People, Then Profits

Two weeks into owning and operating The Local Epicurean Grand Rapids, most of the decisions we’ve made don’t show up as wins on a P&L.

They show up in smaller ways. A checkout that moves a little faster. A schedule that is easier to understand. Fewer scraps of paper. Less back-and-forth text messaging. One fewer thing to remember during a busy shift. Almost all of these choices share one thing in common. They cost money. Not a lot individually, but enough that, taken together, they are noticeable.

We’ve made them anyway. On purpose.

Early on, you are not just installing systems. You are setting expectations. About what matters. About how decisions get made. About whether “people first” is a slogan, or a discipline you are willing to practice when it costs you something.

Small changes, real signals

None of what we’ve done so far is flashy. That’s kind of the point.

We’ve invested in technology to make checkout quicker and smoother for guests, while also giving us clearer visibility into what is actually selling. Not because software is exciting, but because friction is exhausting for both customers and team members. When people do not have to fight the system, they can focus on the experience.

We’ve implemented tools that simplify shift scheduling, team communication, time tracking and payroll. These are not “nice-to-haves” if you want to scale. They reduce confusion, eliminate manual work and remove the need for constant supervision. They also give people clarity about where they need to be, when, and why.

We’ve put systems in place for smoother ordering and given more ownership of ordering to the management team. That decision carries risk. It also carries trust. People tend to rise to responsibility when it is real, not symbolic.

And perhaps most importantly, we’ve been listening. Asking where the friction is. Looking for pain points. Making simple, visible improvements where we can. Quick wins that say, we are paying attention.

None of these decisions optimize for the short term. All of them improve the odds of long-term viability.

Why this often looks wrong on paper

If you look at these choices in isolation, they can feel backwards.

Why spend money so early? Why add tools before revenue has fully caught up? Why absorb marginal costs when you could just “run lean” a little longer?

Because optimizing too early is one of the most reliable ways to build something brittle.

When leaders chase efficiency before people can do their jobs well, they end up with systems that technically work but are emotionally exhausting. Manual processes that depend on heroics. Tribal knowledge instead of clarity. Burnout disguised as hustle.

What looks like discipline on a spreadsheet often shows up as friction on the floor.

The bet we are actually making

We are not spending for comfort. We are spending for consistency.

We are buying fewer mistakes. Fewer workarounds. Fewer moments where someone has to guess what to do. We are buying systems that can scale without breaking the people inside them.

We are also sending a signal. This is how decisions get made here. We are willing to go first. We will absorb costs early in exchange for durability later.

That signal matters more than any individual improvement.

A lesson in shower heads

There is a story I remember from The Score Takes Care of Itself (or a similar leadership book) about a new owner taking over a sports team. Early on, he listened for small complaints. One of the loudest was surprisingly simple. The showers were bad.

Instead of commissioning a study or deferring it to a future renovation plan, he replaced the shower heads immediately.

It was not about the plumbing. It was about respect. About showing that if something small was broken and easy to fix, it would get fixed. That people did not need to shout to be heard. That leadership was paying attention to the details that shape daily experience.

Those are the kinds of moments teams remember.

Going first sets the tone

In the early days of ownership, people are watching closely. Not what you say, but what you do. What you tolerate. What you fix quickly. What you are willing to invest in before the returns are obvious.

Going first matters. If leaders are willing to spend time, energy and money to make the work better, others follow. If leaders nickel-and-dime the basics, people do the same with their effort.

Culture is not created by values written on a wall. It is created by the first few dozen decisions everyone sees up close.

Profits still matter

This is not a rejection of financial discipline. Profits matter. Sustainability matters. Accountability matters.

But profits are an outcome, not an input.

When people have clarity, good tools and systems that support them, they make better decisions. They create better experiences. They stay longer. They make fewer mistakes. Over time, that shows up very clearly in the numbers.

In the short run, this approach can look more expensive. In the long run, it is usually the cheapest path available.

People who feel supported build stronger systems. Systems designed for humans scale better. And trust, once established, compounds faster than any margin ever will.

People first. Profits follow.

- Mike and Gina