Mothership BBQ: Small Business Blog of the Day

Ken Burgin of Profitable Hospitality sent me today's gem.

What it is
Mothership BBQ is a Nashville, Tennessee BBQ joint run by Jim Reams. This blog is especially interesting because it chronicles the company's history from the very beginning. Hopefully, we will see more of this in the future...blogs emerging and living right along with the actual company. Reams features news on the restaurant's progress, stories about customers, challenges he faces, and excellent soft-sell self promotion.

Favorite Post
High 90s talks about the weather (but doesn't do anything about it):

"It is a proven scientific fact that BBQ is the best possible food to eat on really hot, humid days. Especially if you are with a large group."

Further Comments
This blog is absolutely gripping. I went right to the very first posts of the blog and started reading and got totally hooked. Jim's blog tells a story, a technique that is very powerful for creating a lasting readership. The story here is "Will the BBQ joint survive?" and "Will Jim go insane any time soon." Very compelling.

I love how Jim mentions his customers in the blog. He understands that the blog is about it's readers (customers) and not about him. By talking about his customers, his readers connect much more strongly than if he talked about life behind the counter. After all, any of us could be a potential diner at the Mothership, while almost none of us will be the cook.

Jim hides behind the identity of Dr. Funkenswine. I find this slightly annoying as it leans toward the problem of a character blog, but the Dr. isn't a character, it's simply a nickname. Still, I'd much rather know the author as "Jim" than a cartoony alias. In fact, it took some digging to discover the owner's name was Jim, and a lot more digging to find that it was Jim Reams. Jim also writes a personal blog under the name Nashville Knucklehead, so we can deduce he enjoys nicknames.

Technorati : dr. funkenswine, jim reams, mothership bar b que, mothership barbeque, mothership bbq, mothership nashville, nashville knucklehead

Comments

[ChrisM]

If you think a collection of articles on grills and barbecues might be of interest or use to you, and want to find out more, feel free to visit www.grill-tips.com .
I don't sell anything, the site is just a collection of articles that I've collated, all used with permission. (You can click on the Articles1, 2, 3 & 4 links on the top right for a list of more.)

[Nikki]

Thank you for the resources. Keep up the good work!