A 27-year-old promoter and restaurateur explains how he built a million-dollar business with clients like Drake, Lil Wayne, Mary J. Blige, and Floyd Mayweather
- Larry Morrow is a 27-year-old event promoter and restaurateur with a major following in his hometown of New Orleans, and plans to take his success to a national scale.
- He dropped out of Tulane to pursue Larry Morrow Events, and eventually had clients like musicians Drake, Diddy, Migos, and Mary J. Blige, and boxer Floyd Mayweather.
- He explained how he was able to make his restaurant, Morrow's, one of the hottest in the city by leveraging the power of the network he built over the past several years.
- Morrow said a turning point for him was when he turned his affinity for gambling into an asset, by making big but measured risks with his million-dollar collection of businesses.
If you want to know where to go and who to talk to in New Orleans, Larry Morrow's your guy. After he dropped out of college, the 27-year old entrepreneur committed full time to his event-planning business. He's run parties and performances for celebrities like Drake, Migos, Diddy, Lil Wayne, Mary J Blige, and Floyd Mayweather.
Earlier this year, he opened a restaurant called Morrow's. It's been a huge success, thanks to visits from some of the celebrities he works with.
Now, Morrow's a million-dollar business owner with a plan to take his ventures national. But he started out as a gambler, both at the casino and with side projects, like a T-shirt brand he started in high school.
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Transcript edited for clarity.
Larry Morrow: I was just printing out things that had a graphic design, and we would sit there for hours and create these T-shirts. And once I saw a lot of people wearing them, I would literally go places and I would see so many people with these T-shirts on. It motivated me to continue to keep that going. But when I turned 20 years old, I did a party. I think it was my 20th birthday. I did a party, and that was the birth of Morrow the promoter because I made like $11,000 that night. And from that moment forward I'm, like, "Wow - I can make money doing this." So I just took off with it.
Richard Feloni: So you had a party to promote your brand?
Morrow: Yeah. I used the party to promote my brand, but I also wanted to make some money. So when I saw how much money I made, because ... I was getting popular. I was always kind of popular, but it just started to grow when I started to sell the T-shirts. And then I did this party, and saw how many people came out to support ... It was, like, 700 to 800 people. I made $11,000. And from that point forward I'm, like, "You know what? It's time to go on to the next level." So that's when I just left Chump Change alone, because it was too much to ... I tried to do them both at the same time, but it was just a little too much to try to focus on that and the events. And I was making much more money doing the events.
Feloni: How did you pull in 800 people, though? I know you're saying you were popular, but it's not as if you have 800 close friends who are just going to come party with you.
Morrow: Right. Well, see, I was doing ... It was Facebook at the time. So, on Facebook. I would promote these parties on Facebook. I would get friends to promote. I would do little contests on Facebook, send people pizza to their house, have it delivered to their house. Anything just to draw attraction to a party. And I would do things like that. And I didn't expect it to be that big, but when I pulled up, I saw all the people and counted the money at the end of the night, I was definitely surprised.
Dropping everything to build a business
Feloni: So when you decided to make a business out of creating parties, do you see this connected to this idea that you had for selling T-shirts? What was motivating you? What were you passionate about?
Morrow: So what was motivating me was my family. We all experience ups and downs in life, and my mom, she was going through a divorce. I didn't grow up poor. My mom, she took great care of me and my sister. And she taught us a lot.
So, she'd done so much for us, and I just wanted to make sure that I was paying her back. So, that kind of gave me the extra push because it pushed me to drop out of college, quit both of my jobs. I was a lifeguard in the morning from 8 to 4, and I did valet from 5 to 11. I quit both of my jobs, dropped out of college, and started to focus on these events because I knew it was working. And, I wanted to be able to get into a position to help my family because, when I was in college, I was in class one day, and my professor, he called.
Feloni: You went to Tulane, right?
Morrow: I went to Tulane. My professor called me. He was like, "Mr. Morrow ... " He wanted me to repeat what he just said. And, I couldn't because I was daydreaming. I was trying to figure things out. I was the kind that would sit in class and just brainstorm on different ideas and try to figure things out. So, when I couldn't answer his question, after class I just didn't come back because I'm like, "You know what? I've got to make something happen. Because, right now, for me, school isn't going to accomplish the things that I want at this moment." So, I had to take that leap of faith.
Morrow: So, I dropped out of college, quit both of my jobs, and just went full-time with Morrow Events.
Feloni: So, you drop out of college sophomore year. What did your mom say?
