Born Fabulous
Born Fabulous
Season 3, Episode 30, Part 3: Jamie Minotti & Mark McLarry, "Hiring People With Disabilities Is Smart Business"
Discover how embracing inclusivity transforms a business and its community. Join us as we spotlight Jamie Minotti and Mark McLarry, the visionary co-founders of My Yard Live Beer Company, who are pioneering inclusive employment practices for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Through their inspiring collaboration with remarkable individuals like James Zoul, who has Down syndrome, and Kevin the Baker, an entrepreneur with autism, we learn how such efforts can enrich both business operations and community bonds. Their journey not only highlights the value of taking risks on an often-overlooked workforce but also illustrates the profound societal benefits that can emerge when diversity and inclusion are central to business values.
We also tackle the often daunting topic of discussing disabilities openly, emphasizing the importance of courage and understanding in these conversations. By confronting the evolving language and societal norms surrounding disability, we show how normalizing such dialogues can foster more inclusive personal and professional environments. Reflecting on personal stories and experiences, we stress the significance of integrating individuals with disabilities into diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. My Yard Live's mission to create change "one starfish at a time" serves as a powerful reminder that individual actions can inspire broader societal shifts, encouraging businesses everywhere to rethink their approach to inclusivity. Join us in celebrating My Yard Live Beer Company's efforts and be inspired to make a difference within your own community.
www.bornfabulouspodcast.com
Facebook Page: Born Fabulous Podcast
Instagram: bornfabulouspodcast
Twitter: @PodcastBorn
Threads: bornfabulouspodcast
#BornFabulousPodcast
Hello, my name is Greta Harrison. Welcome to Born Fabulous Podcast, season 3, episode 30. This is the final episode of Season 3. The theme of this season is young adults with intellectual disabilities living full lives of independence and interdependence, with love, gratitude and deep respect to all the young adults and parents in Season 30,. This is my favorite episode of the entire season. From the very beginning, you will hear profound statements from Jamie Minotti and Mark McCleary, words that every employer in the US and beyond need to hear. Work is so vital to full life and eventual independence for everyone. That includes people with disabilities. This is the last of three episodes featuring Jamie and Mark, who are co-founders and managing partners of my Yard Live Beer Company in San Marcos, california, a suburb of San Diego.
Greta Harrison:My Yard Live has a unique mission. Their mission seeks to create a sustainable, family-friendly refuge with activities for all ages live entertainment, quality food and libations, as well as unique leisure games, with a focus on building a stronger community. Their mission further states they will create a paradigm shift in the way that communities interact, play and bond by inventing an inclusive, family and adult-friendly gathering space that has the ability to be replicated in the Western United States and beyond. This mission organically led to the hire of James Zoll when my Yard Live opened in 2019, months before the COVID pandemic hit. James's job has grown over his years with my Yard Live. James happens to have Down syndrome. Now let's go straight to my favorite interview. Now, let's go straight to my favorite interview. So, across the US, people with developmental disabilities have very low employment rates. We all know this. We've alluded to it in this conversation. The majority of employers are afraid and they're unaware that this vast population can be a real benefit to their businesses.
Jamie Minotti:What can you say to them directly to help appease their fears of the unknown? Don't be scared, don't be so scared. So, and I'm sorry, just real quick. So you know, as a business owner and entrepreneur, you do nothing but take risks. That is your job to take risks and risks of opening a business and risks of bringing on employees and who the employees are that you bring on, and screening and retention. You're working with people. You're working with community. You're working with finances. You're working with pandemic. It's full of risk.
Jamie Minotti:So if the biggest risk you take is taking a chance on a person that has special needs, that's the absolute smallest risk you could take in your business and the smallest risk you take in what you operate on a day-to-day basis. It really is, and I'm going to speak for ourselves. This has been nothing but beneficial. Nothing but beneficial to me personally, me professionally, our business, our team, everybody we work with our investors, the community, the Chamber of Commerce, the city, you name it. There's been nothing negative or detrimental to anything that we've done with James or anybody else that we work with, with people with special needs and one of the people that we haven't mentioned. That I'm just. I need to mention now because I think it really brings this whole conversation to the next level is we work with a baker, kevin the baker.
