In today’s economy, a lot of people have side hustles. Sometimes they like that work better than their full-time jobs. If you’ve dreamt of turning that side hustle into your main gig, you’ll love Michael Huynh’s story.
Just before Christmas in 2013, Michael’s then-girlfriend suggested they make macaron cookies and give them as presents to their friends. Their friends loved them, and pretty soon, people were asking them to make more.
Macadons, the company, started in 2014 in White Center as a side business. It grew organically until 2017, when Michael decided to leave his job at Boeing to take on Macadons full-time.
Since then, Macadons has grown from a small shop with no employees to a large-scale operation that employs 24 people and makes 10,000 macarons a week.
We’re telling Michael’s story for a couple of reasons. First, the way he runs his business and treats his employees and customers is redeeming work, which is the goal of this podcast. The other reason is Michael took a huge risk leaving a secure job and income to follow his dream and become an entrepreneur. Can you do the same with your side hustle?
If you’d like to try Michael’s creations (they are incredible), Macadons’ flagship store is at 3rd and Wells in Renton, right under Erasmus the Dragon. Macadons has also partnered with dozens of local small businesses, and you can find them at the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass.
Resources from the episode:
- Find out more and order your own Macadons here.
- Follow Macadons and check out their drool-worthy photos on Instagram and Facebook.
- Connect with Michael Huynh on LinkedIn.
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Transcript
The following transcript is not certified. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. The information contained within this document is for general information purposes only.
Speakers: Michael Huynh and Mark Wright
MICHAEL HUYNH 00:01
Uh, which macaroons are a thing. They’re just not, not this thing.
MARK WRIGHT 00:05
Maybe we should start there, Michael. Macaroon, macaron. Which is it?
MICHAEL HUYNH 00:11
It’s a, it’s a macaron. One, one of them.
MARK WRIGHT 00:13
Macaron! Macaron!
MICHAEL HUYNH 00:16
Some, some people get fancy and they’re like, macaron? But, uh, but I, I call it macarons.
MARK WRIGHT 00:24
Macaron. And it’s a pastry.
MICHAEL HUYNH 00:26
It is a pastry. Uh, macaroons are a different pastry. It’s like a more puffy pastry with like coconut flakes all over the top of it. But, uh, it includes these, our macarons.
MARK WRIGHT 00:40
This is the BEATS WORKING show. We’re on a mission to redeem work – the word, the place, and the way. I’m your host, Mark Wright. Join us at Winning the Game of Work. Welcome to BEATS WORKING, winning the game of work. On the show today, how to turn your side hustle into your main hustle. And as you just heard, that side hustle for Michael Huynh is a pastry. Michael is the co-founder of the Macadon Pastry, which accidentally became his side hustle just before Christmas in 2013. Michael’s then girlfriend said, hey, we should make macarons for our friends for Christmas. Michael, being the supportive boyfriend, said, sure. And the rest is history. Today, Michael and his team make 10, 000 Macadons a week. Michael explains why they’re called Macadons instead of macarons in the interview. But the reason I wanted to have Michael on the show is the way he runs his business, the way he treats his employees and customers is redeeming work, which is the goal of this podcast. I was also intrigued by Michael’s life story. Like a lot of us, Michael thought he had to take a traditional job to be successful. He did that for a while, but he was miserable, and that’s when he decided to become an entrepreneur. Get ready for some tasty inspiration from Michael Huynh. Michael Huynh, owner of Macadons and Pink’s Ice Cream. It’s great to have you on BEATS WORKING, man. Good to see you. We finally got this scheduled.
MARK WRIGHT 02:16
Yeah, thanks for having me. This is fun.
MICHAEL HUYNH 02:20
Well, one of the reasons that I wanted to have you on the show, Michael, is that, uh, you are redeeming work in that you believe that the workplace should be set up to benefit the people working there, not so that the people who work there are there simply to exist to make you money and to, to make the business successful, right?
MICHAEL HUYNH 02:40
Absolutely. Yeah.
MARK WRIGHT 02:43
Well, let’s go back in time. I read that your first actual job was as a lifeguard. Take me back, uh, when was that? How old were you when you had your first job?
MICHAEL HUYNH 02:54
Oh man, uh, it was high school for sure. I don’t remember if it was junior or senior year, um, but I’ve been swimming my whole life. I did swim lessons when I was pretty young. I really enjoyed it. It was something to do with friends all the time and my parents were always happy to support me. Let me go to the community center to go swim. Uh, so in high school, I joined the swim team and, um, a couple of people on the swim team were lifeguards at the YMCA. So, um, they, they got me a job there and, uh, yeah, I was 16 years old doing life guarding and, uh, teaching swim lessons at the YMCA in West Seattle.