Morrow: Oh, my mom ... Of course everybody's parents want them to pursue college. My grandmother, she was really on me because she really wanted me to graduate. And, that's the American dream to ... The old American dream, in my book, because that's what your parents want you to do. They want you to go to school, get a job ... But, with me, it's more so ... I'm a big risk-taker. I'm out there creating the life I desire for me and my family. So, this is my American dream. I had to take those risks to put us in a better position.
And, my grandmother, to this day, she's so happy. She told me the other day, we were having lunch, and she was like, "I'm so proud of you. And if your grandfather was still here, he'd be so happy for you." And she was like, "Back in Korea, I ... " She's been in America for 30-plus years, but she doesn't speak ... You can still hear an accent, and sometimes it's hard to understand what she's saying. But, she was trying to compare me to a dragon in Korea. She was like, "You're a dragon." I say, "What you mean?" She say, "You know how a dragon, when you see them, they float ..." Or, you know how the parades you see the dragons, they always up high, and she was like, "You're the dragon in the family." I'm like, "Wow." I'm like, "That's major." Because she was like, "I'm just so proud of you." Because, my grandmother, she always wanted me to pursue college, and go to college, get a job. She wanted that security. But, now is like, "I'm so happy. I'm so proud of you, all the things you've done." It took seven years to change my family's life. My grandmother, she just quit her job. She worked 12 hours a day from eight in the morning to eight at night. So, she quit her job, and now she don't have to work anymore. So, opened up the restaurant, and just doing what I do with providing jobs for my family, and just creating some stability within my family, has always been a goal of mine.
Feloni: So, it's like everyone knows you in the city at this point?
Morrow: Oh, man, yeah. I do a lot in the city outside of just events. The restaurant, philanthropy. I give back to the community. I bring a lot of big names from Drake, Diddy, Floyd Mayweather, Chris Brown ... I bring a lot of people there. So, I'm providing nightlife. But outside of nightlife I'm providing the restaurant, the experience. When you come to New Orleans, you will get a great experience if you think we didn't have one.
Feloni: I want to step back a little bit, too. Before you became the Larry that everyone knew and that was running all these cool events, had a restaurant ... When you dropped out of college, what did you have on your plate in front of you? What were you going to do, and then how did you go about doing it?
'The best worst year'
Morrow: All right. So, I did everything. I dropped out of college, quit both of my jobs, and I'm like, "You know what, I'm going to go full-time with Morrow Events." So, I just took that leap of faith. I didn't have it all figured out. I was just pretty much just going with it. But, it was a long journey. As soon as I dropped out, I started to do these events, I'm partying, drinking, thinking that's the cool thing to do. It was more so about having fun with my friends, making a few dollars, drinking.
Feloni: You were taking part in your own parties too much?
Morrow: Yeah. So, it was a transition. I'm like, "I'm partying." And I was putting on weight and waking up at 1 in the afternoon. It was getting the best of me. And I think it would get the best of anyone because it's something ... Of course we all go through that college phase where -
Feloni: Yeah, you were young, too.
Morrow: We wanna party, drinking, and I was young. So, I was gambling as well. So, once I became 21 ... man, between drinking, gambling, and partying, it got the best of me. I would gamble in the casino for like two years straight, for 10 hours a day. I was spending a lot of my time in there. I would lose my money and I would be upset. And it was just a lot I was going through between the parties. So, I would make good money from my events, go in the casino, lost it all. I'd make $3,000, $4,000, whatever I made, go in the casino, blow it all.
Feloni: And, at this point, were you saving anything?
Morrow: Yeah, yeah. I was saving. I will always save more than I would lose. Because, at 23 I opened up a restaurant. I opened up Larry's and that was premature. It happened at the wrong time. Between that, gambling, the parties, drinking ... I call 2013 the best worst year of my life because I lost so much, but I learned so much more. So, I ended up opening the restaurant, shutting down the restaurant ... because my mother, she got pregnant. We're business partners on the restaurant, and ... it was hard. Being 23, mentally not being as spiritual, not being there, it was tough. We ended up shutting down the restaurant, and then after that, I lost a lot of money in casino. It was like a domino effect. I lost a lot of money in a casino. I lost $35,000 in one night.
Feloni: Could you explain what that night was?
Morrow: So, it's hard for me to quit. If I lose a dollar, I've got to stay there until I make my dollar back. That one night, I decided to go all in. I'm there for hours. I remember it was some NBA game on, because I remember watching it while I was playing, and my friend was with me. But I remember walking out the casino, calling my mom, and letting them know what I'd just done. I was 23 at the time. And I just needed somebody to comfort me.
