Monthly Archives: November 2014

Delay to Opening ….. Also Marketing, Production and Tasting Room Advice

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We are going to be delayed in our opening.  I wish I could sit here and tell you something different, as we are so excited to open and share our journey and beer with you, but not unlike everyone else …. we are delayed.  It will end up being a combination of beer not quite being ready to go, not receiving all our permits, and construction of the tasting room not quite being complete.  I would say we are going to be open sometime before Christmas.  How much before is anyones guess.  Hopefully around the middle of the month.

Thank you for everyone that has offered their support and encouragement.  There have been days like today where I needed the words of encouragement.  Trying to get things finished in order to get final inspections, in addition to making sure you get all the inspections you need, plus submitting all the paperwork needed to move ahead is a lot of work … and stressful.

A few other things.  Take it from me, when you get a label that you are happy with, something you think you want to produce for your beer, go to a bunch of Liquor Stores and see how it looks on the shelf.  You will be surprised what you learn and I have no doubt that something about your design or direction will change.

For us, we have kept in touch with as many people as possible.  Bloggers, writers, craft beer enthusiasts, home brewers … basically anyone that wants to talk to us about craft beer.  We have asked as many people as many questions as we can about what we are doing, how things work, what they like, preferences in the marketplace, etc.

We did this with our name, via a focus group, and we did this with a bunch of other key items.  However, one thing we didn’t do was take our proposed can design and imagery into the marketplace to see how it would work on shelves.  What we have learned is key, and is something that you should know for when you design a can.  If I could distill the knowledge down to a couple things it would be this.  Put your key items on the top half of your can and make sure you get all the regulated information on the can correct (UPC number and positioning, font size, labelling requirements, etc).

We waited too long to do this, and what we found out was that our imagery, as cool as we thought it was, needed to be moved up the can, made bigger and work with the shelves and flats that would hold our beer.  Luckily for us, we hadn’t yet produced our can, so we can make the changes and then send the can off for printing.  Yes we are going to launch our packaged product in early 2015 once we are happy with the consistency and quality of beer.

Our tasting room is coming together very nicely.  We need to finish a few details, but today our tables went in, and they were bolted to the ground.  It means that we are getting close and soon we will have the final lights, chairs go in, POS and Stereo installed, and warm bodies to make it all come together.  We can’t wait to share this journey with you and we hope you find it as interesting and awesome as we hope you will.

Off to bed ….

 

10 Days to go …. Ummm what the heck is going on?

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Basically, everything is happening right now at the brewery and with our business.  We are starting to look towards inspections, we have a fire plan happening, front of the house is getting finished, and the back of the house is starting to clear out.  Among all this chaos, we are starting to question if we can really open in a mere 10 days from now.  One minute we think we can and the next, well we aren’t so sure.

The biggest concern we have with getting open in time is the inspections we have to complete.  I wrote about these last blog post, but essentially we expect to fail at least one, and its a matter of how much stuff we have missed, and how hard it is to complete, and then how long it takes to get the inspector back and redo the inspection.

There are also a lot of i’s to dot and t’s to cross, and given that we are so bloody tired, you question if you are going to catch them all.  More importantly, are we going to miss something else that is really important.  T-Shirts, growlers, growler caps (oh crap, totally forgot these), business cards, glasses, etc, etc.

So all of these things make us really wonder about opening in 10 days.  I want to say yes, but at the same time, it worries me to put any sort of hard date on it.  Seeing what others have gone through when they get this close, makes me think there is no way of making it.  Just talk to Dave at Powell Street and he can remind you why there should be some reality mixed into things.

So officially, I hope we open as soon we can, but it may not be December 5th … it may be a little later at this point.  One thing is for sure.  We will let you know.

15 Days to go …. The importance of Pre-Inspections

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Whenever possible, if you are starting a brewery, or any other business for that matter, I would suggest always get a pre-inspection inspection.  Having someone come through ahead of when you need your inspection will not only tell you what you need to fix, but also show them (if they are going to eventually do your final inspection) that you are trying to get things correct.

