The Business of Whats Next

In this episode of Workshop Minute by Harvest to Pour , I uncover the hidden potential within team frustration. Often dismissed as a negative, frustration is reframed as valuable feedback pointing to areas of untapped growth. Matthew introduces actionable tools like the “alone together” approach and the sailboat exercise to help leaders foster psychological safety, uncover root challenges, and pri...

Show Notes:   James’ Background : James shares how his chemical engineering degree led him to a career in intellectual property law. IP in the Beverage Industry : James explains his experience with PepsiCo, focusing on packaging innovations as a key area for patents. Challenges in IP : He highlights how reducing packaging material can save millions and addresses the limitations of patenting bevera...

Show Notes: Introduction to Jeff Bach : Jeff discusses his background as a serial entrepreneur and his transition into business brokerage, focusing on the spirits, beer, and wine industries. Why Jeff Chose Business Brokerage : He shares his passion for being involved in deals and helping others through the process, stemming from his previous experience in business ownership. Explaining the Role of...

Key Discussion Points:  Introduction and Background : Angus introduces himself and Wherehouse Beverage’s mission to create low-dose THC drinks. Founding Wherehouse Beverage and Early Challenges : He discusses their early regulatory challenge of having to produce THC beverages locally due to state restrictions. Innovative Mobile Production Solution : Wherehouse Beverage developed a mobile productio...

Key Takeaways Escaping the Owner’s Trap : Develop processes and delegate tasks to ensure the business can thrive without you. The Five P Model : Align your business through the Five P’s—Promise, Product, Process, People, and Profit—for growth and personal freedom. Understanding Valuation as a Tool for Freedom : Knowing your business’s value empowers strategic decisions that create flexibility and...

Key takeaways: Damon’s Career Shift : Damon transitioned from corporate finance to pursuing his passion for wine, leading to the creation of Bottle Bank. Challenges in Launching : Finding the right location, negotiating leases, and designing the perfect space were significant hurdles in bringing Bottle Bank to life. What Makes Bottle Bank Unique : Bottle Bank focuses solely on wine, offering a lou...

Key Takeaways 1. Origin Story: La Cosecha Coffee Roasters started as a passion project in 2005 when one of the co-founders was introduced to freshly roasted coffee and became intrigued by the process. 2. Transitioning to a Business: In 2006, the co-founders started La Cosecha as a side hustle, selling to local businesses. By 2009, the workload had become too much, leading them to consider opening...

Key Points Founders’ Backgrounds and Inspiration : Jonas’ background in engineering and Mike’s in invention led to the creation of Bare Wood Spirits, driven by their passion for whiskey. Barrel in a Bottle Technology : Mike’s patented technology allows spirits to age in the bottle using a wooden stave, mimicking traditional barrel aging. Research and Development of the Patent : The patent for the...

Key Takeaways: Introduction to Gosha Specialty Coffee and the Site Crews' background as a Brazilian coffee farming family. Challenges in establishing relationships and building credibility with American coffee roasters as a new player. Transitioning the family farm from a quantity-focused to a quality-focused operation. Experimenting with different coffee production and post-harvest drying methods...

The key points of this episode are: 1. Celebrating the 50th episode milestone of Harvest to Pour and the podcast's evolution over the past year. 2. Highlighting a collaborative effort between Fanci Freez, Pivot North Consulting, and Avidity Creative to develop an innovative soft-serve milkshake product for grocery stores. 3. Discussing the challenges faced, such as maintaining the soft serve textu...

 Key points from the interview: Overview of Tom Fuchs' career journey in the beverage industry, from restaurants to consulting. Explanation of American heritage grapes vs. European Vitis vinifera grapes, and the development of French-American hybrids. Historical significance of Missouri as a major wine-producing state before Prohibition, and its resurgence in recent decades. Challenges faced by Mi...

The founding of Peacemaker Coffee in 2019 with the mission of supporting unsung heroes like police, fire, military, and first responders. Chris's initial dislike for coffee and how a trip to Costa Rica sparked his passion for high-quality, low-acidity coffee. The early challenges of sourcing coffee, pricing, and building the business, including Chris's unconventional methods of roasting coffee. Th...

