This week, we're sitting down with Brooke Goff. Brooke is the owner of Domke Market, West Mobile's Wine and Gourmet Shop. Listen to this week's episode to hear her story.
Produced by Blue Fish in Mobile, Alabama.
Transcript:
Brooke Goff:
My name is Brooke Goff and I own Domke Market.
Marcus Neto:
Awesome. Well, welcome to the podcast, Brooke.
Brooke Goff:
Thank you.
Marcus Neto:
Yeah. So tell us the story of Brooke. Where are you from? Where'd you go to high school? Did you go to college? Are you married? Just give us some of the background, the backstory.
Brooke Goff:
Okay. So in a nutshell, let's see, I grew up in Mississippi, went to high school at East Central High School, right over in Hurley. So we're just over the line. And right out of high school, actually, the week that I graduated high school, found out I was pregnant. So big life-changing moment. I was getting out of here, out of the South, going off to school. Things changed overnight for me. But it's been probably the best thing that ever happened in the course of my life and got married about a year or so later to my high school sweetheart. We're still married now, 18 years later.
Marcus Neto:
That's awesome.
Brooke Goff:
And yeah, very different people, but he is my rock. And he's the only reason that I'm able to do all of these things that I get to do. So I'm a little bit of a, I guess, serial entrepreneur, as I'm sure you know.
Marcus Neto:
If you're an entrepreneur, then you're not just starting one business, you're starting multiple businesses and having other people run them, there's a difference. Just a caveat here real quick or a tangent. If you're an entrepreneur, you want to start multiple businesses and have somebody else really kind of run those. If you're a small business owner, then you start a business and you get that business to the best of its abilities and you go from there. So some people don't understand the difference, but go ahead. I'm sorry.
Brooke Goff:
Yeah, no, absolutely. Even in any job that I've had outside of owning my own business, had an entrepreneurial type need in that setting. So I did start college, found out really quickly I did not want to be a nurse, I was going into nursing.
Marcus Neto:
Were you at USA or?
Brooke Goff:
Backed out. No, actually I was in Mississippi at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College then. They have a great nursing program in itself. So I was doing some of that and then I started a little sales job on the side. It was actually selling Mary Kay cosmetics. And at the time I was only 20, I guess, and had a lot of success really quickly there, drove a pink Cadillac and all that fun stuff, and did that business through the point in which my girls were five and six years old, I think. So they were starting school, things had changed a little bit, but I got to be at home with them all during that time and still have a business on the side. So it was great, but I was a little bit out of my element. I hear I was the youngest anywhere around here doing what I was doing. And although I did love it, I knew that I wanted to be wanting to do something different. So I went back to school, got a marketing degree from USM, University of South Mississippi.
Brooke Goff:
And then from there, I got a marketing job with the state. I did marketing for the seafood industry and some other things that were caveat there. So think like, Eat Alabama, Gulf Seafood, all of that campaign that you see around here. I did that for Mississippi, much smaller feat there, but that's what we did. And through that, we took some different turns in our marketing and all. And I ended up in the realm of restaurants, farming communities, food and wine events and that sort of thing. And that's where I really fell in love with the whole food and wine scene, event planning, all of that. And so eventually that's what brought me into; I met Deb Domke, who owned Domke Market at the time, and I was a regular customer there. And when it got time for them to move on and sell the business; she is an only child from Kentucky and needed to get back home, and she came to me and it took me about a year of convincing. And I finally decided to take the business over and do my thing from there.
Marcus Neto:
No, it's really cool. I didn't realize that it was a business that you had purchased. For whatever reason, I thought Domke had a different meaning or something like that and I was just expecting you to come in and tell me this story, but that makes way more sense than that, because I was like, "I don't know what Domke means." And here it is, it's just somebody's name. And I appreciate your honesty about having a baby and having things change, because I think one of the things that we pride ourselves in doing this podcast is the amount of people that listen to this and then they're inspired by one of the stories that they hear or just the sheer volume of people that are making an impact on the Mobile area, because we are such a small business or an entrepreneurial spirited town. And so you never know who's going to listen to this and think, "Hey, I may..." Maybe they're having a baby or something and don't know whether they can start a business, but they really want to, or something. So I think that's pretty cool.
