5 Business Tips from Pete Cimino of Lloyd

| |

Updated: October 2021

In 2010, Pete Cimino had a crazy idea: launching Buffalo’s first food truck.

Starting a food truck business is a dream for many entrepreneurs, but only a few succeed. Lloyd is among that few. In fact, they’ve been successful enough to keep multiple food trucks operating, open two brick and mortar locations, AND open up a sister company ‘Churn’.

Pete’s background isn’t in marketing (it’s in math), but based on Lloyd’s success he and the rest of his team clearly know a thing or two about building a successful business. Which is exactly why we reached out to Pete to learn more about what works for Lloyd and why.

Here’s what he had to say:

#1: Always be authentic.

Be yourself and be honest. Whatever your promise is to people, it has to be believable. First and foremost, you need to believe it yourself. You have to be genuine in what you’re offering. With so many options of where to spend money, people want to feel good about where they are spending it. People love a good story they can connect with.

c/o Tyler Finley

#2: Find your tribe.

There will always be fans. There will always be haters. Not everyone is going to like what you do. Focus on your fans. By identifying the people that are interested in you and your brand, you can start to build your tribe. Spend your time with the people who love you the most. Their excitement will naturally radiate to others.

#3: Take feedback and learn from it.

When you’re starting a business, the feedback you receive initially is an essential part of the equation. Listening to this feedback, and modifying your approach is an important step. Feedback is really the barometer of how your business is doing, so be engaged and demonstrate that you care. You’ll learn more about what you’re doing from your customers.

c/o Roman Polyachenko Photography

#4: Be consistent and show up.

Lloyd was born out of social media. The food truck business today doesn’t exist without social media. You are not creating flyers and posting them around town. You are marketing in the moment by tweeting and posting updates on Facebook and Instagram. If you say you’re going to be somewhere at a certain time, you need to be there. There’s no faster way to lose customers than by going back on your word.

#5: Never give up.

You’re either in it to win it or you’re going to get steamrolled. Keep your eye on the prize and always remember your why. Listen to Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk “Start With Why” the next time you need a little extra motivation. Don’t be wishy-washy. Instead, build a positive environment that’s conducive to you knocking it out of the park. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and support your dream.

c/o lloyd Products/Corey McCrea

lloyd Food Trucks:

lloyd Taco Factory:

Churn:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This series from Step Out Buffalo for Business is meant to give unique insight and perspective from some of WNY’s most creative and successful businesses. Remember, no one knows your business better than you, and not every tip will work for everyone.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Want to know more about promoting your business on StepOutBuffalo.com? Contact us!

At Step Out Buffalo, we help businesses promote themselves and their events on our website, email, and social media channels. Our team is comprised of experts who know exactly how to make your business or event stand out, and we’ll put you in all the right places so you get noticed by all the right people. Hit us up if you’d like to learn more about our business and/or events-based promotions – there’s a reason 94% of our readers go places they’ve seen on StepOutBuffalo.com

Subscribe to Our Blog

Stay up to date with the latest marketing and business tips in Buffalo & WNY from the Step Out Buffalo team and beyond.

Step Out Buffalo Business Newsletter

More Posts You'll Love

Step Out Buffalo Event Packages | Product Guide

Step Out Buffalo Event Packages | Product Guide

At Step Out Buffalo our mission is to help people love where they live by showcasing local businesses across Buffalo and Western New York. One of the ways we do this is through our Event Packages. Step Out Buffalo Event Packages are designed in tiers to...

Step Out Buffalo Partner Packages | Product Guide

Step Out Buffalo Partner Packages | Product Guide

Photo courtesy of Step Out Buffalo client University at Buffalo At Step Out Buffalo our mission is to help people love where they live by showcasing local businesses across Buffalo and Western New York. One of the ways we do this is through our Partner Packages....

Step Out Buffalo Shop Local Packages | Product Guide

Step Out Buffalo Shop Local Packages | Product Guide

At Step Out Buffalo our mission is to help people love where they live by showcasing local businesses across Buffalo and Western New York. One of the ways we do this is through our Shop Local Packages. Step Out Buffalo Shop Local Packages are discounted...

Step Out Buffalo Shop Local Packages | Product Guide

Step Out Buffalo Shop Local Packages | Product Guide

At Step Out Buffalo our mission is to help people love where they live by showcasing local businesses across Buffalo and Western New York. One of the ways we do this is through our Shop Local Packages. Step Out Buffalo Shop Local Packages are discounted...

How to Create A Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Campaign That Works

How to Create A Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Campaign That Works

Word-Of-Mouth Marketing: What It Is & Why Does It Matter Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most powerful forms of marketing there is. Word-of-mouth marketing is a type of advertising that relies on people talking about a product or service to their friends,...

Advertising 101: The Basics Of Creating Effective Campaigns

Advertising 101: The Basics Of Creating Effective Campaigns

Have you ever sat down to build out an advertising campaign and felt overwhelmed before even getting started? If you’re in need of an Advertising 101 rundown or a refresher on the best ways to create a successful campaign in this day and age and the most important...

Influencer-Style Advertising: The Key to Growing Your Business

Influencer-Style Advertising: The Key to Growing Your Business

Featured image c/o BuffaloveBirds, a local WNY influencer duo When it comes to getting more customers, advertising can be a gamechanger for your business. But if you don’t want to waste money on ineffective efforts, you need to be strategic. Traditional media, like...

Leveraging Step Out Buffalo

2022 Step Out Buffalo Year In Review

2022 Step Out Buffalo Year In Review

A letter from our team - 2022 recapped. 2022 flew by and it was a great one. Over the past year we welcomed two new full time team members to our staff - one a previous intern, which was so exciting for us! We also added four new freelance content creators (again, one...