MARK WRIGHT 03:34
Oh, that’s cool. Where did you learn your work ethic, Michael?
MICHAEL HUYNH 03:40
Oh, man, work ethic. Um, I would say I really learned work ethic. Um, again, not sure what age I was, but it was, uh, working at Salty’s on Alki. Um, I’ve had a few odd jobs before that. Um, this was my first restaurant gig. And, uh, I remember one of the trainers, um, sat me down and it was like, gave me a pep talk, told me I just needed to hustle and start working harder. And, um, from then on, it was, it was, it was always full speed ahead. Just like trying, trying to do as much as I can. Always trying to improve processes. Um, yeah, just, just put my best foot forward.
MARK WRIGHT 04:25
Wow. That’s cool. So, before you had these jobs, I take it like school was your, was your focus, right? Studies and sports and stuff like that.
MICHAEL HUYNH 04:36
Um, school was actually not my focus. Um, it was, it was very interesting. Uh, school was, was always very difficult for me. Um, I, I am the youngest of three children, uh, immigrant children, first generation. And, um, my brother, my older brother and older sister, we’re all one school year apart. So, very close in age, and my brother and sister were very, um, academically gifted, I would say. Um, they always excelled at everything they did, and, um, having to try to follow that was very difficult for me. Um, at the beginning, you know, it was like always trying to, to keep up with them. But as, as time went on and like it was, I tried as hard as I could and I still couldn’t succeed to the level that they did. Even early on in school, like I’m talking about elementary school, middle school. Um, I would get disciplined for it a lot, because my parents just expected me to be as great as my brother and sister, and I couldn’t be. And, um, I just remember sometime in middle school, it just pushed me so far to do bad in school, intentionally. And I just wanted to give up on it, uh, so school, school never really was, uh, a strong focus for me. It was something that I knew that I needed to do, and I, I got through high school, did some college, but it was never, never a priority.
MARK WRIGHT 06:16
That’s interesting. I have a brother who’s a couple of years older than me and kind of a similar story. He’s, uh, you know, today he’s a CPA and a lawyer and he’s running Wright Brothers Farm, our organic vegetable farm up in Ferndale. But in, in school, I mean, he was. just so so smart. And I remember having some of the same teachers a couple of years after my brother and how disappointed those teachers were that I was not nearly performing at the level of my brother. And, uh, yeah, I was, I was that C, uh, C student, uh, uh, on a good day. And I didn’t really, I didn’t really have um, academic success until I was almost flunking out of college literally twice as a business major and then discovered broadcasting and everything turned around. But yeah, I know what you mean to have that expectation. Uh, academic expectation and to not be able to live up to that. But I think as we tell your story, people are going to be super inspired at what you’ve become. Um, I was surprised to read that you were a professional poker player at one point. How in the world did this happen, Michael?
MICHAEL HUYNH 07:26
Uh, I don’t know. Like I, I don’t consider it professional, but it was what I was doing for my income for like two to three years. How did that come about? Um, 2003 was like the year that the world series of poker started to become really popular on TV. And coincidentally, that was the same year that I graduated from high school and didn’t know what to do with my life. Um, so they started having poker rooms in like, small casinos around town, and I would play, and I would suck and lose money and learn from it. And, uh, just, just over the years, just really enjoying the thrill of the game and the competitiveness and playing with friends. Um, I just started to get better and better, and then, uh, I remember in my early 20s, I was, uh, dating a flight attendant, and I got flight benefits, um, through her, so I was just flying down to, I was flying down to Vegas like twice a month just to play poker there because the games are so much easier and so much better. And, uh, me and my friend would just fly in on Fridays, play through the weekend and fly back. We didn’t do any partying or anything. Um, it made a, a good amount of money from it. Uh, but I was young and dumb and thought that it was always going to be like that. I was like, oh, it’s just like going to the bank and just getting more money anytime I wanted to. And having that mindset, I never really like put any way to save. And then you run into like just a string of bad luck or bad hands or just just bad sessions and you burn through your whole bankroll and you know, you gotta have money to make money. So, at that point that was like it did that for a while and then had to start completely all over again and then I was like, ah, this, this is too stressful of a life. Um, went back to working in restaurants for a bit. Um, yeah.
MARK WRIGHT 09:34
Before you go on, I have, I have to ask you, Michael, what, so on a good weekend, how much could you clear in Vegas and come home with?
MICHAEL HUYNH 09:42
Uh, 10, 10 grand, um, on a good weekend, like negative, negative 10 grand on a bad weekend.