And, she knows, if anybody know my mom, she knows. Because she was a big-time gambler. She used to gamble a lot. She done won a lot of money, but she lost a lot of money. But, at the end she learned, just as I did, that the casino wasn't the way. If you want to come up, you've got to go grind and get it. If you make some money in a casino, cool. Extra money. But don't let that control who you are because the casino got the best of me. But it taught me a life lesson. I took it as a sign from God. He was trying to humble me because I was young, I was making fast money, I was partying, I was drinking, I was gambling. So I was just doing too much, and I think it got the best of me. And I used that little time to just refocus and get my mind right. Started to pray more, and I'm like, "You know what? If you ever put me in this position again, I won't handle it the way I did." And from that moment forward things changed, man. I started to pray more. I became more spiritually connected, and ... just ate better. So, I just decided to just switch it up. Because, what I was doing at the time was obviously going wrong, gambling, drinking, partying, and just everything else.
Feloni: What were you thinking that night when you lost all that money when you got back to your car? What was going through your head?
Morrow: Man, I was hurt. Not something I cried about, because I always gambled. I lost money. That was the biggest loss I ever had. Biggest loss I ever had. Boy...
Feloni: Did you have anything left?
Morrow: No. I was literally broke. But I was in a position where I was doing this party, Jack's on Sundays. To this day, four years later, people are still talking about it. Like, "Man, bring Jack's back. Bring Jack's back." I used to do all the Saints games after-parties, had everybody partying there. And I made good money. So, if I would lose money, I can go make money back. But it don't always work out like that. Sometimes you think you're going to make money but you lose money. So, I ended up just getting my mind right, trying to get back on track. And, that's what I did. And, now ... you can see things obviously changed.
Learning how to manage risk
Feloni: Something I thought interesting with your book "All Bets on Me" is that you open with a scene of you shooting dice behind the barber shop as a kid. Tell me about that, and why is that a memory that sticks out to you?
Morrow: So, my friends, my best friend, Cliff, he showed me how to shoot dice when we were 10 years old. And, it was so bad. I was 10 years old shooting dice. I walked over to the store with my mom's store money. She would send me to the store to get bread, and I would gamble the money. And, I remember one time I lost her money. And, I was crying for my money back just so I could go get the bread for my mom. But it was something we did to stay out of trouble when we were young, just a little game that we played. Threw around dollar bills and, as we got older, we started to gamble more and bet more. And I feel like that molded me to the young man I was and grew me into a man. Because I became numb to risk at a early age, you know, shooting dice, gambling with guys twice my age, and with friends. It also showed me the value of a dollar, because we cherished those dollars. But that dollar was cherished at a young age. I would lose, and I would go home hurt. But it also made me become numb to risk. So, I'm able to tolerate a lot more than I used to because ... just gambling, just learning.
Feloni: Yeah. So it's like this idea of always taking big risks. How do you find ... using this in a constructive way, instead of it becoming a problem like it did at various points in your life?
Morrow: So, I said, "You know what? I gotta ... " So, I always gambled. That's something I was familiar with. So, I had to take what I was familiar with and apply it to what I was doing. I just realized I had to just switch it up. I had to stop gambling, invest in myself, and stop gambling in a game where the odds were stacked against me and start investing in myself where the odds are more in my favor. I know more about my industry than I did know what was under that card. It's face down. I don't know what underneath there. But, I can tell you the odds and the projections of what I may do by bringing Drake, or bringing ... or doing this party, investing this money, because I know more about it. So, I decided just to gamble in the industry I'm in. And, it wasn't always pretty. I lost a lot of money doing it. People don't understand the amount of money I invest into my company. And everything isn't for a profit. Some of it's to build a relationship. So, when I did that Drake party everybody thinking, "Oh, Larry put on this great party. He made so much money." No. I actually lost $25,000 for that party.
Feloni: Really?
Morrow: I was able to endure those things because I lost in the past. I lost money coming up. I lost money in the casino. I lost money with the restaurant. I lost money with a bunch of different things. So, my endurance for it was totally different. So, when I lost that $25,000 I'm, like, "You know that? It done something bigger for me. It built my brand. It added to my résumé." It motivated me to go a lot harder. I'm like, "You know what? I gotta make this back." But I still put together this great event that everybody still talk about. And, too many people can't say they brought Drake in town, and worked with him, and been able to build with him.
Feloni: Yeah. So, it seems like you've accepted that, whether it's gambling or just taking risks, that that's part of your personality.
