Alright, so you’ve got a home brewery and you want to turn it into a business that shows off your take on different brews to the world. If you are overwhelmed by how you should take on the transition of this, then you have come to the right article!
Taking advantage of the massive rise in breweries is something that any home brewer can do, and if you follow these steps then you can turn your home brewery into a worthy business, so let’s get started!
1. Figure Out The Legal Stuff Before You Start
Anything involving alcohol is going to be at least somewhat regulated, and you need to know and abide by all the existing federal laws governing beer and alcohol as set by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Then, once you follow the federal laws, you will need to take a look at the laws in your specific state.
There’s a three tiered structure that allows for a lot of flexibility for small breweries, and you need to know what you can and can’t do in order to make sure you can follow the rules. If you need to, hire a lawyer that specializes in this field of law to make sure you can navigate all the legal pitfalls. Because if mistakes are made, they can shut down your new business fast.
2. Pick Your Business Structure
Do you want to be a sole proprietorship that makes you the sole owner (and the only one responsible for) your business? Sure it’s easy to set up and you only need to rely on yourself, but you also will need to handle the assets and liabilities yourself as well, and if something goes wrong you are in the hot seat.
If you want more protection and a bit more support in building your business, then you might like an LLC (Limited Liability Company) which provides a lot of the features that you would find in a corporation. Namely, they separate your personal and your business assets, so your personal assets (like your car and personal savings), aren’t at risk if your business faces lawsuits or other money problems.
3. Manage Your Brewery Early
As your brewery grows and expands into a business, you need to make sure you have a tight grip on the reins and are managing your business effectively. For example, you need to manage your business as it keeps on growing, making sure that you can make, bottle, and then sell your brews and meet the demand of your customers.
One way to do this effectively is to use brewery management software, which takes all the data about your brewery and your process and places it all in one easy-to-use piece of software.
Using a website like Ollie can help you visualize and see everything that your home brewery is currently doing, and then it can also show you the path to where your home brewery needs to be in order to grow into a business!
4. Don’t Give Up
You are going to run into problems, setbacks, snags, and other issues as you seek to make this transition from a home brewery into your own small business. The most important thing to do as you deal with these problems is to never give up, and to make sure that you are making the best brews possible for the people who love your work.
You’ll be able to fight through the transition and then you will be able to say that you own your own brewery and grew it yourself, how cool will that be?