Jamie Minotti:He's an entrepreneur, he's a business owner, and Kevin's mom reached out to us five or six months ago and said you know, my son is a baker and he has a company, kevin the baker, and he also has autism. And would you, if I brought in some samples, would you guys try some samples? We're having a tough time getting his baked goods into places and I see that you employ people with special needs and I've read the stories about the four dudes, et cetera, et cetera, and we said absolutely bring them in. Some of the best baked goods that we've ever tried. The team has ever tried. And the guys in the back, even, who have been baking for years, tried and said this is one of the best brownies that we've ever tried. And so from that point on, we bring in Kevin the baker's brownies and we make a brownie skillet out of brown skillet, out of his brownies, and he's been supplying us with brownies ever since and so-.
Mark McLarry:Never one seller on our dessert Never one dessert seller that we have.
Jamie Minotti:And so it goes well beyond employment of people with special needs and what their abilities are and what they can do and what they can't do and the whole thing, and it has to do with just having good people connected with your business, and that's what it's all about for us.
Greta Harrison:And you're supporting another entrepreneur because he's an entrepreneur, just like anybody else is an entrepreneur, and you gave him a chance, just like every entrepreneur needs a chance when they're trying to break in. That's great.
Mark McLarry:And Jamie nailed it as far as that question, and I was just going to add that every quarter we put out a quarterly review and this past one we actually updated them on this grant that we applied for and everything and what we've been doing working with people with disabilities and everything, and most of the time they're just they're like we don't hear anything from them. But when we talk about things like projects like this, it's it's when we actually hear back, they're saying that's great, what you're doing working with people with disabilities. So you know, it's, it's a great. It's even, you know, even from a business standpoint, investment standpoint, it's. It's a great thing too, because they they love to see what we're doing for for our community.
Greta Harrison:That's good and they see that it's also helping your bottom line. They see that firsthand. So okay, If you could change the business world in all our communities to make them more inclusive, what would you do?
Mark McLarry:Well, it's definitely a loaded question. I think that it really has to start. It has to be all-encompassing, as in it has to start with the individual, then it also has to include businesses. It has to include world leaders. It has to include businesses, it has to include world leaders. It has to include governments. Like it's going to take all these, all these components to actually make make this change, in my opinion. Yeah, like it can't. It can't just be one individual business or an individual person. It's going to take, it's going to, it's going to take a village, in my opinion.
Greta Harrison:And a tsunami.
Mark McLarry:And a tsunami and what about you?
Greta Harrison:Jamie.
Jamie Minotti:You know, I think there's a buzz and trends and rightfully so of DEI in businesses diversity, equity and inclusion and there's been a big movement in that and a big movement in company culture and in a lot of, you know, a lot of movement surrounding those two areas. And I think, as I talk about DEI with folks in and out of our industry and culture in and out of our industry, you know one thing that I think is missing out of that DEI acronym is A in accessibility. And so when we talk about diversity and, you know, equity, inclusion and accessibility and company culture, I don't think there's any one thing that could be better for all of that, in the growth of all of that, beyond employment of folks with disabilities and special needs, and I and I think it's, I think it's across the board All of those things get better. Um, all of those things get better. You know we get better as professionals, our companies get better, the bottom lines get better, everything gets better.
Jamie Minotti:And so creating more conversations like this and creating, like Mark you know Mark mentioned earlier you know I think people are scared, scared to talk right, because you know, oftentimes and I appreciate you for correcting me earlier in the conversation. But oftentimes there's so many moving parts of what should be said and not said and what used to be said and what can be said. But you put this in front of that and that behind this and here's the acronym and this is the new way we say things that people become scared about talking about it. And I think making it normal to have conversations and making it normal to say things wrong and be corrected and have that conversation about you know, that's the way we used to say things, but now we say things in this way, but not letting those things become a barrier to having those conversations, and making it normal to hire people with special needs and to work with people with special needs and to talk to people with special needs and to talk about disabilities and talk about those things.
