Private Club Radio Show
Welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, the industry's weekly source for education, news, trends, and other current developments in the world of private clubs.
Hosted by the talented entertainer and industry expert, Denny Corby,
the podcast offers a unique perspective on the private club industry, featuring expert guests, product spotlights, predictions, and more.
Whether you're involved in a golf club management, yacht clubs, athletic clubs, or business clubs, the Private Club Radio Show is the essential podcast for
anyone seeking valuable insights and information on the latest trends and developments in the private club industry.
Private Club Radio Show
457: Disrupting Tradition - The Austin Club's Revolution w/ Paul Kornfeind MCM, CCE
What happens when chandeliers, mahogany bars, and 150 years of tradition collide with TikTok and influencers? That’s the story unfolding at The Austin Club under the leadership of Paul Kornfeind, MCM, CCE.
In this episode of Private Club Radio, Paul explains how he’s reimagining a historic city club for Gen Z and Millennials, while still honoring its rich legacy. From “Bingo After Dark” and “Gourmet Dinners Under the Stars” to collaborating with Austin’s top food and lifestyle influencers, The Austin Club is proving that private clubs can be both relevant and timeless.
We dig into the details: why influencer partnerships work, how flexible membership tiers attract young professionals, and what every GM should consider when blending history with modern content strategies.
If you’re wondering how to make your club attractive to the next generation without losing its soul, this conversation delivers the blueprint.
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Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, where we give you the scoop on all things private golf and country clubs From mastering, leadership and management, food and beverage excellence, member engagement secrets, board governance and everything in between, all while keeping it fun and light. Whether you're a club veteran just getting your feet wet or somewhere in the middle, you are in the right place. I'm your host, denny Corby. Welcome to the show. In this episode we are talking with Paul Kornfein, who is one of the very few certified master club managers CCM and the guy who's taking a 150-year-old club in downtown Austin and making it TikTok worthy. We're talking tradition meets disruption in the best way possible, because in this episode, paul is peeling back the curtain on how the Austin Club is using content creators to spark buzz, how Gen Z is actually responding to private clubs and the creative events they are doing. That's getting people talking and coming into the club. We're talking selling out events at the club midweek. We walk through Paul's history and a little bit of what got him into the clubs to hear where he's at now rethinking outdated club rules, injecting energy into old spaces and why. The future of clubs depends on how well we tell our stories, and not just the club stories, but also our own personal stories as well. And what prompted all of this is his use of influencers and social media and being active on different platforms to showcase not just himself and his own personal brand, but also the club and the Austin Club and what they are doing to attract, retain and get members. And the crazy part and the best part is everybody is on board, everybody. And the best part is everybody is on board Everybody, from the staff to the members to the board, everybody. I love this episode. I love Paul. He's such a great guy, such a great dude, full of energy and insight, and I cannot wait for you all to dive in Before we do. Big thanks to our show partners and if you are interested in any of our show partners, if and when you reach out, just let them know. Hey, you appreciate them supporting us here on Private Club Radio.
Speaker 1:Also. Real quick, my 2025 is basically booked. I might have two dates left, but right now currently booking for 2026, my comedy, magic and mind reading show, the Denny Corby experience. There's excitement, there's mystery. Also there's magic, mind reading and comedy. A ton of laughs, gasps and holy craps. I perform for well over 350 clubs and would love to come to yours next. So if you're looking for 2026 events, so if you're interested, let's have a conversation.
Speaker 1:And if you wanna have a ton of fun with me and about 50 other club people club professionals I'm hosting Management in Motion at the Monticello Motor Club. This is a well-crafted, curated leadership event for you, the club professional, where we are going to rip up BMWs, m2s, 3s and 4s, drag racing, skid pad, go karts, all the works, all while learning relevant information from other club professionals that also has spent time on the track and how that relates to what we're doing. It is going to be an absolute blast. You get three CMAA credits and it's only 820 bucks. If you want to learn more, head on over to privateclubradiocom slash MIM for Management in Motion, or just privateclubradiocom slash Management in Motion. Enough about that, let's get to the episode. Private Club Radio listeners. Let's welcome to the show my friend Paul Kornfein.
Speaker 2:So I will trade the Chicago and the Green Bay winters any day for these temperatures here.
Speaker 1:Brutal, brutal. I think when I was up there, when you and I first met, I remember it was like chilling, like it was freezing.
Speaker 2:Well, like six months solid, you know.
Speaker 1:So it's yeah, I have no issues being down dude, you have been crushing it with the austin club and the content and your social media and all of that. It's been so cool to watch it has.
Speaker 2:I've had a lot of help. We brought in a gal who's 20 years old. She's a student at UT and she's the brain, she's the driving force. I come up with the ideas and the thoughts and she takes it and puts it to action. But it's a collaboration of all. It's my entire team collaborating, so it's really kind of exciting.
Speaker 1:Did you bring her in? For that reason I did.
