Family-owned Distillery Beats the Odds and Builds Success
Editor’s Note: This post is sponsored by Staples. All the comments and opinions are my own. Nestled in the heart of Loudoun County Virginia which is often called D.C.’s Wine Country, you’ll find the first legal distillery located there since Prohibition — Catoctin Creek® Distilling Company. That’s not all that makes this business unique. It was founded by husband and wife team, Becky and Steve Harris during the height of the Recession in 2009. But the dynamic duo have beaten the odds and their business is flourishing. I originally interviewed co-founder Scott Harris in 2014 so I decided to catch up with him to see how things are going this holiday season. THE Small Business Expert: Scott, you have certainly beaten the odds. What do you think makes your business successful? Harris: I think our business is successful for a number of reasons, but the top two reasons are that we have an amazing, and unique product, and we market it really well. The Roundstone Rye, our flagship rye whisky, is of superb hand-crafted quality, and although we are a very small producer, we have received national and international acclaim for the product, which has helped us to get entrance into some of the top bars in New York, London, and Washington DC. THE Small Business Expert: Recently you hosted a Virginia Oysters and Virginia Cocktails event at your facility. In fact, you pick many of your supplies for these events, such as tasting cups, from Staples. Is this a good way to market and grow your business? Harris: We constantly strive to have people visit us in person and get to know our small business by being here. There’s nothing like seeing the whisky stills for yourself, taking a tour, and becoming infected with our passion and enthusiasm. Events like concerts, bottling workshops, dinners, and cocktail education classes are all ways to connect with our audience on a one-to-one level that is meaningful and lasting for brand loyalty. It requires an enormous amount of effort, but works really well for a local audience. THE Small Business Expert: Many small businesses are still worried about the economy moving into 2016. Do you feel as though the economy has affected your growth? Harris: We have a saying in our business: When times are good, people drink. When times are bad, people drink!” No matter the economy, sales in spirits are usually pretty good, and during the Recession, our business was doubling every year. Choosing a good product, that people want, will help insulate you from any ups and downs the market may endure. It’s really important to know your product and know the market for it. THE Small Business Expert: During the holidays you stocked up on office supplies from Staples. How does Staples help you run your business more successfully? Harris: Staples is our go-to place for all the tools we need to run our business. From getting copying done, to printer ink, office supplies, and even computer accessories, we rely on Staples when we need something for the office. The nice thing is that they’re close, and we can get something the same day. And saving time is something that is greatly valued in the hustle-and-bustle of our daily lives. Harris also purchased a big screen television...
read moreOne Bad Apple Can Really Stink up Your Business
Small businesses typically morph into family-like environments. The small team gets to know each other well and often they become social friends as well as co-workers. That’s fine as long as things are going smoothly. But when one employee isn’t performing or doesn’t get along with the rest of the team, the affect can be disastrous. Most entrepreneurs understand a strong team can be their biggest asset. That’s true when you have the right people in the right seats and they’re all rowing together in the same direction. But one bad apple — one weak link — can turn a high-performing team into one filled with chaos and conflict affecting productivity and profitability. Yet too often, small business owners fail to make timely personnel decisions. After numerous customer complaints about a particular employee and countless attempts to rescue her, Ann Ross, founder of The Paper Warehouse, finally had to cut the cord. “The UPS man came in the next day and asked where she was. I told him she wasn’t here anymore. And he said ‘Well, it’s about time.’ That’s when I knew I had been far too tolerant and patient and that it was really harmful to the store,” Ross explained. Ross, like many entrepreneurs, feel responsible for the well-being of their employees and that, combined with the personal relationships, results in a reluctance to terminate poor performers, even when it would be in the best interest of the business. As an owner, you must recognize the need to make timely personnel changes sans the emotions. Personally, I’ve been guilty of doing it myself. I had an office manager who was constantly in conflict with other staff members. After trying to change her responsibilities so she’d have less interaction with the rest of the team, I finally had to terminate her employment. When she left the office that day, the entire staff exploded with applause. Wow! I really hadn’t realized the serious impact she’d had on company morale and I apologized to everyone. Disciplining and/or terminating an employee is never easy. It’s probably one of the toughest issues any business owner has to face. I seriously doubt anyone enjoys letting an employee go. (Unless perhaps you’re George Clooney in “Up in The Air”.) Dealing directly, fairly, and professionally with your employees is a sign of respect. An employee who isn’t working out with your company may thrive in another organization. Sometimes personalities and organizational cultures don’t click. Or perhaps the employee out grows your business and becomes bored or conversely the employee can’t keep pace with the growth of your enterprise. Whatever the reason, it’s important to act in a timely fashion. One bad apple can really stink up your...
