Do You Operate at Peak Performance?

Owning your own business is never easy. While it’s sometimes fun and rewarding, it will pull more out of you than you ever thought possible.

Additionally, owning a brewery can double the intensity of owning your own business, while also being a full-time brewer. Many of you probably started out launching your own business with excitement. You probably then found you and your small team in the brewery from 6 a.m. until midnight or even longer. The burnout during those earlier years will make you enjoy the more successful years if you can fight through it.

Business owners say all the time how no one else will care for your business the way that you do. You might be able to find and develop great leaders, but their love of your business will never go as deep as your own.

Think about the mornings or nights where you wake up out of a deep sleep immediately thinking about the problems for the next day. Lot’s of people every day will wake up worried about the future, but you are most likely alone in the thoughts on your business.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not bashing employees or leaders within your company. I have some of the best workers in world busting it every day for our brand. However, even with their hard work, the puck stops with me and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Over the last 10 years or so I’ve been privelidged to interivew some of the top business leaders in the nation, both in brewing and elsewhere. I’ve also been blessed to own a business myself and to discover the physical and mental processes to build a successful brand. Here are a few tips I’ve discovered along the way:

1) It Starts with You: You read that and thought, “well, duh, it’s my business.” But I’m not talking about the business. I’m referring to you personally. Many of the top business leaders have made remarks about the importance of taking care of themselves. Many run marathons, climb mountains, practice yoga, etc. In my professional life I have found importance in practices that benefit me mentally and physically. You have to find time to mentally unwind. For myself I get into the gym for at least an hour and a half or more every day. It’s where I go to ensure I’m physically prepared for the day’s work, and mentally clear. Some clients have enough laughed about how I find time in the day to do this. I don’t find time, I make time. I know it’s importance and I know if I don’t go in the day, I won’t go at all.

2) Develop a Routine: When I was in college I swore I’d never have a routine. I also was a little hectic in my planning and sometimes my grades suffered (I wasn’t the best student). However, in my professional life I discovered how a routine helps me. I know it’s boring, but I eat about the same thing for breakfast and lunch each day. That’s not because I like it so much, but more about I know it’s good for me and I don’t have to think about that. While I’m executing the game plan for food, I can keep thinking of other matters. I’m not as good at developing a sleep routine, but I shoot for at least six and half hours at a minimum. Routine will get you moving and give you more time to think about the areas of your life and business that are important.

3) Answer Emails: I’ve known a lot of professionals that will keep a huge number of unread emails inside their inbox. I’ve actually had a previous boss that bragged about the amount of unread inbox emails. I question this practice because if someone took the time to send you something, shouldn’t you know what they had to say? If it was spam, then delete it. Why would you want a bunch of clutter in your inbox. Your business email shouldn’t be like your personal email from college. It should be kept for receipts, expenditures, communication within your business and outside. It shouldn’t be filled with Groupon spam, Ticketmaster notifications or the like. If someone emails you about your business, answer that person. Don’t file it into a doesn’t matter section. People are the most important thing in this world, so take the time to show them that your brewery is alive and operated by a person. Likewise if a person from your company emails you, respond. You should never be too busy for your people. They are the lifeblood of your business. When their voice falls on deaf ears, they will lose respect for you — I say this because I’ve felt it in my own professional career.

These are just a few life hacks that have helped me in my journey as a business owner. I recommend discovering your own and implementing them to help you out. If you’ve already got some great life hacks, email me and let’s start a top list of life hacks for the brewing industry.

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