MARK WRIGHT 09:52
Oh, that’s awesome. So, then you got, you got back into, well, before we go on, what is, what makes a successful poker player? Because I’m horrible at poker. I’m that guy that people are like, hey, you should come over and play poker, play poker with us. And, and, you know, translation, hey, you should come over and give us some money because I lose all time.
MICHAEL HUYNH 10:12
Um, it takes a lot of discipline. It’s, uh, it’s a marathon. Like, a lot of people just get impatient, and they start to play recklessly, or start playing hands that they shouldn’t be playing, and that’s when people start getting in trouble. They just, like, play for the fun of it, for the thrill of it, to try to bluff people, to try to catch people bluffing, and, you know, you don’t need to play like that if you’re trying to play to make money.
MARK WRIGHT 10:39
Wow, that’s interesting. So, you come back to Seattle, you get back into the restaurant industry, and I’m curious when did, when did the idea of, of making these pastries, Macadons, when did that, when did that come into your, onto your radar?
MICHAEL HUYNH 10:54
Uh, that was Christmas of 2013. Um, we, at the time I was, I was, I was dating a girl and her mom likes to bake and cook and, um, you know, we, we just got together and we both had our big groups of friends and it’s Christmas time and we wanted to do something nice for our friends and, um, at that time, macarons were starting to just become a thing and she was like, oh, my mom just showed me how to make macarons, like, let’s just make macarons for everybody and just maybe the supportive boyfriend. I was like, yeah, sure let’s you know, it’s a gift from both of us. So I’ll help out with it too. And then uh, we made it everybody was super excited about it. They loved it. Um, They tasted great. They didn’t look as as awesome as they look now, but um, but we were on the right track and from there people just wanted to continue ordering and it just, it just grew organically. We didn’t have a plan to, to start the business. It just kind of happened.
MARK WRIGHT 11:58
So, for people who don’t know what a macaron is, and, and I had some of yours for the first time at one of our, our company get togethers, and I was really impressed with, um, it’s, it’s really an experience unlike any other pastry. It’s, it’s sort of, it sort of has a hard shell, but a beautifully soft interior and the flavors are amazing there. And for people who don’t know Michael, they sort of look like a puffy neon Oreo, right?
MICHAEL HUYNH 12:25
Yeah, that’s a good way to explain it. We have, uh, there’s a lot of different colors and, you know, we match the colors with the flavors that we put into it. Um, another thing people don’t know is that all of the flavor is in the filling. All of our shells are the same. They’re just colored differently. Um, and what’s great about that is it, it opens it up to, um, full customization. We do a lot of weddings where people can have their wedding colors with the flavors that they want instead of just like, oh, well, I want chocolate. So, it’s got to be brown, you know?
MARK WRIGHT 12:59
So, take us through the process, Michael, of making the, the macaron, because it’s not just a simple, easy thing to do, right? There’s a process.
MICHAEL HUYNH 13:09
There’s definitely a process and our process start to finish before anybody can eat on, is um two to three days. Um the process starts out with almond flour, egg white, and sugar, and we make a meringue. Um, after we make the meringue, then we add the food coloring, and we add the almond flour, and powdered sugar, um, and all of that makes the batter for the shells. Um, then we have to rest those shells for two to three hours before we bake them and everybody has their own different recipes, but this is the way that we do it. Um, so we rest them for two to three hours, um, because what needs to happen is after you pipe the batter, the batter is really sticky, so if you touch it, it’s going to stick to your finger. But once you wait two to three hours, it, it forms this like, eggshell type of texture, and you can touch it, you can run your finger over it, um, and then that’s when it’s ready to bake. If you bake it before it has that hard outer shell, then it’s going to, uh, start cracking. And then since it has that hard outer shell on the outside and in the inside, the batter is still wet when you bake it, um, the shell actually like lifts up and you can see the batter underneath and then it comes back down and then that’s what causes those little frilly feet on it. People, they call them feet. Um, and then after that, um, we, we make the filling, and we fill it. And what most people don’t know is you actually have to age the macarons, um, to get them to the texture that we enjoy. If you eat them the same day, the shell will be too hard, you’ll bite into it, and it’ll just kind of crumble, and you’ll get crumbs all over the place. Not, not a great experience. For us and again, this is like, this is the way that we do it. It’s not the same way that everybody else does it.
