WORD TO THE WISE
  Sam Holloway  
President,
Co-Founder
Greetings!
AUSTRALIAN MEMBER PETE GERBER BREAKS LEG, GETS HELP, & SEES BREWERY BUSINESS FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
Not even a broken leg could keep Pete and Tamara Gerber from finding success during COVID-19. Farmers and brewers, this husband and wife team founded Pioneer Brewing on a farm near Orange, New South Wales, Australia. Check out this great article from Will Ziebell (The Crafty Pint) where we are once again reminded of the resiliency and camaraderie of the global craft beer industry. (Image credit: CraftyPint.com)

I met Pete and tried their delicious beer when I visited Australia as a guest of the University of Melbourne (Thanks, Andre Sammartino!!) in February 2020. In the article, I was struck by Pete's discussion of how his "lucky break" allowed him to take a backseat on brewing and his reward was time to think more closely about the overall business. It reminded me of the plethora of content we have for founders to make the transition from brewer to non-brewer & full time business owner.
MAKING THE DIFFICULT DECISION TO STOP MAKING BEER

"In terms of the brewing industry, I tend to exist in the gray area between the brewers and the owners. More often than not, the owner is not the brewer. They are vastly different skill sets and require vastly different mind frames. This is where I really get the most out of the CAS community. It’s more a brewery entrepreneur community and that's really where my time gets more bang for its buck in terms of making better beer. If I run a better business now then I am afforded the opportunities to make better beer in the future.”
Ben Parsons, Co-founder, Baerlic Brewing (Portland, Oregon, USA)


One of the most frequent conversations I have with CAS members is when they are struggling to give up brewing and focus more of their time on the overall business. It can be a scary time to give up control. Many brewers worry they may lose their edge or worse, their soul if they replace brewing with spreadsheets, HR, marketing, and all the other details that support a successful small brewery. If you are at this stressful decision point, check out these resources:
PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM EXTENDS SPENDING AND ALLOWS FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY IN NON-PAYROLL ITEMS

In a move that was greeted with loud cheers and sighs of relief, the US senate passed a revised PPP Program bill that eases a small business' chances to use the funds while still earning full forgiveness of said funds. Brewbound put together a nice summary of the changes, namely:
  • An increase for amount allowed to be spent on certain non-payroll expenses from 25% to 40%;
  • An extension of the deadline to spend the loan money from eight weeks to 24 weeks, or until the end of the year, whichever comes first;
  • And an extension of the repayment period from two years to five.

MORE AND MORE PROFESSORS MAKING THE CHANGE: RESERVE YOUR REVIEW COPY TODAY!
It's not too early for professors to start thinking about their fall courses. Join colleagues from McGill University, University of South Carolina, Erasmus University, Miami University (OH) and more who have made the switch!

Have your courses been moved online due to COVID-19? Is your department finally ready to give up on that old and expensive textbook that nobody buys? Do your students spend more time on their mobile phones than listening to you or each other? Solve all of these challenges and have more fun by adopting Crafting A Strategy from Tophat Publishing.
LATEST UPLOADS
External Article:

Most Active Forum Thread:

Updated Resource Page:
(Publicly Available)
WHAT'S BREWING
FORUM THREAD: HIRING OUR FIRST SALESPERSON

While reading Pete and Tamara Gerber's story of resilience in Australia, I was reminded of a great forum thread related to giving up control and hiring people to help grow your brewery. In this thread, seasoned entrepreneurs from Occidental Brewing, Coin Toss Brewing, Baerlic Brewing, Backwoods Brewing, and Postdoc Brewing chime in.

Their wisdom includes interview questions, performance metrics, incentives and much more!
FEATURED MEMBER OF THE MONTH
James Watney
Head Brewer
Black Tide Brewing
Kesenumma, Japan
When I met James Watney, he informed me of his "Starbucks Rule." That rule is that if anything interesting and beneficial to his career costs less than his daily Starbucks coffee, he was in. Fortunately for our community, CAS membership costs far less than a daily cup of coffee. James was our first member to be based in Japan and I am thrilled with the progress he's made for Black Tide Brewing. Thank you, James for your energy and enthusiasm. I am certain the people of Kesennuma are benefitting from your great beer and the community building Black Tide Brewing has brought to the region.
You are receiving this eNewsletter because you are either a member at CRAFTINGASTRATEGY.COM or you signed up to receive it. Congratulations! You take responsibility for your business' financial future.
CRAFTINGASTRATEGY.COM