Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Flawless Conversations. I'm Tameka Jones, and today we're diving into how mindset can shift your life, your confidence, your purpose.
You're watching now Media Television.
Welcome to Flawless Conversations, the show where we speak truth, strength, and strategy into the hearts of every man and woman navigating life and leadership. I am your host, Tameka Jones.
Today's guest, Andy Carrera, is the proud owner of Andy's Bar and Grill in Cypress, Texas.
Born and raised in the very town where he now leads and serves, Andy has turned his restaurant into a community refuge through grit, heart, and hustle. He's here to talk about how to thrive in business and life even when it feels like everything is falling apart. Andy, welcome.
[00:01:07] Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you. I'm happy to be here today.
[00:01:10] Speaker A: Welcome to Flawless Conversations. Let's talk about how you made it through the hard seasons and how our viewers can, too.
The problem so many of us are facing is launching and scaling through tough times like Covid or personal crisis, and it often feels like survival mode. Right.
So you endured major challenges with restaurants during COVID What was the mindset that kept you moving forward when hope felt slim tonight?
[00:01:48] Speaker B: Well, the main thing is, you know, having a focus on. It's not only about my restaurant. It's about the community, what everybody's going through, being able to think out of the box and come up with creative ideas, not only to follow the policies and rules that were put on basically overnight, not knowing what to expect. The customers felt the same way. So we had to come up with plans to take care of our customers, stay healthy and safe, and make sure that they're taken care of. We're part of the community when it's the positive things and the negative things. So we had to really brainstorm to get things done.
[00:02:24] Speaker A: Right. Because Covid. A lot of business is closed during COVID because it hit hard, it came fast, and it hit hard. Did that impact your business at all?
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Actually, it impacted it, but in a positive way from the standpoint of being able to reach out between social media, letting our customers know, hey, we're there for them.
Figuring out ways of doing things contactless where we're not actually touching anything, we're actually taking it, dropping it off on their doorstep, so to speak, so that way they could get a meal safely without having to worry about getting sick and getting Covid and things like that.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: Oh, that's good stuff. Good stuff. Wow. It's awesome. So how can men and women reframe the word crisis, not just as damage control, but as A doorway to deeper resilience.
[00:03:14] Speaker B: Stay focused and anchored to what your final product is, what your goals are, not only in your personal life, but in your business.
Know what you want to do, what you, what your outcome has to be, and stay on track. Make sure that you stay faithful to your business and make sure that you follow what your gut instincts do. And you know, that power, the power of prayer helps everybody. Everybody needs a little bit of strength. That's the best way of getting it.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: Yes. Yes. That's where I find, find most that help me is having that faith and holding on to that faith when everything else around me, it's going crazy. Right?
[00:03:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:50] Speaker A: So yeah. I love it. Love it. What practical everyday structure did you learn or lean on to stabilize when. When everything felt unstable?
[00:04:01] Speaker B: Making sure that our purpose and our purpose, not only purpose in a way of what you're trying to do, but the purpose of having a policy, a procedure, a guideline, a track to stay on and making sure that everybody around you understands that we're on a mission. That word community means everybody involved has to be on the same page and on a mission. And we're taking care of our customers and that's what we do. And you take care of your people that are helping you get to that point.
[00:04:32] Speaker A: I agree. I agree. I served 23 years in the Air Force and when we came together as a flight, as a unit, as a wing, we had one thing in common was the mission. Right. Everybody played their role, but ultimately we was under the same mission, the same goal.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: Exactly. Exactly.
[00:04:48] Speaker A: So I truly understand.
[00:04:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:51] Speaker A: What is a heart centered microhabit that help you stay grounded when you go through any type of contrast, any struggles in life, personal or, or business.
[00:05:03] Speaker B: Well, a lot of times if you focus on not only how it makes you feel, how the person next to you feels, how the person that's getting your product feels. If you kind of take that and make it a pie sort of speak and you take a little piece of everybody's inner emotions, inner power, what gives them the strength to do things, what empowers the customers to come to your business?
It all is focused on the same outcome. Taking care of people.
[00:05:30] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:05:31] Speaker B: And if you all give, you know, it's kind of like a drop at a time as far as everybody being focused on the same team. Even though you may not agree 100% on everything, the final outcome of getting a positive thing accomplished is the power that keeps me focused.
[00:05:47] Speaker A: Right.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: The result driven type mentality.
[00:05:49] Speaker A: And I always say like, for like you and myself as well. Service is in our DNA. Right.
We're here to serve. That's what we do naturally. Right?
[00:05:59] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:06:00] Speaker A: So yeah, I truly understand.