MARK WRIGHT 15:00
Yeah, I want to get more into the business in just a minute, but one thing that I would love to explore with you, Michael, is that I think a lot of us, and I really see myself in your story, in that in that we have an idea that we should do X, Y, and Z to be successful in life. In my case, it was, I should go to college. I should enroll in business school. I should go into some sort of business and make money and be successful. And I thought that’s what I should do. And I was failing miserably. I had to retake accounting so many times that the professor, the professor over at WASI who looked at me in the first day of class, she said, what are you doing back in my class? And I was like, yeah, this is. It’s I’m having a hard time getting this, uh, but I just wasn’t even going to class very often. But, but, you know, you, I, I, you know, you sort of, I think had that same story that you, you know, you were encouraged to, you know, go get a good job, you know, work for somebody, make money, be successful. Tell me where did that come from and when did you realize you were going to break away and become an entrepreneur?
MICHAEL HUYNH 16:02
Um, that comes heavily from. Having an Asian background, um, being brought up by an Asian family, that’s, that’s what you’re told to do, you know, like our parents come over here from a third world country and they’re here to give us opportunity and they want us to go to school and we do have it all written out for us, like my whole life I thought I was going to graduate high school, marry my high school sweetheart, like go to college, become a doctor or lawyer or dentist or That’s it. Accountant? I don’t know. There’s so many things, but it was like, very special, like, specific, and, um, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I, going through high school, I remember just being very envious of everybody that did know, and they were like, oh, yeah, I’m gonna go to UW, and I’m gonna become a pharmacist, and I was like, oh, that’s cool. How do you know you want to do that for the rest of your life? And they’re like, I don’t know, just, seems like a good job. Like, okay, cool. What do I want to do? And I had no idea. Um, and that made me even more of a black sheep in my family and I think like, not black sheep were like, they didn’t, they didn’t love me. Like my parents love me. It’s just, I didn’t, didn’t have a clear direction of where to go. And, um, it was never brought up to us to open up our own business and try to be successful in that way. Um, and, um, I think it’s because, you know, a lot of, a lot of immigrants did come over here and try to start their own businesses, but the way that they were running their businesses is they bought themselves a job. They weren’t trying to grow it. It was like, you can always bet that you would go in and you would see the owners there. The husband and wife would be there every day, open to close, seven days a week, and they weren’t getting anywhere. They were probably paying themselves less than what they would have made if they were just to go work for somebody else. And so, I think with, you know, like my parents seeing that, they, they didn’t want that for me, and I think a lot of, a lot of Asian families like that. Uh, sorry, and then the, the other question was like, when, when did I know that I wanted to break off the beaten path?
MARK WRIGHT 18:29
Yeah, when, when you decided that, I know that in 2014, I think you started with a, a cottage food permit and you guys, you and your girlfriend at the time decided to, to give it a go on the side. So, you know, when did that become the side hustle? It was at 2014 then?
MICHAEL HUYNH 18:46
Yeah, 2014 was a side hustle, a little bit of vacation money. Um, and then I don’t remember what year I started work. Oh, okay let’s see. I think I was already working at Boeing at the time and my parents were so happy they’re like, oh my god he’s finally finally got a job that he can’t like good pay good benefits and he’s gonna retire. It was like great now I can stop working all these odd jobs and So I was working at Boeing three years prior to that and then did the did the business on the side and it was just, you know, it was cool just to have some extra side money and just kind of like do this business thing. We didn’t have any business mentors. We didn’t have any business background or education. Um, and we were just learning by failing and it was fine. You know, it was, it was a side hustle. It wasn’t like we quit our jobs and went into it full time. So, it wasn’t like there was much at risk. It was like, okay, well that, that was wrong. We lost some money there, but what can we do in the future to learn from it and get better? And we just continued to do that, and it was, and the business just continued to grow, and we didn’t really have a plan for the business, it was just kind of like, we did it, and then people were like, oh, this is, this is good, you guys should sell at farmer’s markets, and we’re like, okay, cool, let’s figure out how to sell at farmer’s markets, did that for a while, and then like, a friend at a restaurant, he was like, oh, these are really good. How can I start carrying this out of my restaurant? Like, uh, yeah, I guess. I was like, I don’t know how a wholesale works, but like, if you want to carry it to a restaurant, like, we’ll figure it out. So, it was always like, the business just kind of led itself to wherever it needed to go. Um, but when I made the decision to go into the business full time, I remember it was three years into the business. So, uh, I remember this because when you work at Boeing on like production, you, once you’re there for six years, you, you get your max out pay, which is like the, the top of what you can make and like every, what is it? Every, uh, every six months you would get 50, a 50 cent raise from your base pay, but like on that six-year Mark, you get like a 13 raise or something. So it was like, you know, you would work so hard, you would stay, stick, stick around for so long so that you can get this max out pay. And then. I got the max out pay and like three months later, I like look around and it’s like, see how miserable all the people that I was working with were and how miserable I was working there. Cause you know, like it wasn’t a hard job. It was like the hardest part about the job was like going to the job, like driving there, just having to be there. And I was like, I cannot do this for another 30 years. Um, I’m just going to focus on the business. So that I put in my two weeks notice and. And, and made the decision to work on the business full time.
