in the warehouse to make candles. In 2019, Bougie Bar was born. When you’re selling clothes, you’re selling something personal. All the more so when you’re selling something intimate, like bras and lingerie. Meaghan McCarron Savoy is the owner of La Femme, a bra fitting studio and retailer in Lafayette. La Femme’s specialty is quality and customization. Meaghan's staff is expertly trained in fitting the hand-selected brands they carry. And they help customers think through all of the possible applications and needs for their purchases. They have a lactation consultant and an expert in mastectomy fitting on staff. It’s a complicated business. Women often hate bras. They can be uncomfortable to wear and awkward to purchase. La Femme’s answer is attention to detail and a community vibe. They’re selling confidence, Meaghan says. She would know. Meaghan was a loyal customer before she bought the shop in 2021. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Lilliana Morgan at itsacadiana.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.