Relax, Don't worry.....

We just finished a class in our Immersion Course with a young couple who are planning on opening a brewery. They both have really good jobs but have a passion to do their own business. They have home brewed, and have great science and engineering back grounds. Also they are very smart and have terrific personalities.

Of course we put them through all the usual things we do. They did everything in the the brewery that they would normally do, and we went through all the business programs as well. There were tons of questions about every aspect of opening and running a successful brewery. I thought I would just write down all the random points that were brought up.

• To find a location, search on loopnet to find a restaurant for lease that you can turn into a brewery. You will save months in construction time and at least $100,000 on the project.

• Incorporate an excellent business system to operate your brewery, rather than being the entrepreneur who has to do everything. This involves training systems, daily checklists for each position, inventory control, and so on.

• Running a brewery is about personal relationships. The business is easy compared to dealing with the emotional issues of your employees and your customers. Customers will have crazy demands. Your employees will bring their personal issues to work. In both cases you have to deal with them and it is the most difficult part of owning a business. Be prepared.

• Bring value to the business. To do that you need to exceed expectations. I had a fancy Italian restaurant with white table cloth and wait staff in bow ties, etc. Customers who came in the door had high expectations, and that was hard to live up to. Then we opened a pizzeria/brewery. Customers expectations of a pizzeria are low, so it was easy to blow them away with great food and beer. Which brings me to….

• Make great beer. To do this be really clean, follow solid brewing protocols (pH, temperatures, cleanliness, ingredients and so on) and constantly learn new and better methods through reading, talking to other brewers, and going to conventions and taking classes. It never stops, but it’s fun.

• Know your Oyster. This simple free practice will separate you from most of your competition. Learn this and practice it every day.

• Don’t work too much. Well, you will your first year, you just have to. But if you are using the business system, take time off. It is vital to avoid burn-out. With a good business system in place there is no reason you can’t go on vacation. One of the best things about running your own business (again, if you have a solid business system) is that the business can make money whether you are there or not. A brain surgeon only makes money when they are doing brain surgery. As a business owner your brewery can be running well, while you are hiking in Scotland, recharging your batteries. Ask me how I know.

When it’s all said and done, I still like to follow the advice of Charlie Papazian. That is to “Relax, don’t worry. Have a home brew.” It’s a philosophy. You are just making beer, not trying to bring about world peace or cure cancer. Owning a brewery is a very satisfying way to make a living. It’s fun and that’s really why we do it.