Key Highlights Tim Wiggins' journey from the advertising world into opening successful bars and restaurants in St. Louis. The challenges he faced in building consistency and training staff when first starting his businesses. Approach to delegating responsibilities and empowering his management team to allow for growth. The importance Wiggins places on hiring the right people based on personality a...

  Businesses, including corporations and startups, often "hide in the abstract" when setting goals and executing projects, leading to a lack of follow-through, communication, and accountability. Transparency and clarity are important for effective project management and execution. Companies like Apple and Whole Foods have taken different approaches to transparency, with both having benefits and dr...

Show Notes Angela and her husband Scott started a co-working space in 2015 and added a specialty coffee shop in 2016. In 2018, they opened their first drive-thru coffee stand, which ended up being more successful than the co-working coffee shop. They bootstrapped the business in the early days, keeping their corporate jobs and living conservatively for the first 18 months. They tested their busine...

Key points of the interview: History and evolution of Fanci Freez ice cream shop in Boise, Idaho, including origins in 1947 and current owners taking over in 2017 Challenges faced by the owners when they took over the business, such as dealing with seasonality and updating the outdated building Owners' focus on improving the efficiency of the milkshake production process, including streamlining th...

Key discussion points: Sean Terrell's background and inspiration for starting Drip City Coffee The early challenges he faced in starting the coffee shop with no prior experience How he sourced coffee beans and his approach to roasting The unique blend of customers Drip City attracts and their coffee preferences How Drip City uses technology to improve customer experience The team meetings and coll...

Key talking points: Ian's journey into the specialty coffee industry, from learning about coffee in high school to starting his own coffee shop and roastery The challenges of educating customers on specialty coffee in the 1990s versus today's more knowledgeable coffee culture Goodman Coffee's focus on sourcing high-quality single-origin beans and roasting to highlight the work of the farmers Ian's...

Key Takeaways: Historical Transition : The Rose family transitioned their dairy farm from commercial dairy farming to direct-to-consumer raw milk sales following changes in state laws that allowed for such sales. Overcoming Initial Challenges : Trevor discussed the initial financial challenges of running a small-scale dairy farm and how they leveraged e-commerce and remote pickup locations to incr...

The key points from the episode are: Going beyond a customer journey map to map out internal processes and systems can reveal bottlenecks and inefficiencies Over time, small workarounds and tweaks can become incorporated inefficiencies that waste time and money Visualizing the full customer experience process allows owners to see how customers, employees, and systems interact at each step Mapping...

Key Points: Shannon discusses how he and his wife became interested in winemaking through visits to California vineyards and eventually purchased a small winery in Illinois He talks about the challenges of learning winemaking and establishing quality wines in a young Illinois wine region Shannon sources grapes locally and discusses partnerships with grape growers in Southern Illinois He shares the...

Key Points: Junior Silva started Prime Coffee Company to get a better price for his family's farm in Brazil by connecting to specialty coffee markets. Connor helped Junior understand coffee scoring, pricing, and identifying potential buyers to establish trust and sell his green coffee. Small farms face challenges like pressure to sell quickly and lack of knowledge about fair prices. Specialty roas...

Key Insights: Hire professionals like an accountant early on to handle finances rather than trying to do it yourself.   Develop close relationships with suppliers for high-quality, unique coffee sourcing. Meet customers where they are by offering a variety of roast styles and blends.   Use loyalty programs and subscriptions to incentivize repeat direct-to-consumer sales. Physical location can nece...

Key takeaways - Robyn joined Sword Performance after being introduced to the product as the first industrial customer, realizing the need for proper hydration in that sector - As CEO she helped scale the business and manage cash flow challenges faced by startups - Sword Performance formulates their drinks with minimal ingredients to be absorbed quickly without extra additives - Their products have...

Key Takeaways:   Transitioning sourcing away from blue agave nectar to locally grown agave varieties as the market and availability changes. Challenges of whole plant distillation including labor intensity and costs, but benefits of full process control. Using handmade stills tailored only for agave and developing proprietary yeast strains. Overcoming operational challenges through extensive trial...