Speaker 2:She wants to be a wedding planner and my catering gal ran into her at a networking event and she's just like why don't you come talk to Paul? This is a great club, this is a great opportunity. He's a great guy to work with and you know, we sat down and and it was a perfect, it was a right off the bat. You know it was a good hit and she's delivered. She has delivered and, but it's everybody. It's the chefs in the kitchen, it's the bartenders, it's Alex, my assistant, it's me, it's the whole leadership team, but she's been the one to pull it all together and, like they, started an Austin Club events page to promote our weddings and our outside events, because we need two to three big events a month to make budget. So that's an area that we're dragging in a little bit, but we've had a great year so far. Financially we're rock solid. Membership is up. You don't hear that. We're running a profit in food and beverage, which in this industry is next to near impossible. We are coming off of a good legislative session. Every two years we go into a legislative session and we had a lot of support from that. We had a lot of, you know, fundraisers and political events and political events. And boy, there was days where it was all three floors, all rooms, just rocking and rolling, Wow, and some of them flipped three, four times a day. So we've had a real good 2025.
Speaker 2:You know, I came out of retirement when Penn called me and he says you know what? I'm getting ready to retire. He says this is a pretty good gig and he goes I know you still got more gas in the tank and I said, all right, Ken, I'll come take a look. And I actually fell in love. I fell in love with the club and I've never managing a city club before. It's been a real culture shock to the positive. I don't have the golf course, I don't have the pool, I don't have the tennis, I don't have the stairs, all the stress.
Speaker 2:I don't have to haul coolers and kegs of beer to the 14th tee you know what I mean and I don't have 400 or 500 little kids running around, which I enjoy being a little kid that I am. I tried that adulthood. That was the worst two weeks of my life, but it's nice. We're right around the corner from the Capitol. Most of our members are politicians, are lobbyists. The governor, the mayor, comes here every week. The lieutenant governor's got a big event tomorrow night for 200, 300 people.
Speaker 2:Ted Cruz did a book signing here about four or five months ago. So we're not affiliated with any political affiliations, but we're kind of side by side with the Capitol and the folks that work up at the Capitol and it's exciting to be downtown. I was down here for the protest, the positive, supportive protest that happened a month or so, maybe two months ago, and we actually had a wedding, a 250-person wedding, that night. So I basically stood at the front door as a bouncer. So I was no longer GM, I was a bouncer in charge and we were able to, but it was a peaceful demonstration. It was really nice to see the people coming out, and I mean there was thousands, I couldn't tell you how many people were downtown here.
Speaker 1:Were you able to convert any of those people to members?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:You guys go walk out. Here we got applications.
Speaker 2:The thing here in Austin is keep Austin weird. And the weird came out of Austin and they were some of the signs and some of the outfits and some of the bicycle decorating. Oh, it was just a really interesting day and very, very fun. But it's nice to work downtown. It's kind of a beast to get down here, but it's something also different. I'm used to working in a country club which are located, you know, outside of the city. So this was another change and, as you know, Austin is just exploding and it has been and the roads are expanding.
Speaker 2:The roads finally, a lot of them are under construction. But the growth and you look up when you're coming into the city, you look at the skyline and the amount of cranes that are just throughout the city. It's really kind of exciting to be part of a town that's growing and developing and exploding and just to be down there for a really cool time and again, no snow.
Speaker 1:You spent most of your career up north, right yeah most of them.
Speaker 2:I was born and raised in Chicago, moved out to Northbrook where I started caddying and then I worked at a holiday inn in the kitchen and came up to the dishwasher for five days and the chef the cook didn't show up. So the chef says, hey, paul, you want to learn how to cook? And I said you know what A raise and a promotion. This is the industry for me and I never really looked back. So I've been in it, you know, my whole life and my whole career, went to University of Wisconsin-Stout, studied hotel restaurant management and got into club management by fluke. And Doc Watson, the GM at Barton Hills, went back to Sunset Ridge where he was the GM for 25 years and he says you know, I'm looking for somebody young and up and coming and somebody green that I can mold right out of school and I had done my summer internship there. And they all said, oh, paul, paul, paul. So I'm up at school and the phone rings and I pick it up. I'm like hello, and he goes Paul, this is Doc Watson. I'm like okay, and he goes. I just had lunch with Dieter Burns and the staff from Sunset Ridge. I sat up and I said okay, now you got my attention and he says would you like to come out to Barton Hills in Ann Arbor, michigan, and check the place out and see if this would be a fit for you? And I still had another full semester to go. I said but I need to do a management internship, would you consider that? He said sure. So I went out, fell in love with the town and fell in love with the club and Doc Watson, until the day he passed, was a mentor and a friend and somebody who I, who I, while my entire career because he really got me funneled into private clubs, which is such a niche industry and unless you know about it, you don't know about it. Yeah, so it's really kind of exciting, uh, and then, yeah, so so most of my career was in and around Chicago and we went out to Leesburg, indiana, to Tippecanoe Lake Country Club and then out to the East Coast for three years, chester Valley Golf Club. That was fun. But after three years of being out East my wife got a little homesick and Julie got a blessing. She says you know what, can we go home? And I said sure. So we went back and that's when I worked up in Appleton, wisconsin, right down in Melbourne at North Shore Golf Club. And then my grandson was born and my son has lived down here for 16, 17 years at the time and little Sebastian was born and Julie and I flew down there and I held Sebastian, I looked at him, I looked at my wife. I looked at him, I looked at my wife. 30 days later, we had a poor sale sign in front of our home. 28 and a half hours after that, we had a signed contract True story. 30 days, 32 hours after that, we had a signed contract true story. Thirty-two days after that, I'm crossing the Red River into Texas. That's wild.