Jamie Minotti:And I think, the more we can normalize it and break down those barriers of what those acronyms are and what those terminologies are and I know how important they are because I know I understand the history. I grew up in a time where saying somebody retarded was normal, like I grew up in that time. So I understand the importance of progression but I also understand the importance of making it normal and I think if there's anything we can thank June for, and James for, and Jim for, and Beth for and all those people that we work with is to make it normal and make it okay that we have our front of house venue manager who has never worked with people with special needs in his entire life, and making it normal for him to have that conversation and making it okay for him to say things in a way that isn't, you know, correct, isn't politically correct, but also making it normal, in a way, to have that conversation and saying, you know, hey, this is the way we say things.
Jamie Minotti:This is the way we do things.
Jamie Minotti:This is the way things, you know, work right now in our sector, in our industry, and understanding the way we do things in our industry and understanding how things can come together and meld.
Jamie Minotti:I can remember the first time I brought up living in, you know, a group home or group home kind of environment with, you know, june and Beth, in that conversation that took place in the movement towards independent living and the movement towards and that was eye-opening to me and that was really an eye-opening conversation and I think having those conversations, having these conversations and being OK to be wrong and be corrected, and moving on from that, because I don't think, you know, in our, our environment and the people that we work with in our community, no one wants to be offensive, no one wants to, you know, I would say, demonize, but nobody wants to be in a place where they're trying to limit people with special needs in our community, in our world, in our circles and I know that's not all circles but having that comfort level, circles, but having that comfort level and I think June, jim and James, first and foremost, in developing that relationship, has created that comfort level to the point where Mark's, you know, sitting down as he always has with his sister-in-law having a conversation, and now our entire team is able to have that conversation and I think creating that normalcy and being able to do that is going to catapult this thing beyond anything we can do into the future.
Greta Harrison:I love both of your answers. There are different points of view, but you're both correct in my opinion. And, Jamie, when you're talking about diversity, equity and inclusion, the biggest rub on most people is that usually people with disabilities are not part of that conversation. It's not part of that conversation, Even though all marginalized groups should be part of that conversation. They're just not even considered. It's just an afterthought. So, first of all, DEI should be everywhere and it should include people with disabilities. We don't want to step on anybody else's toes, any other marginalized groups. Nobody wants to take away anything from anybody else, they just want to be included.
Greta Harrison:So that's my takeaway on that and everything that you said I just love about how everything is spreading again organically, one person at a time. Going back to what Mark was saying, you know how it's going to take so many different parts of our world and our society to make a massive change, and I said it would take a tsunami and I was half joking and half serious there. But the truth is you guys are doing it one starfish at a time. Serious there, but the truth is you guys are doing it one starfish at a time. You know every employee, every customer, every interaction with the media, every interaction with the community. You're doing it one starfish at a time, and that's very, very important too. You don't know what person you're dealing with. Maybe you have a 10-year-old coming and they're so used to seeing people with disabilities there and in the venue. They will be more aware and inclusive of people with disabilities in their school and in their life and they might grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher or a business owner, and that will translate.
Greta Harrison:So I love everything that you guys said. I now understand why June is so in love with my yard live and its leadership, and I was so excited to talk to you for all these months. So I love it. You guys are giving me lots of material for memes. I'm going to be making lots of memes for social media Out of your material. You're giving me lots and lots.
Jamie Minotti:I always wanted to be a meme.
Greta Harrison:Your quotes are going to be lots of memes.
Mark McLarry:Go ahead. I wanted to like, like you nailed it on the head, one starfish at a time, because with everything going on in this world, it's so it's times are tough right now. I mean you just across the board, right, and when, when people talk about, well, what can you do to make a change? Right, I think. I mean, I think the only solution is to make that change within your own personal space, your life space, right, and if everyone were to do that, that change would happen.