[00:06:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:03] Speaker A: So how can someone use radical self love, I'm the self love queen to remember they aren't defined by their hardest seasons. Right.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
It's, you know, it's kind of like when you're building something, you know, you start with a strong foundation and you build upon that. Always remembering what it took to get that foundation started. If you only focus on the final product and you don't remember how to get there, you're not going to be able to duplicate your success.
You have to every day improve mentally, spiritually, strength wise. It's not only about going and, and doing something and finishing and your task is done. You want to always do better, you know, always try to be that number one person because then that pushes over to your people below you, beside you.
[00:06:50] Speaker A: Right. And self love is key because when we love ourselves, guess what?
[00:06:54] Speaker B: It's easier to love everybody else.
[00:06:56] Speaker A: Right. Our customers, our clients. Right. So that's powerful. Yeah, that's very powerful.
So on my show here at Flawless Conversations, I have a flawless nugget. And a flawless fun fact can be a fun fact. It means something interesting, something that we don't know about you, Andy. So let's give us a flawless fun fact about Andy.
[00:07:20] Speaker B: I always want to be able to satisfy everybody else's needs and wants. And you have to learn how to make sure you do that in a consistent way. And everybody's treated the same way.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:34] Speaker B: Because I'm subconsciously always making sure everybody's taken care of.
[00:07:39] Speaker A: Yeah, but Andy, but that's key. I'm glad you mentioned that. But even what pouring into others, sometimes our cups get empty. Right. So how do you pour back into yourself after you pour it into your customers, your, your family, your staff members, all the things, how do you pour back into yourself?
[00:07:59] Speaker B: I think one of the most satisfying things about my personality or my way of being is not being self centered or selfish about things. Thinking of others rewards me.
So it's not like I'm doing anything to see what I'm going to get in exchange.
It's always about giving and that the return will always be there one way or another. Things happen for a reason and everything seems to flow a certain way to where you satisfy yourself by seeing the results of what you do. The impact on other people. The impact.
And that's my reward by being able to have a positive influence on other people.
[00:08:37] Speaker A: Oh, that's awesome. That's good stuff. Yeah, that's good stuff.
So, Andy, that was full of truth and strength. Everything that you talked about was full of truth and strength.
[00:08:48] Speaker B: Yes, ma'.
[00:08:48] Speaker A: Am. For anyone watching and wants to learn more or visit your restaurant, where can they find you online or in person?
[00:08:56] Speaker B: Well, you know, we have our social media pages. You know, Andy's Bar & Grill, cypresstx.com is our website. We're located in the heart of Cypress off of 290 and Mueski Road. And always, you know, we're on Facebook as well. Andy's Bar and Grill and Andy's Kitchen, Cypress tx.
And just we always post on social media so people know what's going on on our daily specials, our weekly events and things like that to keep the community involved and let them know what's going on.
[00:09:24] Speaker A: I am such a foodie. I would love to come visit your. What are some of the foods you have? Or your.
[00:09:29] Speaker B: We're not bragging, but we're voted number one bur Cypress, Texas.
[00:09:32] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: So our burgers are what we're known for.
[00:09:35] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:09:36] Speaker B: It's a Texas style backyard style burger.
[00:09:39] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:09:39] Speaker B: That you just can't find anywhere.
[00:09:41] Speaker A: Wow. Definitely gotta. Yeah. So visit Andy's Bar and Grill in Cypress, Texas.
Be right back to remind you that healing is possible, confidence is yours and that you are flawless.
This is flawless. Conversations on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Tameka Jones and you're watching flawless conversations on NOW Media Television. Are you ready? Let's go.
We're back with Andy Carrera, a local restaurateur, community advocate and heart centered entrepreneur.
In this segment, we're exploring the healing power of connection and how community becomes or became Andy's anchor.
The problem facing many in the audience is feeling isolated in their purpose. And it often feels like nobody else understands the weight they carry.
Your restaurant.
Restaurants are local gathering spots. How did cultivating community in Cypress help you to stay anchored and connected?
[00:11:00] Speaker B: Well, to be honest with you, it came natural growing up in that area, being there for so many years, friends and family, you know, all those little things kind of planted a seed on what can I do back. What can I give the community that has given me so much? They gave me my education, a job, somewhere to live safe and I wanted to do something else. I enjoy cooking.
I did a lot of competitions, you know, getting that, wow, this tastes great.
That was so self rewarding that I wanted to expose that to my community, my friends, my family, my customers. There's people that come into the restaurant that they don't live in the area, but they frequent my customer. They frequent and become customers and friends because of the food, the atmosphere and the personalities that we deal with there at the restaurant. Because our employees embrace them. They make them feel like they're at home. And that's the biggest thing. Home cooked meals with a home cooked feeling. It's kind of hard to get that at a corporate type restaurant. So that's what we focus on, making sure our customers feel like, hey, we're part of this family.