Speaker 2:It was just a miracle how I got a job. I went on LinkedIn and Googled, you know, austin Club Managers, and found a great guy, mr Larry Harper. God rest his soul. And I said hey, larry, you got 10 minutes, 20 minutes for a conversation, and sure, well, we finally hooked up with time and we were chatting and 20 minutes turned into two and a half hours. And after that time I said Larry, you know, and he was president of the chapter down here I said can I send you my resume in case something comes up? Sure, paul, send it to me. So I sent it to him, didn't hear it. Didn't hear it.
Speaker 2:About a week and a half later the phone rings. He goes Paul, it's Larry Harper. Hey, mr Harper, what's going on? He says I got a job for you. He says where he goes here, create a house with me. So in the really needed a connection and the network truly came through and thank you, linkedin for putting us together. Here we are and we ended up down here and was there for about four years, retired for a real short time and I think I was retired about two days and Ken Richardson, he called me up. He goes, you're not ready. Come on, man, he goes. You're not ready. Come on, man, he goes. You're kidding me. And here we are at probably one of the greatest clubs that I've had in my entire career. And it was just funny how again, and just how important it is to you know and just how funny the world works and how life works.
Speaker 1:People are sleeping on LinkedIn, whether they like it or not. There is so much opportunity there and just to be seen, just to have an active profile that you update, and I mean if you can post, I mean you post a lot which is impressive, both you and the club. But I mean just posting, just having something up there, just staying front of mind. You just never know when you're going to need help and when you have the algorithm on your side. You know people always want to get on or do stuff when, when they need it. But, like you have to, you have to give to receive also, so so you got to, like, feed the beast a little bit in order to keep keep the ball rolling.
Speaker 1:Now you've been in the club space for so long, being in the club space for you know, all these years you have your CCM, your MCM, which you know. We could probably do a whole whole episode just on that, because there's not too too too many MCMs. You know what. You know from your point of view, your perspective, working different parts of the country. What sort of shifts have you seen changing in club leadership since you first started to now?
Speaker 2:I would say the biggest. And it's funny. I was just at the Texas chapter Summer Meeting and I looked around the room and the amount of females there was probably 60 to 65 percent of the attendees were female, where back 20, 30 years ago there might have been three people, three or four women in club management. Three people, three or four women in club management. So that's been a huge, huge shift which I embrace and I love it. I encourage it. I think it's fantastic. Covid. Covid absolutely flipped this industry on its end. It's now very employee-driven, where you know there's the tail wagging the dog. They want that, that Uber driver. They have that Uber driver mentality. They want to work when they want to work, where they want to work, how they want to work. You know, if I want to take a three-hour lunch, ooh, you know it drops into the wind. And I've just seen a big shift in loyalty.
Speaker 1:In good or bad.
Speaker 2:In bad. People aren't loyal like they used to be to companies. I mean even you know I'm fortunate here and what attracted me here was there's a lot of 30, 40 year employees. You know Ken Richardson was there 30 years. I've got people on staff. I've got waiters that you know 26, 29 years. My building engineer 30 years, my controller 26 years. You don't find that kind of loyalty anymore. And when I was looking at taking this position I looked at that and I said you know what, for these people to be at this club for this long, that there's got to be something going on here. And I was right. You know, here we are two on here. And I was right. You know, here we are two years already and loving every day, very excited. Back to your question. I'm sorry I got a little tangent there no good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, women in management, the shift, technology, how technology now is making it a lot easier but yet a lot harder. In the same vein, because now you've got to build and keep up the apps, you've got to build and keep up the websites, you've got to build the online reservations for tennis, for pickleball, for this, for that. So technology is a friend and a foe. It does make things a lot easier at times, but then it makes it a lot more challenging. The shift in now, now, now, now, now the Gen well, we're not Gen Z isn't really quite members yet. They're starting to, but it's more the. I mean, they want everything now and fast and quick. And again, with COVID there was a shift, a huge shift to goers and there's still a demand for that, you know. But it's all the grab and go. It's the instant gratification, it's the online reservations, it's the. You know, but it's the instant gratification, it's the online reservations, it's the. You know, but it's so funny that you have. You got LinkedIn, you got TikTok, you got this, you got that. You could still put the calendar over the urinals and you still.