Brooke Goff:
Or too young, too old, too uneducated, too whatever. Yeah. Exactly.
Marcus Neto:
Yeah. There's never a good time. It's like having a kid. Starting a business is almost exactly like having a kid. There's never a good time, there's never a bad time. Like, just do it. So now go back and tell me what your very first job was, like flipping burgers. And I always use the example of flipping burgers, scrubbing toilets, whatever it was.
Brooke Goff:
That's right, I forgot you do this. Yeah.
Marcus Neto:
Yeah. And so tell me, are there any lessons that you still remember from that?
Brooke Goff:
Well, so this is kind of... All right. So my very first job was, and this is so terrible to think of these days, but I ran a tanning bed salon when I think I was 14 or 15 when I started working there. So every day of my life, I got in a tanning bed. So big life lesson here, I just had, I don't know if you saw this back a year or so ago; I had a big skin cancer spot removed on my face. So here I am, 37, and it was pretty major. So thankfully they did it pretty nicely and all, but yeah.
Marcus Neto:
Yeah. I think you couldn't even tell. Yeah.
Brooke Goff:
So lesson learned ladies, stay out of those tanning beds. Which now so much is not...
Marcus Neto:
So that is a life lesson, for sure. Any other lessons that... Because I mean, we oftentimes forget that those first jobs are things that teach us things that we carry into our adulthood. I mean, obviously you had a very real thing that you learned from that, but I mean, going back, was there anything else that maybe you learned about that?
Brooke Goff:
Yeah, of course. I mean, this was a small business, it was a little hair salon slash tanning salon and just watching the running of that business and connecting with customers and that sort of thing. I went on from there and I had a part-time job for a district attorney's office in Jackson County, Mississippi. Which was not customer facing in any sense of the way, it was filing folders and that sort of thing. And so you learn real quick what you want to do. And so I always say with my girls who are now teenagers, and we talk about those sorts of things a lot, go try a lot, while you're young go try a lot of different things, have your hands in everything that you can possibly think you might be interested in, or that looks cool or good or whatever. Because out of those things are born, a little from here, a little from there, like you were just saying, makes us into to who we're becoming professionally. And we can take pieces from here and pieces from there and lessons learned.
Marcus Neto:
Yeah. Because you never know what is going to excite you. You never know what that is until you try a number of different things. I was actually, I'll go ahead and say it this way. I was invited and I'm very thankful that I was invited to go speak at Chickasaw High School recently. And just a plug, if you need somebody to come in and talk to a class or something like that, I'm open to doing that because I think that talking to young people is an extremely important thing for business owners and entrepreneurs to do. We have to show them that there is a way for them to do this. Okay. So having said that though, one of the things that man, I was just surprised by is I had forgotten just how uncool it is to like something. Right? And so I'm going around and asking them, "What do you like about this?" Or, "What do you like about that?" And it's not just them. It's not just Chickasaw High School. It's like all kids of that age, there's a bashfulness of admitting that they're appreciative of something in front of their friends.
Marcus Neto:
But also I'd just forgotten, kids don't have a lot of abilities to get out and experience things outside of school. And I don't know, I was left thinking like how... Because I know you may understand this, but some people won't; having somebody in your business costs you money. And the hope is that if they're an employee of yours that they're bringing in or earning more money than what they're costing you, but if it's somebody in high school, intern or something along those lines, they're costing you money and they're not making you any money. Right. And so, I need to spend more time on it, but I was thinking it's just a shame because I think that there were some really good kids. They were all really good kids, quite honestly in that group. And it's just like... I don't know. I'm going somewhere with this but I'm kind of meandering.
Marcus Neto:
But when we go into a situation like that in our first job, the lessons that we learn from that are something that we carry with us for the rest of our lives. And as a business owner, I would like to be able to make a place where I can provide that for a couple of students. But at this point, we don't even have any college interns. So I don't know. Anyway, something to be thought of in the future, I guess. So you mentioned that Domke was a business that you purchased, but how did you make that transition from them owning it to you owning it, and then were there any things that you changed once you did take it over and stuff like that?