We did this with our electrical, and we are doing this with our Coastal Health inspection.  Getting the inspection ahead of time will provide us a with a real list of things that we need to complete, so that when it comes time to get our final, we should (in theory) be good to go.

Inspectors are an important part of the process, as all the work you have done rushing to get to opening day can be lost if you start spinning your wheels on your inspections.  Ask Dave at Powell Street Brewing, as they took about an extra 3 weeks to open because they kept getting new things to do from their inspectors.  It makes it really hard as a business trying to get off the ground, if you keep getting new things to complete and finish prior to being allowed to open for business.

Anyhow, just a little advice for everyone.

19 Days to Go … Anxiety has reared its ugly head again

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I am worried.  Yes, worried about what the heck we are going to do in order to open successfully in less 3 weeks.  In short order, the list of things we have to do is huge, and we all have anxiety about the things we have to do, and not letting anything drop through the cracks.  The next week is especially huge as we have lots of major decisions that have to be made.  More about that later.  But the biggest thing is to not let anything major fall through the cracks.  Kind of like packing for a vacation:  Don’t forget the passports, camera, money, prescriptions and plane tickets …. the rest is kind of unimportant or can be bought.  We are the same, but a different set of things to not forget.

The biggest things I have anxiety has changed throughout the process.  At the start it was the big stuff:  Finding a warehouse, budgeting enough money, finding good construction crews, and making good choices on capital equipment purchases.  Now, about a month from opening, the list has changed to the details that make up some of the big decisions.  For instance, I have anxiety about actually opening on December 5th.  That is a big thing to push towards, but it is the multitude of items that make up this.  Like passing all the inspections, producing beer that is going to meet our standards and expectations, finishing the construction, etc.  There are a bunch of little things, many of which we have little to no control over, that are proving slow to overcome.

One of the other challenges is that you think you get past a hurdle, but somehow you get caught up when you thought you were free and clear.  Take our exterior sign for instance.  We thought it was going to be installed this past week, but the sign company dropped the sign and it broke in 2 pieces.  As such, they had to re-order and it will possibly be another week or 2 before it is ready.  Now that is cutting it close.  There is all sorts of stuff like this that can slow you down.

We really feel like we are at a point where we are right there.  We can see the opening day coming quickly, but while we are so close, it does feel so far away.  Off the top of my mind, here are some of the big and small things we don’t yet have complete:

  • tap handles
  • 750ml bottle design
  • painting of interior walls in packaging area
  • a pass of all the inspections
  • painting
  • finishing of the tasting  room
  • exterior work on the new entrance and canopy
  • securing of a loan for additional cash into business
  • AV in tasting room
  • art gallery submission process
  • the fellowship
  • website
  • t-shirts, hats and other merchandise
  • overhead doors in warehouse
  • exterior sign
  • hiring staff for tasting room
  • hiring staff for production
  • tent and associated equipment for tastings
  • PR kits for various groups

As you can see, there is a lot to think about and keep a person up at night.  Without a doubt, there is so much to be done, that we are looking to just make decisions on things and pass the buck to someone else.  On that note, time to get cracking as I think the best way to deal with stress is to tackle the things that are giving you stress.

 

 

21 Days to go …. The Importance of an Amazing Team

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This post is key for everyone that is looking to start a brewery.  Get a kick ass team around you.  Don’t make quick decisions on these areas, and I would focus on the following as key:

  • Electrician
  • Mechanical
  • Engineer (Structural, Electrical and Mechanical)
  • General Contractor
  • Architect
  • Accountant
  • Lawyer
  • Banker
  • Landlord
  • Business Partner
  • Graphic Designer
  • Equipment Suppliers

Of all these things on the list 1 stands out as the most important.  Can you guess which one it is?  Of course you know its the business partner.  Having a great partner can make everything else seem like nothing much or something substantial.  For us, we only screwed up on one of these major categories, and it really came back to bite us in the rear-end.  I would hate to think if we made bad decisions on more than one of these.  Our lives would have easily gone from manageable to a nightmare very quickly.