MARK WRIGHT 21:47
And I’m sure, I’m sure your mom and dad were thrilled at that news.
MICHAEL HUYNH 21:50
Oh my god! Yeah, they’re, uh, my, my mom’s very supportive, uh, and very understanding and she’ll always be there for me, uh, no matter what. So, it’s, I’m glad to have her support, uh, even though many times she has not agreed with the decisions that I have made.
MARK WRIGHT 22:12
Yeah, I think that’s, uh, I think a lot of moms, mine included, are like that, that, you know, she’s always been there to support me through good decisions and bad. So, Michael, tell me more about the cottage food permit. You started the business with your then girlfriend, uh, by getting a permit to be able to make these baked goods in your home. Uh, and I’ve seen a lot of different small business owners who started that way, whether it’s, you know, making root beer or jams and jellies or stuff like that for farmers markets. But tell us more about, about that cottage food permit process.
MICHAEL HUYNH 22:45
Uh, yeah, it’s, it’s a pretty easy permit to, to get. Um, and it does allow you to do certain foods out of your home. Um, just very low risk foods. And then you’re able to sell that at different places. You’re not able to wholesale them, uh, but you, you are able to take them to the farmer’s markets or, uh, sell them directly to other, other customers.
MARK WRIGHT 23:10
Well, let’s talk then about how the business started growing. So, you gave your notice at Boeing, you decided to make it your full-time thing. How was it in the beginning? What, what, what was it like in the early days of your company? And, and tell us about the name, uh, how you came up with the name too.
MICHAEL HUYNH 23:27
Okay, well I’ll start off with a name. Um, my, my business partner that I started the business with, uh, her name is Donna. So, I like to play off of macarons and her, her first name Donna.
MARK WRIGHT 23:38
So Macadons.
MICHAEL HUYNH 23:41
Yeah, Macadons. Um, and then I forgot the first part of that question that you asked.
MARK WRIGHT 23:48
No, that’s okay. The, uh, once you decided to cut the cord, you left Boeing, what, uh, what was it like in the early days? I mean, how did you grow the business? How did you find space? How did you find, you know, customers, all that stuff?
MICHAEL HUYNH 24:03
Yeah. So, at that point, um, we were already in year three of doing the business as a side hustle. And it’s, it has been growing, um, but it was about a year or two into doing Macadons that, um, we wanted to make ice cream macaron sandwiches. And that’s when Pink’s Ice Cream came about, because we were looking for ice cream to put in between our macaron shells, um, to make these ice cream macaron sandwiches. But we didn’t want to just go with like any regular ice cream, just like going buy ice cream from the grocery store and putting it in there. Um, a lot of the flavors that we were doing were already Asian inspired flavors. Um, so we thought it would be great if we can find a local Asian inspired ice cream flavor, uh, ice cream manufacturer. And, uh, lo and behold, we found Pink’s Ice Cream run by, uh, a couple. Uh, the, the woman is Thai, so her name is very long, but she went by Pink. And so that’s why it was called Pink’s Ice Cream and they had, they had fun flavors like coconut, Thai tea, mango, I think. Um, and we decided to work with them and use their ice cream to make our ice cream macaron sandwiches. And I remember that we just bought their ice cream by the gallon. It was this hard ice cream by the gallon. And we bought these silicone molds. They are food safe, but I think it was made for, like, soaps and stuff. It wasn’t made, it wasn’t specifically made for ice cream macarons, and we didn’t have the money to make something custom, so we bought these silicone molds, and I would scoop the ice cream and put them into these molds, and I remember I felt like my hands was gonna fall off because it was so cold. And, you know, like, ice cream, when you, when you melt, basically melt it, and then you freeze it again, like, the, the quality isn’t as good, so but that’s what we were doing because, you know, like we wanted to try it out and people people wanted it. And we did that for a while. And, um, everybody enjoyed it. It was surprising. I was like, oh, it wasn’t surprising. Like, it was good. You know, ice cream between two macaron shells. Why not? Um, and then I remember we did a, um, like a event, a one day event in Chinatown where we kind of first released the ice cream macarons in bulk and we had great feedback, and so we continued to do, continued the partnership with, uh, Pink’s Ice Cream and just kept, just kept doing that for a few months, maybe like five or six months, and the whole time, um, she was pregnant, and they were expecting their first child, and so, um, towards the end of their, their pregnancy, um, they, they told us that they were planning to sell the business, uh, because they didn’t want to do the business and the family thing at the same time. And so, they asked us if we wanted to buy the business because we were working with them and like, still at this point, we had no idea what we were doing and we’re like, oh yeah, okay, well, that sounds cool. We don’t have to scoop this ice cream, put it into molds anymore. We just do it straight from the ice cream machine. Um, and we’re like, okay, like we didn’t get any lawyers involved or anything. We’re just like, how much do you want for the business? And what does that include? Uh, okay, that sounds fair. We’ll just buy that. We’re not like negotiating or anything. Um, but they were great. They were trying to like, take advantage of us. Everything worked out and, um, we bought the business from them with all the recipes and all of their current inventory and their, their wholesale partnerships. And, uh, and I think it was like a two week or a month-long training offboarding process and like, she’s, I felt so bad for her cause she was like so far along in her pregnancy and she would come in and like teach us how to make ice cream, uh, still love her. And, uh, we, we still, we still catch up every once in a while.
