In a perfect world, your brewery could have the best business plans and ideals that would give a multitude of success. And everyone has their own ideas of success. At Brewer, we look to share those insights daily and through our interviews with owners, brewers, and salespeople, we get to share those insights.
Here are some thoughts from across the business landscape on what are some key looks into what builds their business and the goals that could help improve the craft beer industry.
Invest in People
Your staff is the most valuable resource a brewery has, so devoting resources to supporting them makes a world of difference, said Gary Nicholas.
”This starts with respect, which has to be more than a slogan,” said the Operations Manager for SanTan Brewing in Chandler, Arizona. ”From there, recognize that production is a function of safety, quality, and efficiency.
”If we support our teams and help them focus on those areas, production targets will take care of themselves. It’s not how many barrels you brew and package in a week: it’s how many of those are done correctly that define a successful operation. And that is about the people in the brewery.”
Employee Empowerment
In the same vein as Nicholas, Justine Malland, the Regional Sales Manager for Bale Breaker said to many people giving power to the staff would sound more like a facet of company culture than a business strategy, but she thinks it is a key to success.
“When you invite your employees to be a part of the conversation, at all levels, to make decisions, to present ideas — you not only engage your employees, but you also give them ownership of their actions and ideas,” she said, saying that the Yakima, Washington brewery is a great example of this.
“They have such a collaborative business model,” she said. “You get so much more buy-in from your employees when you incorporate them into decision-making and empower them to really feel part of the structure.
“There’s still a lot of micro-managing and strict top-down business models out there, and I’m excited to see the industry evolve past that.”
Diversify Leadership
Spreading the wealth in terms of a more diverse culture of those in charge across the industry could immediately give a brewery a better perspective outside of whatever bubble they are in, thinks Jack’s Abby’s Rob Day.
“The industry was born from a niche corner and exploded from there,” explained the VP of Marketing for the Framingham, Massachusetts company, “but it has not caught up in terms of reaching out beyond the initial group of people.
“I think this would help push for better paths to financing, more interesting products and experiences, and ultimately a bigger group of craft beer consumers.”
Photo courtesy Alice Huynh, SanTan Brewing
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