At various times throughout this process, we have been supported by these people.  The true sign of a great team member, is someone who is honest, supports you when you need the help, and is willing to work with a changing job.  You will change direction thousands of times throughout the process.  Having a group of trades people that is understanding of this and won’t gouge you is really important.  There will be change orders, and its how they are dealt with that really matter.

There is one person not on the list that one could say is even more important than a good business partner, and that is a good life partner.  Having someone who supports you when you need it, kicks you in the ass at other times, is huge.   My wife has supported me in every way imaginable throughout this process.  Without her, I can’t imagine what I would have done.  Hopefully you have someone like this in your life, as it is crucial to success IMO.

So kind of a fluffy post today, but I didn’t really have any other option, as I am falling asleep at the computer here.  Off to bed very shortly and up 4am to get cracking at our bookkeeping.  Not the most glamorous thing in the world, but pretty darn important.

23 Days to go …. Finally Received our Manufacturers Licence

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With 23 days to go, our days are pretty busy, and with the news we received today, they are just going to get busier.  As of today, we are officially allowed to manufacture beer in our brewery!!!  Yeehaw, thats right, after submitting our manufacturers licence to the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch 12 months ago, we finally received permission to brew beer.

It is a long and drawn out process, one that I have blogged about under the Process of Starting  a Craft Brewery Page.  Essentially, I can’t see anyone getting their manufacturers licence any quicker than 6 months.  Given the amount of decisions you have to make, the people you need to work with, the government agencies that lack a sufficient quantity of personnel on this, etc, all combine to make the process go slow.  It is why I recommend that as soon as you know you have a lease in place, this is the first thing you should do, apply for permits/licences as they are going to take the longest … really anything to do with government.

Anyhow, what this means is that Thursday we are going to brew our first batch of beer, which will then be followed by brew number 2 and 3 in quick order.  I will be heading to the brewery in the morning to readjusting the webcam so that we can point it at the brewhouse and you can have a birds-view of things.

Of the many milestones in the road to starting a brewery, this is the one that you think about the most:  Brewing the first batch of beer.  A lot of work, preparation and effort goes towards making this day a reality, and next to the first day you get to drink your beer.  This day is coming and until then, we have a long list of other things to get completed.  We hope that our beer matches what we hope it will be, and really, what we expect.

The best part of having a tasting room is that we will get to make a lot of different beers.  Barrel Aged, Lambics, Sours, Hoppy Beers, Strong Beers, Blended Beers, and even Lagers will be part of our tasting room.  What makes all these beers possible is the crazy good mind of Iain Hill and the support of so many loyal craft beer supporters.  Without your encouragement, preference for craft beer, and support none of this would be possible.  We thank you for making beer unique and even strange beer something we can all be proud of again.

Very exciting times for us, and we hope to share our brand and beer with you very soon.  Until then, keep reading this blog, checking our webcam and following our social media feeds.

26 Days to Go …. Inspection, We’re Hiring (Soon) and Marketing

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On Friday of last week, we had our contact from the Liquor Control and Licensing branch pop in for an inspection.  This is a super important moment, as they are essentially the eyes and ears of the government arm responsible for allowing us to make beer (a manufacturers licence).  Our inspection went well, at least we think, and we should be getting some answers this week, so we can legally start brewing beer in the next week.  That is a big if, and should we get this license, we are on schedule for a early December opening.  If not, we can kiss goodbye an early December opening.

Iain has promised he can brew beer that takes about 3 weeks to go from brewhouse to glass, though it will be a lot less time than he hoped, it is possible.  We are definitely going to swing open the doors and have a beer line-up that is not necessarily reflective of our exact wishes, but we wouldn’t be the first or last to do this.  Over time, we will brew a larger armamentarium of beers that will make beer lovers and newcomers to craft beer happy.

With this eventuality, we have many other things to do, not the least of which is to hire staff for the front of the house.  We expect that we are going to need to hire about 10 – 15 people to work in the tasting room, depending on the number of shifts each person is looking to work each week.  If you are interested in working with us, prepare for a call for resumes in the very near future.