[00:12:09] Speaker A: Awesome. And that's an amazing experience. I know when I go out to eat, you know, especially at the mom and pop restaurants, that's what I, you know, the expectation is there. That's what I want. And so that's good stuff. Love it.
Why is finding your tribe essential to personal empowerment and growth?
[00:12:29] Speaker B: Well, the main thing is making sure you understand, you see the results. You know, you have customers that come in weekly, daily, you know, monthly, and that kind of empowers you to know that you're doing the right thing. Obviously, if you have those customers coming back and enjoying their food, enjoying the app atmosphere, the service, you know, putting your heart into it, you know, it's, it's not that hard to love what you do. A lot of people you hear say, hey, you know, it's not just the job. I love doing it. So I don't even notice that I'm working so much or doing so much because they love doing it, you know, and there's so many different careers that people could choose from. But if you're doing something that you love, you're going to have a result that shows the love, you know, and that's, that's what, what we have there at the restaurant.
[00:13:14] Speaker A: And I agree, right. Once you find that passion is, passion isn't purpose, isn't work, right. It's you get up every morning and you look forward to doing that. Right. Because this your passion and purpose in life and it aligns. Right? Divine alignment, Right? So I totally, totally agree with you on that.
[00:13:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:34] Speaker A: What can men and women do today to build real support? Even if they feel like outsiders in their field, they feel like outsiders, they don't belong. Or, you know, sometimes we do self sabotage and we, you know, we, we paint our, the narrative, right. Even sometimes when it's not. But how can men and women, what can they do today to build that support?
[00:13:57] Speaker B: You know, you have a balance. Balance. You know, you, you've heard the term, you beat yourself up.
You know, that's not A bad thing. You know there's an extreme on that, right? But if you balance it out to where you keep beating yourself up because you want to get that result, that's going to express what you're trying to do. You stay focused, you're going to make it, you're going to do whatever you want to do in your life by focusing on what you want to do and how you get there. It's going to be hard work. Sometimes there's going to be ups and downs, but at the end of the day, as long as you focus on what you want to do and let your passion and your strength and your inner strength push you to that point, you're going to make it. You just got to stay focused and faithful.
[00:14:42] Speaker A: So I'm glad you said that, Andy. So how do you motivate that young man, that employee in your at Andy's Bar and Grill, who you know that has full potential, who you see that's going places in life, but they don't see it in.
How do you motivate that young man, a young woman?
[00:15:03] Speaker B: Well, you got to show them, not only by example, obviously. Instead of telling them what to do, show them what to do and you might spark that inner passion to hey, that's not as hard as it needed to be. I was doing it. And it's not necessarily right or wrong.
There's a system, there's a project, there's something that you need to do. Even if it's a school based project or something in your life, you may find an easier way to get a better result. And that how you do that is by looking for what makes that person tick, what makes that person push, what makes that person get that self satisfaction of accomplishing their goals or accomplishing their day or accomplishing that moment or that second or that negative thought that they came in. You know, something may have happened before they came to work and they're down in the slumps. You know, you just got to figure out what's in that person, what's causing that person to have that issue or whatever it could be. It doesn't have to be always negative. Like I said, it can become a positive and strengthen that positive. So they get more of that. The next thing you know they're floating on their own, they're doing things on their own, they're coming up with ideas because they feel like, hey, I'm a part of this and I'm doing this and I'm getting the results that I want.
[00:16:12] Speaker A: So helping that person dig deep to find Themselves is key, huh?
[00:16:16] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure.
[00:16:18] Speaker A: Good stuff.
What tiny confidence ritual helps you or could help someone to open up to a deeper, safer connection? What is something you do that could help someone to cultivate a deeper relationship with others and themselves?
[00:16:38] Speaker B: Well, it's kind of like growing up, you know that little story of the train that could, you know, that I think I can, I think I can. In my mind, it's I know I can, I know I can, and I know I can pushes you to learning different things and empowering you and making you stronger, thinking, you know, backing into things, the outcome, if it's a negative outcome, which I don't want. So you think of the things that you would do to get that negative outcome, and you do the total opposite because you know you can do it. It's just a matter of hashing it out, backing into something and making sure your results is what you need and what you want.
[00:17:15] Speaker A: So it sounds like you're saying mindset is key.
[00:17:17] Speaker B: Mindset is key to everything.
[00:17:18] Speaker A: Yes, I agree.
