Entrepreneur Sherry Stewart Deutschmann sets course for success with new book, “Lunch with Lucy.”
Entrepreneur Sherry Stewart Deutschmann recently celebrated the release of her debut book, Lunch with Lucy: Maximize Profits by Investing in Your People, via An Inc. Original, an imprint of Inc Magazine. With refreshing humor and humility, Lunch with Lucy is Sherry’s story of founding her first venture, LetterLogic, in her basement, as a single mom with no experience, and turning it into a robust $40 million business through empathetic leadership and uncommon, commonsense business practices.
Deutschmann deliberately put the needs of her people above those of her shareholders and customers through initiatives such as fair living wages and an unheard-of equal profit-sharing plan. She created an employee-centric practice, “Lunch with Lucy,” which allowed her to remove the hierarchical dynamics within the organization and revolutionize the company’s work culture. Entrepreneurs will connect with this thought leader as she shows how she was successful — not in spite of her unorthodox leadership, but because of it. Deutschmann’s business model and book are transformational. Here is our conversation:
Q: Hi Sherry! Your debut book, Lunch with Lucy: Maximize Profits by Investing in Your People is out now. You’ve received incredible praise for the book already. Can you share what it is like to see people so excited about it?
It’s exciting and satisfying to see the positive reactions to Lunch with Lucy. I learned a great deal from launching and growing my first venture, and I wanted to share my journey and uncommon, common-sense business practices that led to our success with others. I’m incredibly grateful and hope my book continues to be a valuable resource to entrepreneurs and businesses, especially during these difficult times.
Q: You founded your first venture, LetterLogic, in your basement and built it to a $40 million company that you sold in 2016. This book shares your journey and how your unorthodox leadership built a positive work culture which led to LetterLogic’s massive success. Why was leading with empathy imperative to that success?
Empathy allowed me to learn and care about the unique situations that each person dealt with before they came into work each day. It helped me see how my decisions impacted them and how that impact could affect the company, either positively or negatively. When I learned about the hopes and dreams of the individuals — goals they’d put on the back burner to work in my factory to make a living, it gave me a strong sense of responsibility. I began to see entrepreneurship as a privilege that came with a serious obligation: to take care of those persons who joined me to help make my dream a reality.
Q: You created an employee-centric practice, “Lunch with Lucy,” at LetterLogic that made such an impact that you used it as the title of your book. Can you explain the practice and why it was so successful?
The typical hierarchy in business puts the CEO on a pedestal and isolates them from the people who are actually making things happen. It separates the CEO from the company’s greatest assets and keeps them from learning from the individuals who have the most practical, actionable knowledge of the customers and the business in general. It also keeps the CEO in an ivory tower that insulates them from knowing how their decisions affect the employees. To remove that barrier, I created the practice of reserving my lunch hour on Wednesdays for any employee to sign up to have lunch with me. Except it was lunch with my alter-ego “Lucy”…a co-worker, instead of lunch with the boss. They would choose the restaurant. They would decide if it would be just the two of us or they could invite along anyone else they chose. Sometimes that was a spouse and sometimes it was their entire department. Then we talked about THEM. I learned about their hopes and dreams, their hobbies, their family life, and their immediate and longterm goals. Sometimes, I learned about issues within my company, stuff that only the employees handling day to day operations would know. That hour each week became the most valuable time I spent in growing my business. Seeing how my decisions and actions affected my people made me a more empathetic leader.
Q: You give incredible advice in the book for business leaders and entrepreneurs. Do you have any specific advice for them during the COVID-19 crisis?