Brooke Goff:
Yeah, so it was a lot. And it never happens or even ends up what you intend in the beginning. So when I first purchased the store, which has now been three years, we just made our three-year mark. And my first thought was that I would rebrand after say... I wanted to meet everyone and become familiar with the customer base and get into this realm and then maybe a year or so later, transition branding wise and all. Because I knew they had a lot, they have a whole boutique side of the store, like they had clothing and jewelry. It was more kind of like a emporium, like a wine emporium.
Marcus Neto:
[crosstalk 00:11:53]. Little bit of everything.
Brooke Goff:
Yeah. And I knew the place I wanted to take it was more about supporting other local businesses, and I wanted it to be a very community centric space. I wanted it to really involve a lot of promoting the small mom and pop brands that are incredible, that you pick up here and there along the way and that never have the arms to go reach these cool small retail spaces and get into those places and tell their stories there. And so that was kind of my initial vision. And then from there I wanted to build out a big seating area and all where we could do more actual food and wine events. And so we got started and then I realized really quickly that all of my money was completely eaten up. Most of which was borrowed anyway, so it's like, "Oh wow." So branding is going to have to be put on the back burner.
Brooke Goff:
But what I really realized quickly though was it's not about the name in itself, it's what you make it, and it's how people react to that brand. And it is a different name, so it stands out. So I don't think I'll ever change it now, just because it has become who I am, or I have become what it is, whatever. So we got started through that process. We changed a lot, after about a year we were completely done with the clothing and stuff. And all the other little gifty kind of things we started making decisions on replacing only what fits within the food and wine realm. We do a lot of gifting, we do a lot of gift baskets and that sort of thing, which is a big piece of our business, but it's not our culture and our core. So we do that, we pride ourselves in the work we do there, but still at the end of the day we're really about bringing people together, making wine more approachable, and just being able to have fun with wine.
Marcus Neto:
No, it's really cool. And I mean, I've been to your store a couple of times, and a couple of times it's been for events and it really works. It doesn't take a whole lot, you do a very good job of putting out some cheese and crackers and stuff like that to go with the wine and it just kind of facilitates because of the way the space is set up, facilitates for small intimate gatherings. So now do you remember maybe the first sale or the first customer that made you think, "Well, there might be something to this." Because often times, you get into something and it's like, "Man, I really have to..." And maybe it was the first month where you did better sales or something. But talk to me about that moment when you thought, "Okay, this is it, I made the right decision."
Brooke Goff:
It probably was just in a whole the first holiday season, because it was October when we took over the business and so that's hustling. Especially this year is of course completely different, but at that point, people were still planning out their gifts and gift baskets and all that in October or early November. And so I came into this rush of activity. And then throughout that process, of course a lot of lessons learned and all, but we got a lot of great reviews. The social media before wasn't really there. They didn't use it a whole lot. And so what we were just able to do in a couple months' time, and then that feeding into customer feedback and just all of the great vibes we were getting in general. I was for sure at that point that I made the right decision.
Marcus Neto:
That's awesome. Now, if you were talking to someone that wanted to get started in running their own business, what's the one bit of wisdom that you would tell them?
Brooke Goff:
I think culture is key. I know I was blessed in the realm of employees because I inherited some employees. Some of those were getting ready, one was going off to law school, one was getting married to a military man, they've moved off. So there's been a little turnover in that regard, but I've never just actually had to fire someone or have a bad situation with employees that kind of weren't fitting in and doing the right things. And I think that it's because upfront just establishing your culture and making sure that the people fit there is almost more important than the degrees they have behind their name and the things that they've accomplished. Because people can learn things, and I would think that's probably number one, even today in looking at maybe starting another business in the future and whatever, I would build everything first around the culture and then grow from there. Yeah.
