Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Greg Goodman, Founder and CEO of KTonic LLC., located in Austin, TX, USA.

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

My business is KTonic LLC, maker of KTonic Kombucha. We serve our wonderful customers throughout Texas and, most recently, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

Tell us about yourself

I was a kombucha drinker for years before deciding to try my hand and make it at home. I found that most commercially made kombucha was too high in sugar for what is supposed to be a healthy, functional beverage, so I explored the idea of making my own product. Together with my brother-in-law Bryan Schmitz, we developed a single-fermented kombucha that showcased tea and botanicals instead of juice.

There are many elements of this business that motivate me, but most of them are centered around people. I love the opportunity to serve people with a healthy product, collaborate with local small businesses, and support our employees. They hold me accountable to be better.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Even after almost eight years of business, I feel like we are just getting started. All we’ve done so far is entered the market with something not typical of the market. I could have just replicated the pattern of what virtually every other kombucha company was doing, but we wanted to be unique for the sake of health and wellness. We have one of the lowest-sugar kombuchas on the market, and we figure that more and more people will be more conscious of their sugar intake as we move forward into the future.

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

Growing pains, particularly how to scale effectively. Scaling up is taking what you’ve been doing and perfecting for years and then essentially throwing it out the window only to create a new paradigm, which you create by taking the most educated leap you can possibly take. We get tidbits from other brewers who are further down the road, but in the end, we’ve created a unique process, and we are pretty much on our own to re-create it for larger growth.

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

  1. Research - Study everything you can about your industry and your particular product. Who are your direct and indirect competitors? Where do you sit on the shelf? What does it cost to make your product (before you are on the precipice of making it)? You can’t skip this step, and you should know everything you can about your product, even if you hire others or outsource to do this work.
  2. Be unique - I simply don’t see the point in copying what others are doing. How are you different, and how are you truly better? Spend time developing your concept. Bounce your idea off of others, but go beyond your circle of friends and family to people who don’t know you and can be honest with you.
  3. Don’t give up - Staring and growing your own business is not for the weak at heart. When difficult times arise, you will question yourself on a regular basis, “should I be doing this?” Make sure you remember why you started your business in the first place, and hopefully, you will have friends that will inspire you to keep at it and never give up.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Yes. One of the greatest things about being in business is the opportunity to help others who are just starting out. “Pay it forward” became a term I learned from several mentors who helped me along the way when I first started. They didn’t need to; they just did because I was ambitious and showed dedication to the business I started. If you’re thinking of starting a business, I hope you’re lucky enough to have mentors and people who help you along the way, and more than that, remember how fortunate you were when someone else sought advice or help.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.ktonickombucha.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ktonic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ktonickombucha/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KTonicKombucha

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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