Chad Hensley is the co-founder of Six Brothers Beef Company, Texas-based gourmet meat and seafood delivery service with a mission to revolutionize how consumers shop for their beef. With a fleet of 17 trucks traversing the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex daily, the company provides value, quality, and convenience with delicious beef, poultry, pork, and seafood right at customers’ doorsteps.
Before establishing Six Brothers Beef Company, Chad had a successful career spanning over five years in various industries. After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree from Madonna University in 2007, he joined the United States Customs and Border Protection as a Federal Officer.
In 2010, Chad moved to Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc. as Drawback Analyst. He consolidated the experiences gained from these companies and leveraged them to set up a successful meat delivery company.
Where did the idea for Six Brothers Beef Company come from?
Six Brothers Beef was inspired by the understanding that many residents of the DFW area had no access to local a butcher. To make things easy and convenient for these families, we embarked on sourcing high-quality meats from various American farmers, ensuring we deliver top-quality cuts at budget-friendly prices like you would get from a neighborhood butcher.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
All days are virtually different, but I’m usually up by 6.00 am and do some physical exercise. Then I review the day’s schedule with my team and get on to work.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I often draw inspiration from the market trends and then brainstorm with the team to see if we should pursue the idea further.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Online Shopping and digital marketing. It can be challenging for any business to succeed without a solid online presence in today’s competitive world. Studies show that the market value for online shopping more than doubled between 2018 and 2020.
That means that consumers are starting to embrace the convenience of ordering various essentials, including food online. The COVID-19 pandemic saw the number of consumers ordering meat online increase from 19% to 31%, according to the annual Power of Meat report from FMI and the Meat Institute Foundation.
Therefore, having a reliable platform, such as that of Six Brothers Beef, for online ordering and delivery services is critical for any business to remain competitive.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I set goals that I want to achieve every day and strike every accomplishment off my to-do list as the day goes by. There’s no better way to be productive than starting your day with a clear focus on your goals.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t let the fear of taking risks stand on your way to success.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
A startup doesn’t have to be unique. You can improve on existing ideas.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
I always study the market to ensure I know what our customers want and what our competition is doing differently. In this way, we can satisfy our customers while staying ahead of the competition.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
One marketing strategy that has been instrumental to our success is having the right products for our customers. Social media and blogging have also helped enhance our brand visibility and drive new customers our way.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I wouldn’t say we have had failures. We have only experienced challenges from which we drew lessons that helped us grow. The COVID-19 pandemic presented the biggest challenge, and we had to trim our workforce to reduce our operating costs. Things are improving, and we will be fully operational again soon.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Business ideas surround us. Simply look for a problem in your community, and find a solution.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I subscribed to a short online course to enrich my online marketing skills. Learning never stops.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?
I use several applications to communicate and stay organized, and I can’t pick the favorite among them as they are all great in their unique ways.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
I draw inspiration from several books, but Traction by Gino Wickman has been the most impactful. You will learn the significance of working with the right people in your business and how to deal with common business challenges.
What is your favorite quote?
“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” — Dalai Lama
Key Learnings:
- Don’t be afraid of taking risks
- Goal setting promotes productivity
- Having a solid online presence is critical
- Learning never stops
Steve (Stefan) Junge hails from Germany and helps with the day-to-day publishing of interviews on IdeaMensch. While he and Mario don’t share a favorite soccer club, their enthusiasm to help entrepreneurs is a shared passion.