Brewery Growth: Better to Plan, or Sell and See?

[HarborTownBrewing]

I was just reading about a family that got the idea to open a brewery, and has been traveling around visiting breweries and drinking beer to get a feel for the market. They recently began brewing, and came up with extensive business plans on how to grow into a brewery who will sell nationally through various (and some complex) channels.

This got me thinking: the article mentioned nothing of credentials and made it sound as though they have no restaurant/hospitality experience. Rather, it appears they have a "solid business plan".

So what do you all think is the best way to open a brewery? To plan extensively, or to sell as much as you can produce and see where your business takes you?

 

[bucketnative]

In my mind there are two things that can cause a brewery (or any business) to fail:

1. Poor business planning
2. Poor product

And even with good planning and product, it still might fail due to external conditions beyond the owners' controls.

I guess my answer is that I wouldn't go into it without both.

 

[Murphys_Law]

I think you always need a solid business plan regardless of the business.

 

[thebrewquest]

If you have a plan, you have something to measure success/lack of success off of.

I know a small brewery that opened without a plan, started making good beer, and selling it. But they had no idea what their margins were, what they projected to sell for the year, and weren't paying themselves because they were 'going where the business takes them". With a plan, you know when you are doing well, because you exceed projections and can start planning for the extra growth. But, you can also see really quickly if you're not making the money you need to sustain the business, so you can make adjustments to align to realistic goals.

So long story short - all businesses need plans. And good beer.