I invented the shoe-b-que

I invented the Shoe-B-Que in 2009, not as some hot business plan, but as a result of my first company burning out. Literally.

If you don’t know, springtime in Nashville is gorgeous. A perfect time of year for outside grilling. But my barbecue? It was a backyard Shoe-B-Que chez moi where the only things on fire were the prices on my precious inventory from my failed shoe store.

Let me take you back to 2006. I was young, single, and convinced I had all the answers. I decided to open a shoe store, using every bit of equity in my house as my ticket to entrepreneurship.

Now picture me as a one-man army, the store open six days a week, and me there on Sundays catching up on what felt like an endless to-do list. "I'll just find someone to help," I thought, using the 'hope-method'—hoping the right employee would stroll through the door as if on a secret mission. Spoiler alert: they didn't.

I felt like I was drowning, barely able to keep my head above water. Turns out, hope isn't a business strategy—lesson learned. Too busy to create a real hiring plan, I found myself stuck in the day-to-day instead of focusing on sales.

I did manage to make a Facebook page (don't laugh, it was a big deal back then!). You can still find it here: (https://www.facebook.com/groups/44374254840). Feel free to say hi; I promise I'll reply.

When closing day finally came, I was buried in debt with a basement full of unsold shoes. So, the Shoe-B-Que was born. People came out of the woodwork like I’d never seen before. Where were these people when I was open?!

Real lesson here: my business didn’t flounder because the shoes weren't great. It was because of the wrong hiring approach. In retrospect, I realized I was scared to try new methods, clinging to the hope that things would somehow just fall into place.

Aside from all the royalties I now earn from Shoe-B-Que Ⓡ, I've turned that failure on its head. I learned how to navigate the tricky world of hiring and now help other hiring managers and owners avoid the pitfalls I stumbled into.

We recently helped a franchise owner hire an entire fleet of staff because he needed to step away from his business for medical reasons. Not realizing the impact we were making at the time, I got this note:

By mastering how today's workforce dances with tech, I help connect the right people at the right time with the right job opportunities.

In doing so, we change the lives of our customers by giving them time back in their life to grow their corner of the world... or simply to go home and take care of their health.

To see more about how I’ve helped others hire smarter, click here: (https://recruiting-insights.kit.com/)

If the Shoe-B-Que story resonates with you, maybe it’s time we chat. Let's set up a call so I can show you exactly how we’ve prevented others from working their business into the ground.

Just click reply-- I'll answer the door.
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cheers,

Mary Pillow

p.s. If you can turn potatoes into Vodka, then you really can stop spending money on Indeed and hire better people.