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I am the founder, owner and winemaker of a boutique winery in eastern Washington State and have a broken at least one Commandment! I just finished ‘the book’ and have not slept a full night since I started it, I am so full of enthusiasm to move to the Fastlane. Since I am already in business, there is so much from the book that I can implement right away. Other things I will need some advice on, so look for my future posts in other forums (fora ?).
I am now aware that I have violated a few of the commandments by starting a winery. But although it is a lifestyle that I love, I started the business to produce a product, satisfy a consumer need and to make money.
My first mistake is that I violate the Commandment of Scale. The majority of my sales are on-premise from the tasting room. But I can fix this and now after finishing Millionaire Fastlane am enlightened to do so, wine is something that can be shipped far and wide, so I will be working on this in the future.
Here is what I did right:
Entry to this field is not easy. I started by first going back to school and learning how to make wine, buying an old apple orchard, pulling out the trees and planting grapevines, buying winemaking equipment and setting up and running a tasting room. All 4 separate distinct and by themselves full-time jobs. And, oh yeah, making the wine!
First I focused on the quality of the winemaking as a top priorty and as a result the wine is fantastic and we have many awards, accolades, high scores <-- did this right!
Building a brand, not a business, is one of my foremost strategies.
My staff has been with me a long time and as they become more and more confident and competent, it has left me more and more free time to spend as I like ( like reading business books!). My husband especially loves the businessand has jumped in and is a full partner with me. (What a great resource and relief he is, thank you Don, but I know he does ready this forum).
My asset (the winery and vineyard) is at $500,000 gross sales. All my profit is being poured back into the business and I am continuing to build inventory and increase production. My asset value is growing but I have probably maxed out the business directly at the tasting room and must branch out a wider audience. Fastlane Millionaire has shown me the way! Thank you MJ for your inspirational tome.
I will be posting more about my business in the forums and would be happy to try to mentor anyone if they are interested in getting into the winery business. My expectation is to reach out to the expertise on this forum for feedback which I will post under the appropriate topic. I am looking forward to the dialog and will try to post and give back as much as possible.
I am now aware that I have violated a few of the commandments by starting a winery. But although it is a lifestyle that I love, I started the business to produce a product, satisfy a consumer need and to make money.
My first mistake is that I violate the Commandment of Scale. The majority of my sales are on-premise from the tasting room. But I can fix this and now after finishing Millionaire Fastlane am enlightened to do so, wine is something that can be shipped far and wide, so I will be working on this in the future.
Here is what I did right:
Entry to this field is not easy. I started by first going back to school and learning how to make wine, buying an old apple orchard, pulling out the trees and planting grapevines, buying winemaking equipment and setting up and running a tasting room. All 4 separate distinct and by themselves full-time jobs. And, oh yeah, making the wine!
First I focused on the quality of the winemaking as a top priorty and as a result the wine is fantastic and we have many awards, accolades, high scores <-- did this right!
Building a brand, not a business, is one of my foremost strategies.
My staff has been with me a long time and as they become more and more confident and competent, it has left me more and more free time to spend as I like ( like reading business books!). My husband especially loves the businessand has jumped in and is a full partner with me. (What a great resource and relief he is, thank you Don, but I know he does ready this forum).
My asset (the winery and vineyard) is at $500,000 gross sales. All my profit is being poured back into the business and I am continuing to build inventory and increase production. My asset value is growing but I have probably maxed out the business directly at the tasting room and must branch out a wider audience. Fastlane Millionaire has shown me the way! Thank you MJ for your inspirational tome.
I will be posting more about my business in the forums and would be happy to try to mentor anyone if they are interested in getting into the winery business. My expectation is to reach out to the expertise on this forum for feedback which I will post under the appropriate topic. I am looking forward to the dialog and will try to post and give back as much as possible.
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