Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Miller.
Todd, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As an entrepreneur, my story started at 19 when I was a student at Texas Wesleyan University. I was a full-time student cooking pizza’s at the original Mama’s Pizza on East Rosedale and waiting tables at a few chain restaurants. A fraternity brother approached me about starting a film production company. From there Spurgeon Productions was created and I was off and running. We went on to make a few short films that performed well enough to get me to one full feature film. I continued as a student completing my degree in Public Relations / Advertising in 2000. The same year I was fortunate enough to move on from Spurgeon Productions with a few dollars in my pocket, along with my college degree.
In that same time, I had a successful amateur boxing career and had become a trained semi-professional wrestler while researching a script. Unfortunately, I lost my trainer to an untimely passing. I left boxing but continued to wrestle around Texas and Oklahoma for many years as The Blue Hawaiian, mainly having fun. I also started a brief career as the lead test rider for Rucker Performance, a locally owned, high-end motorcycle builder. This led to my second attempt as an entrepreneur designing shirts focused on the motorcycle industry. BKR Wear was simply going to be affordable clothing in a world of designer shop shirts that were unaffordable to a working-class market. The company never got off the ground, as I left the motorcycle industry when my daughter was born. I found myself in need of a traditional job that didn’t require 10 hours a day on a motorcycle. BKR Wear was also a massive failure and my greatest success in learning how not to run a business, this will always be one of the most important lessons I have ever had. I left with no plan but a need to earn a living as a family man, finally use my degree for something or so I thought, I found myself selling health insurance and doing well.
For four years, I was an employee until 2009 when, again, I got the entrepreneurial itch and formed Worth Benefits & Consultants, a benefits firm focused on non-profits and small businesses. I was back on my own and enjoyed tremendous success for many years. In early 2017, and after a lot of offers to sell, I finally bit and sold to Brinson Benefits. I continued working under Brinson for two years until I got the itch again. That leads to today, where my next chapter is beginning with a pizza concept in the East Rosedale Renessaince.
Has it been a smooth road?
No. Just when you think you have it figured out you can fall flat on your face. You do your best to do it gracefully, but it’s a part of managing the unknown, This is also one of the many great rewards to being an entrepreneur, fixing the issues. I can do everything and hire the best consultants to stay ahead of trends, finances, and issues, but in the end, you will face unplanned challenges. This is why your business is your child because just like children, things happen that are beyond your control. Just like being a parent you adapt and step up to the plate because its the job. Ultimately these issues are rewarding because this is what you love doing and you wouldn’t trade it for anything.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the TBH Approach story. Tell us more about the business.
TBH Approach is currently built to be a consulting firm for small businesses but is growing to become more as I move towards our pizza concept, which is currently being developed. The pizza concept is currently in lease negotiations but the goal is to begin construction in the fall of 2019 and a goal of opening in early 2020. This began in January with a call from Fred Slabach, president of Texas Wesleyan University and the need for pizza. It’s been a while since the old Mama’s closed its doors leaving the school with no viable local dining or hangouts. I had just left my job and was deciding what I was going to do next, and I told him I would do it. I’ll open a pizza joint. Over the past four months, I have buried myself in learning a new industry while cooking a lot of pizzas for my family.
While it’s exciting to be close to my university, its an even more exciting to be on the leading edge of developing a historically economically depressed area. Bringing jobs to a neighborhood with very few businesses and working with student employees is challenging, but what I expect to be the most rewarding part of this new venture. The goal is to grow beyond this store in the future, but for now, it’s about having a great time and creating a new opportunity in Fort Worth. I also plan to carry on many of my interests from the past 20 years, especially our ability to be a part of the charitable community as a business. There are no limits, donating pizzas, financially and the idea for scholarships for different departments at Texas Wesleyan, working with the local schools and community. We look forward to offering a family friendly environment in a neighborhood that currently has very few options for dining out. Whether college students congregating over pizza, faculty meeting for a pitcher of beer and snack, a local youth baseball team refueling after a game, we look forward to meeting and serving our future patrons.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
You must be prepared to evolve or be left behind. This will include being involved in the industry, remaining educated in trends beyond just pizza. We can always find ways to improve, including during the development process. It’s important to not love your ideas so much that you miss the boat on what really matters, those coming or not coming to the establishment.
We are excited to be part of all that is happening in the East Rosedale area. In 5 – 10 years, I expect there to be lots of changes in the business and area for the positive, making this an opportunity that will be more than rewarding. And of course, good pizza!
Contact Info:
- Phone: 8179888536
- Email: toddm@tbhapproach.com
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