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Guy Vaknin is a world-renowned chef who’s celebrated for his distinctive plant-based creations. He and his wife developed a signature vegan brand, Beyond Sushi. Since its creation, they’ve opened multiple restaurants and launched a successful catering company.
In this episode of Motivational Mondays, Guy shares how being innovative and embracing hard work helped him rise above the competition and find success.
A Kibbutz is the only place in the world where the concept of community still exists. Everyone works as hard as they can for the good of the community. Everyone’s provided food and shelter for free and is given a budget they can use as they wish.
People also go to school there and when they turn 15, they’re already working the fields or with livestock. It taught Guy how a community could function, and what it looked like to work for others and not just yourself.
Guy believes you can start from nothing and achieve your dreams because he’s done it. He never worked under a chef who taught him the correct way to do things. Instead, he learned by trial and error. His very first restaurant was a hole in the wall with 12 seats and a counter.
He put in the work and learned as he went, aiming for attainable goals and steadily leveling up. It takes time and patience to build a business but as long as you keep trying, failing, and NOT quitting, you’ll make it.
Guy always feared that he could lose everything in a moment, and his fear became a reality when the pandemic hit. His business plunged from 120 employees to six. But even through the struggles, he was able to release his fear.
As soon as he let go, his business started to grow. He opened new restaurants, launched a catering company, and pushed himself and his team to endure. When you exercise a muscle, it grows. It’s the same with a business. Without it, we get comfortable and become stagnant.
[1:12] How being raised in a Kibbutz shaped Guy’s worldview
[4:20] The impact the military had on Guy as an entrepreneur
[8:02] What Guy learned from starting a business from scratch
[11:27] Why more restaurants fail than succeed
[14:23] How to hire trustworthy experts who complement you
[18:38] Why struggling is an important part of success
[21:10] What veganism looks like for different people
Listen to the bonus episode to learn why we love food based on memories and why Guy offers refunds to dissatisfied customers.
Resources:
Learn about his catering business and restaurants
Check out other Motivational Mondays episodes