What if the thing you always wanted—the ownership, the freedom, the legacy—ended up being the thing that taught you just how much you didn’t know?

This week’s guest is Max Scott, a former bartender turned restaurant owner, artist, and now construction entrepreneur. He helped transform one of Santa Fe’s most iconic bars—not just with sweat equity, but literal rewiring, plumbing, and vision. We talk about how it all came together, what it cost, and why walking away might’ve been the best thing he ever did.

But this isn’t just a story about restaurant ownership. It’s about knowing your worth, building something real, and figuring out who you are when the job title falls away.

🧠 Expect to learn:

• What it really takes to go from server to owner

• Why sweat equity is often undervalued—and how to protect yourself in business deals

• How to survive the pressure of being the one everyone’s watching

• What construction taught him that the service industry never could

• How art, hospitality, and building homes all come from the same place

• Why knowing your strengths might be more important than fixing your weaknesses

If you've ever felt like you're meant for more—but aren’t sure what that looks like yet—this conversation is a compass.

Links:

El Farol

Service starts now.

I talk to people in and around the service industry space, and people that I wish I could have heard from when I was coming up in restaurants. Altogether I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. You can find more of my work at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and all my social links are at the bottom of that page.

Classic Episodes You May Like:

-#3:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠My 1st and Most Powerful Conversation with Shane Alexander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-#10:⁠⁠Nat Harry, cocktail expert!⁠⁠

As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.

Cheers