Marcus Neto:
No, I feel you, because I don't necessarily put a whole lot of emphasis on someone's resume. I would put more emphasis for what we do on their portfolio, because that tells me that they can actually do the job that I need them to do. And even if their portfolio isn't quite where I need it to be, it at least shows me that they're interested and that they're trying, and if they're interested and they're trying, then there's something that I can work with that I can get them to the point where they need to be and be able to execute at the level that I need them to execute. Because I would challenge you, what degree do you hire somebody for to work in a retail wine shop?
Brooke Goff:
Right. Yeah. And most people would think that you want somebody that knows wine and that knows customer service, right? It's not necessarily it. I mean, people can learn wine and they can learn a few key things. If they're a good person, a genuine person, then you can learn customer service.
Marcus Neto:
The other thing too is, even you say do you want them to know wine, the truth is you want them to hear what the person is saying and just be able to make suggestions, not push them into what their tastes are.
Brooke Goff:
Yes. Absolutely.
Marcus Neto:
Yeah. Are you currently working on anything with the business that you can share with us?
Brooke Goff:
Right now, I had some things that were kind of coming down the pipe, but we've had, like everyone else this year, had to pump the brakes a minute to figure out where we're going to land and what's going to happen. But I will say that as of today, I'm launching a new website in Mississippi and we're doing some gift baskets there. There won't be any alcohol involved, so this is kind of a side project just based on what I've learned from here from this business and some need that's over there with some people that I know. And so we're doing that, I'm doing that in partnership with a friend over there. But yeah, as far as Domke itself goes here, I am just looking forward to the growth in the future.
Marcus Neto:
2021.
Brooke Goff:
Yeah. 2021.
Marcus Neto:
Everybody was saying that about 2020, let's hope that 2020 exits at the stroke of midnight or sooner of December 31st, and that we can all get back to life is normal in 2021, but don't hold your breath. Who's the one person that motivates you from the business world and that's the larger business world, like the world, not just Mobile.
Brooke Goff:
Gosh, that's a hard question. I don't know, I would say it has to be a combination of books I read and things that I just dive into. Oftentimes as small business owners our day just gets filled up with all of the details that we don't want to be bogged down in and all the things that we end up having to do, just because they have to get done and we don't get to do the creative and the planning and everything that we intended to be in the beginning. And so I really enjoy my commutes home even unplugging for an hour or so in the middle of the day, go get lunch, plug my AirPods in and listen to a good book. And I really love...
Marcus Neto:
Let me ask my next question, because you're about to answer it. Are there any books, podcasts, people, or organizations that have been helpful in moving you forward?
Brooke Goff:
Yeah, absolutely.
Marcus Neto:
I had to get the question in before she answered it, folks. That's the sign of a good host.
Brooke Goff:
Yeah. Awesome. So actually I'm sure you're familiar with Donald Miller, StoryBrand. I really just enjoy how he has taken part of his life before which was screenwriting, and transitioned that into marketing and basically makes it to where everyone can formulate a good marketing strategy plan for themselves and they can help put people into the... I mean, we all know you get so far in marketing and you have to put the customer into that space. You have to give them a space in what you're doing, a place, a sense of place. And I think he does that so simply from the beginning that I'm loving listening. I've always followed his podcast and stuff, but I actually just signed up with him to do some StoryBrand stuff and all. And so I think he's a good marketer period.
Marcus Neto:
Yeah. He's a good communicator. I mean he did screenwriting, he also did write a couple of books, like Blue Like Jazz and stuff like that, read Painted Desert.
Brooke Goff:
I couldn't remember what it was, Blue Like Jazz is what I was trying to think of, yeah.
Marcus Neto:
I mean, everybody in the Christian circles knows Blue Like Jazz because it was really big and especially in post-modern churches and stuff like that. But he kind of parlayed that into the StoryBrand stuff and he's done very well. I mean, it went from zero to 100 miles an hour pretty quick. And so if you haven't read that book, by all means pick it up because it's definitely really good. And there are a number of people here locally that are StoryBrand certified coaches, I guess. I don't know that that's exactly what they call them, but basically just people that can kind of walk you through that process and stuff. So it's definitely something to look into. Any other books, podcasts or people?
Brooke Goff:
Yeah. I mean, I've listened to Entrepreneur On Fire and Smart Passive Income, of course those.