During especially hard times, our “fight or flight” impulses can take over and we might tend toward self-preservation, creating a situation that makes it even harder for those around us. But what should we do? As a serial entrepreneur, I believe it is the absolute responsibility and privilege of business owners and leaders to put the needs of our employees before the needs of the customer, the shareholders, and ourselves. What does that look like in the days of COVID-19…coming close on the heels of devastating tornadoes in my hometown of Nashville, TN? Now, more than ever, the number one thing you can do is LISTEN. It is a basic human need to be heard, to have a voice, to matter…and your people need it now more than ever. Now that business has slowed (or come to a screeching halt for many of us), NOW, TODAY, take the time to listen to your employees. Will it be difficult? Probably. But you need to know the impact on them and their families and you need to hear it directly from them. Don’t do this via text or email. Pick up your phone and call them. Ask a few questions and then shut up and listen. I dive more into leading with empathy during difficult times on my blog.
Q You were named a White House Champion of Change in 2016 and honored by President Barack Obama. Can you share about that experience?
Being named a White House Champion of Change by President Barack Obama was the honor of a lifetime. I think I first came to his attention after then-US Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez, came to visit LetterLogic to witness our culture firsthand, and to learn about my advocacy for paying fair wages. It was the employees who impressed him with their warmth and friendliness, making it obvious that our people-first philosophy was indeed working. Sadly, when I was invited to the White House to accept the award from the President himself, I was unable to attend as I had a prior engagement. You see, the “prior engagement” was a strategic planning meeting with my team and I didn’t think it would be right to cancel my plans with them…to be honored for putting them first. Instead, I have a beautiful letter from President Obama, framed and proudly displayed in my home. Hopefully, I’ll get another opportunity to meet him face-to-face to thank him for honoring my “family” in this way.
Q: What made you want to write Lunch with Lucy?
Every time I spoke about our culture anywhere, there were two reactions: 1. I was barraged with questions about how and why from sincere business owners who “got it” and wanted to take action. 2. The exclamation “You’ve got to write a book!” was a constant. There was a hunger for empathic leadership and I had to tell our story.
Q: In 2019, you founded BrainTrust, a company dedicated to helping other women entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Why is this important to you and how does it work?
Of the 12 million women-owned businesses in the US, only 1.7% ever get to $1M in annual revenue. Why does that matter? Because at the $1M mark, you are more likely to be paying yourself a decent salary, creating financial stability for you and your family. At that point, you are more likely to attract investors or get a line of credit to help you get to the next level; and at that critical point, you likely have 5–10 employees and can work ON your business, not IN your business. So BrainTrust is a peer-to-peer membership organization that places the entrepreneur in a group of just 7 others, each bringing their life experiences, education and wisdom, their “brain trust,” to the table to help one another get to the $1M mark. Each group, called a “vault,” meets each month for 3 hours, sharing their business challenges and then hearing relevant experiences from the others. It is a game-changer.
Q: In what ways are you plugged into your local and national business community?
I serve on the board of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center (NEC) and my husband (also an entrepreneur) and I are hosting the annual NEC’s NEXT Awards, celebrating the exceptional entrepreneurs transforming their industries, creating opportunities, growing economies and improving lives in Nashville and beyond.
I serve on the board of Thistle Farms, which provides effective, lifelong support to women survivors of trafficking, prostitution, and addiction.
I’m an “activator” and fanatic about SheEO, an amazingly innovative ecosystem to finance women. This is especially critical as women get less than 2% of venture capital and private equity in the US.
I’m involved with the Women Business Collaborative (WBC), which is an alliance of women’s business organizations, corporations, trade associations, researchers and media accelerating the advancement of diverse female representation in C-Suites and boardrooms, the achievement of gender diversity and parity in the workplace, and the growth of women-owned businesses.
I previously served on the National Women’s Business Council in Washington DC, a group of women who advised the President, Congress, and the SBA about issues related to women accessing capital, markets, and networks to grow their businesses.
I’m a guest speaker at Vanderbilt University Peabody School for many years now, sharing the employee-centric model with students who will likely work in HR or have their own businesses.
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Learn tips on how you can build your company’s bottom line by prioritizing your team and leading with empathy on Sherry’s website: https://sherrydeutschmann.com/.
Link to purchase the book: https://www.amazon.com/Lunch-Lucy-Maximize-Profits-Investing/dp/1733478108.