Morrow: I never did a drug a day in my life. But gambling ... When I was in that casino at that table, I knew what it felt like to be addicted. Because it's something I couldn't stop. I will give my friends money before I go in, like, "Don't let me touch this. I'm gonna go up there with these few dollars, don't let me get this money." Man, I'm damned about to wrestle my friend down in the casino to get my money. And there's been so many days like that, JonBoy, Kendall, Cliff, all my friends. I would really have to wrestle them down to get my money, because I'm like, "Yo, look. No matter what happens, don't let me touch this money." But then I'm there trying to get the money.
Feloni: So it's applying that now with your businesses and stuff. You know how to play the game. The odds are more in your favor when you're taking these -
Morrow: Yes. Yes. So, I take a lot of big risks, man. It's like, if I lose, you know what, I've got to stay on my grind, I've got to get it back.
Picking up momentum
Feloni: At what point where you able to start bringing in those celebrities? What was the first?
Morrow: So, the first person I brought was Draya Michele. This was when I was 20 or 21. And I brought Draya Michele into town. She's on "Basketball Wives." I brought her to the city. And she came down. She came down with some friends and her manager, Marcus. When they got down to the city they wanted to go eat.
Feloni: How'd they find out about you in the first place?
Morrow: Well, I reached out to them. I reached out to them to host one of my parties. And, at the time, I had a partner. So, when Draya Michele came down, they wanted to get their hair and nails done. We go to the salon. I had a friend of mine, I'm like, "Yo, look. Let's go half on their hair and nails." And, he didn't really want to. So, I paid for it. Went to dinner. I got, "Let's go half." He didn't want to. I paid for it. I'm 20, and he was five, six years older than me at the time. And, he didn't wanna go half on it. So, I paid for it. And, pretty much, long story short, at the end of the day they told me, they was like, "You know what? Out of all the cities we've been to, you took care of us more out of all of the cities we've been to. And, you've been the youngest."
They were impressed by it. So, they extended a invite for me to come to L.A., I think for New Year's Eve. So, this was right before I turned 21. So, when I went out there they brought me to church, they brought me to the clubs and introduced me to people that I'm still building with to this day. And, it just showed me the value in relationships, how I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. All I did was be myself. And showed them that Southern hospitality when they came to my city. And, from that stemmed a relationship that I have ... I call Draya. She hosted a party for me recently. And, I just still had that relationship. So, it taught me a lot, knowing that I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. All I did was be who I was, who I am. And, from that moment forward I realized my ... niche. The things that work for me. So, I just started to continue to do that, and booked people. I was booking, and I would lose. And, one thing a lot of people, entrepreneurs, they lose, or they fail at something. And, that's the end. But, with me it's like, every time I failed, I came back stronger. It motivated me to continue to reach that next level. I didn't give up easy.
Feloni: And, did that business partner that you started off with, did that not work out because you weren't seeing eye-to-eye.
Morrow: Yeah. No, we had two different visions. And, I say in my book, when you ... align yourself with somebody, you gotta believe in the same things. Y'all have to share some of the same vision, and we didn't. So, we worked together for three, four years ... about three years, and I'm thankful for that situation because it taught me so much. And, a good dude, but we just had two different visions. And, I think it was best that we parted ways. And, let me tell you, when we did, it was on. It was on. Because when you do have a business partner, you've got to understand that it's not all about what you want. It's also about what they want. Not saying it's not good to have a business partner, because you can go further together then you can on your own, but ... I took off.
Feloni: And, at what point were you starting to make serious money where you could front, like, 70 grand for a party?
Morrow: So, I would say ... After I lost in the casino, 2013, the best worst year of my life, after that year, that's when things started to get on track. I didn't have a partner, and that's when I started to invest. So, I'm seeing 100% of my profits. I wasn't splitting 50-50. So, when I do an event, if I make $4,000, if I make $10,000, if I make $20,000, I'm seeing 100% of my money. I didn't have any investors from that moment forward. I invested all on my own. So, I would just ... I would just save my money up, invest in things, and just build it up, and keep flipping my money until I was able to invest in bigger artists. So, it didn't start off booking Drake and Diddy. Drake and Diddy was the last two years. I started off booking Draya Michele, TV personalities. Booking people for $5,000 to $10,000. And then, as time progressed it went up and up. And, I started to invest $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, $70,000. So, I started to climb that ladder. I will go all in. I will put all my money up, and I have no money. And it'll work out in my favor.
