What would you do... if?

So, you have a couple friends... both have managed restaurants and one is an excellent chef. These two fellas are piecing together a dream of thiers to have thier own restaurant/brew pub.

If you were approached about the brewing side of the business, what would you do? What would you personally have to consider? What questions would YOU ask of them?

Say you worked at a $90k/year job, worked there 4 days a week...

What if you wanted to have your cake and eat it too?

Pol

Heck, I'd go for it, sounds like you got a couple people that know what they're doing.

Neomich said:

Heck, I'd go for it, sounds like you got a couple people that know what they're doing.

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One already has obtained all of ther pertinent licensing and permits.

would you be an employee or a partner?

That is one question I would ask...

I dont know... the conversations have been very casual in the past... but today one drove to Indy to see us and stated that they want to begin talking more seriously about what direction said business would take.

Well that would be the main question. If you are just an employee all you need to think about is the salary and if it would be worth it to you. If you are a partner then it would need ALOT more thought because then you would be exposed to many many more possible problems.

My main issue would be leaving 90-110K while working 4 days a week...

If brewing were my job, Id take a HUGE pay cut and work much harder.

My current job IS a passion of mine, it isnt just a job to me.

This is where cake and eating it too... comes into play.

Well you might be able to start off part time just 1 or 2 days a week depending on the size of the system they bought and the consumption of the place.

Definitely_NOT_dataz722 said:

Well you might be able to start off part time just 1 or 2 days a week depending on the size of the system they bought and the consumption of the place.

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One of the guys has known me since I started brewing in my kitchen... they could get a much more experienced guy. The difference is that they know me, they trust me and they know the passion I have for what I do.

Not to mention they have been drinking my beer for years.

If you went in on it, and lets say the restuarant goes under, how easy would it be for you to get your old job back?

Damn Pol hard choice. Give up a high paying job that you love for a low paying job that you love. Question is, can you provide the same standard of living for yourself with the paycut and do you love brewing enough that doing it on a commercial scale would continue to be as exciting as the home-brewing hobby? Keep in mind that by brewing for a brewpub you are going to be busy to the point that you probably won't be doing no where near as much homebrewing.

If it was me, one major consideration would be how confident I felt about getting back into my current field should the experiment not work out. You're a pilot, right? How hard would it be to get back to where you're at now?

The other thing is how many people were depending on me today. Just me, or a family to feed? Tough choices in any event.

I guess you could look at it like this, too.

You can fly for work and brew for fun, but can you afford to fly for fun and brew for work?

You have an enviable dilemma!

#1 brewing will never pay what I make now

#2 I could provide the same standard of living, BUT I would not provide the same standard of RETIREMENT

#3 I could NOT afford to fly for fun

#4 It would take me nearly 10 YEARS to get back to where I am now in my piloting career if I left it for brewing.

Then I'd say invest in their restaurant and do a once a year "Pol Special" on the equipment(and piggy back your grain/hop purchases on theirs!) and continue flying.

This is why I want my cake, and to eat it too.

If I had a crappy job... this would be a no brainer.

it sounds like it'd be more of a retirement venture.

I think you'd also have to have a lot of say in the rest of the restaurant business. In my experience a brewpub is a brewery first. The beer is the focus and the restaurant seems to play off the types of beers and such, or at least the good ones do. I think your friends would have to know this and you'd have to make sure they don't have a competing idea of how things should be. I don't think you could have a french restaurant serving and IIPA or whatever.

Maybe if you can be a partner and they hire a brewmaster. This could allow you to have some say and play with big toys now and again, but not have to be the one doing all the work.

Also, remember, it's a hobby because it's fun and because you choose to do it. Once you are dependent on it, it becomes work.

The Pol said:

#1 brewing will never pay what I make now

#2 I could provide the same standard of living, BUT I would not provide the same standard of RETIREMENT

#3 I could NOT afford to fly for fun

#4 It would take me nearly 10 YEARS to get back to where I am now in my piloting career if I left it for brewing.

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To me, the decision matrix is very one-sided. IMHO, it is not in your best interest currently to pursue this as a career. Perhaps you might be able to "consult" for this business and setup an independent consulting company and do a business-to-business relationship. Have them obtain all the proper alcohol/brewing licensces/permits and pay you a fee to do the work and provide subject matter expertise. Keep everything nice and legal and totally business related on paper. You could keep your current profession, enjoy your current hobby and perhaps benefit financially. You and your friends could still benefit from each other's expertise with a minimum amount of risk.

I don't have any first hand experience with this specifically but from a business perspective, this can be done if done carefully.

Why couldn't it just provide a selection of microbrews or whatnot, and have you provide an in-house seasonal brew? At least to start. Then, if things go well, you could maybe provide some instruction on how to brew your recipes? Just some thoughts. I'm sure if I ever got that good at it, I'd be happy just to know that someone thought so highly of my beer that they would design a menu around it. Even if I never saw a nickle from it.

The Pol said:

So, you have a couple friends... both have managed restaurants and one is an excellent chef. These two fellas are piecing together a dream of thiers to have thier own restaurant/brew pub.

If you were approached about the brewing side of the business, what would you do? What would you personally have to consider? What questions would YOU ask of them?

Say you worked at a $90k/year job, worked there 4 days a week...

What if you wanted to have your cake and eat it too?

