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Brandon Taylor, owner of Monticello’s 3Ravens Food & Spirits, at the Monticello Restaurant & Bar. (Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette).
If BRANDON TAYLOR could trade jobs with anyone for a week, he’d probably pick a Piatt County farmer—one who grows corn or soybeans, not the one he helped for a few days as a teenager as a favor to a friend.
“Gary asked me if I would like to work on a farm with him for a few days,” Taylor recalls. “When we arrived the next morning, it was a rabbit farm – and the owner needed the barns he kept the rabbits in to be thoroughly cleaned. They must not have been cleaned… sometime.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever stuck a shovel in 3-foot-tall, 30-foot-wide rabbit manure, but it’s not pleasant—and I have a weak stomach. I think I spent the same amount of time shoveling and throwing up. I don’t think I’d want to do it again.
“Piatt County farmers I just asked to teach me: Please don’t blame this on me.”
Not that Taylor minds getting her hands dirty. The Indianola native and Jamaica High School graduate is a roofer, miner, bricklayer and, for the past 11 years, an active member of the Illinois Army National Guard.
These days, the Monticello man’s titles include owner of 3Ravens Food & Spirits and the adjacent cafe/event space, agent at Country Financial, first sergeant in the National Guard and an independent candidate for the District 1 seat on the Piatt County Board.
The 40-year-old father of three took time out of his busy life to answer questions from Editor Jeff D’Alessio in the 135th installment of our weekly speed read aimed at leaders of organizations large and small.
My one unbreakable rule in the workplace is… if you don’t like it, don’t do it. I’d rather have five employees who love what they do than 50 who just want to work and work.
My single favorite moment in this job was… watching my wife cut the 3Ravens red ribbon last August. She sacrificed a lot in the previous years so that I could continue with my profession in the army.
It was emotional to see her shine and to know that her sacrifice paid off in the end.
My philosophy on dating is… only if and when they are needed. If you’re going to pull people away from their mission, it better be worth their time, and it better be engaging.
I can’t live without my… music. Whether I’m working out, performing, recording or just listening to music, it’s my release.
I’m thrifty about it… I buy New Balance shoes. It’s probably not thrifty, but it’s practical – and they feel great on my feet.
Still waiting for my approval. Where are you, New Balance?
Three adjectives I hope my staff would use to describe me are… loyal, supportive and reliable.
If I could trade places with another businessman in town, I wouldn’t mind trading with… a farmer. I am intrigued by the surgery, respect those who do it, and would like to know more.
Piatt County Local Farmers: If you’re reading this, you need to reach out and show me the ropes.
On the walls of my office you will find… awards, licenses, diploma, photos and a pretty neat Monticello Sages sports wall.
When it comes to the latest luxury I indulged in… I’m a pretty simple guy, but I had promised my family a boat for probably five years now.
Well, we recently became boat owners. We hope that the old adage about the two best days in a boat owner’s life is false. Fingers crossed.
My business model is… Gary Vaynerchuk is an easy answer here. He speaks my language, but I don’t think I can say I’ve modeled my operations on his. I kind of do my own thing.
I have never had a mentor in my life. It’s not for lack of trying/asking, I can assure you.
A few years ago I actually asked a guy who I thought I could learn a lot from if he was my mentor and he left me hanging – twice. Instead of letting it affect me in a negative way, lessons were learned and the experience helped me reach new levels.
The hardest thing about being a leader is… listening to your mind/body/soul when it tells you to hit the brakes.
My entire adult life has involved service at many different levels. Dealing with the public every day can be exhausting. When your body tells you it’s time to reset, take the hint.
I wind down after work until… golf, listening to music/jamming with my buds, family time, visiting newbalance.com, drinks with friends, whatever I can do to take my mind off work for a while.
As for my most useful class in college… I have a bachelor’s degree in business, but none of the courses I took in college came close to the impact that two courses I took in the military had on my life overall.
One was a suicide prevention course and the other was resilience training.
In these interactive lessons, there was much discussion about love languages, emotional intelligence, and finding the iceberg—the real problem, not what’s on the surface. Before these courses, I had no idea what a “love language” or “emotional intelligence” was.
A total eye opener, applicable to real world scenarios and something I use daily.
I’m also awake with them every day until… 5:45am almost every day now. It wasn’t always like that. I just turned 40 so I’m sure old age wakes me up in the morning
My exercise routine consists of… I work with Jody Fultz of Vari-Fit in Monticello for my workouts. She is great about asking questions and creating my workouts based on the information provided.
I love it because I don’t have to think about anything when I walk into the gym. I just open an app on my phone and go to work. I highly recommend this for people like me who are busy and constantly need to change up their routine to keep from getting bored.
Oh, I stay active four to five times a week.
On a scale of 1 to 10, the impact of the pandemic is… well i don’t know In January of 2020, I resigned from my full-time military position and in February, I embarked on life as a self-employed insurance agent. All I really know is operations from the COVID era.
It’s crazy to think that just over two years ago I was wearing my army uniform every day and now I own three businesses. In a way, I guess the pandemic was a big help for me.
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