Business plan in the works!

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MonkHeDo

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Greetings! I've been a habitual lurker on these forums for a couple years now, and I have learned a great deal from all you guys, so thank you for helping me discover my passion for brewing.

I am putting together a business plan with my local college's Small Business Development center, and I was wondering if you guys could help us by purchasing some shwag or using the share tools on Indiegogo to spread the word. A link to our brewery website is on the indiegogo page also; if you'd like to check it out. Im trying to develop a web presense thats fun and geared toward the fantasy/gamer geek crowd. Let me know what you think. Give us a like on Facebook too if you can!

http://www.indiegogo.com/TheHoppyDwarf
https://www.facebook.com/TheHoppyDwarf

Thanks in advance! :mug:
 
Good for you!! I would be a little hesitant to go all in though with the fantasy/game geek motif. I am sure some people will get it/love it but the majority won't. If you are trying to build a business I wouldn't want to instantly alienate potential customers because they don't "get it". Just my .02 cents.....
 
I've thought about that too, but Atlanta has a pretty high geek to normal ratio. If you've ever been in town during DragonCon you'd understand. :D
 
Hey, I'll add anything to my toolbelt that works. Kickstarter may be next on the list. :) I'm working two jobs as well to support my family and save up the cash.
 
Airborneguy said:
What's wrong? Kickstarter isn't a good enough begging venue for you?
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I don't see a problem with crowdfunding that offers actual products for 'donations.' If he's selling pint glasses and mugs and such to raise money I really don't see that as begging. The ones that don't offer rewards are a different story though.
 
There was a pretty interesting thread about this in the debate section. Obviously there's no "moral" issue with it: everyone involved is choosing to be involved. But for some of us, its laughable because what you get in return is never worth what the business is asking for. Plus, investors should see returns. A business that belongs in business should be able to attract traditional investors. Crowdfunding is "half-assing" it. To me, its a "smile to your face scam", just not perpetrated facetiously. It's modern day begging in my opinion.
 
Airborneguy said:
There was a pretty interesting thread about this in the debate section. Obviously there's no "moral" issue with it: everyone involved is choosing to be involved. But for some of us, its laughable because what you get in return is never worth what the business is asking for. Plus, investors should see returns. A business that belongs in business should be able to attract traditional investors. Crowdfunding is "half-assing" it. To me, its a "smile to your face scam", just not perpetrated facetiously. It's modern day begging in my opinion.
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Hey, it's a free country, and you're certainly entitled to that opinion. And I am definitely interested in pursuing traditional investors as well. I prefer to keep all my options open. I'm not looking for any handouts here; I'm hoping to raise money and spread the word by selling shwag, just like many brewery startups. Sam Calagione from DFH used to stop and sell t-shirts at truckstops just to earn gas money to make it back home from beer events in the beginning. Everybody's gotta start somewhere, and I'm willing to work my ass off and do it by any means necessary.
 
I hope everything works out for you! My suggestion would be to keep your main beers simple. I noticed you were adding peppercorns to your dwarf stout and honeysuckle to your elf beer. We had a brewery open up here that had a bunch of these crazy ingredient and themed beers, and each of them was a one and done type pint. I think you want to keep your beers pretty straightforward so people want to drink them all night, not just try them once.
 
KingBrianI said:
I hope everything works out for you! My suggestion would be to keep your main beers simple. I noticed you were adding peppercorns to your dwarf stout and honeysuckle to your elf beer. We had a brewery open up here that had a bunch of these crazy ingredient and themed beers, and each of them was a one and done type pint. I think you want to keep your beers pretty straightforward so people want to drink them all night, not just try them once.
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A good thought. At this point these beers are in the idea stage. I will definitely be playing around with these recipes before we are underway to see what works. I am not a fan of overpowering exotic flavors in beer either; these additions are meant to subtly change the flavor. If it doesnt work in my tasting panels, then hey, it doesnt work and may become a "limited reserve" brew. :cross:
 
Phunhog said:
Good for you!! I would be a little hesitant to go all in though with the fantasy/game geek motif. I am sure some people will get it/love it but the majority won't. If you are trying to build a business I wouldn't want to instantly alienate potential customers because they don't "get it". Just my .02 cents.....
Click to expand...