Feloni: Well, do you ... still do that where you're putting everything out on the line, or do you have more safeguards against that?
Morrow: Well, I got more safeguards because I got a lot more on the line. I'm not the little 23, 24-year-old any more to ... I don't ... I got bills. I got real bills. I got a family. I got people I gotta take care of. And, I have other businesses that I gotta keep afloat too from the restaurant and my ... But, I put my money ... My money's in more safer places now. I'm not putting it all on the line. I have property. No matter what, I own this property. And, I could sell this and make money. So, no, I don't risk it all like I used to. But, I do risk a good bit of it.
Feloni: Why do you think that is part of your personality? Is it an optimism?
Morrow: I think ... I'm just so passionate about the things. Anything that I'm doing right now, I'm doing it because I'm passionate about it. And when you're passionate about something, they say, "Passion fuels purpose." So, just me being so passionate about what I'm doing, it's easier for me to love it and wake up in the morning and go get to it. But, me being here ... Sometimes people think I got this all figured out. There's days I wake up, leave the house, don't know where I'm going or what I'm doing. I just know I got work to do. So, it's just me being passionate about life and motivated, and being motivated about what I can do for my family, and living life without limits. Being able to take my mother and my family on a trip, my girlfriend, my friends. And, just live life. I think that's what it's about. We all gotta leave this earth one day. So, I think while we're here we need to make the best of it. And, that's what I'm doing.
The power of relationships
Feloni: Yeah. And at what point did you decide that you wanted to get back into the restaurant industry if these events are going so well?
Morrow: So, once again, creating stability for my family. I had the opportunity to open up another restaurant, and most people would be afraid to go into the restaurant industry again when they failed at it once.
Feloni: Yeah. And this is Morrow's New Orleans?
Morrow: Morrow's New Orleans. Yes. So, opened up this restaurant and ... It's crazy. This restaurant has changed me and my family's lives. Because, we started off, and it was crazy. You couldn't even come in without waiting three hours, from the day we opened.
Feloni: How'd you pull that off?
Morrow: I have relationships. I have people that I know, not locally, nationally. I deal with a lot of artists. And, I built a reputation for producing great events. And ... just taking care of people. Just like James Cruz. A guy came down to New Orleans, right, and he wanted me to help produce his event. And, he was like, "Man, I'm sitting down talking to you because I was in New York in the office with James Cruz." And, James Cruz is Diddy's manager. And, he was like, "Oh, you're going to new Orleans? Make sure when you go to New Orleans you gotta deal with Morrow. He runs that city." And, that wasn't something that ... I didn't have to ... That just happened, you know? And, that's just form building relationships and staying persistent in everything I was doing. So, when people come to New Orleans, they may reach out. I do the nightlife. I do the restaurant. It just helped out. And, the restaurant, like I said, from day one was just amazing. Drake came by, Karrueche ...
Feloni: Yeah. So, it's using all this network that you built up.
Morrow: Yeah. Mary J. Blige, Teyana Taylor, Joe from Powered. Well, Tommy from Powered. Anybody you could think of has been to the restaurant. And I put this sign in front. It had the option to put this little cheap sign in the front or I can get this aluminum one that light up with the M on it. And I'm, like, "You know what? Instead of going the cheap route, I'm going to go ahead and invest money into this sign." So when people would come in town, I started to take pictures with them in front of the sign. Now I see people get dressed up to come to the restaurant to snap up in front of the sign. No. It's been all over social media. In five months the page then gained 40,000 followers. So, just utilizing branding and marketing. What I've been doing the past years in the relationships, when people see it on social media, they're very familiar with it before they get to New Orleans because so many people have blessed the spot in taking those pictures in front the building.
Feloni: So, what's next for you?
Morrow: Oh, I'm about to dominate in this restaurant industry. I always tell people it's about delegation. You've got to delegate things to people in order to run multiple businesses. So, not it's like ... You know what, my mom, she can cook her butt off. So, now it's like, "All right. Cool. We about to dominate in this restaurant industry." About to buy any and everything. Property, open up more restaurants, lounges, whatever. So, me just knowing it's possible it's like ... If this was a basketball game, I would consider this the warmup before the first quarter. This isn't even the first quarter yet. This is only the beginning. So, you can expect to see so much more. So much more.
Feloni: When you're looking at your entire career over the last few years and stuff, what do you think is the biggest challenge that you've had to overcome?
