Lessons from a Hooters Girl…

November 12, 2009  |   Posted in Blog, Take-aways, business networking   |   View Comments  

Kat Cole, VP Of Training and Development for Hooters, Inc.

On Thursday, November 5, the Vice President of Training and Development for Hooters, Inc., Kat Cole, spoke to 40 business women at an a lunch event hosted by my organization, Women Intelligently Networking (WIN!). She started out as a Hooters girl and now runs an enormous division of a company that generates over one billion annually. Suffice to say, if anyone knows something about customer service, motivation, sales, training, stigma and standing apart, it’s her.

Not only is Ms. Cole an incredibly inspiring and entertaining speaker, she is also very business savvy and has her own independent consulting firm that works with CEOs on leadership. There were many practical business tips provided as well as lessons shared from her experiences.

Here are three of the big take-aways that I had:

• It’s okay to be opportunistic – when opportunity arises, do not feel bad about taking advantage of it.

• Master the art of non-verbal communication – Only 7% of what people perceive is based on the actual words you use… What are you saying with the other 93%? (I also wrote a previous blog post on – “What are you saying before you speak” that addresses some of this.)

• “If no one is creating energy around you, you need to create it yourself,” This was the philosophy of the founders of Hooters who realized that instead of waiting for other people to get excited about Hooters, they had to do it for them and generate the buzz. Instead of waiting for things to happen, make them happen!

What tips do you have for getting ahead in the business world? Do you have any lessons that you wish you would have known when you started your business?