Greta Harrison:You got it. Yeah, I agree, and you're absolutely right. Is there anything else that you all wanted to say, that that we haven't talked about, and I'm so glad you brought up again? Remind me what is the name of the Baker.
Speaker 4:Kevin.
Greta Harrison:Kevin the Baker. I am I am so glad that you brought up Kevin the Baker. Is there anything else that you wanted to say that we haven't?
Mark McLarry:You're currently getting ready, ready to brew the four wise men. That's our next wise dudes.
Greta Harrison:Wise dudes, the four wise dudes the four wise dudes, and when is that launch going to be?
Jamie Minotti:so we're brewing it on uh, november 18th and it's going to be a winter ipa and, and I was going to say earlier when we were talking, the release is going to be December 10th. So you might want to try and mark that calendar for a trip out to San Diego to be a part of the release celebration.
Greta Harrison:I am going to be making a trip. I don't think it'll be that soon, but I am going to be a part of the release celebration. I am going to be making a trip. I don't think it'll be that soon, but I am going to be making a trip. I promise you what would your. Are you? Just so we can get a idea of how often is it like every two or three months that there's a launch? Is that about what it is?
Jamie Minotti:Yeah, it's really hit or miss. And the reason I say that is because sometimes with some of the beers we'll do bigger batches and we'll can it and we'll put it out into the community, into stores, and then some of them will be smaller batches and they'll go to a few different pubs and then be poured around here. So it really varies and we base it on kind of the, the demand of it. So once we see the other one kind of selling out, we ramp up to do another one. So we're trying to get them to like a quarterly, like a three month.
Greta Harrison:Yeah, that's kind of what it seemed like. Now I'm in Virginia, you guys are in California. Can somebody in another state do you ship to other states?
Mark McLarry:We only distribute in San Diego County.
Jamie Minotti:Yeah, not at this time, we don't do it in the States at this time.
Greta Harrison:Okay, not at this time, but when you expand in the future. Who knows what the future holds right?
Mark McLarry:Yep, you expand in the future. Who knows what the future holds?
Greta Harrison:right, yep, you could end up, but I but I'm saying I we might see my yard live beer in the store someday in the future. Who knows?
Greta Harrison:right, so yeah yeah, we don't know, okay. Well, I thank you so much for your time and for all that you do. It's been a pleasure getting to know you all. I hope the world becomes more like you. If just one business learns from you, we have all made a difference today. I'm hoping it'll be more than one business that learns from you, but I appreciate you all. Thank you so much.
Jamie Minotti:Thanks for the invitation and giving us a platform to have a conversation like this. It's been great, Really really meaningful to us and the business that people kind of look to us in this way. It's really cool.
Mark McLarry:Yeah, and it's great. Having these conversations like this just kind of amps us back up, you know, just makes us amped and ready to keep. You know, charge the world, you know. So.
Greta Harrison:And you're changing the world. You are changing the world One interaction at a time. I love that and I thank you guys again. Thank you. Thank you for listening to the 30th and last episode of Born Fabulous Podcast, third season. This was the last of three episodes with Jamie Minotti and Mark McCleary. Please keep in mind that this interview was recorded in the fall of 2023. So any dates or promotions mentioned will not be applicable. So any dates or promotions mentioned will not be applicable. Regardless, I hope you clearly see what a wonderful place my Yard Live Beer Company is and visit them as soon as you are in the area. Those of you who live in the San Diego area are fortunate to have this gem right there in your backyard.