How can viewers start a weekly empowerment challenge to invite one person into a heart centered conversation?
[00:17:29] Speaker B: You gotta want that for yourself.
You're gonna want that because if you have a situation where somebody needs something and you can figure, help them figure that out and just duplicate things and leadership, I think one of the most important focuses as a leader, you have to duplicate yourself.
And you can't duplicate yourself unless you want to help yourself, help other people.
And so it all goes down to what you want for yourself, how that helps other people. It may sound selfish at the surface, where you think about yourself first, but you got to think about yourself first to be able to demonstrate, enact what you're doing. And so that way when they see that, they see a reflection of what results you're having and hopefully they get on the same track and then learn from each other.
Just because you show somebody how to do something, that doesn't mean or give them the ability of doing something. It doesn't mean that that's the only way you could do it. They do something, you can learn from that person. So you got to be observant not only on your actions, but other people's actions.
[00:18:36] Speaker A: Like being a leader and a follower. Right.
[00:18:38] Speaker B: Know when to give and when to take.
[00:18:40] Speaker A: Yep, yep, I love that.
So, Andy, thank you for reminding us that we don't have to do it all alone. We have a tribe, we have a tribe, we have a support system, we have a community.
Where can people connect with you and learn more about the culture you're building here in Texas.
[00:19:02] Speaker B: Well, not only by visiting my, you know, obviously my establishments. It's just one of the things that people need to understand is just because a door is closed doesn't mean you can't figure out a way of opening it. And having, you know, co workers, friends, family members, people that you can reach out to to come to you, it's all about wanting to do things. So me personally, like on my Facebook page or things like that, I sometimes get friend requests from people I don't really know, but I look into that and, you know, you have friends that you know for sure 100%. You see them, you've been with them out dinner and things like that. And then you have friends that are there that need mentorship, and that's where you have to be available for all people. And that's one of the things that I do is my door is always open for everybody.
[00:19:54] Speaker A: So tell us where they can find you on social media.
[00:19:57] Speaker B: It's ww.andy's barngrillcyprustx.com awesome.
[00:20:04] Speaker A: So grab your popcorn and stay tuned for more of Andy Carrera.
Thank you.
We'll be right back to remind you that healing is possible, Confidence is yours, and that you are flawless. This is Flawless Conversations on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Tameka Jones, and you're watching Flawless conversations on NOW Media Television. Are you ready? Let's go.
We're back with Andy Carrera, a man who turned his passion into legacy.
His work goes far beyond food. It's about intention, impact, and inspiration.
Let's talk about how to make your work matter long after today.
Andi, how do you infuse passion into every dish without draining your soul or your team?
[00:21:12] Speaker B: Well, you know, sometimes the simple things make a huge difference.
But when you do everything with the care and the heart, you know, our slogan at our restaurant is a small kitchen with a big heart. And that didn't come from us. It came from actual customer. They said one day when they're at finish eating their meal, and I asked them, hey, how was everything? Oh, everything was great. You could tell it's a small restaurant or a small kitchen, but y' all have a huge heart when you prepare the meal.
So that's, you know, what. What you do is putting your heart into things.
[00:21:42] Speaker A: Yes. And that saying goes. It's not how.
It's not how you. It's not what you said to them. It's how you treated them when the impact that they had from how you. How you Treated the person, right? So leading from the heart goes far beyond you just making food, right? You have to make it from the heart. Right? And those are the restaurants that sustain because they're doing it from the heart versus A dollar standpoint, right?
As women and men pursue impact, how can they prevent their mission from becoming their entire identity?
[00:22:23] Speaker B: Stay in focus on who you're trying to satisfy, which is your customer, right? Staying focused on what you would want to have as an experience. When you walk into a restaurant and, you know, the thing about it is it's not just being a restaurant, it's what you could do to help other people by having a restaurant doing fundraisers, doing, you know, things in the community that help. Church events and festivals, having an option of having a great meal as well.
It just means a lot to be able to be involved in that. When they call upon us as a restaurant, not only during a time of need, but having a proactive approach from when they're talking about doing things for somebody that's in need, a lost one, you know, they lost a loved one or things like that, you know, just knocking on their front door with the. With a basket, saying, hey, sorry for your loss. If you need anything, count on us. You know, it's just part of being grounded to where. What got you there? Focusing on who, what and where.
For problem solving who, what and where. Also for developing relationships with people. How can I help that person? Why should I help that person? And what are they getting out of our help? It's a positive outcome most of the time, and that's what you need to do. Make sure people understand I'm here to help you, but you got to let me know how to help you. And that's how you build that communication. Having the positive impact.
It takes a lot of.