read moreWhy Shopping Locally Matters Year Round, and How Your Small Business Benefits.
Small Business Saturday 2015 is now history, yet many small business owners are shrugging their shoulders wondering what all the hoopla was about. The concept of Small Business Saturday is great. No doubt about it. It raises awareness of the importance of small businesses to our communities. However, one day isn’t enough to give you the real boost you deserve. My take: Let’s get everyone shopping locally 365 days a year. There is a burgeoning movement focused on “buy local.” The Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts, for example, has helped establish several Local First networks in that state. If you do a quick web search, you may find a similar group in your area. The Retail Merchants Association has its Think. Shop. Buy. Local campaign (look for the TSBL logo). In part, the shop local movement is the result of creative business owners searching for ways to survive the “Great Recession.” Just as a family joins together and pitches in to help one another through a tough financial crisis, a local community can do a lot to support its homegrown merchants. Various organizations in the buy local movement have tried different strategies to increase local spending. During the holidays, there is a public campaign encouraging local residents to shift 10 percent of their shopping to local businesses. In fact, Independent We Stand has developed a free app for iOS and Android mobile devices. It helps users find local sources to get all the items on their holiday shopping list. Why shopping locally is important: A study conducted by the American Booksellers Association and Local First Utah says that 52 percent of the money spent at locally owned businesses goes back into the local economy while national chains put back less than 14 percent. If some of that money ends up in a local bank, it is subject to the multiplier effect, which means it gets loaned out to buy homes, cars or fund new business ventures. The impact can be significant. In addition to putting more money in circulation locally, Local First networks point out other benefits, including: Local businesses build local character, Local commerce impacts the environment less, Small businesses are the primary creators of new jobs, and Local businesses support local charities and youth groups. What you can do. Focus on your customers. The biggest advantage you have is your proximity to your customer. Make sure you demonstrate the added value you provide. We fight desperately to get customers through our doors, but we often see achieving that goal as having knocked in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning. In reality, it’s still the top of the first, even once a sale has been made. Consistently exceed customer expectations and provide service they can’t get from the big, national chains. Build your loyal customer base. Band together. If you want to truly benefit from the “Buy Local” movement, you need to do your part as well. It would be somewhat hypocritical to advocate local buying and then order all of your supplies from a huge national chain that has its home office three states away. Support your local businesses and they will do the same.As we close out this year, focus on the future and how you can grow your business by thinking...
read moreDon’t be a turkey: Focus on small business success.