Greta Harrison:Since this was the last episode, I have some housekeeping to clear up. First, I mentioned James Madison's nationally respected I'm Determined program many times this season, always naming the wrong college. That was a brain fog moment, I apologize. My 24-year-old daughter, who has Down syndrome and autism, attended many years of I'm Determined. Year old daughter, who has Down syndrome and autism, attended many years of I'm Determined at James Madison University in the summers when she was in middle and high school. Second, it was my intention to have resources up on the Born Fabulous podcast website by the time season three aired, as of late October 2024, I still have not had time, so please be patient and periodically check the website for that updated page. It may not happen until early 2025, as the holidays are approaching fast. Third, if you did not hear all of Season 3, I highly recommend you go back and hear the entire season. I highly recommend you go back and hear the entire season.
Greta Harrison:Sandra McElwee gives valuable insight into how California's extraordinary support services are set up. As she is a provider and a parent. Her son, sean's pride in his independence and his Sean squad are infectious. Sean has Down syndrome and hearing loss. You may know him from A&E's Emmy-winning series Born this Way or his t-shirt business. Shawnee's Patty McEwen shares how she and her husband raised the firecracker lobbyist everyone knows and loves on Capitol Hill, kayla McEwen. It isn't easy to see your young adult leave home, especially when that first move is to Washington DC. Kayla and her roommate Alyssa share details of how they chose their apartment, their chore chart and much more. Kayla has just received an honorary doctorate from Syracuse University and she also happens to have Down Syndrome. Janice Fialca and Richard Feldman are both internationally respected speakers, presenters and authors. They have followed the supported decision-making model with circles of support since their son, micah, was very young, in school. Their significant stories and sage thoughts continue to help countless families. Their son, micah, is fiercely independent, living in New York, while they live in Michigan. His episodes also feature a key support staff member, catherine, who is wonderful. Micah is an instructional assistant at Syracuse University. He has an intellectual disability.
Greta Harrison:My goal was to end this season with a married couple and their parents. I was so fortunate to be able to have very deep discussions with June and Jim Zoll and Melody and Bob Ruppel at the same time. They are the parents of James Zoll and Kristen Ruppel, who have been married over six years. James and Kristen are a fabulous couple who has been together over 16 years. They have Down syndrome. Being able to speak with both sets of parents was critically important, as having both sets of parents on the same page is key to the success of a married couple with intellectual disabilities. They shared their adult children's journeys from birth on through their courtship and marriage. Funny stories and very wise advice were key elements of their episodes. Because I am friends with June Zoll, it did not take long to realize that her son's employment journey needed to be shared and their employer had to be interviewed. So, after speaking with James and Kristen and their key support staff member Lynn, the episodes that you just heard with Jamie Minotti and Mark McCleary from my Yard Live Beer Company were added. I am so happy to end this season with powerful words that can hopefully help move the employment needle forward for people with disabilities.
Greta Harrison:Thank you to everyone who has been part of Season 3. I love you all. Short video clips from most episodes are available on our YouTube channel and on BornFabulousPodcastcom. You can also hear all released episodes of Born Fabulous Podcast on YouTube. Please follow and like us on Facebook, instagram, twitter and Threads. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review wherever you heard this podcast. If you haven't heard seasons one and two of Born Fabulous Podcast, please check them out after you hear this entire season. Now please enjoy the full version of the Ring. The lyrics of this beautiful song are by Melissa Riggio, who was the focus of season one, episodes one through four. Melissa was my daughter's role model and I revere her parents, steve and Laura Riggio. Melissa had Down syndrome. The music and voice are by Rachel Fuller. Thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 4:I'm in the ring outside. I'm following my belief. I'm looking at the sky. I saw God following my heart. I'm an ordinary woman. The rain is falling down down my way. The wind is blowing me away. The rain is falling down down my way. The wind is blowing me away. And so I came back to the center of the ring. Am I just a broken angel? God has sent me here to heal, to be an ordinary woman. The rain is falling down Down my way. The wind is blowing me Away. The wind is blowing me away. The rain is falling down down my way. The wind is blowing me away away. The rain is falling down Down my way. The wind is blowing me away. The rain is falling down down my way. The wind is blowing me away, is throwing me away. Thank you, you.