Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Terry Brown, Principal Co-Founder of Container Brewing, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a small craft brewery in East Vancouver, British Columbia. We brew beer that we want to drink and make new styles when we feel we can make meaningful changes to create better-tasting products. We have a small but comfortable lounge with spaces to accommodate you whether you're looking for a quiet solo pint or you've brought your whole team along. We are a small and dedicated team which allows for a lot of input from everyone in the building to create the products and experience that we bring to our customers.
Tell us about yourself
I have a background in product design which essentially applies to everything that we do in life. Whenever we make choices, there is thought behind those choices. Starting a business allows you to control a lot more of those choices, for better or worse. Being passionate about the products we create is a large part of what makes this business fun, but so is fostering great teams of people to come together and make something more than the sum of its parts. Removing barriers and providing the necessary tools to all of the great people who work for us is the most satisfying part of operating the brewery. When everyone is enjoying the end result and proud to have our name on the can, then we have done it right.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Our largest accomplishment has either been opening the business or opening the business and surviving two years of a pandemic after only opening for three months. Like many small businesses, we have had to throw away the business plan and reinvent our strategies for surviving a truly strange time to have begun a venture of any kind.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest parts of owning and operating a business is managing relationships inside and outside of the company. People are the most important part of most businesses. It is not easy managing expectations with the business's abilities and goals.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be critical of what you do and think hard about why you are doing it BEFORE you begin.
- Don't be afraid to ask for help.
- Talk to/hire people who know what they are doing for important areas that you have no experience in (legal, bookkeeping, etc.); it will save you in the long run.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.drinkcontainer.beer/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/containerbrewing/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/containerbrewing/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/containerbeer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/container-brewing/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.