In this episode of Transform Your Workplace, host Brandon Laws interviews the Chief Inspirational Officer of Pacific Perks, Natalie Fairchild, about her unique business. An espresso bar catering business with an emphasis on workplace flexibility, Pacific Perks is committed to giving employees autonomy over their roles at the company. Hear stories of employees with diverse backgrounds who have found success and fulfillment at Pacific Perks and learn how the business thrives despite such unorthodox methods.
GUEST AT A GLANCE
Natalie Fairchild is the Chief Inspirational Officer of Pacific Perks, Co-Host of The Entrepreneur’s Journey LIVE, and Director of SW SHRM HR Coffee Talks.
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR
🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws
📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”
A UNIQUE BUSINESS IDEA
Pacific Perks is an espresso bar catering business that specializes in offering fun and unique events to help businesses boost culture, show appreciation, or take some time to connect. They offer a flat fee service starting from two hours, where they bring their own equipment and provide complimentary beverages, ice cream, and food to guests. From corporate functions, employee appreciation events, medical office gatherings, and celebrations such as holiday parties and anniversaries, Pacific Perks has brought their barista skills to all types of business events.
But what they do isn’t all that sets Pacific Perks apart — it’s also how they do it. One of the company’s core values is workplace flexibility, so they’re committed to offering their employees autonomy over their roles within the company, from creating their own schedules to communicating openly with leadership about needs.
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Prioritizing Workplace Flexibility
“This whole flexibility thing started with us — me and my family. So my husband Jim and I started Pacific Perks because he has MS, and […] we needed to be in a business together where we could have flexibility. And honestly, if I’m being true to myself, I’m not a five-day work-week person. I never have been. I used to blame it on MS. I used to blame it on poor Jim, but really I needed it. I needed the balance as much as he did.”
From the Top Down
“They are employees, and so they get all the benefits of being employees. That does cost us more money. And we kept the flexibility because we knew there was a really cool niche market of people that are not necessarily looking for work. Maybe they’re parents and their kids are old enough to get up and go to school, but they just wanna get out and they wanna get back into the workforce and they wanna make somebody’s day, but they don’t wanna be tied down to a part-time or a full-time position at the same time. So we knew it was this great niche market of people, and we knew in an event business that we can’t guarantee a number of hours for them. If you’re in the admin side of things, you know the office side of things, then there are more guaranteed hours of course. For events business, we don’t know what we’re getting. So it was, it was a win-win in that. And that’s been kind of our secret sauce of flexibility, and it started from the top down, and it still is the way we do things.”
For All Types of People
“So it comes with its challenges for sure, but I think it’s one of our best allies for sure, is that we have that flexibility and we’ve been able to pull in these incredible people. I have a flight attendant — he has gaps of time. So he does events during his gaps of time… Works great. I have parents. I have college students. I have people that, you know, were in the mortgage business, and that business right now is kind of flat, and they need to add to their family or real estate, that kind of thing. So everyone has their own story, but the common denominator is people that know what to do in situations, that work independently, that are kind and fun, and that know how to create an experience.”
Open to Change
“I do have people that have been working with us, and then life changes and they’re like, ‘I need to take a break,’ […] and I’ve had them come back. Things have changed in their life, which I love because we need to allow that to happen for them to grow, to try other chapters. I had one person — after her mom passed, it was just a really hard time and she was doing something else because she’d left Pacific Perks, and she’s like, ‘I just need to come back, and I need to not lead anyone. I need to go, and I need to check in and put on an experience, and I need to check out, and I need to go home.’ And she came back to us, and it was like, ‘Yes, we can do that for you.’ So that’s part of the flexibility magic is that people will flow in and flow out.”
Connecting to Help Others Connect
“This [GroupMe] app has become such a connection. So it’s not only posting their event pics so that we can download those and use those, but it’s showing funny things, mistakes, razzing each other in a kind way, supporting each other, giving tips, things like that, laughing hysterically about things, celebrating birthdays, all of that. So that’s been a really cool connection piece. And then we do send out a weekly email to our team just on updates — remember this, celebrate this, look forward to this. And then we have quarterly get-togethers where it’s either fun or it’s fun in a meeting and that kind of thing.
And it’s just the people… […] And so when we get together, it’s very fun and relaxed and real and raw.”
LEARN MORE
Thinking about offering Pacific Perks at your next event? Reach out here. Or, learn more about what it takes to get started with a Pacific Perks franchise here.