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In this Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A, we feature Leanne Durland, 38, of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Tara Hankinson, 37, of Bronxville, New York. Durland worked in finance at Google, and Hankinson worked on customer experience strategy at Google. The New York Times When they started a side business of home brewing, TALEA Beer Co., Ltd. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Image courtesy of TALEA. LeAnn Darland on the left and Tara Hankinson on the right.
When did you start your side hustle and what inspired you to start one?
Tara: The summer after my MBA, I worked at a winery and fell in love with the idea of ​​creating beautiful spaces, Instagram-worthy samples, and genuine connections with customers in the beer world. I started homebrewing while working in management consulting. The New York TimesI left my corporate job to join a beer e-commerce startup, where I met Leanne, and that job brought me one step closer to truly pursuing my passion for beer.
Lian: During my time in the Navy, I lived in Coronado, San Diego. I loved the laid back community atmosphere of the brewery, it was a stark contrast to my time in the military. When I moved to San Francisco, all my friends who came to visit wanted to go to a winery. I started thinking about creating a brewery that would appeal to my friends and my mom, who like to dress up and celebrate.
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What was the first step you took to start your side hustle?
We were both homebrewers on opposite coasts (Tara in Midtown Manhattan, Leanne in San Francisco). Tara had competed in a few homebrewing competitions and her beers were well received. Leanne had pitched her craft to local breweries but no one was replying to her emails. When we met at a small beer ecommerce startup, we immediately knew we wanted to start a brewery together. We worked in stealth mode for about 9 months, from ideation in July 2018 to having our first product in hand in April 2019.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in starting your side hustle and how did you overcome it?
Homebrewing takes a lot of time. It takes about 6 hours on brew day and almost a month for the beer to be finished. The process is very similar to brewing in a commercial system, except the “warehouse” is a small apartment fridge. As homebrewers, we spent a lot of time getting feedback on our beers and figuring out the best way to break into an already crowded market.
After we started preparing to launch our own brewery, the biggest challenge was the many negotiations and procedures we had to go through while working. Since the liquor license lawyer and brewery manager were not on call at night or on weekends, we were constantly torn between our desire to move the brewery project forward and being Type-A employees who did not want to sacrifice our performance at our day jobs.
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Image courtesy of Sydney Applegate/TALEA. Williamsburg Taproom.
How long did it take you to start earning a steady income each month? How much did you make from your side hustle?
After we got our first beer, we sold and delivered for about six months before we started seeing steady purchases. We were making $15,000-20,000 in monthly revenue but not profitable. We learned a lot about our customers and adjusted our product mix, packaging formats, delivery methods, and sales strategy. We were losing money every month, but we were gaining momentum.
You’ve since turned your side hustle into a full-time job. How is your business growing and profiting now?
Through our taproom and wholesale business, we have experienced double-digit revenue growth every year. Now that we are profitable and financially stable, we can decide how to best use our capital. We have chosen to hire great people to grow our team and improve our product by investing in brewing equipment and processes that will give us a quick payback.
The key channels we’ve invested in and seen great growth in are partnerships and experiences. We’ve been nimble and have had a lot of fun working with other brands we admire to drive awareness, from Fishwife and Olipop to Fly By Jing and Black Seed Bagel. Be playful and don’t be afraid to think bold.
Image courtesy of Alice Gao/TALEA.
What do you enjoy most about running this business?
People. It’s so gratifying to see someone enjoying a beer and having a relaxing experience in our taproom. Our space offers more than just great craft beer. We also offer hospitality-driven service, a beautifully designed taproom, and a wide selection of drinks and snacks that make going to a brewery feel like a special experience. experience. I never get tired of watching someone else enjoy it.
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What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a successful side hustle or full-time business?
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress. Sometimes you have to make decisions even if it seems like a compromise. We spent thousands of dollars on trademark searches for names and eventually combined our first two names to create TALEA. It didn’t feel perfect, but that was a huge obstacle to our progress.
No one cares more about your business than you do, so to make your side hustle a success, it’s a good idea to be as proactive as possible.
This article is part of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® series, showcasing the stories, challenges and successes of running a business as a woman.
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