We are also busy working on the marketing material and information for our brand.  While many of the major items have been decided on (like logo, can design, business cards, beer glasses, growlers, etc) there is a seemingly endless list of small things to do.  Items like pricing of all items, food in the tasting room, an artists call for submissions, meeting with neighbours who may visit our brewery, sales calls to resellers, video, photography, getting exterior signs fixed, etc.

With all this going on, it is hard to find the time to help out in the brewery very much of late.  Both Iain and I have been contributing less and less to the job of completing the work in the brewery, and more on the task of getting ready to make and distribute beer.  I know my time in the brewery is down to about 25 hours per week of hard labour, and Iain is even less as he is spending time cleaning, preparing, turning valves …. god knows what the heck a brewer does, but I am sure it is all important stuff.

Anyhow, lots of stuff to do, so I am going to get cracking at it ….

30 Days to go …. Running out of cash

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Where the hell has all our cash gone?  Sometimes I wonder how this business is costing us so much money.  How the heck do other breweries start a brewery for so much less than we are spending?  I know we have bitten off more than we can chew, but seriously, what the heck.  Running out of cash is not an option for our business, so we have moved on to plan B, plan C and soon plan D.

We have raised $1,200,000 and we figured that would be enough to get us to day 1.  As you know from reading my previous blog posts (check the finances category), it was a process getting to a point that we were comfortable.  About 8 months ago it seemed like we would go over by about 20% and so we secured a loan and line of credit to cover this amount.  We felt comfortable we would have more than enough to get through the tough times to day 1, and then profitability.

Surprise, surprise, a few things go over and all of a sudden we are projecting a cash shortage starting about 60 days after we swing open our doors, that reaches a maximum about 180 days after we open for business.  Thats right, even though we will be open and selling beer, and doing well, we will still be running out of cash.  It makes us scratch our head and realize the importance of keeping our costs down, and brewing some kick ass, killer beer.

So we have a few options for gaining access to this additional funding.  If you come to a situation like ours, here are the paths you can take to secure medium term financing (longer than 12 months, but shorter than 5 years).

  1. Get funding from your shareholders.  Maybe you have a shareholder that has deep pockets and is willing to lend you some cash for a short-term to help with your cash crunch.
  2. Get financing from the BDC.  The BDC is able to help with financing, especially if you have equipment or machinery that you are able to secure the loan against.
  3. Raise additional money.  Either from your current investors, or another batch of new investors who can help you keep your loan commitments down and your cash position positive.
  4. Owners lend money to company.  Thats right, time to put your money where your mouth is.  Take a line of credit that you have personally, and sign over the funds to the business.
  5. Pre-sale some of your products.  Thats right, maybe you can sell some of your capacity to another brewery, or start selling your merchandise before you open in order to help with smaller amounts of money.  This won’t work with larger sums.

I am sure there other ways of getting money, but these are the options we have available to us.  We have 2 strong contenders and 1 outlier, and we think one of these is going to work out for us.

One thing is for sure, manage your money, stay on top of your finances, and don’t forget to always have your next 3 possible steps planned out.  If you don’t, you might get to a fork in the road and have insufficient options available.  This is not a good place to be, especially when you are near opening day.  It would suck to come this far and have it fall to peaces at this point.

One of these options will provide us the money we need, and we hope we make the right choice.  Only time will tell whether or not we did make the correct choice.

32 Days to Go ….. I need a vacation

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A few people in the craft beer community have told me how busy the last 30 days of starting a brewery can be.  They told me that the previous month would be like playing the minor leagues for how busy you will be in your last month.  I thought to myself, there is no way they can be right.  I am already working 15 hour days, 6 days per week, how could it get busier.

Well I guess the reality is that I am not busier than I was last month or even the month before.  In fact, we have been working our asses off for the past 5 months.  It has been non-stop and go-go-go.  But in terms of how much effort is required, I don’t think I have been able to give more than I have.  For a more mature man like me, 14 hours feels about the amount that I can do on a day-in day-out basis.  This amount of effort, allows me to see my kids a little, not overwork to the point of exhaustion, stay on top of things at the brewery, and get enough rest to keep going.