Marcus Neto:
Well you say of course, but a lot of people don't know.
Brooke Goff:
Oh, okay. Sorry. Right.
Marcus Neto:
Don't excuse it.
Brooke Goff:
Yeah, right, yeah. I shouldn't do that.
Marcus Neto:
So Entrepreneur On Fire is a good one and Smart Passive Income is a good one. Any others?
Brooke Goff:
And then of course, Cheers To Business, our local girls.
Marcus Neto:
Yes, Karen and Katie.
Brooke Goff:
Yes, Karen and Katie. They're great. And I sponsored a wine for theirs of course, so that's fun. But yeah, I mean those are the ones that I pretty much... It's funny on a little bit lighter funnier note. I enjoy listening to the Minimalists podcast because I want so badly to be a minimalist.
Marcus Neto:
To be a minimalist.
Brooke Goff:
And so sometimes it's just great to go back to that podcast and be like, "Man, okay. I'm getting a little closer maybe."
Marcus Neto:
That's funny. That is really funny. Remind me, I'll tell you something after we finish up with this in regards to the whole minimalist thing, because I completely feel that. So now what's the one most important thing that you have learned about running a business? These questions aren't easy, folks.
Brooke Goff:
They're not, I wish I would have got these ahead of time. I'm could have had some really good stuff, I think.
Marcus Neto:
Well, they're in every podcast. People just don't realize that until I say something like this.
Brooke Goff:
No, I didn't. And I've listened to plenty of them, yeah. I did remember the first job thing. So I really think that it's most important to listen to your customers and allow that to evolve your business. And like I said from the beginning, starting a business is probably never going to end up exactly where you had planned for it to. I mean, hell, just 2020 in general nobody's ended where they had intended to in whatever way that is. But I think as long as you're doing something for the right reasons and you have a good idea, you have a good plan, and then you involve your customers and then you listen to them and let that help evolve your plan, you're always going to have people supporting you. And that's with any project that we've started, that's been our growth really has been projects. I call it projects. I mean, it'll be an idea. I have like 10,000 ideas a day, right.
Brooke Goff:
And so you decide which ones you're going to actually throw out there and put time and effort and money behind. And we have a wine club that everybody gets a couple bottles of wine and a cheese each month, it's our wine and cheese of the month club. We throw a party once a month for our members. And that is something that I really just started for a core group of people and it's just grown and it's become something really cool and awesome and something that people get behind. And they buy memberships for their family members now and all that kind of stuff, so it's fun. And then the events in themselves, I'll do a series or something. And just watching people, because you've listened and you've involved them in your plan, they get behind what you're doing. And that's all that we can hope for as a business owner is you have that core group of people that continues to grow and get behind what you're doing. And I think that's probably the most important.
Marcus Neto:
And I don't know that I can say it any better than you, but I've heard from a number of gurus, if you will, about that whole idea of well, don't just assume that you know what the problem is. Go and either through your customers or if you don't have a business, go and talk to people and figure out what the problem is because all business is, is having a solution for a problem and then charging a fair price for the value that you're providing. And so it's really important to figure out what that problem is and then go after that versus saying, "Well, I just want to do X, Y, and Z," and then trying to find customers for it, because they may not exist. So very smart point. Now I think I know the answer to this next question, but I'm not quite sure. How do you like to unwind?
Brooke Goff:
Oh, of course with some wine. No, really and truthfully, I love to get away. I love to get away and I've been super jealous of y'all's trips lately because just before this, we took two or three nice trips a year and they were always in the Caribbean somewhere, Hawaii, and just completely unplugging. And that's how I unplug best really. But of course, these days it's not quite as often as I'd like.
Marcus Neto:
So, follow-up questions. What are one or two wines that you, and I'm not saying this is like somebody else is going to go, "Okay, I got to go buy those," but I'm just curious, what are one or two wines that you really like? And then where was the last place that you went to that you were really blown away by?