MARK WRIGHT 28:11
That’s awesome. And we should say the noise in the background, you’re, you’re in, in the business in Renton right now, right?
MICHAEL HUYNH 28:16
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, uh, we’re not open yet, but we have some, some team members here.
MARK WRIGHT 28:22
That’s awesome.
MICHAEL HUYNH 28:23
Would you like me to move somewhere else?
MARK WRIGHT 28:26
No, you’re good. You’re good. I think it adds to the ambiance of, of the interview. This is so fun. So, what were the biggest challenges, Michael, as you were growing the business? I mean, because so much of business is knowing all that stuff institutionally, like, you know, all the stuff that lawyers and accountants know, right?
MICHAEL HUYNH 28:43
Yeah. And that, that was the biggest challenge is that you don’t know what you don’t know. So how do you know what questions to ask? You’re like, you just got to fail and figure it out and then learn from it. And, um I didn’t know that there were so many resources out there for small business owners. Um, but after going through it and then finding people that eventually told us that there were all these free resources out there, it really helped out.
MARK WRIGHT 29:14
Yeah, like the Foster School was one that you partnered with, right? At the UW?
MICHAEL HUYNH 29:18
Yeah, the Foster School of Business was great. Um, and how that opportunity came about was very interesting. Um, we, we were approached by Starbucks in 2017, I believe, and I remember, um, we got an email and they’re like, hey, can we have a meeting with you? And we’re like, okay, great. That’s, that’s cool. Starbucks is reaching out. Like, I don’t know what they want, but we’ll just, we’ll sit down and have a talk with them. And I remember they came into our white center location and we didn’t have that place built out. We’re like, we, we got that place just so that we can make our product there. So, like the storefront area was just like all storage area, but it didn’t look great. Um, but we, we had the meeting with her. She came in and she was like, oh, we’re, we’re building one of our community stores at, um, like on this block. Like it was on the same block that our location was. And she was like, oh, I did some research. I found you guys on Yelp. And like, we’re, we’re, we want to carry your product at our community store. Starbucks wants to carry our macarons at their store? This is weird. And so, they’re just telling us about what the community stores were and it’s, it’s about, um, you know, putting, like normally Starbucks puts a lot of time and effort and, uh, research into where to open up certain Starbucks stores because they want it to be successful. Well with the community stores, they were very intentional about putting them in very underserved areas where they normally would not at Starbucks. And along with that, they would hire, uh, women and minority owned businesses to build it out and to furnish everything, and, and even when they hired, they would hire like people with bad records or like veterans or minorities. Like it was very intentional to try to help the community. And so, when they asked, you know, like if if we could carry our macarons there. I was like, okay, that sounds great. Like how many other people are we up against and they’re like, nobody. Like okay. Well, I have no idea what I’m doing, uh, I don’t know like how to get set up so that we can get started working with you her name was Esfree and she was said don’t worry about it. You know, like this is what we’re here for Like this is what we want to do. We want to help you out so you can get to you to that point And so they, they brought in all of their own, uh, people to help us through the process. It was tons and tons of paperwork. And, um, we did that and learn how to work with like a big corporation with like the things that they needed. Cause it was like way above what the health department requires for you to do, but that’s what they needed to be able to work with a smaller business. And so we did that and I think when did we launch, I think it was like the end of 2018, around Christmas time, um, and we were, we started out at like eight Starbucks stores in the local area, and then the plan was to continue growing, and we got into like 17 of them, I believe, and then they cut the program, and it was very sad. But, but it was okay, because we didn’t have all of our eggs in one basket, it wasn’t like everything was on Starbucks, so you know, it, it was sad to see it end, um, but it was great to go through the process so that um, you know, we could say that we worked with a big company like Starbucks and we were able to provide a quality product, um, and give people like peace of mind of like how we were making it, like our process of doing it.