I fully agree with this. It is very risky to limit your market to this specific audience. It us hard enough to get clientele as is, let alone with such a targeted market. That said best of luck.
 
I get the idea, but I don't think it will work.

Even if I did buy into the business idea, I was not impressed with your description of yourself and it did not make me want to buy into your company. Frankly, somebody whose social life revolves around playing video games and RPG does not come off to me as the type of person who is going to doggedly pursue the dream of opening his own brewery. I know this is a stereotype and it may not describe you at all, but that is the impression I get. Why would I invest if I am questioning your motivation for this project? I'm not saying these aren't acceptable hobbies, its not what I want to read about when deciding to invest.

Lastly, I think you are way off-base on how you plan that first 20K (if you ever get that much). Hiring a web designer? You are in IT, don't you have the skill to DIY? Recipe formulation...isn't that why you are homebrewing? Formal brewing training....I'd rather see some real-life work experience in a brewery. Where is the market analysis? Where is the brand development? What about that pesky matter of how you plan to go about, ya know, opening a brewery?

Otherwise, you are just some guy selling T-shirts.

Sorry to lay it out like this....the whole project just sounds as if it hasn't been thought out at all.
 
Airborneguy said:
There was a pretty interesting thread about this in the debate section. Obviously there's no "moral" issue with it: everyone involved is choosing to be involved. But for some of us, its laughable because what you get in return is never worth what the business is asking for. Plus, investors should see returns. A business that belongs in business should be able to attract traditional investors. Crowdfunding is "half-assing" it. To me, its a "smile to your face scam", just not perpetrated facetiously. It's modern day begging in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I am actually surprised that more homebrewers don't do this. Really why do you have to be a "business"? If you make a lot of beer and give it away that gets expensive. You support somebody's homebrewing hobby and get a little "schwag" as a token of appreciation. I know that the various crowd funding sites certainly don't require you to be a business
 
broadbill said:
I get the idea, but I don't think it will work.

Even if I did buy into the business idea, I was not impressed with your description of yourself and it did not make me want to buy into your company. Frankly, somebody whose social life revolves around playing video games and RPG does not come off to me as the type of person who is going to doggedly pursue the dream of opening his own brewery. I know this is a stereotype and it may not describe you at all, but that is the impression I get. Why would I invest if I am questioning your motivation for this project? I'm not saying these aren't acceptable hobbies, its not what I want to read about when deciding to invest.

Lastly, I think you are way off-base on how you plan that first 20K (if you ever get that much). Hiring a web designer? You are in IT, don't you have the skill to DIY? Recipe formulation...isn't that why you are homebrewing? Formal brewing training....I'd rather see some real-life work experience in a brewery. Where is the market analysis? Where is the brand development? What about that pesky matter of how you plan to go about, ya know, opening a brewery?

Otherwise, you are just some guy selling T-shirts.

Sorry to lay it out like this....the whole project just sounds as if it hasn't been thought out at all.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you probably aren't our target market then. But, no, I appreciate your honest feedback, and it is food for thought. As I said, this is a work in progress. In all honesty I probably did jump the gun on going live with the indiegogo campaign before the business plan was in place.

I figured these forums would be a bit more supportive of somebody who was looking to go pro, c'est la vie. Lesson learned. Thanks for the comments all.
 
Phunhog said:
I am actually surprised that more homebrewers don't do this. Really why do you have to be a "business"? If you make a lot of beer and give it away that gets expensive. You support somebody's homebrewing hobby and get a little "schwag" as a token of appreciation. I know that the various crowd funding sites certainly don't require you to be a business
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Because the vast majority of homebrewers do this as a HOBBY.
 
Best of luck to you. I agree that all startup breweries should release well executed base style beers to begin. Maybe one specialty brew at launch. I know owners of small breweries and they all learned that the basic beers keep the lights on and form a base for distribution.
 
