{"id":4576,"date":"2018-01-02T01:00:41","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T06:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fornobravo.com\/pizzaquest\/?p=4576"},"modified":"2018-01-04T16:45:01","modified_gmt":"2018-01-04T21:45:01","slug":"interview-michael-shepherd-siler-chapman-perfectingpizza-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fornobravo.com\/pizzaquest\/interview-michael-shepherd-siler-chapman-perfectingpizza-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Michael Shepherd and Siler Chapman, of PerfectingPizza.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi Everyone,<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I ran into my long time friend (and Charlotte pizza legend), Siler Chapman, at the Northeast Pizza and Pasta Show in Atlantic City a couple of months ago, where I discovered that he has partnered with his World Pizza Champions teammate, Michael Shepherd, on an exciting new venture. They both agreed to fill me in on their new consulting and coaching business, PerfectingPizza.com, so I’ll let them take it from here. But let me add, one of the\u00a0exciting and important aspects of this project is seeing how the current generation of pizza superstars is\u00a0<\/i><\/strong>cultivating and curating the wisdom they have accrued in order to pass it down to the next generation. The generosity of spirit within the greater pizza community is totally inspirational and, most\u00a0important, provides a solid foundation for anyone, whether an old timer or a newbie, to create a successful business and keep\u00a0improving the art and\u00a0craft of pizza making. Here’s what Siler and Michael had to say when we met:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Peter (Pizza Quest): Both of you have been successful pizzeria operators as well as competitors on world championship teams. Would you each share for our readers a recap of your career arcs, your journeys, and how you ended up working together on this new project?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Siler Chapman (left) and Michael Shepherd<\/p><\/div>\n

Siler: <\/strong>I started in the pizza industry at the age of 12, washing dishes for my best friend’s mom at her pizzeria in Waxhaw, NC. Worked my way up to a pizza maker and delivery driver by the time I was 16. I went to UNC Charlotte for engineering and 9\/11 happened during my first year there. I noticed all the previous graduates coming back for advice because they just got laid off. I didn\u2019t understand that you could lose your job so easily. So I told myself I wanted to work for myself and not have to worry about someone firing me. I had a dream that following week where I heard the words, \u201cYou need to open a pizzeria!\u201d The next day, in my Art Appreciation class I started to write a 52-page paper on how a pizzeria could make money. I presented it to a couple of investors and history was written, when\u00a0Si\u2019s Pizzeria<\/em> was started in 2002. I was 18 at the time I opened the first store. Over the next 10-years we grew it to 3 locations, doing a little over 3.5 million in sales, and I earned 3 world titles for Acrobatic Pizza Tossing,<\/em> and was featured on many top network shows, including Food Network\u2019s \u201cPizza Battle<\/em>\u201d and \u201cPizza Challenge<\/em>\u201d, The Steve Harvey Show, Ellen DeGeneres, <\/em>and\u00a0The Today show.<\/em><\/p>\n

I sold the business in 2012 and had a non-compete for 2 years but was still around, running the World Pizza Games<\/em> in Las Vegas. At the end of 2016 Michael and I spoke about possibly doing a subscription based website for the pizza industry. We both agreed that we wanted to give back to the industry in a big way. Thus,\u00a0Perfectingpizza.com<\/em> was founded to create the ultimate online resource for the pizza industry.<\/p>\n

\"\"

World champion acrobatic pizza tossing.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael: <\/strong>I started working for one of the big pizza chains in high school and college back in the 1990\u2019s, made good money as a delivery driver and got a pretty good grasp of the operations part of a pizzeria as well. I graduated college with a degree in business and computer programming, but quickly realized that I did not want to be a computer programmer the rest of my life\"\"<\/p>\n

The opportunity came up to buy a run-down mom & pop pizzeria in my town, so at the age of 24 I put a second mortgage on my house and bought the shop. We changed everything about it except the phone number and one piece of equipment. We started making our own dough and sauce, changed the name to Michael Angelo\u2019s Pizza,<\/em> revamped the menu and started aggressively marketing. We took the delivery\/carryout-only pizzeria from $2,000 per week to over $20,000 a week in sales over the next ten years (in a city of 8,000 people), moved into a new location, opened a second location (in a village of 600 people), and ultimately opened a full service dine-in pizzeria with 120 seats called Six Hundred Downtown<\/em> \u2013 we opened at a $million + in sales and went up from there.<\/p>\n

I was runner-up for the Ohio SBA\u2019s Small Business of the Year<\/em> in 2006, Hardin County Business of the Year<\/em> in 2007, and won the 20 Under 40 Entrepreneur Award<\/em> in 2008. I am also certified in Neapolitan & Classic Italian Pizza Making by the International School of Pizza.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Largest Dough champion!<\/p><\/div>\n

My pizzerias have won numerous awards for pizza making over the years at pizza competitions across the country.\u00a0 I have earned eight medals from the World Pizza Championships<\/em> held in Salsomaggiore, Italy, for Fastest Dough, Largest Dough, and Team Acrobatic, including three gold medals, plus I am the only American to ever win the Largest Dough<\/em>\u00a0Competition<\/em> at the World Pizza Championships.<\/em><\/p>\n

I sold my pizzerias over the last several years and now focus primarily on helping others in the pizza industry through speaking, consulting, and perfectingpizza.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Serious competitor — and adoring fans!<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