Speaker 2:I didn't know about this event, I didn't, you know, nobody told me. You know, but yet we're hitting them from now 15 different angles, where before it was one or two. But I would say those are the big three. Those are the big three, I would think, in my opinion, also the competition, especially in a town like Austin. This is a food city, this is a food city, chicago is a food city, the whole country is a food city and you know we're even competing with the food trucks. You know, here in Austin it's huge. I think we're the food truck capital of the world.
Speaker 1:Well, there's people. That will be a line down the block for people to wait for food trucks, the barbecue joints.
Speaker 2:My Lord, if you don't get there. You got to get in line at eight in the morning, seven, eight o'clock in the morning and hope there's still food left at 11, 30, 12 o'clock when you get up to the front of the line, uh, so I just think that you know the, the demand for, uh, you know for for food and and for good food, for good service, for that instant gratification for. You know for food and for good food, for good service, for that instant gratification for you know for technology. There's just a it's a lot harder to be a club manager now than it was 30 years ago. You have to be so much more advanced and you're really.
Speaker 2:This is where CMA comes into play and I'm so grateful for CMA and they're not sponsoring this podcast, but they're continuing the education and the diversification and the educational seminars and all the offerings and all the different levels and they keep, like the BMIs. When I went through the Business Management Institutes, the know, the one through five and international. They've completely reinvented them since I've gone through and they're staying up with the times. They're staying up with the technology and God bless CMA for what they're doing both nationally and locally here, our Texas chapter, san Brewster, probably the finest, and I've worked with some real, real good ones over the. You know, in the three or four different chapters I've been in with San Brewster down here the Texas Lone Star chapter takes it to the next level. He really does a real nice job.
Speaker 2:The Texas chapter is big and strong. A little more challenging here because the meetings are so spread out Back in Chicago. It's such a concentration You've got 120 clubs within the greater Chicago area For Texas. Sometimes you've got to drive four, five, six hours to get to a meeting or to get to a state meeting. But that's okay. But I think CMA is doing well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there you go, there's a lot of good. Yeah, just competition with everything. Everywhere is just competition. Now, people are just fighting for attention because it's so easy to get and start up. But the good ones are maintaining and rolling through and the ones that you can tell because people are very quick to. They spend their money and you can see where they're spending their money. And they're a little bit more now. Cautious isn't the word, but they're blanking on the word, but just conscious of where they're spending their money. Blanking on the word, but just, uh, conscious of where they're spending their money and where it's going so yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I want to go back and touch on your content, marketing, um, and the stuff that you're doing with the club. So when, uh, cause I know you said you brought somebody on for that, did you? How long before you brought them on, were you guys starting to have those conversations and go? You know, we should really be doing more and I like what you're doing because you also said how everybody is involved.
Speaker 1:A lot of clubs want to do stuff. Or, like the marketing, you know, marcom person is going, hey, this is stuff we have to be doing. And sometimes even the boards are going, hey, this is stuff we have to be doing. And sometimes even the boards are going, hey, this is stuff we have to be doing. But then, when push comes to shove, and now it's time to go do stuff, the chef, I don't want to do this, I don't want to be on, I don't want to do that, I don't want to. And you know how did you get everybody on board? Were they already on board? Like, did everyone? Did everyone just see the landscape of what was happening and either buckle up or get off?
Speaker 2:Ken Richardson was the GM for 30 years Older gentleman, great guy, total respect, mad respect for the guy, but wasn't really into social media. It was not a high priority. I worked with Ken for 16 months before he retired. So I had 16 months to build a team, to get a game plan, to know what I wanted to do. So when January 1st hit of 2025, this last year we hit the ground running. I had, you know, the last three or four months he said just do what you do, and I was able to hire the people I wanted to hire.
Speaker 2:You know, back to Jim Collins, put the right people on the bus and in the right seats and everybody moving in the right direction, everybody looking out the windshield and, you know, got rid of the baggage, the people that were riding underneath the bus got rid of them. And I've had a vision and I know where I want to take. This club and city clubs in general are on the decline. So I knew this was a big challenge. So I wanted to bring all my years of experience in my MCM and really and this is my last run, this is it. You know, I'm going to take this to 65, 67 maybe. So I want to definitely go out on top and I want to make a difference, and it would be really easy to coast. But I saw the need, I saw the demand, I saw and I've got a real passion for, uh, for social media, and for posting and and uh, and giving back to the industry that I love so much and and has given me so much uh, both personally and professionally. And um, uh, it was just there, was the need, was there, uh, we had the right person at the right time and it was lightning in a ball and it all worked out just perfectly. Faith has been with us for, oh, coming up on three months and just crushing it, you know.
