From Zero Sales to 350+ Businesses: Preston Lee on Building a Hospitality Empire

In this episode of What Are You Made of? show , Mike “C-Roc” sits down with Preston Lee, founder of Thirty Percent, a hospitality consulting and leadership development company that helps restaurant, hotel, and club owners build the training, leadership, and operational systems they often don’t have time to create themselves. With experience working with more than 350 businesses across 14 countries, Preston brings a unique perspective on what it takes to create exceptional customer experiences and build stronger teams. Preston opens up about his entrepreneurial journey, including the first year of building his business when he made zero sales. He shares how patience, grit, consistency, and a little “delusion” helped him keep moving forward when the path wasn’t clear. He also explains how he eventually discovered that social media and content were far more effective for his business than cold calling and door knocking, allowing him to build a company largely through inbound leads. Mike "C-Roc" and Preston dive into the importance of building a business in the right order: promotion, process, and people. They discuss why businesses need to establish a reliable way to attract customers before building out complex processes and teams, and why having the right systems in place is essential before bringing more people into the organization. Preston also shares lessons from working with business owners on hospitality, leadership, training, and consistency through Thirty Percent’s customized approach. The conversation also explores knowing your ideal client, recognizing when you may be underpricing your value, and overcoming the self-doubt that often comes with entrepreneurship. Preston shares how client results and testimonials helped him build confidence in the value he was creating, while Mike highlights the importance of continuing to promote, improve, and evolve as a business grows. It’s an honest conversation about entrepreneurship, leadership, hospitality, and building systems that create better experiences for both customers and teams. Website- 30percentrule.com https://www.instagram.com/the30rule/?hl=en