The Microbrewery Handbook

Chapter 5How to Differentiate Your Brewery

ONE OF MY favorite things about opening Perfect Plain is being able to help others follow their dream of opening their own business.

It's why this book exists, and I continue both to help and to learn from new entrepreneurs every day.

When someone asks me to meet with them to discuss their idea, I open with a warning. I tell them that I'm going to be asking them questions as if they were asking me today to invest in their company. I understand their idea or their projections or other considerations may not be fully developed. However, I feel that qualifier allows me to ask questions without the person feeling as if they aren't adequate to open a business. And if they can't answer some of the questions I have, it gives that person some homework to work on. But they know my line of questioning comes from a place that's helpful, not off‐putting or judgmental.

After I hear about their idea, its strengths, their passion for the project, and why they believe it can succeed, I always begin my inquisition around how much research has been done in their market. One recent meeting was about opening a coffee shop downtown. About six years ago, there was one coffee shop. There are now five with more on the way, and some great ones. Now a Starbucks, which had never been downtown at all, has moved in close by. This is thematic in Pensacola; we've seen a renaissance in the past half‐decade thanks to private downtown development, rich history – it ...