I'm a huge fan of micros and nanos opening out of the HBT community, I wish you the best of luck. While I agree that the premise is a little restrictive in the market, you should have success if you don't get way too far down that path. I think a theme is good, when your beer claims to taste like gnome bones, then you may be in trouble. I'd keep with the theme, but brighten up the bio a little (be positive, the Atlanta DragonCon isn't as neccesary as the craft brew shtick IMO) and get it up on Kickstarter! I know many people that have used Kickstarter, no one ever says I'm going on Indigooo haha. good luck and have fun
 
Airborneguy said:
Because the vast majority of homebrewers do this as a HOBBY.
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Agreed! But...I don't know about you but people ask me 1-2 a month to brew up some beer for their special event. I love doing it but...it gets expensive. It leaves me with two choices...keep brewing for friends parties and take it in the shorts financially.... not a very attractive idea. Or I could flat out refuse to brew for their parties...which makes me look like a jerk. I think a Kickstarter campaign, or something similar, would let you know who really appreciates your brewing and its' associated costs and who just wants free beer. If someone is willing to kick down 50 dollars for a t-shirt and sticker to support the "brewery" you can be damn sure that I will brew for their next party
 
Phunhog said:
Agreed! But...I don't know about you but people ask me 1-2 a month to brew up some beer for their special event. I love doing it but...it gets expensive. It leaves me with two choices...keep brewing for friends parties and take it in the shorts financially.... not a very attractive idea. Or I could flat out refuse to brew for their parties...which makes me look like a jerk. I think a Kickstarter campaign, or something similar, would let you know who really appreciates your brewing and its' associated costs and who just wants free beer. If someone is willing to kick down 50 dollars for a t-shirt and sticker to support the "brewery" you can be damn sure that I will brew for their next party
Click to expand...

If you are brewing that often for people's events then make them pay for the ingrdients.
 
TBaGZ said:
If you are brewing that often for people's events then make them pay for the ingrdients.
Click to expand...

The problem is that, and I am sure Airborneguy would agree, that is pretty much the equivalent of selling homebrew. I know that it is a stretch but...?? If someone wants to become a "supporter" of the brewery and donate money for more kegs and in return gets a t-shirt that is legal. I know it is splitting hairs but....people like to do that around here.
 
It's totally illegal, we've one over this a million times. No one is coming after you, but be straight about it so some schmo doesn't start playing the same game under the impression that it's legal.
 
How is it illegal to have someone pay for the ingredients?

I heard a guy on here say he has a pitcher by his kegerator that says "Beer is free, ingredients aren't!"

And I'm sure he won't get hassled about asking friends to pitch in for ingredients if he brews for their event.

I have a friend that started a brewery with a "Metal" music themed tasting room and he is swamped with business. Not my cup of tea but he brews good beer and is living the dream. Best of luck to the OP.
 
Sadly, bartering laws are specific with regard to taxation which brings into play booze laws.

Better to not do it (or at least not talk about it)
 
Airborneguy said:
It's totally illegal, we've one over this a million times. No one is coming after you, but be straight about it so some schmo doesn't start playing the same game under the impression that it's legal.
Click to expand...

Exactly my point! But if you have a Kickstarter for your home brewery and people freely donate....completely legal as long as your "rewards" don't involve alcohol. Actually they could if they involved brewing lessons and not just beer.
 
I'm not playing this mental game yet again. As someone who spends a lot of time in court as part of my job, I can assure you that the buck stops for 'loopholes' as soon as you're in front of a judge.

As I always make clear, you're not going to get arrested, hassled, or whatever you want to call it. But it is illegal, period. Wink, wink doesn't fool anyone.
 
Maybe you could sponsor Magic the Gathering tournaments in the brewpub ;) that could bring in the kind of clientele you're looking for.
 
MonkHeDo said:
I'm guessing you probably aren't our target market then.
Click to expand...

The problem is you stated that your target market are people who come to dragon-con once a year...what are you going to do the other 51 weeks of the year?

How many "geeks" are there in the metro-ATL area? and what percentage drink beer? Of that percentage, how many drink craft beer? Of THAT percentage, how many do you think you can get into your place/drink your beer?

That is your target market.
 

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