Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Regine Rousseau, CEO of Shall We Wine, located in Chicago, IL, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Shall We Wine is a strategic marketing company with 10 YRS of experience helping wine & spirits brands grow through experiential events, digital content creation, and TV appearances.
Tell us about yourself
In 2013, I found myself at a crossroads. I was unhappy working for a consulting firm where my talents were underutilized. I desperately wanted to get back into the wine industry, where I worked as a wine salesperson between 1998–2001 and first explored the idea of a wine events company called, Shall We Wine. Although I left the wine sales industry in 2001 to work in pharmaceutical sales, my passion for wine flourished. I continued to study and sample countless wines from around the world — that was the fun part. As faith would have it, I left the consulting firm in 2013 to start a new chapter in my life by creating a business plan that resurrected Shall We Wine as a strategic marketing company. In addition to providing in-store demos for wine and spirits brands, I harness my creativity and marketing experience to uniquely showcase wines and spirits on television and at immersive experiential events for consumers.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment is that I am celebrating 10 years. I have had to pivot when pivoting was not in fashion. I am proud of my ability to adapt in order to stay relevant and in business.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
When running a business, the owner needs to be able to create enough distance to be able to see the issues and create strategies to resolve those issues. I learned the term "being in the weeds" while working as a server. This means that the server is so far behind that she can't catch up; she needs help. As an owner, if you are always in the weeds, if you are always playing catch up, you can't scale. So the hardest thing about being a solo entrepreneur is balancing the time I work in the business and on the business. That's my answer today. I have a list of "hard things." Ask me tomorrow.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Plan, plan, and plan. Create a plan, review the plan, question the plan, execute and repeat.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.shallwewine.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShallWeWine/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shallwewine/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shallwewinechi
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/reginetrousseau/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/shall-we-wine/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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