Dig It

Some things you don’t think about until they stop working. Then you get a trickle from your shower head. Suddenly, all you can think about is what’s happening with the pipes underground.  There’s money to be made in invisible industries. That’s true if you’re pumping water from a well — a technolo…

Steel Towers, New Neighbors

When we talk about “growth,” we usually mean population, jobs, or maybe cranes on the skyline. But growth isn’t abstract — it’s physical. It’s steel. It’s dirt. It’s concrete. It’s towers you don’t notice and neighborhoods you drive past every day. Christiaan's guests on Out to Lunch are both in t…

Ton's Uncle Bob

People in Acadiana love restaurants. They love talking about them, reviewing them, arguing about them. They always seem to think they could run one. Hey, if you can cook, why not?  Here’s the thing: Restaurants are famously unforgiving businesses. Margins are thin. Labor is hard to find and harder…

Homey Helium

Some people make a living building things. Others make a living making those things look good. There’s more to decoration than meets the eye. Space has a tremendous impact on how we think and feel. Sometimes it really is all about appearances, and that’s true whether you’re picking out curtains fo…

Down On The Farm

Farming isn’t what it used to be. Louisiana has lost thousands of small farms over the last few decades. The average farmer is over 58. Land prices keep going up, commodity prices keep wobbling, and modern farming techniques are about scale, not stewardship of the land. The small independent farme…

It's Magic

We often think of “doing good” as the business of nonprofits. You start a foundation, apply for grants, hold gumbo cook-offs, and hope the IRS sees things your way. But what if you didn’t need tax-exempt status to make the world better? What if turning a profit and doing good weren’t opposites — bu…

Geaux Grow

There's a temptation in business to want everything fast. Fast growth, fast profits, fast success. But the most durable things—the things that actually last—are often built slowly and with intention. My guests on this edition of Out to Lunch understand that patience is a strategy. Both came to th…

The Acadiana Health Path Less Traveled

Some people discover their calling by accident. Literally. An injury or an illness or divine providence can lead to a vocation. You might call each of my guests today healers. But neither started out with the idea of becoming one. They were patients first — searching for relief when the medical sys…

Cajun Salvage Broadband

Sometimes the best businesses don’t start with a big plan. They start with nothing: no money, no equipment, no idea what you’re doing. Just a problem to solve, a skill in your back pocket, and the determination to figure it out. That’s how Christiaan's two guests on this edition of Out to Lunch en…

You Can Do It

If you’re going to run a good business, you’ll need to know the tools of your trade, literally and figuratively. Sometimes it’s knowing how to find talent. Other times it’s owning the crane nobody wants to buy. Because here’s the thing: every project needs both muscle and machines. And neither come…