MARK WRIGHT 33:08
As you’re scaling the business, tell me the lessons that you learned about how to hire people, you know, who to hire people. And I heard you say that one of the things that you love about being a business owner is you really are trying to help people develop their skills and figure out what they’re best at.
MICHAEL HUYNH 33:25
Yeah, and I think that comes from me in my situation when I was younger in school and not knowing what I wanted to do and just picking up odd jobs. Um, but I, I wish that I had somebody that believed in me and wanted to help me figure out what I was good at, uh, because I always did every job that I did. I did it well. I always figured out the best way to do it. But in doing so, like you, you don’t move up. Like, if you’re good at your job, you’re going to, you’re going to, they’re going to keep you there, you know? Um, so it’s very important to me that when we hire people on, like, I feel like I can read people pretty well. Like good. I can tell that people are like good people and that’s, that’s all we care to have. Like, we don’t want people to have experience. We want to be the people that give them experience. And, um, train them up and, and teach them, you know, not just, not just work things, but like communication and ethical things and just, just being there as like a, a coach, or a mentor. It’s just a leader to them and help them figure out what they want to do in life. Super rewarding to me.
MARK WRIGHT 34:43
I could see a lot of pride on your face when you talk about that. Is there a, is there a person in particular that has been, you know, especially touching to you in terms of developing your employees?
MICHAEL HUYNH 34:56
Uh, within my team? Uh, we all do it together. Like, yeah, it’s, it’s kind of, it’s cliche to say, and like hey, it’s kind of cringy when I hear it, but we are like a family here. No, but yeah, it’s all about teamwork and accountability. Like everybody looks out for each other. You know, um, one thing about what we do is we have a lot of flexibility in our schedule and, but the only way to have that is for everybody to look out for each other like.
MARK WRIGHT 35:32
What, uh, advice would you have, Michael, to someone, um, who is considering turning their side hustle into their main hustle? If you could go back and tell Michael of earlier years, uh, a lesson, what, what, what, what’s your best advice?
MICHAEL HUYNH 35:50
Uh, my best advice would be to reach out for help. Um, I remember when, when I started, I was always, I was worried about bothering people and asking them for help, um, because I knew everybody was busy and, um, I didn’t, I didn’t, I wanted to be respectful of people’s time, but now being in this position and being able to help other people, I tell them like, just, if there’s somebody you want to talk to, if you want help from somebody, you can, you can ask them because if they’re busy, they’ll just tell you they’re busy or if they don’t want to help you, they’ll just tell you they’re busy. So, it doesn’t hurt to ask. And I think a lot of people that have been through the struggle of starting their own business, they understand and they want to help out other people that also want to start their own business.
MARK WRIGHT 36:46
So, tell me about Macadons today. How many employees do you have? Where can people find you?
MICHAEL HUYNH 36:51
Yeah, Macadons today, uh, we are about 24 employees, uh, last time I checked. Uh, so we are pretty, pretty big of a company. Um, we have our flagship storefront in downtown Renton on 3rd and Wells. Uh, we have our currently our commercial kitchen where we make all of our product, all of our ice cream, all of our macarons are made in our commercial kitchen in White Center. Um, and then we also have a kiosk down in Ruston and the plan is just to continue growing the brand. Um, so often throughout the business we’ve, we’ve done a lot of wholesale. Um, we make about 10, 000 macarons a week. Uh, and that’s, you know, just a fraction of that gets sold at our store. So, um, but doing, doing all the wholesale hasn’t really built our, our brand presence very strongly. So now we’re really focusing on, on getting the brand out there to our customers. We just want to be more customer facing.
MARK WRIGHT 37:54
And I noticed, uh, behind you in the store, you, you partner with other companies too. You don’t just sell, uh, macarons there. What, what else do you guys sell?
MICHAEL HUYNH 38:03
Yeah. And, um, that’s the other thing we want to do. It’s just like. So, the reason behind that is, I believe that people should focus on the thing that they’re good at. You know, if you just focus on one thing and just be really good at it, you’re gonna do well. Uh, so our thing is macarons and our thing also now is ice cream. But like, we have a separate team that focuses on just ice cream. Um, but we didn’t want to be a shop where we just become everything to everybody. So, um, we carry coffee, but we have worked with Olympia Coffee, which is local. They’re down in Olympia and they have a great coffee program, uh, certified B Corp. Uh, we worked with Miro Tea. They’re up in Ballard. We have a lot of loose-leaf teas. Um, we have about 17 different varieties. And, you know, Miro Tea has like hundreds, right? Because they are the experts in their industry. So, we just like working with people that are good at doing the thing that they do and the thing that they do is the one thing that they do. They’re not, they’re not out there trying to be everything to everybody either.