Speaker 2:And just the positive attitude, and just you know I've surrounded myself with good people. That's the trick. And you know it's like a motor the piston doesn't work. You take out that piston, you put in a new piston and you know, you replace pistons until that motor's humming. And even if you put in a new piston which happened, you know that piston wasn't working boom, we took that piston out, put in a new piston and I think now we're firing on all eight cylinders and, um, I think, coming in with a positive attitude, coming in with a new leadership style. You know, less management, more leadership in me. Oh it kind of inspired. I think I've inspired these people. I've got a very, very positive young man that I'm working with. Dennis Pettish was GM here in Austin for 20, 30 years. His son, alex, now works for me. He was under dad's wing for 10, 12 years and then he went to Houston, tried a few clubs and then this opportunity opened up and I know Dennis. So again, the network.
Speaker 2:And I said, what about that young man here? What's he up to? And he says, well, he's looking to get back to Austin. And so I brought Alex back and he brings that youth and that enthusiasm and it reinvigorated my purpose. I now am the mentor. You know, when I came up through the ranks, I had three or four outstanding mentors that helped shape me, be the leader that I am. And now it's my turn to give back. So I've got a young crew which is nice, to give back. So I've got a young crew which is nice and again being young at heart and again refusing to grow up, it kind of helps me generate excitement with amongst them and keep them excited and keep them motivated. And we're starting to see results.
Speaker 2:When we started this it was, you know, at first it was and I kept telling him guys, we're farming, we're farming, we're not, we're planting seeds, we're going to give it love, we're going to give it nourishment, we're going to give it sunlight and air and everything that these plants need to grow manure sprouts. And then they were pretty. So now we're starting to see this, this again. Our, our likes are up. Our numbers are jumping. The people following us are jumping, the people responding to our the people sharing our TikTok videos, some of them. We got one that was 20 or 30 million people that they picked up and they shared our TikTok and it was about a wedding. So now we're starting to finally see you know, 30, you know we're 100 days into it um, uh, the fruits of the labor and and, and you just got to keep expressing to them hey, stay with it, guys, this is gonna work.
Speaker 2:And the members come in and they talk it up. So they're hearing it from the members, they're hearing it from the vendors, they're hearing it from you know, on the street they're. They're hearing it from the members, they're hearing it from the vendors, they're hearing it from you know, on the street they're. They're reading about it on social media and it's just a real exciting collaboration and I'm just so thrilled to the team that I've built because it's everybody rowing in the same direction, everybody doing the same thing, everybody to a common goal, and they're treated with love, they're treated with respect and the big brother that I am, you know, so I protect them and they like that, and the board is recognizing it, the members are recognizing and appreciating it and it's just all coming together.
Speaker 2:It's a really exciting time and you know we are turning this club around and I keep, you know, the old tugboat analogy. You can't come in and you know I look at a private club as a cruise ship. They're all partying, they're all having a good time, they're all eating and drinking and boy, as a GM, you can't come in and ram the side of the boat and get it going the way you want to go right away. You got to be that tugboat and you got to nudge the side of the cruise ship and slowly make the turn. And it's been very slow, very methodical, very. All the moves and the changes I've made have been very surgical because we're in a historical landmark. This was the Millett Opera House. This building was built in 1878. For 40 years it was Austin's first music venue.
Speaker 1:It was the social home.
Speaker 2:They did operas, they did magicettes, they did vaudeville, they did singing, dancing. It was the bee's knees, you name it, yeah, it was. And it was the bees knees, you name it, yeah it was. And this was the place to be back then. And and it was for 40 years. And uh, and, and then the uh. Then in no particular order, it was a hardware store, it was a lumber yard, it was a book bindery, it was a printing press. They actually put the second, you know, the middle floor in. It was a two-story building. They put a middle floor in and made it a roller skating rink, so for five cents you could skate all day. This was back in the early 1900s. And then the austin school district. Um, uh, it was donated to the austin school district. They didn't use it for 40 years. It's that the Austin Club, which was across the street, found it in 1978. They made a deal. They took two years to renovate it and in 1980 they moved in here.
Speaker 2:The Austin Club has been in existence for 76 years. We've been here 50 years. Just an outstanding building, just full of history, and we're a working art museum. We are a historical landmark, we're a museum. We have our own ghosts. We have Priscilla. We have our own ghosts. We have Priscilla. We have our own ghost. Rumor has it that? Or legend has it that she was one of the actresses and on the last performance of the last night, before they were shutting the opera house down, she found out that her fiancé was supposed to be married. The next day she found out her fiancé was cheating on her and she was walking across the catwalk and we don't know if she jumped, was pushed or fell off the catwalk. Two stories to her demise. Now Priscilla has lived here since.
Speaker 1:I got the chills.
Speaker 2:No, no, no. She's a friendly ghost, she's very. She's a prankster. She likes to move things around, she likes to knock over books, play with the drapes. There's times you could be here and you're the only one you could hear running around upstairs. She used to hawk all three floors. Mr Richardson said enough. He said you haven't paid a dime of rent and you've lived here all this time. He banished her to the third floor, up into the loony suite. So she's banned to the third floor.
Speaker 1:No capital dues, no assessments. She's been a freeloader.