PQ: Being part of those teams seems so instrumental in each of your development. What does it take to make the team and to become a champion, at both the national and international levels? And who were some of the most influential mentors and role models for you?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Siler: <\/strong>The World Pizza Champions<\/em> was created around the best of the best in the industry. Making the team is not easy; we look for the most dedicated people in their specific craft, cooking, acrobatics, competitiveness, and work ethic. We do look at their past history: have they competed, do they have a World Title, and would they get along with the team we have?<\/p>\n

Dedication to your craft and, literally, practicing for hours at a time, 7 days a week is what it took for me to get the titles I have. For anyone that is coming in new to the acrobatics part I always tell them to look at what people are doing now and be 10 steps ahead of them. There are so many phenomenal competitors today that the only way to stay ahead is, first, to emulate what they can do but also to bring your own flare and step it up a level beyond anyone else. As far as the cooking competitions go, if you want to compete on that level and become a true champion you have to take your education to a whole new level. I remember Tony Gemignani telling me back in 2007, \u201cSiler cooking is the next big thing we have to master!\u201d Now look where he has taken the industry. Just remember you have to respect the craft and work everyday to master it.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Siler and Michael, with major influencer, Tony Gemignani<\/p><\/div>\n

The most influential people that have helped me shape the path in my pizza career would be Tony G, Michael Shepherd, Sean Brauser, Big Dave, Pizza Paul, Joe Drury, and Peter Reinhart. Yes I said you, I remember the time I had a problem with some dough issues and you said do this and a little of this and poof, my issue was fixed!<\/p>\n

Peter: Amazing — I had no idea. I love being included in that list of pizza greats– thank you!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael: <\/strong>The idea for the World Pizza Champions<\/em> came about when Tony Gemignani, Joe Carlucci, Siler and I were sitting in a motel room somewhere in West Virginia while we were doing a dough throwing event for an Italian Festival back in 2004. We had been competing together as part of another pizza team for a few years at the World Pizza Championships<\/em> in Salsomaggiore, Italy and it just wasn\u2019t going the way we wanted. We wanted the United States to be serious competitors at the greatest pizza competition in the world, so we decided in that motel room in West Virginia to create the World Pizza Champions<\/em>. Not a team created from trials and auditions, but a team with hand-picked members who we would personally vet. Guys who knew their stuff about pizza, would be loyal, had a competitive nature, and were willing to put in the hard work to make the team successful. We quickly added Ken Bryant, followed by Sean Brauser, to make the core group of the team. The team went on to win the coveted Team Acrobatic<\/em> competition in 2006 & 2007 with our Star Wars<\/em> and Godfather<\/em> routines. We now have members from around the world.\"\"<\/p>\n

I am not fond of the terms \u201cmentor\u201d and \u201crole model.\u201d \u00a0To me they both imply that I need to emulate or try to be someone else or I should strive to be just like another person. I don\u2019t want to be like someone else — I want to be myself regardless of my faults. Instead, show me how you do something so I can take that information and turn it into how I want to do something. Maybe I\u2019ll use that information and maybe I won\u2019t. There isn\u2019t a right and wrong way to make a pizza or run a business, only differing opinions and ultimately what works and what doesn\u2019t work.\"\"<\/p>\n

My pizza education was mostly self-taught. There was no YouTube, Facebook, or Google when I got started. I couldn\u2019t look up a recipe on how to make pizza, and I am better for it. Instead I bought and read every book and magazine I could find about pizza and took that information and experimented with it. Lots of trial and error went into building my business, but it was those errors that I credit for my ultimate success.<\/p>\n

So, instead of role-models or mentors, I can say that I learned a lot from several people that have played a role in shaping the pizza industry into what it is today, those people being Big Dave Ostrander, Tony Gemignani, and John Correll \u2013 along with Pizza Today Magazine<\/em> and Pizza Expo<\/em> (which I have attended for the last 20 years in a row.)<\/p>\n

PQ: So now, together, you\u2019ve created PerfectingPizza.com . What is it and who are you trying to reach and serve?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>S: <\/strong>Now, I know that Michael is going to get detailed for us on the question, so I’ll get to the point on who I personally want to reach and serve. I want to reach and serve everyone who has a dream, a passion to better their career, their craft, and even to open a pizzeria one day. There are so many people working in a pizza shop and want to open their own, but have no clue how to get started. That\u2019s where we want to come in and say, here is how we did it and you can do it too. We both have so much proven experience through trial and error that we can speed someone\u2019s learning curve up to 10x faster. This is why we created PerfectingPizza.com,<\/em> along with giving back to people who might be struggling in their pizza shops and have no idea where to go from here. We can give them a fresh look at what to do and let them implement that idea into their own store. We want to help create hope for them and show that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n

\"\"

“We want to be a resource for anyone who has dreamed of opening his or her own pizzeria.”<\/p><\/div>\n

Michael:<\/strong> PerfectingPizza.com<\/em> is what we call the “Ultimate Resource for pizza operators.” We are taking our decades of pizza experience and have packaged it into a website where for just $25 a month you get full access to a whole slew of resources. Not just articles and pointers but real tangible solutions for doing business. Pizza operators don\u2019t have time to sit in front of a computer creating an employee handbook or training manuals \u2013 so we did it for you. Want to see deep inside the mind of a successful operator who is willing to show you exactly how they run their operation and what made them successful? We have that in our video series.<\/p>\n

People new to the business often don\u2019t have a clue where to start \u2013 so we developed a complete step by step guide, financial projection tools, and business plan templates for them to use. Everything is specific to the pizza industry, not generic restaurant or business forms.<\/p>\n

We will also be rolling out one-on-one coaching in the near future for those who just need someone to talk to or bounce ideas off of.<\/p>\n

Resources include:<\/p>\n