MARK WRIGHT 39:09
You mentioned B Corp. We had a really fun interview, uh, earlier in the series with, uh, how to form a B Corp. Um, and, uh, super interesting if you’re, it’s basically, um, super high standards for a company in terms of ethics and the environment and, and how they treat people and, uh, just a really holistic way of accountability to become the best company that you can become. That’s really cool that you’re partnering with the B Corp.
MICHAEL HUYNH 39:36
Yeah. Hopefully one day we can get there as well.
MARK WRIGHT 39:39
Yeah, that would, that would be fantastic. So, Michael, as you, as you look down the road, what’s your future, what’s your future vision for your company, Macadons?
MICHAEL HUYNH 39:49
Uh, the future vision is to continue growing the brand, uh, which means opening up more brick-and-mortar retail store, friends. Um, still keeping all of our production in one space so that we can ensure the quality because it is really hard to make and to get to the quality standards that we, um, have for our team. Um, so just continuing opening up smaller retail storefronts where we bring the product there and we can sell to our customers. Um, I think our next location hopefully is somewhere over on the east side, and, yeah. Not thinking too far ahead of that because we, we, we got to take it one step at a time.
MARK WRIGHT 40:32
Yeah. Michael, what are you most proud of through this whole process?
MICHAEL HUYNH 40:38
I am most proud of the team that we have built. Um, yeah, nothing’s better than that. Just being able to provide our team with, um, a workplace that they can feel happy coming into and being proud to be a part of, uh, it’s just, it’s, uh, really fulfilling to me.
MARK WRIGHT 41:06
Did you ever think that this is where you would end up because I remember being totally lost in my life and not having any clue what I would do for a living but once I once I found my path it was like a light came down and the doors just flew open and and uh did you ever think that this this is where you would end up? I mean what an interesting life path that you’ve had so far and you’re still really young.
MICHAEL HUYNH 41:31
Um, I’m not that young. I’m 38, so I’m pretty, pretty far along.
MARK WRIGHT 41:35
That’s young. That’s young.
MICHAEL HUYNH 41:39
Uh, no, no, absolutely. Not, not, I would never have guessed this. And if somebody said this is where I would be, I, I would tell them they’re crazy like running a macaron business.
MARK WRIGHT 41:54
I love it.
MICHAEL HUYNH 41:55
Yeah, but I’m so, so glad to be here.
MARK WRIGHT 41:59
Well, I have to tell people at, I’ve had several opportunities to sample your work and these, um, are really an amazing experience when you bite into them, they’re chewy and soft. Oh my gosh, she’s holding one up right now. Chewy and soft and flat. Oh, my God. And you can put people’s pictures on, on that. Okay, I’m going to drive down, I’m going to drive down in the next couple of days and pick that up from you.
MICHAEL HUYNH 42:29
Um, just don’t eat it, but you know, it’s like, I’m not wearing a glove, my hands are all over it.
MARK WRIGHT 42:33
We’ve got to put that, uh, on display in a, like a pastry museum or something. But I want to just encourage people that if you’ve never experienced, uh, a Macadon, they are so good. And uh, it’s just a really cool experience. And I think also, Michael, you’re, I, I just love your story. I love the fact that you’re so positive and you’re so committed to redeeming work by making your workplace a place that makes people want to be better human beings and, and you’re spreading joy through through what you do as well. And so, I’m just super, super impressed and super proud of, of what you’ve become with, uh, with your life story. So, keep it up, keep it up, and I hope we keep in touch.
MICHAEL HUYNH 43:13
All right. Great. Thanks, Mark. Really appreciate you, uh, having me on your show.
MARK WRIGHT 43:17
Awesome. All right. Talk soon.
MICHAEL HUYNH 43:19
Okay, thanks.
MARK WRIGHT 43:20
I’m Mark Wright. Thanks for listening to BEATS WORKING, part of the WORKP2P family. New episodes drop every Monday. And if you’ve enjoyed the conversation, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. Special thanks to show producer and web editor Tamar Medford. In the coming weeks, you’ll hear from our Contributors Corner and Sidekick Sessions. Join us next week for another episode of BEATS WORKING, where we are winning the game of work.