Speaker 2:Yes, she's been a freeloader, so we are actually a stop on the Haunted Ghost Tour of Austin, and so we're legendary for that. This building has so much history and just so many good. Legendary for that. This building has so much history and just so much. So many good things for it. And I tell you what for being 150 years old the building, it is in tip-top shape. The engineer that I talked to you about he's been here 30 years. He keeps this building going, so the 18 air conditioning units and the dishwashers, and he knows how every circuit is. And it's these professionals, and even the old school time, you know, like you. You come in and, oh, what do you know? Oh, you're the new guy.
Speaker 2:You know you'll be gone and whatever, whatever, it's just, we all pull together and and you know the, the older crew, the younger crew, the new crew, and they all rallied around me and my vision, and we're churning man, we're churning, we're burning, we're doing real good. So the club's in great shape, going in the right direction.
Speaker 1:I noticed you're inviting influencers into your club and to me I'm all for like anything progressive and moving things forward. But you know, from an outsider's point of view, inviting influencers into a private club feels very bold. Uh, where did that who you know? When did that all come about? And then, how did you and how do you all choose who you work with and what you look for in that kind of influencer partner?
Speaker 2:It was a. That was a group collaboration. To be honest with you, I think my catering director and and Faith, my graphic designer, social media goddess, and we all kind of we were like, why not? We've got a good product, we know what we're doing. We're firing on all cylinders. We need the exposure. We're having an open house this Sunday. We've got over 200 people coming. We've got 20 or 30. I think they cut it off at 20 vendors. They didn't want it to be a zoo. So we've got 20 very select vendors coming in and about 200 people everyone from brides to influencers to performers, you name it. We've got a lot of people coming and we made it free to the vendors. We're going to serve some beverages and some snacks and we just want the positive exposure. We want to get out there and we want these influencers to be part of it.
Speaker 2:I did reach out to food critics here in town. That's bold, actually. I've got to make myself a note. I've got a follow-up. It was about a week and a half ago. You know. I Googled. I said, well, who's the top 10 food critics in Austin? And I got their names and their addresses and I reached out to them and you know what You've got to roll the dice.
Speaker 2:You've got to roll the dice. We'll see if any of them take us up on it. I don't know if they will, but you've got to try new things. You've got to, you know, being that it is a city club, and, and, and, and we want to continue this forward progress. That, um, uh, you know we're just trying new things.
Speaker 2:Throw the spaghetti against the wall, see if it sticks yeah you know, and any new ideas, fresh ideas, uh, any help that the influence could have on us, uh, any help the food critics could have on us, any, any, any positive messaging out there will help our cause.
Speaker 1:What's been the response from working with the influencers? Have you seen anything? Have you seen any correlation between working with them? I realize it's still newer-ish, but just from a 30,000-foot view, was there any substantial increase? Were you able to run any metrics? Was there any you know? Did it drive any inquiries? Did it bring in some new business? Did it get some more buzz? What was, what was it like and what were some of the the takeaways from working with them and starting.
Speaker 2:It definitely has had an impact. Uh, we've got a lot of inquiries about weddings. Um, people who are there's, there's a lot of people I didn't realize. There's a lot of people I didn't realize this. There's a lot of people that love these old historical buildings and there's very few and the numbers are decreasing here in Austin, which is sad. But again, this is why we're trying to keep this going and keep the Austin Club going and vibrant. And you know, the Millett Opera House, the memory of the Millett Opera House, and the Millett Opera House, the memory of the Millett Opera House. But we've seen an uptick in weddings, big parties.
Speaker 2:We actually got a. This is exciting. We got a 21-year-old kid. I call him a kid, I've got ties that are older than 21 years to join up and he joined about a month and a half ago. We put him. He's going to be in, he knows about it. He's going to be in this month's our journal, our newsletter, and we're highlighting him and we're going to be using him. We've invited him and some of his friends to come and, you know, have some drinks, have some appetizers, shoot, pool in the game room and just kind of hang out, and we're going to use him to help us with social media. We're going for younger members and we're trying a membership for a day. We had two on Friday and one of them joined right away and the other guy was 33. He's thinking about it so we'll follow up with him, but I think just getting that youth and re-energizing and getting younger members is always the key to any club, city or country, and our average age is dropping here, which is nice, but we're giving them more fun things to do.
Speaker 2:We're coming up with creative events. We do the traditional ones, but yet we're still building some new ones. We're doing a happy hour. I roll a happy hour where you walk in you get three rolls of the dice. If you roll a seven, your appetizer buffet is free. If you roll snake eyes, you get a free drink. If you roll box powers, you get a free entree. That's cool. We've got a putt-putt to where if you make the putt, you get a free drink.
Speaker 2:I love this Just to get people in, get them excited. We've got a wheel like Wheel of Fortune. You know, if we pull your number you spin the wheel and you get. You know, brunch for two, thanksgiving for two. You get to pick one of the mystery boxes.
Speaker 2:I went to Sam's Club, costco, wrapped up. You know. We bought stuff 20 to 40 bucks, whatever. Wrapped it up. Experience, yeah, six packs of nice beer, bottles of wine, just to get the people here getting excited.