Brooke Goff:
Okay, well, so when we're recording this right now it's Thanksgiving timeframe. And last night we had a Thanksgiving wine pairing at the store and I was trying to pull some different stuff. And so we pulled this Mencía, it's an indigenous Spanish grape, you don't see it too often. If you ever see one, grab it and try it, it's delicious. And always way under-priced. So I'd say that's a fun, different one. And then as far as just a stable piece, and this kind of ties into the coolest place I've been lately, I've been to Oregon for two years in a row now and brought a group out with me to wine country.
Brooke Goff:
And I was out there about three weeks ago and I met with Rob Stewart who's probably my favorite wine maker in the Willamette Valley, maybe on the West Coast period. And he just makes the most beautiful Pinot Noirs, and lot of different complexity, a lot of different styles, a lot of different tastes. He said that across the US, I actually carry more of his [inaudible 00:29:55] and sell more of his wine than anybody in the nation. I was like, "Really?" And it's just because I love them. So if you see any of Rob Stewart's wines.
Marcus Neto:
Yeah. I mean, you're an influencer in that respect because wine is one of those things that, I don't care who you are, you never really feel like you know wine to a level. Well, I take that back. There are some people that definitely have found their niche and they know what they like. But if I walk into your store, I'm going to go, "Hey, what do you suggest?" I'm probably going to try both of those just to see whether they're things that I appreciate. I'll throw this in, I really liked Dornfelder. I don't drink a lot of wine, but that is one that we've gotten from your shop that has been something that I have really appreciated. Because I'm not real big on things that are super dry and it seems to go down quite easy. And is this Oregon the place that you have been to recently that [crosstalk 00:30:50].
Brooke Goff:
Yes, sorry. Yeah.
Marcus Neto:
No, it's fine, I just wanted to make sure.
Brooke Goff:
Oregon. Yeah. We stayed in McMinnville, which was kind of the center of the Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills area. And we visited, I think, 10 wineries in four days and just top to bottom, learning out in the soil and the grapes and the wine tasting, pairing the foods, all of it.
Marcus Neto:
Nobody ever thinks of Portland when they think of wine, do they? Or Oregon?
Brooke Goff:
I don't think so. And it's so funny how customers who really I feel like know a decent amount about wine are like, "So where in Oregon were you?" And I'm like, "Really?" Because the Willamette Valley is like the best Pinot Noir. It's actually the same latitude as Burgundy, France. So their climates, their soil type, there's a lot of the same going on. So if you like big, beautiful burgundies that are quite expensive, even white burgundies which are just classic clean Chardonnays without all the buttery crazy stuff going on that we've kind of done here in California in the US; they're beautiful. And they're right here in our backyard.
Marcus Neto:
Wow. Well, tell people where they can find you, give them any information that you might want them to have about the store or about your business.
Brooke Goff:
Okay. So Domke Market, we are on Schillinger Road out in West Mobile. I know we're way out west, so if you're on this side of town.
Marcus Neto:
Next to Baskin Robbins, so if you need to you can get some sustenance while you're out there.
Brooke Goff:
Yeah. And we make charcuterie boards and some small plates and things like that, but we are not a full restaurant. But we do a lot of wine tasting dinners where we bring in local chefs, local restaurants. So you can find all of that information on our Facebook site and our Instagram, it's just at Domke Market at both places. And then our website is domkemarket.com. Check us out, come by.
Marcus Neto:
Awesome. Well, I want to thank you again for coming on the podcast, wrap up any final thoughts or comments you'd like to share?
Brooke Goff:
No, just thank you for having me and everybody out there in Mobile towards the end of 2020, good luck in all of the rest of your plans for the year and hope everybody makes it out.
Marcus Neto:
Yeah. It's been a doozy.
Brooke Goff:
Better than it's looking.
Marcus Neto:
Yeah, I know. All the business owners I talk to are kind of like shell shocked, like "We made it, can it please just end now." Between the pandemic and an election in the same year, it's just kind of like...
Brooke Goff:
The ultimate clusterfuck.
Marcus Neto:
Yeah, exactly. So, well Brooke, I appreciate your willingness to sit with me and share your journey as a business owner and entrepreneur. It's been great talking with you.