Morrow: Just staying focused, man. Because I think society ... especially in the urban communities, society teaches us so many things. Like, we should have the nice watches, the nice cars, spend money. All the material things. And, with me, I went through that phase. I had the $40,000 watches. I buzzed down Rolex's. Just spending money on clothes and just ... doing all the things that society teaches you. And, I had to realized, "You know what? It's not about the materialistic things. It's more about providing something for my family and creating some stability, creating some generational wealth to where my kid don't have to worry about college, tuition. He could pay ... " Things like that. The more real life things. So, that's one of the things that's been the toughest challenge, just staying focused.
Feloni: When was the moment where you decided that you didn't need to start ... any money that you made you didn't have to start just spending it?
Morrow: Yeah. When was it? It was maybe a few years ago. So, I had this watch, and I paid $40,000 for it. And, I would go out of town. It was cool. It had all the diamonds in it. It was beautiful. But, I felt like that watch ... I didn't want that watch to make me who I was. It caused a lot of tension. But, I realized at one point, "You know what? I don't need this. I got a house on my wrist. I can go invest into a piece of property. I can make me money versus wear this watch that ... " Nothing's wrong with watches, but you've got to put priorities first. Go ahead and buy the $40,000 watch when you're able and can but multiple watches. But at the time I was investing and still trying to figure things out. I didn't know I was going to own a restaurant. I didn't know I was going to be here today. So I think I made the right move by deciding to not be so ... want to wear the Gucci shirts all day. I wear those things, but I'm not as flashy. Like, at one point, I thought I was a rapper or something. I thought I was a rapper. And I'm like, "You know what? You're not a rapper. So, stop trying to portray this image of you being a rapper." So, I had to dumb it down a little bit and just get my mind right, not be so focused on material things. Because, I think ... you are what you are surrounded by. So, once I switched things up and started to think a little different, that's when things really took off.
Paying it back
Feloni: And how do you personally define success?
Morrow: Success, for me, is being able to provide for my family. So, if you had asked me if I'm successful, yes. Because I'm able to provide for my family. So I think success is ... Everybody's definition of success is different. Mine is just being able to take care of my family and provide for them. So, I'm happy.
Feloni: So it's linking your ambition to them.
Morrow: Yes. I'm happy. I couldn't be happier just to see my mom happy, see my grandmother happy, my big sister. I grew up in a family of women, my mom, my sister, and my grandmother. And, me being the only man, being the youngest of my siblings, me and my sister, she's a little older than me, I had women take care of me my whole life. So, now that I'm older, I'm making sure that I do what I can to take care of them. So, it's pretty much returning the same love. I just took things into my own hands. And, my family hurt, I hurt. When things didn't go our way ... When things didn't go my mom way, or my grandmother way, my sister way, it didn't go my way. Why? Because, when they hurtin' and you're growing up in a household with all women, you want them to be happy. And so, I just did my best to make sure that we can get out those holes, those situations.
Feloni: So it seems like ... to get back to this idea of gambling, too, that you want to put yourself in these situations where you're having all of this pressure on you because that's what you pressure?
Morrow: Pressure has allowed me to grow ... My cousin, Cleveland, my older cousin out in Chicago, he told me one day, it was years, years back we was having a talk. And he was, like, I was just [saying] how stressed out I was. "It's so much on my back, family stuff. I gotta help out, do this." And he was like, "Cuz, if the same thing that's motivating you ... Why are you so eager to get rid of the same thing that's motivating you?" So, I was so eager to get rid of our problems, financial problems, to where I don't have the problems anymore. But he was, like, "If this is the same thing that's propelling you, why are you just trying to take it away?" And I'm like, "You know what? You're right. If I'm motivated by all this that's going on, why am I so eager to take it away?" Even though the restaurants doing well and ... my family's doing much better, that don't eliminate all the problems. So, I'm still motivated and eager to continue to grow so that we can be in a much better position.
Feloni: And what advice would you give to someone who wants to have a career like yours?
Morrow: I say, stay persistent. For all entrepreneurs, I'd definitely say stay persistent. Because you're going to fail. Life is not meant to be pretty. It's meant to be a bumpy road. If it was smooth and if it was easy, I don't think we'd appreciate success as much. But just stay persistent even when you fail, when things aren't going your way. When you're having those dark days, when you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, just keep going. Because at the end of each tunnel there is light. And I think just my persistence helped me get to where I'm at. And not taking "no." I'm very, like, "You can't tell me no." No, I gotta go get it. I got to." Don't do things just for the dollar. You've got to do it because you love it. And just see how it can eventually make you money. So persistence, and then follow your heart.
Feloni: Well, thanks so much, Larry.
Morrow: Thank you.