Speaker 2:At first it started out real slow, but now we're packing the bar every Wednesday night and the people are coming out and they're having fun and they're posting on their social media, which is, again, it's just that whole farming concept, to where we're farming new members, more excitement, more energy and a more youthful direction to take this club to keep it going, because there's only two. I guess Mr Richardson when he told me when he came to Austin 30 years ago, there was 11, 12, 13 city clubs. Now we're down to two. So we've got to stay relevant, we've got to stay current.
Speaker 2:We're engaging in a capital fund or capital campaign. We want to purchase the building. We're about $2 million away. So if you've got any extra cash, bring it all in your pocket, denny, send it my way we're going to put it so we can take control of the building and then whatever after that, or whatever over $2 million, whatever we raise new carpeting, new kitchen equipment just to get it all back to where it needs to be to stay relevant. We just redid the complete Wi-Fi because that was huge.
Speaker 1:If you don't have a good Wi-Fi in 2025.
Speaker 2:I could have 60 laptops in the ballroom for a presentation without Pat and I. So now we've got laser Wi-Fi and very supportive. We've got new servers, we're approving the lighting and the sound and we got the chef some new equipment in the kitchen. So he's all excited. Redid the menus, redid the wine list, anything we can get our hands on and upgrade. We've been doing it for the last. What are we down August, the last eight months, and everybody's excited. You know they're. They're excited to come to work, they're excited to be here. Uh, you know, if they want to bring their parents or their family or brunch, bring them. I want you to show off your club because this is this to get you excited.
Speaker 2:It's them excited, it's the members excited and and just they, just we've created a. You know, greg Patterson, we've just created the buzz and and we've created a great partnership. We've just created the buzz and it's just growing and it's exploding and it's very exciting and this is where I want to hang my hat. This is how I want to go right off into the sunset and just do good things here at the Austin Court.
Speaker 1:Any pushback from no zero.
Speaker 2:Really I've got my board or my president. See, the difference here is, you know, at country clubs, the president and all the country club managers are going to be like what.
Speaker 1:LinkedIn's going to blow up.
Speaker 2:Every year or two years they change presidents and one-third of the board comes off. One-third of the board comes on and I want to make my name here they're appointed to the board for life. My current president is a great, great guy, curtis Spielberg. He's been the president for 10 years now, but he has been on the board since 1988. It's kind of like the Pope. If you get anointed to be president of the Austin Club, it's a lifetime appointment and they've only had what was it? Nine presidents in the 75 years. Give or take a president, or two 75 years Give or take a person there too.
Speaker 2:But the board doesn't turn over. And we've got a great board, very hands-off Ken, for 30 years. What are you going to tell him how to run a club? And then you bring in somebody behind him. And I got their confidence right away. And they're hands-off and they just said Paul, you do what you do. You've been doing this for a long time and with your resume and your experience, you just do you.
Speaker 2:And with the, you know they all talk to the employees, they all talk to their fellow members and they, it's been very, very positive. They've been very supportive. And they, it's been very, very positive. They've been very supportive. So again, we don't have that, that, that presidential or that board turnover. We don't have the elections and all the politics and all the all the googly goop I don't want to use the word, but I'll use googly goop that comes along with with the constant turnover, and you know, because they get in, they get going, they get situated and then they're, you know I'm done. Then they coast the last year and they just want to get their picture on the wall or their statue, or oh, look what I did as president.
Speaker 1:Their President's Day dinner.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, we're here. It's different. They're very supportive, they're very hands-off and it's just. I have no committees. Don't tell any of the club, I have zero committees. I've got an executive committee that I answer to. Uh, we don't have. I don't. And I've spent how many days of my career golf committee, committee, entertainment committee, food and beverage, this committee, that committee, cell phones, hats forward, hats backwards, no hats, denim rakes in the trap, rakes out of the trap, rakes halfway in the trap and halfway out of the trap. I can't tell you how much of my life has been pistol sitting through these committee meetings. And these people have no clue. I sit there sometimes and I go.
Speaker 2:Did you really say that? You know, how did you become a multi-gazillionaire? And you come up with a harebrained idea like that why don't you let the club be run by professional club managers? And they do that here. You know, I don't Boom, you know, know. And financially we're solid, the membership wise we're solid. There's no reason for them to step in or interfere. Uh, so ken ken set me up to for success, but he, uh, I don't want committees, I'll just run it. And he ran the show and and we've picked up up the. He handed me the baton and we carried it this far.
Speaker 2:So so far, so good.
Speaker 1:As we wrap up, what advice would you have for younger GMs, just maybe 20s, 30s, even like 40s young? What advice do you have for people working their way up?
Speaker 2:Well, you can ask Alex. I've been pushing him for the last three, four weeks to beef up his LinkedIn. I think that is just so important to have a current LinkedIn and populate it with as much as you can. Get involved. Read, write down your goals. I write down my goals every year, uh, and I used to get about an 82 to 87 completion rate, and if I don't finish them, I carry them into the next year.