Susan Says: Sometimes what appears to be a failure at first glance, can turn out to be a success. Everything depends on your perspective. Today is Thanksgiving and people all across the U.S. are stuffing themselves with turkey, dressing and all the trimmings. It’s tradition. At my house, my husband is in charge of cooking the turkey while I do all the rest. Our strategy is to cook the turkey the day before, slice it and then warm it before dinner the following day. A few years ago, my husband, who takes great pride in his turkey cooking skills, carefully prepared our bird and slid it into the oven. When the timer told us it was done, we couldn’t wait to see our succulent, plump turkey emerge. Much to our dismay, the turkey looked more like an anorexic pigeon. Instead of a golden brown breast on top, there was very little meat to be seen and lots of bones. Panicked, I immediately went into scramble mode. How could I get another turkey at this late date to feed all our guests? Trying to identify the most expedient way out of this situation, I called our neighborhood grocer that had advertised fully-cooked Thanksgiving dinners. “Could you possibly prepare a turkey for me, large enough to feed 24 people before you close tonight,” I asked. Thankfully, the answer was “yes”, so now I knew Thanksgiving dinner wouldn’t wind up being hot dogs and burgers which was about the only alternative I had in my house. Next, I told my husband he should take that darn bird back to the store where we bought it and show them what a defective product they had pawned off on us. So he loaded the turkey, still in the roasting pan, in the car and away he went. At the store, he was directed to speak to the manager of the meat department. My husband explained the situation to the manager and then unveiled the evidence. With one quick look, the manager explained we had simply cooked the turkey upside down. Then he went on to note that cooking a turkey upside down actually makes it moister. Red faced, my husband brought the bird back home and it truly was delicious. Of course, having ordered more turkey we had enough to feed an army the next day. The moral of this story is, as you are feasting with family and friends today, remember that sometimes what appears to be a disaster in your business, could be a huge success if you look at it from a difference perspective. There are myriad stories of products you enjoy everyday, that were originally considered mistakes or failures, until someone took a different viewpoint. For example, if you’ve ever visited the predominantly Italian neighborhood known as The Hill in St. Louis, MO, you may have enjoyed toasted ravioli at one of the many Italian restaurants located there. This culinary delight was stumbled upon when a ravioli was accidentally dropped into a fryer. Legend has it that Baseball Hall-of-Famer, Joe Garagiola was the first to taste this “mistake”. It was a hit and soon became a staple on menus throughout The Hill. So the next time you find yourself in a panic mode, stop and think about my turkey. Is...
read moreReady to “Deck the Halls” for Holiday Success?
Can you believe this is Thanksgiving week? Thanksgiving traditionally marks the official beginning of the holiday season — although in recent years it’s been gearing up before Halloween which is an entirely different subject. Anyway, when I landed this week at my home airport from business travel, it was fun to see the entire place decked out for the holidays. Decorating for the holidays isn’t just for our homes, it’s also important for small businesses to “Deck the Halls”. It’s a perfect time to let the holiday frenzy work for you by focusing your marketing efforts and connecting with your customer base. Here are a few ideas. Get Going. As I mentioned earlier, businesses started marketing for the holidays before Halloween. Personally, I think that’s pushing it a bit. But now’s the time to get going if you haven’t already started. Social media can be your key to success. Creating an online buzz is an excellent way to get your customers excited about the season ahead. Get into the spirit by giving your logo a unique holiday twist. Use your holiday- themed logo across all promotion platforms helping to make your business more festive, memorable and ultimately more profitable Price Sensitivity. During the past several years, we’ve seen customers become more and more price sensitive. This year will be no different. It goes without saying that keeping these price-centric shoppers in mind is imperative during the holidays. Leverage your social media, email and mobile marketing strategies to make sure your holiday deals are easily reaching your market. Catering to these consumers doesn’t necessarily mean a huge hit to your bottom line, or that you must have door busting sales on all of your latest products. Sometimes it’s as simple as offering free shipping or a small discount for purchases over a certain dollar amount that will give your customers the confidence to purchase instead of price shopping with your competitors. Community Presence. The holidays offer an excellent time to connect with your community. Consider hosting an open house and collect donations or items for a local charity. One year my company collected lightly worn or new shoes to donate to a worthy cause. Don’t forget about social media too with these efforts. For example, offer to donate a can of food to a local food pantry for every new “like” on Facebook or follower on Twitter. A local television station is offering to provide one year’s worth of food and care for an animal at a local pet rescue shelter if they reach 200,000 likes on Facebook. Don’t Neglect Your Online Customers. The majority of consumers are “omni-channel” shoppers; which means they will be shopping just as much online as in traditional brick and mortar stores. (In my case, much more.) Although the internet can be a lucrative sales opportunity, its non-personal nature means consumers have the power and convenience to shop anywhere and everywhere with a simple click of the mouse. So how do you engage your customers online? Keep your content fresh, relevant and interactive. Make sure you make it easy for your customers to do business with you. And don’t forget to provide information about how they can contact you offline. Sometimes people just want to talk to a live person. Of course, once again...
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