Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sara Lemmon, owner of 3rd Bird Kombucha, located in Denver, CO, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

There's something magical about 3rd Bird Kombucha. It brings people together. Our kombucha is meant to be shared. Our 32 oz bottles are intentionally too large for just one person. Our accessible flavor profiles are purposefully welcoming and inclusive. Even our packaging and design is meant to appeal to all types of people and every generation. Some brands may say that they are for everyone, but we are actually proactive in our desire to cultivate a flock fearlessly. We believe that there's a fearlessness to flying. We literally and metaphysically trusted our gut and took the leap to bring 3rd Bird Kombucha out to the community.

We didn't set out to be a delivery brand, but sometimes the best ideas come from necessity. 3rd Bird officially launched as a fledgling business mere moments before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Our little kombucha company, which aimed to bring people together, had to find a way to connect and grow in one of the most isolating times in US history. We couldn't share a pour of kombucha with our neighbors on the porch or with friends at a school event. Never mind visiting Grandma in person. We pivoted! We found a third way, and delivery became an essential part of who we are. In fact, delivery is surprisingly one of the reasons our customers love 3rd Bird. It's personal to get our kombucha straight to your door. Our supply chain is homegrown. Glass bottles actually get recycled. We reuse our thermal delivery bags. And when your order arrives, it's as exciting as opening one of those "just because" presents.

Plain and simple, we brew kombucha and fearlessly cultivate a community. We brew the most drinkable kombucha: Delicious. Refreshing. Yummy. Damn good! No matter who you ask, 3rd Bird's uniquely balanced and addictively drinkable taste has seized the exact right spot on the kombucha flavor spectrum. Not too tart. Not too sweet. Not too strong or overpowering. It's the embodiment of the third way! 3rd Bird will always go down smooth without compromising on taste. With fresh, organic ingredients straight from my garden and flavors that consistently delight the taste buds, 3rd Bird is the most drinkable kombucha you'll ever try.

Tell us about yourself

I believed kombucha was gross. My husband, Kyle, brewed it in a plastic fish tank and kept it above our stove. The smell. The jelly-like strange thing is floating in it. The horrible face he made once he took a shot of it. No way. No how. I wanted nothing to do with it.

When Silas was born, we knew early on that he was uniquely different from his two older sisters. With Silas, it was almost as if there was this electric current surrounding him that the girls knew instinctively not to touch because if they did, he'd scream. I remember asking Elodie why she didn't play with her brother, and her response was that it wasn't worth it because he just screamed. She was 5. I witnessed the seed of resentment towards her brother starting to take root.

I was a middle school science teacher at the time. I partnered with my school's librarian and began researching the power of probiotics on one's ability to process the world around them. Like many autistic children, Silas suffers from digestive issues. These issues were the root cause of why changing his clothes or getting into the car was so problematic. When your gut hurts, and you spend a majority of your time hunched over, this stresses your body and makes your muscles tight. While Miralax was always a go-to, the outcomes were sometimes so violent that going to the bathroom became another source of stress in an already stressful world for him. So using my science background, I started to brew for the health benefits of Silas' gut. I figured it had to be better than what my husband was brewing!

Brewing kombucha quickly became more than that for me. Every Sunday, I set aside time to brew. While the kids helped me figure out the flavors, the actual brewing time was (and is) just for me. In this space, I found what I craved- a space to be creative while using my scientific mind. Brewing became a refuge- a place to develop myself.

Brewing taught me to trust the process. Kombucha takes patience- about 14 days to ferment. Since you're dealing with a living organism, little changes to the process of brewing can affect the outcome. And if the outcome isn't perfect- oh well. You can add more sweet tea if the brew is too tart, let things sit for longer and if it's all gone to crap- just throw it out and try again. But processing takes trust. Trusting that change is okay and, in fact, necessary. Trusting that you have the ability to see things through, that the risk you are taking is worth the cost- trust that the process is of value- which is really validating one's own self-worth.

Here at 3rd Bird Kombucha, we fundamentally believe that life isn't about either/or's. Or loss/gain. Or even that kombucha is either yummy or gross. Because here we believe that there's always the 3rd way. And that's where the magic.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

In January of this year, we moved into our own space, one that is affectionately called the nest. It makes me so happy to walk into work every day, knowing that I am building this and that with this space, there is no limit to how high this bird can soar.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The isolation. This is something that isn't discussed a lot. Many times, you are the one working late into the evening, making the hard calls and having to be the one who sorts through the mess. However, when people ask me if owning my own business is as crazy as teaching middle school, I respond, "Yes. It's crazy- but it's my crazy."

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Ask for help. There are so many people cheering you on and want you to succeed.
  2. Fail early and rebound quickly. There are so many setbacks and missteps you take as a business owner. Be ready to make them and dust yourself off and move on.
  3. Outsource what you can. Even if it's 5 hours a week of virtual assistant- do it. Your time is best spent on the creative, the strategy, the things that will grow your business.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://3rdbirdcollective.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3rdBirdKombucha/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3rdbirdkombucha/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-lemmon-75440319a/

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.

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