Speaker 1:so what is it if, uh, if you shoot for the moon, you'll, you'll at least end up in the stars, you know? I mean, at least you're, if you don't you?
Speaker 2:you have no, you know where do I least you're if you don't you have no, you know where do I aim my arrow if you don't have a target? Um, you know, I challenge myself to read, uh, between 14 and 16 books a year. I think that's important.
Speaker 1:Healthy, uh, you know, stay healthy um um, what are, what are, what are some of your? What are your, what are some of your all-time favorite books? And then what are some current books you've read, maybe in the last year or two, some newer books, so maybe a few books that are your all-time favorites, and then a few that you've read recently that you're like oh, that was good.
Speaker 2:Well, what was funny was, if you remember, the Philadelphia Eagle who was reading Emotional Intelligence on the sidelines and the cameras caught him reading the book on the bench and I said you know what? There must be something about that book. I read it and I just finished it, last week on the plane, and that was outstanding Good to great Boy, I tell you. It just goes on and on and on. I wasn't ready for this question, I know I mean, it's just so many. That indescribable hospitality, thank you. Indescribable hospitality, that is huge. That just came out a year or so ago. But anything, anything, you get your hands on that you have an interest in, that, you have a passion in.
Speaker 1:And even if you don't have a passion and you don't love it, just reading it and just having an opinion on something and engaging with the book. Because I think some people are like, ah, at least, even if you're not 100% all in, at least finish or try to. And even if you don't agree with everything, engage with the book, like why don't you agree? It gets the brain going, gets it stimulated, gets your Read one at a time.
Speaker 2:I have a hard time. I can't read two books at one time. Boom, power through it, bang, pick it up and get the next one. Let's go back to your question about advice. Young kids learn the numbers, Accounting, accounting, accounting. The language of numbers is so important. That's why I'm going to stress to my little grandson, Sebastian, that know the numbers, learn the numbers, understand the numbers. When you're in a board meeting, you're the smartest guy in the room because you're privy to not only the numbers but what's behind those numbers. And it's so brutally important to know and know the data and have the data at your disposal. Now, with Jonas and Club Essentials and all these different, pick the one you want. They've all got these dashboards and these data. Use them. Mine the data, read the data, absorb the data and use the data to make. All your decisions should be 95% data-driven and 10% driven from the heart and the gut. I think that's real important.
Speaker 2:If you find the right club, stay there. I've jumped for money and I'm living proof that it didn't work. You know, I doubled my salary one time and I won't name the club, but it just. They put a country, they put a family country club manager on the East Coast in a golf club and it wasn't a good fit and I went for money. Don't go for money. And if you find the right club, stay there, stick it out, stay loyal, stay true. If you want to be, eventually you'll get there, because every two and a half to three to four years the GM changes over. And if you stick with, if you get a club that just fits like a good old pair of blue jeans, stay there. Please don't be jumping for the next title or the next.
Speaker 2:I was always I'm guilty and Julie will agree when she hears this that I was always looking what's the next opportunity, what's the next? And I always had nine toes out the door just looking for that next big score, that next big club or that next bright lights and big. And it doesn't have to be a big club. I've been in big clubs. I've been in little clubs. I love the little clubs. There's nothing. The money might not be that good or you might oh, I've only got eight department heads and not 15. But I tell you what managing a smaller club is more challenging but yet more rewarding, and you can be more you. It can be more you. You can be more hands-on and help mold and shape and and grow that club and club and be part of that and be honest, Be honest.
Speaker 2:This is my final thought for young managers Be honest, Be true to yourself, Be true to your family, Make time for yourself, have work-life balance, but always tell the truth, because it will always come back and get you in the ass or if you're trying to BS your way out of something. The people that the members that we deal with are not stupid. They didn't become gazillionaires overnight by not knowing what's good, what's right, what's wrong. So don't try to BS your way, because they'll smell it. They'll smell it and they'll call you out um, that's about it, dude yeah, no, that was good, that was real good.
Speaker 1:I actually had a really good episode with ryan brennan, uh, from manasquan river golf club and that was like that's sort of like what the whole episode was about is. You know, he had the, he had the opportunity to leave and all this stuff, but he was like no, like this is a good opportunity. He knew he wasn't going to be GM in five years and 10 years. He knew it was going to take um a little bit of time, but he, you know, he just waited it out and just realized what he had. You know how how green the grass is and can be here Um. So, yeah, it was really really really cool to hear that. Thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for sharing. This was so good. I'm so happy we were able to do this.
Speaker 2:No, nothing, Appreciate it man.
Speaker 1:Hope you all enjoyed that, paul. Thank you so so, so much for coming on and sharing and giving and all you're doing for the club industry, for your club. It is truly great to watch. If you want to learn more about Management in Motion, head on over to privateclubradiocom slash managementinmotion. That's this episode. I'm your host, denny Corby. Until next time, catch y'all on the Flippity Flip.