Pol

Click to expand...

If I could keep the 90K/yr job & I felt I could produce the sort of quality product that would not only sell, but that I'd be proud to offer for sale; and if I was able to do what needed to be done on site in a day or 2 per week, AND still have enough time off to keep me from getting burned out... I'd damn sure go for it!

Thier plan is to create the menu to compliment the beers that are produced. They are not cheeseburger and fries with a beer sort of people. Both are really creative and have always spoken of matching the beers with complimentary food, whatever it may be.

I have two hobbies, flying and brewing... flying is also an occupation that I really enjoy. The difference is that it pays much better than brewing. Though our household consumes little cash... our retirement accounts do, and that is really important to us.

I would love to consult... provide a pilot brewery or recipes... and of course whore in on grain and hop purchases.

Since you already have a job you like and work only 4 days a week I'd recommend you keep the day job. It gives you stability every day.

How long have you been doing your present job? Are you close to retirement?

Any chance of you just brewing for them the other 3 days? We all know brewing isn't even a full time hobby. You brew, you wait...you rack...you wait...

I travel a lot for my job, but am home most weekends. I am able to brew, rack, or bottle/keg almost every weekend. Why couldn't your brewing schedule be similar for them?

Good luck.

I am 31 years old... I am FAR from retirement.

I have been at this company, doing this job for 6 years.

I would not mind discussing a place in thier business on the days that I am not flying, but it would be clear that my career pays my bills and would always be treated as such.

My assumption is that they would really like to have someone available much more often. At the very least, reachable, in the same country... which most of the time I am not while working.

Then I would opt for a part time brewing job with them.

Maybe brewing 1 or 2 brews a month.

Back in the 80's I was in a band. We played in some local bar (25 mile radius) almost every weekend. I entered an intership so ended up leaving the (gov't) job I had for another one, the state, and the band. I was not the reason for the break up of the band so am not to blame for that. I am still a Civil Servent and am retiring next January. The band could not have sustained my lifestyle.

This is why I recommend you keep your day job.

I would never have contemplated leaving flying for brewing... Brewing is cool, but having an airliner to play with all day is way cool too. Plus, as a pilot I have no one leaning over my shoulder, no manager or middle manager telling me or even asking me, what I am doing.

Have you ever set up a commercial brewery? Have you ever worked in one? If the guys are looking for someone to set it up from the start, you've got your work cut out for you. If you can go in and brew 2 days a week, and let the regular employees take care of the rest, I think you'll win.

Be a 'guest brewer' or something like that.

B

I can relate, Pol...although I've never been approached as you have. Often thought about brewing part-time (seen a few offerings for part-time here and there) and even got the nod from the wife. But my current job is very stable...I can retire in 11 years with 50% of my salary and I'm only 34. If I even thought of brewing full time I'd be taking at least a 50% pay cut. Got a wife, kids, and mortgage to think about.

Sounds like you have all the facets considered. Hope you can make both work to your advantage.

It sounds like you've already made your choice. Why leave a job you love, to do something you don't know if you'll even like? Brewing in your garage and doing it for a living are not even remotely in the same category.

If you make a mistake at home who cares, if you do it at work that's another matter. In this day and age, I would never consider leaving a job you even remotely like for something else.

Maybe help them part time?

Maybe you could start your own brewing airline. An electric homebrewery at 30,000' as well as a full service brewpub. Kick that baby into autopilot to go check the mash temps, all the servers are hot stewardesses........

Damn, daydreams suck.

Keep flying. You're married, right? Do you have kids? I'm in a similar situation as you. I fly for a living and love it (although my organization has a little more say in my decision to quit). Like you, I've dreamed how great it would be to brew for a living. I've also always wanted to be a doctor. Ultimately, however, I chose to become a Marine Corps pilot. That's the path I've chosen, and it will have to do.

The point I'm getting at is that there are other people in my life who are counting on me. SWMBO and I have talked about kids very soon, and I can no longer base my decision making process solely on what I want. Based on your circumstances, I think it would be a bad move to drop your aviation gig for this. I don't want to sound like a dream crusher, but this is real life, and the decisions you make affect you for the rest of it. Now, when I retire from the Marines, I'll still be a fairly young man (in my forties) with a pretty decent pension, and I definately intend on revisiting the whole brewing thing. I'm pretty sure that as an airline pilot, you may be able to as well. For now, though, I'm going to enjoy my hobby of homebrewing while something else pays the bills.

You've also got to look at the possibility that as soon as something becomes your job, and you depend on it to put food on the table, it doesn't become nearly as much fun anymore. I would never want to say to myself, "Damn, I have to get up and brew today."

On an unrelated note, wildwest450, you have to pm me your avatar photo. I love those ladies.

I would see if you could brew for them in your few days off and maybe hire an assistant to keep things running when you're off flying. That is until or if the venture actually takes off so you can quit your job. Another idea is to take a short term leave of absence from work (if you can) to try out the brewery to see if it will work. That way you have a job to go back to if it doesn't pan out.

Do these guys have a business plan that includes the new brewpub section of the restaurant? Where are they getting funding for the brew pub (internal/external)? What is their marketing plan and is it included in their business plan? Have they put together any proformas? These are some of the questions I would require solid answers to before I jumped in. I have been putting together a business plan for a brewery so let me know if you have any questions.