krismulkey.com

Shortly after we moved to Sacramento last August, Instagram started serving us ads for Ruth's Chris Steak House happy hour. A burger. A drink. Walking distance from our house from 4pm - 6pm.  One Friday we finally decided to check it out. We walked in around 5pm, looked around for the bar...and immediately realized every seat was taken. "Wow," we thought. "Happy hour must be popular." As we stood there deciding whether to stay or leave, we turned around. That's when we saw them. About a dozen people sitting quietly in chairs near the entrance. Toes tapping. Hands clenched.  All staring directly at us. They had been waiting for a table. We had unknowingly walked right past the entire line. There are few feelings more awkward than realizing an entire room thinks you just cut in front of them. We looked at each other, quietly backed out, and went to the restaurant next door for happy hour. Fast forward to this morning. After walking the dogs, we s...

What years of skipping breakfast, sugar cravings, and learning about food taught me about feeling like myself again. I remember pulling on my favorite pair of jeans one morning. I got them buttoned. Barely. Then I looked down. Yep. The dreaded muffin top. How do I hide it? More importantly...how do I get rid of it? If I'm being completely honest...it's still there. We are currently in negotiations. I think those little cubes of cheese I've been nibbling on have settled in quite nicely. Argh. But it wasn't just the muffin top. One day I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I walked by. Not the front. The back. Where did those rolls come from? The muffin top had invited friends. And somewhere along the way... My butt packed up and moved out. What the fudge? I stood there staring at the mirror thinking... I miss me. Not the wrinkle-free me. Not the twenty-five-year-old me. Just...me. The woman who felt comfortable in her own skin. The woman who wasn't constantly...

One of the best marketing tools doesn't cost a thing. Well, maybe it costs a little. But it's worth the investment in a tank of gas. So, what is it? Leave the office. Go visit your stores. Walk your clubs. Spend time where your customers actually experience your brand. Watch what they do. What do they notice first? Where do they hesitate? Which team members create great interactions without anyone asking them to? What questions are customers asking? What are they taking photos of? Ignoring? Talking about? Dashboards tell you what happened. Your customers will show you why. Some of the best ideas I've implemented over the years didn't come from a conference room. They came from walking a club floor, talking with members, listening to team members, or simply noticing something that didn't feel quite right. Those visits have influenced everything from marketing campaigns and sales tools to club layouts, member communications, and training. It's easy to get buried i...

Making friends as an adult feels hard. It doesn't have to be. Here's the whole system. Get a dog Go outside and walk. You will meet so many people. Dog people talk to dog people. It's basically a cheat code. A dog gives you an instant, low-stakes reason to stop and chat with a total stranger. Don't want a dog? Doesn't matter Go outside and walk anyway. Talk to the dog people. They're friendly, I promise. Most people with dogs are happy to stop for thirty seconds and let you say hi. I'm telling you, in a week you'll meet 5 new people. Next time you see them they are already an acquaintance. Double down and go to a local neighborhood coffee shop. Sit by the dog people. You'll have the best neighborly conversation ever. Here in Sac, if you go to Temple, Peet's or Chez Luc you will find your people. One catch: take notes You're going to meet a lot of people fast, and you will forget names. So take notes. Like today. Don and I were walking, and we...

Last night I attended a Celebration of Life for a former colleague from my BevMo! days. Brian was our spirits buyer. He was also my self-appointed annoying brother—always teasing me, playing pranks, and finding new ways to make my job just a little more difficult...and a lot more fun. I left BevMo! in 2015. What surprised me most wasn't just hearing the stories about Brian. It was walking into a room filled with people I hadn't seen in more than a decade. I had forgotten how much history you can share with people you haven't seen in years. Within minutes, we were laughing like no time had passed. As the evening came to an end, we all found ourselves saying the same thing: "We should do this again...under happier circumstances." I hope we do. But I also know life has a way of getting busy. On the drive home, I called Melissa, another BevMo! coworker and friend who couldn't make it. Several people had asked about her throughout the evening. We talked the whole w...

A few weeks ago, my mom had been in the hospital for several days, so I flew to Surprise, Arizona, to stay with my 95-year-old dad. My parents live in a wonderful retirement community. Their apartment is small—one bedroom, one-and-a-half baths, a cozy little patio, and just enough room for my dad's books and all of my mom's holiday decorations. It's a constant negotiation. I slept on the sofa bed in the living room. Before going to bed that night, I turned off the lights around 11:30. I never even checked to see if the front door was locked. In their community, neighbors stop by, doors are often open during the day, and it simply felt...safe. The next morning, I was sitting on their little patio enjoying a cup of coffee before Dad woke up and our day began. Suddenly I heard him call from inside the apartment. "Kris... Mom's home." I froze. Home? How was that possible? She couldn't drive. She didn't even have the car. Why would the hospital release her ...