The times that I worked longer than 14 hours, I quickly become a train-wreck.  About 6 weeks ago, those who follow me on Facebook know what I am talking about.  I nearly lost my marbles, and a big part of it was how much time I was spending working, and also thinking about work.

What you will find is that you need to find your balance.  And that means you will need to go up and down each side of the fulcrum to get it right.  Too little effort, you will not get everything done and you will find yourself being less productive.  Too much effort, you will be tired, stressed and feel like you are going to have a break-down.  My 14 hours per day, usually goes something like this:

  • 4:00 am to 8:00 am – Work 3 hours 45 minutes straight until I have to get the kids ready for school.  Sometime I do sleep in until 4:30am
  • 8:00 am to 8:45 am – get kids ready for school and drop them off (I love this part of my day and wouldn’t trade it for the world)
  • 8:45 am to 4:45 pm – Work a combination at the brewery (mostly) and some days at home (accounting, business plan, etc)
  • 4:45 pm to 8:00 pm – Do a little work in between hanging out with my kids, coaching, driving kids to activities, etc
  • 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm – finish work from the day and set my to-do list for the following day

I think you need to find what you are going to cut out of your life.  I personally value my family too much not to spend every evening from 5pm to bedtime with them.  Sure there is the odd time, I have evening work, things to do, etc, but I couldn’t imagine not spending 4 night per week with them, helping with homework, doing crafts, etc.  It means the world to me and I would never give it up.

What are you going to give up when the time comes to work 14 hours a day, or more?  Family time, friends, sports, reading books, video games, etc.  I gave up hanging out with friends, exercising every day, puttering in my garden (I do miss this most days), and spending a lot of time with my wife.  For now, we are spending the bare minimum in hopes that we will have time together in the future.  She is such a good partner to go through this with.

Time to go, I need to send a few emails and plan my Tuesday!

33 Days to go …. Hiring Employees

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One thing we have learned is to leave LOTS of time for your first hire(s).  The process of hiring someone is full of ups and downs, offers, counter-offers, negotiations, discussions with lawyers, time for reflection, and a few other variables.  Ultimately, there is a saying that says, “hire slow and fire fast,”and it is a very worthwhile thing to take note of when going through this process.

Its not that we have or anywhere near firing someone, but giving yourself time to find the right person, can mean a bunch of time that you never thought it would take.  For us, we are still not 100% certain who our first hire is, for a variety of reasons.  I can only speak generally about it, but it goes like this.  You may find the right person, but you may not agree on compensation or start date, or you may find the wrong person but everything seems so easy to move forward, but it still feels like a square peg in a round hole.

This is the generalities I can make from things on our side:

  • Your first hire is super important, so make sure you make the right choice here
  • Look for someone who can do a variety of tasks, as you will have a lot of things to do in the brewery that you will need a hand with
  • Get an employment agreement early on so that you are not struggling with this at the wrong time
  • Be definitive in your actions and your approach to things.  Go with your guy, but also do thorough checks and questioning to make sure all is good
  • An ability to work hard and honesty are two traits that should be found in every candidate you are considering.  These should not be anyone who you would question this with
  • Structure the agreement so that it is beneficial to both your company and to the employee.
  • Overpay for the right person.

Both Iain and I have little experience hiring staff.  Actually Iain has more than I do.  I have been interviewed a lot of times, but never on the other side of the table.  It is a little different, and definitely not as nerve racking, but it is tough and intense all the same.  I can think back to people who were great interviewers, and others …. not so much.

We have worked with our lawyer to create the employment agreement that we have.  It is a good place to start, as they usually have boilerplates that you can add things and take away other stuff to suite your needs and what you want to achieve.  If you need a employment agreement boilerplate, there are lots on the internet.  Unfortunately, I can’t share our agreement with you, otherwise I would.