He Flipped Burgers Outside While We Partied Inside

A brilliant strategy hiding in plain sight

The point is: never miss a strategy meeting.

I am not talking about war meetings. We already have enough of those in movies. I refer to strategies to ensure the sustenance and growth of friendships.

We call these meetings strategy meetings.

I first learned about strategy meetings at the Rotaract Club of Nairobi East. I like going to different sets of clubs to catch the ambiance they are about. On this night, I am glad I joined them.

They call themselves Spartans. Who wouldn’t love such a group? Even Greeks revered Spartans despite their inclination toward aggression.

One thing we know about Spartans is their appetite for war.

Their armies were unrivaled when it came to land. If you’ve ever watched 300, the movie series, you’d know the kind of strategies Spartans took to defeat their enemies. They did it with gusto, courage, and often with strategy.

So when the president rang the final bell for people to head out for strategy meetings, I had to tag along.

You could almost hear me shouting inside: Ahooo!

Silently though.

I felt like a Spartan in spirit.

The strategy is never to miss a strategy meeting

I didn’t want to miss any other strategy meeting after this one.

It turns out strategy meetings happen at a local ‘restaurant’. Let’s just call it a restaurant.

It has good music. Often, the DJ knows how to rile up the crowd despite the wide age gap between the people who frequent the place.

How I viewed it was the strategy meetings were crucial to know members of the club outside the formalities of club meetings. Order is necessary for meetings to progress in such settings. You wouldn’t want to invite a heavily sought-after speaker and have your club members cause a scene.

But once the meeting is over, the strategy meeting now calls for a little disorder. You can let down your hair and loosen up a bit. People can get lifted by the spirits.

It cements club members. There may be occasions when nights take a turn for the worst, but overall, the meetings are strategic in this sense.

One thing I’d want to add about Spartans, historically, is they were poor at sea. On land, they were like army ants, killing everything they came across in battle. At sea, they were as weak as flies.

So when the members of this club, alias Spartans, met at this local ‘restaurant’ for drinks, I’d summon the historical facts. For Spartans, water was their weakness. For these Spartans, ‘spirited waters’ can be a point of weakness.

Weakness, not defeat.

And they know their weakness, making them stronger than any other group that doesn’t. So they could indulge in it, momentarily. Occasionally. Once in a while.

But on this one night, my perspective changed regarding strategy.

That night, I tried his burgers

My boss took me outside while the rest of the members partied inside.

She was hungry. She needed food. Outside was a guy who flipped burgers almost every night.

These are some of the best burgers you’ll ever have.

She told me. I’ve heard that before from others. But I’m not a burger fan. Despite that, when your boss calls, better to heed.

Plus, I was also hungry.

The heat from inside was enough to buffer us from the chilly night.

She bought hers. I bought mine. We waited as our guy flipped the patties.

Then she asked him how many burgers he cells in a night.

It wasn’t much. But they always got sold out. I got interested. So I asked more questions.

He never got ready-made patties. He’d make them himself. The initial capital must have been the only large investment he made.

Consumers of his burgers were therefore guaranteed fresh meat. Nothing processed. Nothing preserved.

He made his own kachumbari. Onions, tomatoes, and for the ‘heat’ lovers, chili.

He was a one-man business. A solopreneur. And it turned out, he was the strategic one.

Because while we partied inside, he made cash outside.

Flipping patties.

His strategy

I did the mental math.

I worked with rough figures.

You can do the same.

I say that because of the fickle economic state, our country is in at the moment. One morning you wake up and find a tissue role is 2.5 times what it was a few months ago.

Anyway, back to making mental calculations of how strategic our guy was.

First, he stationed himself outside this ‘restaurant’. Those inside would get inebriated by a drink or two. Then come outside to whet their palates with something slimy to take away the dryness that settled on their lips.

It was the aroma that did the thing.

You know how the dim and flashy lights inside a club can make you see outlines and faces you come to reconsider the next day? That’s how good the aroma was from his small stand. The only difference is, you don’t regret it.

The other thing he did was make sure he prepared all the stuff by himself. Often, if the patties are preserved for a long time, they could turn against you later in the night or the following morning.

By ensuring his were fresh, regular visitors of the place would always come for a second helping or turn into consistent customers.

Thirdly, he secured his spot. On the right side by the door. He’d do this up until around 11 p.m. or 12 midnight. Although by that time, he’d be closing shop.

Consistency spells reliability to customers. So when members come for strategy meetings, they’d be sure to get a well-prepared burger by the time they leave for home. No need to make supper.

The other thing I found appealing was the number of patties he made. Make too many and you might have to preserve them and lose the freshness. Make too little and you don’t see the gains. Experiment until you find the sweet spot then you start cashing in.

If I remember correctly, he makes around 30–50 patties a night. He sells all, ALL of them by around 11 pm.

More food, less taste, less food more taste. In this regard, more burgers, less appeal, less burgers, more appeal.

He created his own demand.

If I have learned something about business is that demand is the most valuable aspect. He orchestrated it. One flip at a time.

The result was a high demand, a quick-selling product, and he’d close shop early. The last time we talked, he told me how he closes somewhere between 10 and 11 p.m.

Genius.

You have to love it

Who’s the strategic one?

I will never forget that night. My boss, my interest, and the guy who flipped burgers.

By the way, I loved the burger. You should try it.

But more than the burger, I loved the conversation and his strategy.

We did not talk about the strategy. I unfurled it in my head.

It turns out that during every strategy meeting organized by the Rotaract Club of Nairobi East, obliviously, they’d find another ongoing outside their treasured ‘restaurant’.

We can only say that one meeting goes on outside, and another continues inside.

When you attend the club’s meetings, every fortnight at the Bihi Towers, on Thursday from 7 pm, be sure to follow the awesome crowd for their strategy meeting. You’ll love it.

But when you meet our guy who flips burgers outside, don’t flip.

Just buy the burger and admire the strategy.