Obligatory year end post? 2022 predictions? Wishing you a safe and Happy New Year? Try again! The marketing department thought it would be a good idea if I said a few words for this (literally) final post of 2021. It has taken me a minute to compose my well wishes and pleasantries that are typically …
I want to talk about case equivalents. Let’s start off with a definition of CE. CE is case equivalent, and this is the language of distributors. Start introducing this verbiage in sales meetings. And to quote our friend Kary Shumway: “The case equivalent, or CE, is a standard unit of measure for a beer wholesaler. …
I must admit a rather large mistake I have made on my entrepreneurial journey. It has to do with hiring. More specifically my methodology on hiring. Or better yet, my old methodology. Being the astute bean counter and tax stallion that I am, I thought I needed to surround myself with other astute stallions to …
Well folks, It’s that time of the year again when we start planning for… Tax time! Arguably everyone’s favorite time of the year. Said no one, ever. Pardon the sarcasm. This will be the only tax post for the year, so bear with me. The stance I take on taxes is, it is a form …
“I’d be hard pressed if you work with another brewery with our same business plan.” “I’m curious how many breweries you work that have the same structure as us, I bet not many.” “We are unique.” MODEST ANNOUNCEMENT: When it comes to the business of your brewery, YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL. Hard pill to swallow? …
True story. I was in a Quarterly Huddle* with Rob and Rita last week when I noticed something interesting. They sell, on average, around $27k in merchandise a month. Yep, you read that correctly, $27,000 in merchandise per month. Important note: No online sales, no DTC… this is merchandise sold out of a single location. …
As you know I frequently talk about making decisions based on numbers. I strongly believe in this philosophy for a business to thrive and grow. The alternative to making decisions based on numbers is making decisions based on emotions, or gut feeling. The problem with making decisions based on emotions is that when we access …
This week I am in Sheridan, Wyoming attending the WYO Brewers Summit. So happy that we are meeting in person again. I was invited to speak at the two day conference and my talk is polished, ready to offend everyone in the room at least once. My wife reminds me all the time that my …
Cheers to 11 years! Last Friday SBS turned 11. Wow, it’s been 11 years of helping breweries and distilleries. Another cool thing happened last week, I got to talk about margin versus markup. Before I talk about the differences between the two, let’s talk about YOUR gross margin in wholesale. Do you know what your …
I sent my 5-year-old to kindergarten in a brewery tee-shirt… (BY ACCIDENT) Poor guy, look how cute he is. Anyways, the teachers did not think it was funny. They didn’t write him up, but they did send a note home, citing the code of conduct. I take 100% responsibility for this and guess I need …